[18 June 13] Congratulations to Yaffa Halevi, math teacher and coordinator of the Tafnit Start program at a high school in Bat Yam, who is among the 6 winners of this year's Distinguished Teacher award.

Tafnit Start, operated by the Yeholot ("abilities") Association, targets students who were on the verge of dropout at the end of 9^th grade, and helps them to graduate high school with a matriculation certificate.

When interviewed after getting the award, Yaffa expressed the basic principle of the program when talking about her students: "Don't call them 'difficult' or 'problematic'; they are challenging, and the challenge is what we're here for. They are remarkable students with many abilities, and the real problem is that these have not been discovered".

Yaffa Halevi (third from right) with the other award-winning teachers

The President met the youngsters after speaking at the International Cyber Security Conference of the Yuval Ne’eman Workshop for Science, Technology and Security at Tel Aviv University. In his speech, Mr. Peres stressed the importance of investing in science education for Israel's future.

The annual conference is attended by senior figures in the cyber industry, startup companies, academics, representatives of militaries and security agencies, who discuss methods and technologies for dealing with cyber-security challenges.

Read about Magshimim in the CSM story "Israel accelerates cyber security know-how as early as 10th grade"

Photo: Mark Neiman, Government Press Office

[13 June 13] Dr. Esther Luzzatto, a board member of the Yahdav Association, was appointed as chairperson.

Dr. Luzzatto holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Ben-Gurion University and is a partner in the patent attorneys firm Luzzatto & Luzzatto. Among her many public service activities, she is a member of the Negev High-Tech Center and the Economy Forum of The Negev, serves as Deputy President of the Alumni Association of the Ben-Gurion University and chairs the Friends of the Sinfonietta Orchestra of Beer-Sheva

[18 Apr 13] New chairmen to head two of Rashi's subsidiary associations: Ze'ev Bielski was appointed as chairman of Gvahim and Jimmy Pinto will serve as chairman of Darca.

Ze'ev Bielski, who chaired the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization and served as mayor of Ra'anana, will take the place of Yair Shamir as chairman of Gvahim, now that Shamir has been elected to the Knesset and nominated as Minister of Agriculture in the new government.

The newly elected chairman of the Darca Association is Jimmy Pinto, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild Investment Services and President of the Association of Foreign Banks in Israel; he replaces Elie Elalouf, who retired recently from the Rashi Foundation after an 18-year term as Director General.

The members of the Executive Committees and the Directors of Gvahim and Darca thanked the outgoing chairmen for their valuable contribution in leading both organizations to remarkable success in their work for the benefit of Israeli society.

Ze'ev Bielski (right) and Yair Shamir at the meeting of the executive committee of Gvahim

[10 Apr 13] Congratulations to 6^th grade pupil Yair Yanai (in the picture) from the Tlalim School in Arad, who won the regional quiz on Pirkei Avot and will be competing in the national quiz next month. Well done and good luck!

The Tlalim School is part of a comprehensive intervention that includes all the public elementary schools in Arad, and is operated by the Association for Change in Education within the framework of the Revadim initiative. The intervention in Arad is implemented in partnership with the Feinstein, Eisenberg, Jacobson and Bernstein families (through CEJP), the Ministry of Education and the Arad Municipality. As part of Revadim and thanks to a partnership with Avi Chai Foundation, Tlalim enjoys enrichment on Jewish social values through the Morasha program.

Revadim includes this year a total of 70 schools in Israel's periphery. The program in Arad, now in its second year, already serves as a model of intervention that combines the resources of Revadim with additional components to impact the municipal education system in a holistic and coordinated manner. Similar interventions are now in various stages of planning and implementation in Nazareth Illit in the north as well as Yeruham and Kiryat Gat in the south.

[7 March 13] After having completed an 18-year term as Director General, Elie Elalouf, who held the position of Advisor to the Board and Vice President of the Rashi Foundation since October 2012, and served on the board of several of its subsidiaries, has asked to end his work on behalf of the Foundation.

In accepting Elie's request, the Foundation's President Hubert Leven and its Chairman Lt. General (Ret.) Gabi Ashkenazi thanked him for his contribution to the Foundation, which has made remarkable progress and reached many achievements during his term, and expressed their hope that he will continue working for the benefit of Israeli society.

[3 March 13] This month, elderly shoppers at the Kiryat Shmona market will get volunteers to help them carry the heavy bags.

Socially-involved students in several frameworks at Tel Hai College, among them the leadership group of Rashi's scholarship fund, took the idea of the Good Deeds Day one step further. Their initiative is based on a project that has been operating for two years at the Mahane Yehuda market in Jerusalem. On the market days before Passover, volunteers will be on hand to help the elderly carry their shopping bags while also listening to their life stories.

Read more (in Hebrew)

[20 Feb 13] After 16 months of intensive studies, 25 young women from the Ethiopian-Israeli community completed the first training course for dental assistants initiated by Ma'ase as part of the activity of its Alumni Organization.

All the participants passed the Health Ministry's certification exam, and two thirds have started working as dental assistants even before the end of the course.

Ma'ase recruited the girls from among the graduates of its Achva national service program, and accompanied them through the course with personal and social support. The coalition of partners it gathered to fund and operate the course includes the Ministry of Industry and Labor and the Unit for Discharged Soldiers of the Defense Ministry; the Gruss, Gandyr and Glencore Foundations; Clalit Health Services and ORT Singalovski College.

Next, Ma'ase is planning to open a second course for dental assistants, as well as a bookkeeping course, while developing a model for vocational training that can be adapted for other underprivileged populations.

[20 Jan 13] "I have never felt more connected to my past, and never felt more Israeli" – this was a typical response of the teenage participants in a recent trip to Ethiopia initiated by Samai: media and excellence center for Ethiopian youth. The trip was based on the belief that in order to connect to Israeli society, the youth must first reconnect with their own identity and heritage.

Rashi joined the sponsors, along with the Jewish Agency and Keren Hayesod, the Society for the Advancement of Education and Keren Yedidut (IFCJ), in an effort to channel the participants' intensified sense of self-worth into aspiration to higher education. To this end, we made sure that the delegation included youngsters whose older siblings are college students from the scholarship program funded jointly by Rashi and the Yahel (Recanati) Foundation.

Read about the trip on the E-Jewish Philanthropy website

[6 Jan 13] "We are one of the world's leaders in the field of cybernetics and we must maintain this position; therefore, we will continue to cultivate the generation of the future", said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening ceremony of the National Magshimim program.

The Magshimim program, designed to develop cyber expertise among high school students in the periphery, was launched by Rashi's initiative in August 2010. As a national program, it will reach up to 600 students within three years while the government provides a major part of the funding.

The opening ceremony at Ashkelon College was attended by the 200 current participants and their parents, as well as by the heads of Israel's security forces and the National Cyber Bureau, representatives of the Education Ministry and academic institutes, and other distinguished guests.

We believe that this initiative will greatly enhance Israel's capability to fight off cyber-attacks, and at the same time offer new opportunities for personal advancement to young people in the periphery.

Read about the event on the Prime Minister's Office website

Magshimim students demonstrate their cyber skills to Prime Minister Netanyahu

[30 Dec 12] Migdal Or is a multi-service center for blind and visually-impaired people operated by Rashi's subsidiary, the Northern Goals Association. As part of its activity, it provides diagnosis, training and placement services that help the visually-impaired to find suitable employment. However, convincing potential employers to hire them remains a big obstacle.

Only 30%-40% of the visually-impaired people in Israel are employed on a regular basis, reports TheMarker in a recent article (in Hebrew). Arik Raz, the director of Migdal Or, says: "Although there are now excellent aids that compensate for most of the limitations, employers are still held back by misconceptions. Those who overcome the barrier gain good, dedicated workers who are an asset to the organization and are grateful for the opportunity to earn a decent living."

[4 Dec 12] Hundreds of young volunteers in the different programs of Ma'ase, a subsidiary of Rashi working to promote volunteering and leadership, came together a few weeks ago to discuss the topic of "identity".

The young adults, who come from many different population groups, discussed in workshops their personal and group identity and the factors that affect it. Miki Nevo, the Director of Ma'ase, addressed the volunteers with a call for openness to the other and for personal responsibility.

A few days later, when Operation "Pillar of Cloud" began, Ma'ase showed its ability to respond immediately to requests for assistance that reached Rashi. Families from southern localities were hosted by the Gal pre-army program in Acco, and the volunteers organized various activities for the children among them.

Tens of volunteers from the Gal and Eitan programs came to the south and engaged children in public bomb shelters in enrichment activity. They also helped with other needs that were defined by the municipalities, such as assistance to the elderly or manning emergency hotlines.

Miki Nevo opening the seminar of Ma'ase


Volunteers with children in Ashdod

[8 Nov 12] A big delegation of PPSNI members and their families arrived recently in Israel to visit projects they support in partnership with Rashi.

Four out of the ten partners, who are all young businessmen from New York, came for a two-day tour of Tzfat, where they focus their efforts now in order to leverage the establishment of the new Medical School for the development of the town. They also visited Ma'arg in Kfar Vradim and the Early Childhood Center at Merom Hagalil, which were established with their support in earlier rounds of funding.

A ‘philanthropic bank’ changing the face of charity – about PPSNI and its impact on Tzfat in the Jerusalem Post

Clockwise from right: at the Ma'arag with Rashi's Director General Itzik Turgeman; laying the cornerstone for a public swimming pool in Tzfat; City of Music program in Tzfat

The Board of the Rashi Foundation has announced the appointment of Itzik Turgeman as Director General starting 15 October 2012. He will replace Elie Elalouf, who filled this position for the past 17 years, and who will continue to be involved in the activity of Rashi as consultant to the Board and help to advance special projects of strategic importance to the Foundation

Itzik joined Rashi in 2008 after a long and distinguished career in the IDF, which included initiatives to increase the number of high school graduates from the periphery in pre-army academic programs. In his role as Rashi's VP for Promotion of Excellence he took part in initiating and developing innovative programs such Future Scientists and Inventors that nurtures gifted high school students; Horizons to High Tech which leads discharged soldiers from the periphery to academic studies in science and engineering; and more.

Rashi's President Hubert Leven thanked Elie for his enormous contributiion to the Foundation, which he led during the period it became one of the most influential philanthropies in Israel, and for allowing Rashi to benefit from his experience and abilities in the coming years.

[9 Oct 12] As part of the conference that took place last month at the Tel Hai College, the (new) eastern campus was named after Gustave Leven, founder of the Rashi Foundation.

The conference is planned to be the first in a series of annual events for discussion of issues that affect the future of Israeli society, inspired by Gustave's vision. This year's conference dealt with 'Education and Higher Education as Engines for Growth in the Galilee". The keynote speaker, Prof. Manuel Trajtenberg, Chairman of the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Council for Higher Education, said that "there should be no periphery with regard to higher education", and noted the important role of Tel Hai in building the future of young people in the Galilee and in creating links between academia and industry.

See you in next year's conference!

The unveiling ceremony of the memorial plaque at the entrance to the campus

A panel discussion moderated by Yossi Malka, Managing Director of Tel Hai College. Participants: Prof. Dan Ben David, Executive Director of the Taub Center for Social Policy Research, Prof. Yuli Tamir, President of Shenkar College and Dr. Gil Pereg, Director of the Darca School Network

[20 Sep 12] Students of the Ilan Ramon Physics Center for Youth continue to lead in achievements: Yuval Katsnelson from Kiryat Gat won first prize in the international competition "First Step to Nobel Prize in Physics" for his work on "Kinetic energy of noble gasses in active carbon fiber."

Eight more students of the Center received honorable mention, along with 5 other Israeli participants. Altogether, Israel was ranked first in the achievements of its students among all the countries that took part in the competition.

The Ilan Ramon Center at Ben Gurion University is a joint project of Rashi, the Education Ministry, BGU and the Municipality of Be'er Sheva. The Center offers applied studies for southern students matriculating in physics, guides them in individual research projects, and identifies and advances gifted students.

The winners, from right: Tamar Namir,Yuval Katsnelson, May Alon, Magd Alfrawona, Dor Shmuel, Shlomi Shvartzman, Adi Kadar-Levi, Alfarook Abu Alhassan, Ran Zitaiat

Making ice cream with liquid nitrogen (watch the video – in Hebrew)

Inside the bubble

Ingredients

1/2 cup bulgur

1/4 cup green or black lentils

2 large unions, peeled and diced

1 bunch parsley, chopped

2-3 bay leaves

1 Tbs. oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 green chili pepper, chopped (if you like it hot)

Preparation
Rinse the lentils and place a pot with 1 liter of water and the bay leaves. Bring to a boil and turn the heat down to medium; cook until tender (30-40 min.). Strain and discard the bay leaves.

Meanwhile, soak the bulgur in 2 cups of boiling water for 10-15 min. Drain well.

Heat the oil in a pan with a lid; add the unions, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown.

Combine all the ingredients except the unions. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the golden unions.

[20 Aug 12] Bezeq OnLine, which provides call center solutions, entered into a new initiative with the Yahdav Association, Rashi's subsidiary that operates services for special-needs people. The project involves recycling of discarded electronic equipment, such as computers and printers, thus serving a dual purpose: it expands the range of employment options for the handicapped while helping to protect the environment.

Another partner in the project is the Negev Nuclear Research Center, which supported the establishment of the employment center near Dimona where the equipment is being dismantled in preparation for recycling.

A worker in one of the employment centers of Yahdav

[15 Aug 12] The recent landing of Mars rover Curiosity prompted the Educational TV program 'Osim Seder' ("making sense") to discuss the question: can scientific innovation flourish when research is increasingly influenced by profit-motivated funding?

Astrophysicist Netzach Farbiash, who is on the leading team of the soon-to-be-opened Carasso Science Park, thinks that the key to the future of space research, and scientific research in general, is in the hands of children, whose natural curiosity is not driven by financial incentives.

"Our role as educators is to give the young generation a chance to learn about science and technology in such a way that it becomes a familiar part of their lives.

At the Science Park we connect children to science from an early age through though-provoking games and fun activities, in order to nurture their curiosity and offer them an opportunity to choose science and technology studies; they will determine what inventions we enjoy in the future."

The Carasso Science Park in Be'er Sheva is designed as a center for innovative, quality science education programs that whet the appetite for science and make it accessible and fascinating to all.

Watch the program (in Hebrew)

Architectural rendering of a display hall in the Science Park

[12 Aug 12] While working to advance every child, we should remember to look sometimes beyond the numbers and tables and see how change can be revealed in different ways.

Daniel, a 3^rd grade pupil from Hadera, joined Milat because of learning difficulties. At first he was withdrawn and uncooperative, and tended to resist any suggestion. When the group was about to visit the Children's Museum in Holon, the teachers as well as his parents thought that he shouldn't go, in light of his behavior problems.

Aviva, the school coordinator of Milat, insisted on Daniel's participation, and took it upon herself to accompany him closely throughout the visit. Since that day, we saw a remarkable change in his behavior, both in the school and at home. In the drawing he did for the end of the year, the black color that characterized his earlier work was replaced by red hearts and the words: "I Love Milat".

This picture is certainly worth a thousand words…

As part of its renewal plan, Migdal Or is opening a training course for rehabilitation teachers who give instruction to blind and visually-impaired people to increase their independence.

This is a nationwide service provided in the person's home environment and covering issues such as orientation and mobility, communication, daily functioning, computer skills and more.

The year-long course, offered free of charge, will train new teachers to allow an expansion the service.

[5 Aug 12] Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer was the keynote speaker at the annual event of the Gvahim Association, which connects highly-skilled Olim to the Israeli economy. Referring to the title of the event, 'Celebrating the Israeli Brain Gain', Fischer said to the Olim: "We need people with your skills and background".

Read the full story on Ha'aretz website

Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer (right) with Gvahim Chairman Yair Shamir, Chairman and Managing Partner of Catalyst investments

[24 July 12] After spending their honeymoon in the Galilee in 1954, Lionel and Hilary Black made a pledge to contribute as much as they can to the prosperity of this beautiful region. 58 years later, Keith Black came to Merom Hagalil with his family as part of a UJIA delegation to inaugurate the Early Childhood Center named after his parents.

The Early Childhood Center is another step in the realization of the Education and Community Campus at Merom Hagalil, a joint initiative of UJIA, Rashi and the regional council. The Center will bring under one roof all the services and programs for children aged birth to 6, which have operated for the last three years in various temporary premises.

Keith Black and two of his children lay the cornerstone for the Sports Hall

[5 July 12] The representatives of Fondation Adelis laid the cornerstone for a residential home for children aged 6-14 at the Ben Shemen Youth Village.

"Adelis, My Home" will accommodate 36 children in 12 bedrooms, and will also include a computer room, after-school club, kitchenette and dining room. Fondation Adelis is funding the entire cost of the project, which is expected to be completed in June 2013.

Dr. Ilana Tischler, Director of the Village, said in her address: "Thank you for choosing to build this facility in Ben Shemen; you can rest assured that it will be a warm and loving home, which will provide the children with support and enrichment and open the doors to a promising future for them."