MERCAZ Newsletter - Purim 2000

NEWS FROM THE MASORTI MOVEMENT

Netaim – A Camp for Children with Special Needs

While the notion of children with special needs attending overnight summer camp is well known in the United States, it never existed in Israel - that is, until the Masorti Movement opened "Netaim", the first Israeli summer camp for children with developmental disabilities.

Netaim, which means "seedlings", is not the first foray of the Masorti Movement into the world of special education. The Movement has conducted a Bar/Bat Mitzvah Program for children with developmental disabilities for the last several years. This is in contrast to the Orthodox rabbinate which has generally refused to provide Jewish training to Bar/Bat Mitzvah aged children with special needs.

Unlike in other parts of the world where children with developmental disabilities are mainstreamed as much as possible, in Israel, these children are strangers not only to Jewish tradition but also to general Israeli society. However, Camp Netaim has been made a full part of the regular Camp Ramah/NOAM community. And since the Netaim campers were part of Masorti's Bar/Bat Mitzvah training program, they were able to demonstrate to the other Ramah/NOAM campers that they too knew the blessings for the Torah and the songs for Shabbat.

As Rabbi Ehud Bandel, President of the Masorti Movement noted, "Accepting those with differences has become a central part of the NOAM youth movement and of the Masorti Movement. It was a special joy to see Netaim campers, mostly from secular backgrounds, continuing their Jewish enrichment with the assistance of NOAM counselors. What started as an experiment in providing a supportive Jewish environment for children with special needs became one of the most satisfying Jewish educational experiences ever conducted by the Masorti Movement."

Education Ministry Funds

Masorti Programs For the first time, the Education Ministry has made an allocation to the Conservative and Reform Movements. The grants, totaling approximately $500,000, come from a budget for cultural activities heretofore reserved solely for Orthodox organizations. This is the first time the Israeli government has officially recognized the existence of non-Orthodox Jewish culture in the state budget. Nevertheless, the allocations to the Conservative and Reform Movements stand in sharp contrast to the nearly NIS 150 million, or $37.5 million, budgeted to Orthodox and Ultra-Orthodox organizations. Rabbi Ehud Bandel, President of the Masorti Movement noted: "The new phenomena here is that for the first time we have been officially included in the budget of the Ministry of Education, and they are calling us by name. While the amounts in question are small, the new allocation is a step in the right direction to correcting decades-long discrimination."

According to an Education Ministry spokesman, the decision was in line with the findings of the Shenhar Commission, a public committee which recommended in 1994 that the government provide alternatives for Jewish education in public schools. This is the second time in the past six months that the Masorti Movement has been awarded government funding. Last fall the Israeli Supreme Court ordered the Ministry of Religious Affairs to provide funding for the Masorti's Torah education classes.

SHVILIM –Trails to Israel

NOAM, the youth movement of the Masorti Movement in Israel, in cooperation with Ramah Programs in Israel, invites children entering the 9th grade in September 2000 to participate in an unforgettable summer adventure at Camp Ramah/NOAM in Israel. The SHVILIM Program is aimed at children with Hebrew communication skills, who are open to meeting new people from other cultures and would like to immerse themselves in an authentic Israeli Masorti environment. Besides the three weeks of camping, SHVILIM includes nine days of touring and exploring Israel, informal Hebrew study, Shabbat with an Israeli Masorti family and pre-camp activities with NOAM members.

Dates of the program are from Sunday, July 9, to Tuesday, August 8. Special arrangements can be made for those wishing to extend the trip. Program fees are $3,100, which covers roundtrip airfare, all meals, accommodations, touring, camp fees and medical coverage. For more information, contact USY Central Shaliach Ze'ev Kainan at 212-533-7800 ext 2321 or the Camp Ramah NOAM Israel office, Tel: 011-972-2-624-6850, Fax: 011-972-2-624-6871, e-mail: noamil@ netvision.net.il.