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Village News
Ibim - San Diego Student Village
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The Jewish Agency for Israel
The Jewish Agency for Israel
Sha'ar HaNegev Regional
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June 2003
Dear Friends,
This month finds us in the midst of warm farewells and hopeful  beginnings. In the first week of this month, our Selah students, who were with us at the Ibim-San Diego Student Village for nine months, departed. Approximately half of the group is embarking upon service in the IDF, and the other half will begin their preparatory year at universities throughout the country – in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beer Sheva, and near by at the Sapir College. The past month was witness to a series of events marking the culmination of the Selah program – an end-of-year party, an awards' ceremony and a trip to Eliat. We are all hopeful that the graduates will succeed in their endeavours as they head out on a new path in Israel.
We also bid farewell to our Aleh students from the Former Soviet Union and Latin America who were with us for six months studying Hebrew. They concluded their initial language requirements and will continue on to the Beer Sheva College of Technology. We wish them success in their studies.
However, we have not been left alone. Atid students from Latin America will stay here for another month, and last week we welcomed forty-three Ethiopian students who recently completed the Kedma program at Nitzana. These 43 join the 35 students who completed Kedma here at the Village, to take part in the Ofek (Horizon) program. Ofek is a unique, new, two-year program for immigrant Ethiopians, which is based at the Ibim-San Diego Student Village. Students will study towards their matriculation in the nearby Sapir College. Completing the full Israeli matriculation for acceptance into university will be difficult, and we will support them every step of the way, helping them to fulfill their expectations and dreams.
We know that many of you plan to visit us during July, and we eagerly await your arrival. The flowers are in full bloom at the Village during this time of the year. Come and see for yourself.
Best wishes and looking forward to seeing you soon,
Soni Singer, Director | |
 Mastering Multi-culturalism
On its way up north to the seminar center, the bus from Ibim carried 64 resident students. "The atmosphere was subdued," explains Kamilla Isakov, the student counselor at Ibim. "The Ethiopians sat in the back and the Russians in the front, with a kind of invisible line between them. This, in fact, pretty much reflects the general interaction between the two groups on campuses around the country, which was what prompted us to propose this seminar." Entitled, 'Getting Acquainted and Squashing Stigmas,' the intensive two-day seminar on Israeli identity included workshops, hikes, a lecture on Ethiopian Jewry, a provocative movie on Russians in Israel, a theater piece and simulation games.
Director Soni Singer adds that the "Our students' participation was covered largely by the generous cultural package funded by the San Diego Jewish Federation." The seminar focused on three groups: Ethiopian and Russian immigrants, and veteran Israelis. Discussions on identity, belonging, and the individual in society were heated. Questions were probing, and the honest, open interaction pushed the students out of their ethnic shells and into a communicating collective. On the bus ride back, there was no invisible line, but there was a lot of noise??singing, in three languages of course.
The Long and Winding Path
Our Selah and Atid students joined their counterparts from around the country on the annual immigrant student ascent up Masada. Cynthia, one of the counselors for the 60 Atid students from Latin America at the Village, recounts the students' excitement as they "wound their way up to the top of the snake path before dusk. They connected to our history, not just as individuals, but as a group." Once at the top, the students were guided around the site in different languages and watched an audio-visual show which "gave them a chance to step into the sandals of the zealots at Masada." | |
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Endings and Beginnings
Eilat Fun
Close the books and whip out the snorkels and swimsuits. It is time for some summer fun. For two days, Selah students climbed the sandstone mountains, swam around the coral reef and disco'ed til dawn. After ten months of learning a new language, a new  culture, and preparing for a challenging future, it was time for a time out. "For most, it was the first visit to Eilat, as well as their first vacation in Israel," says counselor Ilya Gutman. Alas, the treat was short. "All our Selah graduates are working now, while they wait for either the start of their army service or the start of their studies."
Well Wishing
Teachers, staff and counselors warmly wished the Selah students success and congratulated them on completing the program of studies at the end-of-year party. But the students stole the show with a comic song about the agonies of waking up for ulpan every morning, and a parodic skit about their teachers and counselors.
In Pursuit of Excellence
Two Selah students from every Absorption Center were commended for excellence in studies and leadership at a ceremony in the Aba Hushi Absorption Center in Haifa. Ibim-San Diego Student Village's Katya Leonova hailing from Belarus and Dmitri Verovenko from the Ukraine, were awarded the Alexei Naikov Scholarship Award for Excellence in memory of Ibim-San Diego Student Village Selah graduate Alexei Naikov, who was killed in action while serving in the Gaza Strip. Soni noted that, in addition to excelling academically, both Katya and Dmitri, showed great empathy towards their fellow students and were always willing to help both individuals and the group as a whole. | |
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