HDCA Newsletter - Fall 2021
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It is safe to say no other Mazkirut Artzit has ever had to deal with the physical restraints, aftershocks, and emotional toll of a global pandemic. Jenna, Kaela, and I signed onto these tafkidim when the word Corona was barely more than a rumor. We had to rapidly shift our expectations of what working for HDNA would be like, including being in a different place or even country, no office, no travel to Israel, eizorim, or the machanot, reduced salary, and knowing we wouldn’t be able to run anything in person. Corona has created many, many issues and we have worked through them, coming up with innovative solutions to running engaging seminars or remaining connected to the wider movement.
An exciting component of the summer that differed from the last was (cue drumroll) that Camp Miriam was able to take chanichimot to Gabriola Island. With only a couple of weeks' notice that programming on the island would be possible, tzevet quickly adapted. The shift from kaytana to Gabriola was certainly a big one... but the Camp Miriam community just couldn't turn down a chance to return to the island. Both tzevet and chanichimot alike found themselves amazed to be back on Gabriola for the second part of the summer, during which two 10-day sessions were run for grades 3-10, with most Grade 9s and 10s staying the whole 3 weeks. 
This summer, we partnered with NFTY in Israel & their Mitzvah Corps program to offer a co-branded NFTY/HDNA specialty trip. This allowed us to access 50 $3000 tuition vouchers from RootOne, bringing the cost of the trip to under $5000 USD. Unfortunately, our Canadian chanichimot were not able to join the trip, due to Israel’s travel restrictions and Canada’s delayed vaccine roll-out. Still, we were able to bring 34 HDNA chanichimot from Galil, Mosh and Tavor to travel around Israel for 3 weeks in July. I was able to join the chanichimot for their final week of the trip and overall they had amazing experiences! Some highlights of the trip included:
Snorkelling in the Red Sea
Joining a walking tour of old Jaffa with Palestinian guides from Sadaka Reut
Meeting with a Bedouin woman who works to empower other women in her community to seek higher education
Visiting a “shared-existence” Hanoar Haoved ken in Tel Aviv that runs programs for Palestinian and Jewish Israelis together
Hiking Masada for sunrise and learning about the history of this ancient site
Learning about Ethiopian Jewry and their aliyot from Naftali Aklum, brother of the famous Ethiopian activist, Ferede Aklum
Visiting an alpaca farm in the Negev
Given that this was our first year partnering with NFTY, there were also some challenges and miscommunications. However, with two madrichimot from HDNA, and a tour guide who was a past HDNA shlicha, we were able to work through these issues on the ground and provide a Habonim experience for our chanichimot. I was also able to bring some Habonim content when I joined the program for the last week and, in accordance with tradition, ensured that our chanichimot received their first chultzot t'nua!
In terms of the shared education, we collaboratively built two shared peulot to be run at all of the machanot, one regarding the importance of national kvutza-building, and the other regarding the unique place of a nachshonol in HDNA.
For the shared Shabbat, each kvutza was responsible for one part of Shabbat and sent me a video of them doing that part (rikkud, parashat hashavua, Hebrew song, blessings, etc.). I compiled these videos and sent them back to the madrichimot to show their chanichimot sometime during that Shabbat.
Finally, we are currently recruiting for a sikkum event in early September so that all chanichimot from Kvutza 73 can meet each other, and share their experiences. We invite all Kvutza 73 members to join our Summer Zoom Sikkum!
After two amazing years with the current mishlachat of Leah, Carmi, Sarah, and Shmulik, we are excited to welcome the new mishlachat: Tamar, Gal, and Guy! Tamar is the central shaliach, meaning she will be working directly with the Mazkirut Artzit. Gal will be Machaneh Miriam’s shlicha and Guy will be Machaneh Galil’s shaliach. We are so excited to get to know the three of them and see what new energy they will bring to HDNA!
Tamar Levi – Born in Israel and raised in Victoria, Canada, Tamar will be joining the Mazkirut Artzit in Philadelphia as the Central Shlichol. A bogeret of Machaneh Miriam, Tamar brings with her the unique perspective of being both the shlicha from Israel and a graduate of HDNA. Having been Rosh Machaneh Miriam, madricha for Workshop 59, rakezet of Workshops 62 - 64, rakezet chinuch MBI, and various other tafkidim both with HDNA and with other HD countries, there are few things involving Habonim that Tamar hasn't done. Tamar is a member of Kibbutz Eshbal in the Galilee. She will be joined on shlichut by her partner Oren and their daughter Ela.
We are currently looking for people (both ma'apilimot and alumni) to help us build and facilitate these events. Each month we will focus on a different topic; the topics were chosen following conversations we've had with ma'apilimot about subjects they are interested in and passionate about. The topics for each month are data justice, queers in rural spaces, Indigenous rights/land sovereignty, youth climate activism, veganism + Native tradition, ageism, intuitive eating/health at every size, ableism, and immigration. We want these events to be built by ma'apilimot who are actively choosing to work with us and take responsibility over creating a vibrant movement culture.
These events will also be open to non-Habos who are college-aged, and can hopefully be used as a recruitment tool for tzevet at machanot, as well as our programs. Please reach out if you are interested!
We're excited to be able to Get Hip, Habo!
Habonim Dror Olami Update
by Erica Kushner, Mazkirol HDNA
Currently, we are in a delicate place in regards to our relationship with HDO. We are working to secure some sort of contract/MOU between each country and HDO for the running of Workshop/Shnat. This is the first major test of both the agreement and our relationship. All parties want the agreement to continue, as it provides many logistical and ideological benefits to both sides, but it is quite a challenge when we have not worked collaboratively for many years.
Joel Winograd is stepping down as Chair of the Habonim Dror North America board this fall and will be replaced by Jared Matas (see our next newsletter for the scoop on Jared.)
Joel is famous for his long beard, his Wisconsin yurt and his long-term dedication to Habonim Dror. Over the years he has taken on leadership positions at Camp Tavor and Habonim Dror Camp Association. Joel was a key player in the reconfiguration of Habonim Dror North America's board of directors that took place in 2017, and served as its first chair. In that role, Joel's accomplishments include building norms and procedures of governance that mesh with true youth leadership.
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| Joel on Workshop 20 |
From the article:
by Allison Kaplan Sommer | Aug. 16, 2021 | 12:08 PM | 8
But a new program launched this summer in the United States, called
“Breaking Binaries, Creating Connections,” is attempting to add a new
dimension to the Jewish summer camp experience.
Camp, after all, has historically been a linchpin of North American Jewish
upbringing. Across the religious spectrum, from the most leftist, socialist leaning programs to the popular networks operated by the Reform and
Conservative movements, to modern Orthodox camps – Israel is viewed as an
integral part of the concept of Jewish identity that is communicated to
campers through food, music, folk dancing, and often, counselors imported
from Tel Aviv or Haifa, fresh from their army service.
The curriculum of the new program, developed by the New Israel Fund
nonprofit in Jerusalem, is based on the premise that summer camps that
attempt to instill a strong connection to Israel among children and teenagers
also have a responsibility to give them tools to learn about and grapple with
the complexities of current cultural and political realities in the country.
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Initially, the program was piloted in the summer of 2019 at Hashomer Hatzair and Habonim Dror camps, in progressive settings where she said “not a lot of persuasion was necessary” to try out the curriculum. Expansion of the project among those youth movements’ camps – and signs of interest in it among more mainstream institutions in the U.S. Jewish community – was stymied by the COVID-19 pandemic that shuttered camps the following summer.
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Tom BenAmram, 25, who directs educational programming for Camp Galil in Ottsville, Pennsylvania, affiliated the Habonim Dror movement, worked with his counselors to present the materials to campers and found that this also helped addressed a traditionally problematic situation.
“Having this program to turn to, rather than the issue falling on the camp’s educational director every single year ... is really helpful,” he explained. “We often feel really awkward about entering into this space. And this program is saying: Here’s how you can do it. And an important part of the approach is focusing on real people who live there. I think often, in the North American Jewish world, there are all these people talking about Israel from a distance who have no connection and can’t visualize [the situation there]. ... This really plugged that hole.”
For example, when leading a session featuring multiple perspectives and based on the works of Amichai and Darwish, as part of the unit called “Two Jerusalems: An Exploration of Poetry and Place,” BenAmram said, “we discussed how the two peoples have different perspectives and why that might be. This, I think, got to the core of this program. That it’s not that there are good guys and bad guys, as much as there are people. And those people have real lived experiences.”
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