December 2005

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You are here :		Aliyah & Absorption		Publications		Ibim Newsletter		December 2005

December 2005, Volume 49

Dear Friends,

On the eve of Chanukah, a Festival of wonders and miracles, a holiday of lights and cheer, it is with especially warm hearts that we watch the Village fill day by day with more immigrants from around the world. It has been years since the Village accommodations have been so stretched to capacity.

We are presently absorbing students from Peru, Uruguay, Argentina and Brazil. We even have a participant from Spain. These are students who will be with us for the next six months and we hope they will add their unique flavor to our mix of cultures here.

As you will see below, we were recognized nationally for the prestigious "Most Beautiful Site" award from the Council for a Beautiful Israel. We received a banner which we proudly share with you.

Wishing everyone a Happy Chanukah.

Best Regards,
Soni Singer and the entire staff of
the Ibim-San Diego Student Village

Waving Our Banner

Banner of Beauty 2005 awarded to Ibim for its attractive grounds.

Each year, the Council for a Beautiful Israel, in conjunction with the Ministry of Interior and the Council of Local Authorities, awards a prize to the most attractive city, village or neighborhood in Israel. Under this year's theme "your home doesn't end at your front doorstep," Ibim-San Diego Student Village proved that stepping out of one's home onto public space can be a pleasure for everyone. Ibim's colorful, thoughtfully laid-out, immaculate and pleasing grounds won first prize – the Banner of Beauty. At a ceremony with the Minister of Interior Ofer Pines-Paz and many other dignitaries, Director Soni Singer proudly accepted the award.

The "Old Man" Revisited

Ibim students roll up the shirts as the air heats up on the Ben Gurion March in the desert..

Ben Gurion, or the "Old Man" as he was known, was the character perhaps most entwined in the settlement and building of the Jewish State. To create a connection between that heritage and our new students, a day was spent at Sde Boker, his kibbutz and the attached educational center. The 89 Selah students set out from the educational center on a seven kilometer march commemorating the memory of David Ben Gurion. They learned of his passion for the Jewish people and of his practical genius in developing an infrastructure for the Jewish State.

The students were not only captivated by Ben Gurion's story but by the breathtakingly stark beauty of the desert where they walked.

Some facts about Ibim

Resident at Ibim are:

89 Selah program students (from the Former Soviet Union)
53 Kedma program students (from Ethiopia)
10 Immigrant university students
14 Israeli university students
Nahal (army) group
National Service volunteers
Counselors in December: The absorption of 60 students from Latin America

Remembering Rabin

Ten years have passed since the murder of Israel's Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin; a general, a statesman and a human being wholly devoted to his country and the Jewish people. The pain remains and the Ibim new immigrant students learn to share both the joyful and the sad with their fellow Israelis. Attending the annual ceremony held at Kibbutz Dorot, a group of Ibim students went on stage to perform powerful renditions of an Israeli folk classics in impeccable Hebrew.

For more information about Ibim-San Diego Student Village:
Contact Soni Singer, Director, SoniS@jafi.org

Monday 08 September, 2008

יום שני ח' אלול תשס"ח