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October 1, 1999/21 Tishri 5760, Vol. 52, No.5
Young Jew's identity awakened in Israel
TAMI BICKLEY
Staff Writer
Nanci Steinberg, left, and Ronit Rahamim help excavate a kotel (wall).
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It's not often a young person declares, "I am so excited to be Jewish."
But Ronit Rahamim, 25, proudly says so frequently - a surprising proclamation from a woman who a year ago was questioning her religious identity.
Rahamim struggled with her ethnic and religious roots for most of her life, she says, mainly because her father was Israeli and her mother is American. "I thought, 'Am I an Israeli or an American?' I wanted to know who I was and where I came from."
Now, after participating in Project Otzma, a 10-month program that offers young college graduates a chance to gain a well-rounded understanding of the social, cultural and political aspects of Israel, Rahamim says she has found some answers.
Rahamim was born in Israel and lived there until age 10, when her father, Shaul, died. Her mother, Madeline, then moved the family, including Rahamim's older sister, Sharon, and younger sister, Debbie, to Grand Rapids, Mich. There, Rahamim realized that unlike most American Jewish children who attend religious school and have a firm sense of their Jewish roots, she had been loosely raised Jewishly and had no understanding of what it meant to be a Jew.
As she grew older, Rahamim promised herself that she would return to her birthplace in an effort to piece together the missing aspects of her life, including re-learning Hebrew - her first language.
During a summer vacation from Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where she studied public relations, Rahamim and her sister Debbie visited Israel. The experience revived her childhood memories of Kiryat Shmona, her hometown, and she spent time with various relatives. But she wanted more.
Last year, Rahamim contacted the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Israel Center to inquire about Project Otzma, which means "strength" in Hebrew. The 13-year-old program is jointly sponsored by the Israeli Forum and the North American Jewish Federations. North American college graduates ages 20-24 travel to Israel to volunteer in various capacities and learn Hebrew, the basics of Judaism and the fundamentals of Israel.
Rahamim, who has lived in Phoenix for 10 years, was the only Arizonan last year among 80 Otzma participants and only the second Arizonan to ever go. The Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix has been involved with the program for three years.
The local federation, the Bureau of Jewish Education in Phoenix and members of the Jewish community helped to fund Rahamim's trip, which began in August 1998. She was responsible for the program fee and air fare, which together cost about $5,000, she says.
Otzma is divided into "tracks" designed to give participants the opportunity to serve and learn in different environments. One track is a three-month-long kibbutz stay. Rahamim volunteered in the kitchen, which she enjoyed because "there was a mix of people who didn't speak English, so it was a good opportunity for me to relearn Hebrew."
Rahamim embarked on her second track by moving into an apartment five hours south of Tel Aviv in Kiryat Malachi, which means "city of angels." There, she lived for more than two months with three other Otzma participants - a man and woman from Oregon and a man from Ohio. During the day she taught English to sixth-graders at a nearby elementary school.
"These were inner-city kids who had never learned English ... and many of them had never seen an American," she says. "It was hard to work with them. ... Many of them didn't even know the ABCs." After school, she and other Otzma members tutored Ethiopian high school students in English. Although nearly all of the students had made aliyah (immigrated to Israel) with their families in the 1980s or the early 1990s, they had not fully acclimated to life in Israel.
"These kids had no stability," says Rahamim. "Their clubhouse closed down due to a lack of funding, then re-opened. School would be closed for a week because there were no funds. Teachers sometimes wouldn't show up, and they went on strike. ...These kids still spoke (Ethiopian) ... after being in Israel five to 10 years. ... These kids are amazing, but their environment stifles them and they don't have room to grow. ... They were fascinated that we had actually volunteered (to work). They couldn't understand because (they were) poor."
In her sixth month in Israel and third phase of the program, Rahamim became a "big sister" for two months to an 8-year-old boy with learning difficulties. She would visit him in his family's home and take him out twice weekly for recreational activities. During that time, Rahamim also was assigned to an adoptive family, whose home she would visit to eat, do laundry and "hang out."
"(Otzma participants) were kind of famous and were positive role models in the community. We got invitations all the time to go to (people's houses) for dinner and coffee," she says.
The hardest part about forging relationships is that, "you get to a place, settle down, then have to leave." And certain people, such as her temporary little "brother," didn't understand why she had to go, and became withdrawn when he learned she was leaving, thinking that she was abandoning him, she explains.
"But (it's good) because you're living in different parts of the country, meeting new populations and living with different (Otzma) members."
Rahamim spent her last track working at an immigrant absorption center in Tiberias, where she taught English to adults 18-35, most of whom had recently made aliyah from the former Soviet Union, including Ukraine.
The absorption center houses about 500 adults for five-month periods. It provides, through government subsidies, a place for foreigners to settle and learn about the country before venturing out on their own.
Rahamim says she particularly enjoyed Sundays, when she, other Otzma members and students from the absorption center would meet for two hours at a coffee house to practice English in an informal setting.
Her students were grateful for what she taught them, Rahamim says. And she, too, learned from her experiences. She now has a clearer understanding of Judaism and the social aspects of Israel, and she speaks Hebrew once again. In addition, she now more fully understands Israeli politics, which she neither knew nor cared about before.
"It was a historical time to be in Israel," she says, referring to the recent election of a new prime minister.
Now that she is back in Phoenix, Rahamim is seeking volunteer work in the Jewish community, which is encouraged by the Otzma program. She plans to speak to a religious class at Temple Chai about Israel. And someday, she says, she will move to Israel indefinitely.
"It was amazing to be in a country where (there are so many Jews) and all of the Jewish holidays are celebrated," she explains. "Before Otzma, I had never dated anyone Jewish, and didn't have many Jewish friends. Now, I feel like I have to marry someone Jewish, someone with the same values as me.
"I feel like we made a big impact there, and I would suggest (Otzma) to others. It doesn't matter if you don't know Hebrew or anything about Israel. Once you're there, you're going to learn (it all), whether you like it or not. It's an amazing country."
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