The Global Center expands its scope by working with partners within the Immigration and Absorption Department, in the Jewish Agency, in Israel, and abroad. It continues to promote aliyah while serving as a crucial nerve center for national and international projects.

Barely months after it’s naming ceremony, the Global Center (GC) sprinted past adolescence into ambitious adulthood. From mid-July, the unfortunate events of the second Lebanese War pushed the Center into a position of indispensable prominence. It became the organizational linchpin for the Jewish Agency initiatives offering critical assistance to the citizens of the North.

Responding to the Jewish Agency notices both on television and in the print media, those in need as well as those offering assistance dialed the same ten digits — those of the Global Center. “We had 30,000 calls over that period,” says Batya Ehrlich, a GC coordinator. “And this was in addition to our normal flow of calls for information which surprisingly did not abate. We worked 24 hours a day. As our permanent staff obviously couldn’t handle the load, we trained volunteers, initially from the Jewish Agency staff, to cover the phones. They came in after work, on lunch break and on days off. Our first responsibility was to new immigrants, but our ultimate orbit covered all those in need during
that frightening period.”

As the areas of confrontation swelled, the imperative broadened. In the “Moving our Children to Safety” campaign, over 500 immigrant children were relocated from Absorption Centers in the North to summer camps in the Center of the country. With the processing assistance of the “At Home, Together” staff and volunteers, thousands of families from the North were matched with hosting families from the Center of the country.

Boaz Yardeni, Director of the Global Center, elaborates, “The huge number of calls from those offering help was heartwarming. We received many overseas calls from those who wanted to come to Israel to volunteer, which we referred to Tnuat Aliyah, as well as from those offering financial assistance, which were coordinated by our
staffer, Genia Gitkis.”

Soon after the war ended, the Jewish Agency raised funds to reimburse students who had been called up to reserve duty during the war. Students who normally work to earn university tuition over the summer months had been left stranded. The Global Center once more stepped up to the plate and, “During the first 48 hours of the campaign, over four thousand student soldiers filled out request forms downloaded from the internet site. Within a week, we had received over 12,500 calls. A service representative has been appointed to review and assess each case.”

Despite the added commitments created by the war, the Center continues to act as a nexus for information on Israel - be it for tourists or potential immigrants. Boaz claims the Center is the most logical vehicle through which to spread the message of aliyah and to facilitate streamlined Diaspora-Israel communication. In coordination with the Israel Department, the Global Center will be the nexus for the incipient National Volunteer Program. Boaz continues, “We plan to bring thousands of volunteers from abroad, grouped by profession or interest into categories, i.e. medical, educational, construction, sport, etc. The Center will market the project, and as usual, all communication will be funneled through our channels.”

Foreseeing a robust adulthood, the Global Center aims to put its energies toward aliyah and marketing Israel, but in the unfortunate case of emergency, it has proven it can rise to the occasion.