IN THE FAMILY WAY

One local clan commits to Israeli school

STEFANIE L. PEARSON
Assistant Editor

Beverly and Al Mutchnik take pride in the Mutchnik-Hader Kindergarten's role in helping absorb the children of immigrants into Israeli society - a role they say is now more important than ever.

Twenty six years ago, the Scottsdale couple, then living in Winnipeg, Canada, worked in concert with Keren Hayesod/United Israel Appeal (the predecessor of the United Jewish Appeal) to establish a preschool in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

At the time, the town wasn't particularly well-developed and was home to many Moroccan immigrants, most of whom were quite poor, explains Al Mutchnik today.

The couple was active in Winnipeg's Jewish community, where Beverly headed the local ORT group and Al chaired the local federation's medical society.

At the time, Israel's relations with the United States weren't as strong as they are today and the tiny country - which had just doubled in size through its military victories in the Six Day War - was cash-strapped by its military expenditures. Infrastructure development often came second.

"Survival was the main thrust of fund-raising for Israel," says Beverly Mutchnik of the time. "They were spending so much on defense that they needed foreign dollars to buy whatever (else) they were going to buy."

Meanwhile, explains Al Mutchnik, "we were feeling pretty comfortable and we were looking to do something" to help other Jews.

UIA officers approached them with a number of funding proposals for Israel-based projects.

They chose to finance the establishment and on-going support of a preschool/kindergarten in Beit Shemesh, one that would serve the children of Moroccan immigrants and help them become acculturated to the climate and society of the Jewish state.

They named the school after their parents, Abram and Freda Mutchnik and Nathan and Vellie Hader.

Since the school's founding in 1970, an average of 50 or so children have graduated each year from the Mutchnik-Hader Kindergarten, for a total about 1,300 Israeli kids (and now-adults) who have received a preschool education there.

"It's strange to think," Al Mutchnik says, furrowing his brow, "after practically 30 years there... who knows where these kids went - into the army, maybe. But they started here."

Al Mutchnik, a physician, also developed medical office buildings and other real estate in the Valley. The Mutchniks moved to the Phoenix area in 1975.

The couple visited the school recently while in Israel on a mission sponsored by the Weizmann Institute of Science, the local chapter of which Beverly Mutchnik chairs. They were in Israel Nov. 9-20 and spent half a day at the kindergarten.

"It was absolutely the most incredible experience," says Beverly Mutchnik, who first visited the school in 1985. "Seeing all these little children, their little shining faces, the excitement of their learning and doing and just being ... it's really something you can only appreciate by seeing it yourself."

The small schoolhouse holds preschool and kindergarten classes in an unassuming white cinderblock building. Two teachers oversee the classes, assisted by four teacher's aides.

The walls that were Spartan-bare in 1971 are now covered with bright bulletin boards, festooned with multi-colored drawings and posters. Sunlight pours in from ample windows; plants hang from the ceiling and rest on tabletops.

At the time of the Mutchniks' visit, the classrooms were decked out with Hanukkah decorations - menorahs of every shape and color, dreidels and cartoons of Maccabeans.

Part of the reason the Mutchniks were drawn to sponsoring the school, says Al Mutchnik, is that they've always viewed education as "a great leveller."

It's particularly important for the students the school serves, who face the double challenge of coming from families that are both poor and recently arrived in a new country.

Though most of the original students are now adults and have probably left Beit Shemesh, the city itself is much the same as it was 25 years ago, says Al Mutchnik. Some areas have been developed and are fairly nice, he explains, but a good portion of the area remains economically depressed. And new groups of immigrants live there.

The kindergarten that originally served children of primarily Moroccan ancestry now resembles nothing so much as a Benetton Kids advertisement. Today's students are of a host of other ancestries - from the Levant to the former Soviet Union to Africa.

The couple says they're proud that the Mutchnik-Hader school is playing a role in integrating the waves of immigrants Israel has seen in the last decade.

"The Ethiopians, Russians, Yemenites and Moroccans - they're all sabras now. They were all born in Israel; they are all Jews; they're one," Beverly Mutchnik says. "We watched them play and intermingle, little Russian blondes and little Ethiopians. ... They're all Israelis now."

Watching the kids play together is "just gorgeous. They're beautiful - each and every one," she says.

"They're learning to live together," Al Mutchnik says. Israeli society struggles with "non-Western bigotry. But these kids are dealing with raw emotional, real feelings. Hopefully, they're learning to build strong relationships."

Though the school has no official religious affiliation, the curriculum is decidedly Jewish, which he says he thinks is essential - particularly given the population it's serving.

"It's an important and integral part," he explains. "They're being made aware of their roots and history. They need to be comfortable in their own culture."

The Mutchniks' own children, now adults, have pledged to continue supporting Beit Shemesh as well.

Three of their children, Elaine, Susan Delaney and Allan, now live in Los Angeles. Daughter Irene Rosenblum lives in the Valley with husband Jay and children Neal, Tori, and Lauren. She says that she and her siblings are committed to maintaining the family's support of the school.

"We are so proud of our parents," she says. "We absolutely want to continue it."

Al Mutchnik says he expects the project to continue in perpetuity.

When Neal Rosenblum becomes a bar mitzvah in three years, Irene Rosenblum says, the family plans on traveling to Israel and visiting the school.

"It's a chance for them to see what my parents have done," she says.

Though her kids are still young (they range in age from 6-10), she says they understand what the school is and the family's ties to it.

"My dad came over for Hanukkah," she says, "and he sat down with (Tori) with the photo album from his trip and explained what it was. And once we go there, they'll really understand."

Then she adds proudly, "There are children all over that need help. Fortunately, my parents were there to help these."