01.03.2022 | Multiregional
In the past two months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Israel has absorbed over 15,000 new Olim, mostly from Ukraine and Russia but also from Belarus and other Russian-speaking countries.
Another 10,000 Russian-speaking Jews have registered for Aliya and will be arriving in Israel shortly.
As described earlier, our national network of young Russian-speaking volunteers are on the frontline in every city, assisting the new Olim in their hotels and elsewhere with their everyday needs.
Rita Agapova, our first full-time Volunteer Coordinator has helped streamlined this volunteer work in Jerusalem, sending caring Russian-speaking volunteers each day to attend to personal and bureaucratic needs in the hotels, to the donated items warehouses, to the Ministry of Interior/Consul Centers that have been set up to process documentation and directly helping hundreds of people each week, also in Tel Aviv and Beersheva, in collaboration with the local municipalities.
We are raising funds to hire additional Volunteer Coordinators in cities with big concentrations of new Olim.
And most excitingly, a team of high-tech professionals has created a national web-based CRM platform (Olim.live) to give Olim direct access to the Volunteers in our database, by entering their location and types of needs, and to expand our growing network of volunteers. We are also linking up the new Olim with the cultural and social absorption activities of Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli in their cities (local hikes, lectures, workshops, Shabbat and holiday hosting, Friday-Shabbat retreats, and much more).
Many new Olim participated in our events before Pesach and home hospitality with Russian-speaking hosts for the Pesach Seder (details in next newsletter!)
We are doing all we can to help our newest Olim feel that they are home, as they begin their new lives in Israel, finding apartments, jobs, learning Hebrew, and addressing their most human needs, both practical and communal.
01.03.2022 | Multiregional
Mazal tov to our dear Eli and Anna on the birth of their son, and to Tanya and Simon on their marriage! Nothing more wonderful than seeing young families grow from participants we have known for over a decade. To many future smachot in our Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli family!
24.02.2022 | Tel Aviv and Central Region
«JUDITH’S ANGELS» AND DISCUSSION WITH DIRECTOR EFIM RINENBERG
February 24th, 2022 – Tel Aviv and Central Region
The play "Judith’s Angels" tells the story of Judith and Holofernes from a variety of points of view. There is a Jewish version, a Christian one, a female one... And then there are works of art created over thousands of years. The performance shows all these perspectives, and also mixes genres - a cappella songs as a soundtrack, dance as an emotion, a conversation with the audience as another statement. Immediately after the performance, we talked with the actors, and also met and talked with the artistic director of the “Mikro” Theater - Yefim Reninberg. Fima told us the history of the theater, the difficulties that a small theater in Israel faces on ordinary days and during the coronavirus. He also shared his philosophy with us - little budget means independence and the opportunity to try something new all the time. This is the secret of the “Mikro” theater's success - they are not afraid of experiments.
On this day, I got up in the morning and found out that the war had begun. I thought about whether I should go to the theater in the evening and I am very grateful that Argaman did not cancel this event. I was able to take my eyes off the news for two hours and feel the support of friends and even the actors during the performance.
Masha D.
MEETING WITH MIKHAIL TEPLITSKIY - DIRECTOR OF "MALENKIY" THEATRE
February 1st, 2022 – Tel Aviv and Central Region
Mikhail started with his personal story - how he made his aliya in 1990 and how hard it was for him as a professional actor with no English and Hebrew to find his place here.
Then he shared how he and his friends built Malenkiy (little) Theater from scratch. We also talked about why there is not great demand for Russian theater in Israel, even though more than a million citizens speak Russian. We discussed the place of theater in the cultural life of the Israelis versus that of Russia or Ukraine. Here is a different world and different mentality, which must be approached with an open heart. Then one can learn a lot of new things.
I come to Argaman's meetings from Jerusalem after a hard day's work. Argaman is my inspiration, and at these meetings I always learn a lot of new and interesting things. Thanks.
Rita A.
23.02.2022 | Tel Aviv and Central Region
A full room of our participants gathered for guide and lecturer Zeev Volk’s presentation on little-discussed and interesting topic – the sexual revolution of the 70’s in Israel. Zeev described the atmosphere of 1960’s and 70’s, from the very beginning of this revolution through to its end. He shared his collection of rare slides from that era, that most Israeli’s have never seen. All this was accompanied by popular music from that period, and descriptions of everyday life and the mentality of the Israeli population during those years. This 2.5 hour discussion passed very quickly and the participants learned an intriguing part of the history of their country.
Leonid G.
22.02.2022 | Beer-Sheva and South Region
Evgeny Treiberman is a Hebrew teacher, special education and informal education professional who knows how to give an amazing class. Together, we listened to and analyzed Hebrew songs to understand better the inner world of the average Israeli!
This was a super interesting class, where we learned new songs and insights into Israeli culture. If you are a newcomer to Israel, so many things are new and not clear. Thanks to Evgeny, these songs provided a window into many aspects of Israeli life.
Yana S.
18.02.2022 | Haifa and North Region
On a rare warm winter Friday, we walked along a beautiful, picturesque route on the ridge of Mount Carmel. Having overcome a challenging climb, a fantastic view of Haifa opened before us. Ahead of us was a cave in the rock and an exciting story from Bella Keidar, our tour guide, about how it was formed. Having finished the walking route, we went to the village of Ein Hod, where artists live and create. There we met with a volunteer, Vera, who gave the participants a tour of the main gallery, and then the participants went on their own to walk around this creative place, taking pictures and getting to know the locals, who talked about their life and work.
I had previously heard a lot about the artists' village, but I never had a chance to visit this place. I'm so grateful for this opportunity to hike and hear exciting stories in great company! Thanks for organizing this!
Polina S.
18.02.2022 | Tel Aviv and Central Region
Shishi Shabbat Yisraeli of Tel Aviv organized a trip to one of Israel’s most interesting national parks - Beit Shean National Park.
Evgeny Shmuter led a large group of participants around this huge, beautiful and unique archeological park, where we learned about the first settlements during the Bronze Age, through the Roman Empire, when most of the impressive streets, mosaics, amphitheater and even ancient toilets and baths were built and have survived to this day.
Our guide share many details about life in Roman times, and took us through the house of the Governor which exists from the time of the Egyptian pharaohs. Evgeny’s descriptions and the huge well-preserved bath complexes, merchants’ markets and streets helped us plunge easily into those ancient times.
Leonid G.
11.02.2022 | Bat Yam
We started our Friday morning by picking fresh strawberries at "Ronen Agronen" near Gedera. Then we had a deep conversation with Ronen himself about agriculture in the country and how it often passes from generation to generation
We then went on a walking tour of Gedera and visted a local museum. We got to know the history of the city and the local artist Yuma Segev. Thanks to Bat Yam municipality, we had a very comfortable bus and arrived home right before Shabbat.
It was my first time in Gedera. The city reminded me of Zikhron, but much closer and really cozy. Thanks to our guide Asia Fix, I discovered this city! Especially I remembered the story of a father who started the family art business by buying a swing for his daughter. Because he thought that it was rather dangerous, he decided to renovate it and instead of the swing he created a piece of art.
Alexandra S.
10.02.2022 | Bat Yam
This time we invited Boris Dolin to explain to us Israel challenges in the Information war. He gave lots of actual examples of how the infowar works, why people usually align themselves with one side of the conflict, and forget to check the other.
And how social media works in conflict situations to influence our mind.
I am really grateful to Boris not only for the lecture, but for his personal attitude. Many things now seem more clear to me. Thank you Shishi Shabbat for such a helpful lecture.
Andrey P.
10.02.2022 | Haifa and North Region
We gathered in the lower city of Haifa in the cozy studio of artist , Anna Bell, to talk about contemporary art, embroidery, and new Israeli techniques in art. Anna introduced us to drawing on water using the Ebru technique, and we had a chance to draw pictures in a completely new style. New acquaintances, exciting conversations, and a magical atmosphere made it an amazing evening.
It was such an excellent warm, friendly evening! While drawing, you forget about everything and watch how magical patterns appear on the water. It was great, thank you!
Bella Z.
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