Sept.
2006 - Tishri 5767
Dear
Friends,
We
are proud to present our 19th
Annual Report. We ask you to take
a
few minutes to read these words from the hearts of our grant
recipients, and then to celebrate the hope they bring to our bruised
world.
Dena
calls her report to the Fund, "Climbing
Walls and Building Bridges." She
writes about gaining skills and meeting with caring and inspiring people in
the2006 summer Middle-East Symposium
on Mediation and
Dena
is one of 32 grantees this year, grantees who worked to create bonds between
peoples, providing a vision of care, of hope, and of tikkun olam, the repair
of the world. Since its inception the Fund has awarded a total of 367 grants, almost a quarter of
a million dollars, $248,650!
The
Fund is unique; it awards grants only to individuals, not organizations.
Grantees work in progressive social action projects of their own choosing,
and commit to educate/ encourage peers to participate in similar social
action. All contributions become part of the endowment base and are fully
tax deductible; the Schulman family covers all costs. Thank you for your
annual contribution, for your extra gifts honoring special occasions
and
life cycle events, and for your estate-planning gifts!
In this new year, may we all find, support, and increase hope.
| Dan, Jennie, Molly & Jake | Joel, Nancy, & Logan | Ruth and |
| Mel z"l, of blessed memory |
Notes
from a few grantees
Page
2-
LAYLA
F. and MICAH
B. spoke for a
number of teens
who participated in the Habonim-Dror program in Israe"1 during July and
August.
LAYLA:
"The
summer of 2006 did not go as planned... the second week of the trip, machatz
(kibbutz time) was canceled due to the proximity of the Katushyas, and the
group was sent south to Jerusalem ... We finished our trip in Neve Shalom, a
town where Arabs and Jews live together and get along. It was a good ending
place; people there have hope for peace and are living proof that it is
possible."
MICAH added, "I
had gone on the
trip expecting to
gain deeper
insight into Israeli politics and society, and I certainly achieved that ...
(Lecturers) told us a great deal about the inner conflicts in Israeli society...
and the outward side, specifically the recent conflict in Lebanon. They made
clear to us
that, while Israel is closer to
its vision of
equality than
many other countries, there are still major problems to
be worked out.
"
LlLLlA
C,
a freshman at
Stanford U., traveled to Rabinal, Guatemala to spend her spring break
helping the community develop its infrastructure. Organized by Hillel in
partnership with the American Jewish World Service (AJWS) and Fundacion
Nueva Esperanze (a Guatemalan grassroots organization), she spoke of spending
“•• the majority of each day working on projects to improve the
quality of local life ... The Rabinal community (the Achi people) especially
need and deserve our help; its members have suffered decades of
discrimination including extended periods of violent racial persecution. (Upon
their return,) "we intend to make presentations to student groups on
campus, including Hillel, the Chicano Center, and fraternities with a
volunteering focus."
Lillia
and 14 other students are also involved on campus in a leadership program, "exploring
the relationship of Judaism to social action and our social responsibilities
as Jews ... We are developing a service project at
a
San Francisco Juvenile Hall, interacting with underprivileged children to
help them cope emotionally with their environment ... "
JASON P.
a senior at Clark, spent his spring
break on an AJWS project building latrines in Honduras. "Each
day we had two major learning sessions: issues pertaining to Honduras, and
then connecting that to Jewish sources. Some also dealt with thinking about
what we were doing there and-what sustainable development is ... The
community came to thank us for helping; we were the first westerners to come
to their village ... "
At Clark Jason also developed
the curriculum while interning with Soliya, a program that brings together
American and Arab university students for facilitated discussions. He is now
working with Avodah on their "NY Jobs with Justice program."
Page
3
HANNAH
W., a recent graduate of Brown,
worked with Sadaka Reut Arab- Jewish youth partnership.
"I
gained a better understanding of Arab-Jewish relations within Israel. I was
able to establish myself as part of a non-profit organization and begin to
understand how social change organizations work from an inside perspective
... and formed strong relationships, both personal and professional, with
people working in the social justice field ...
"Before
this year I was conscious of and troubled by social problems existing within
the state. Living in Israel and working on some of these issues ... I found
myself increasingly frustrated and sometimes angry with the status quo ...
However, I also began to see a correlation between these complicated
emotions. The more attached and at home I feel in Israel, the greater my
anger towards injustices that exist and the wrongs that are carried out, and
the more legitimized I feel to criticize. These feelings of anger inspire me
to continue to pursue work for social change here in the future... This year
was only a beginning for me … "
ILANA
A. participated in Panim el Panim, a teen program, in Washington, DC. "I
attended lectures on civil liberties, homelessness, value conflicts in
public policy, and congressional prep ... Then we went to McPherson Square
to practice Street Torah - the mitzvah of caring for the homeless - those on
the street... We went to Capitol Hill to speak with our legislators. We
discussed our feelings on abortion, sex education, Darfur, and disaster
relief ... Thank you for giving me this opportunity. "
Notes
received this year from previous grantees:
RachelB.
graduated from Tufts in 2005 and spent 6 months in Brussels working as an
American Jewish Committee Fellow in their Transatlantic Institute. She has
been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to spend this Academic year-in Israel
studying Arabic intensively at Givat Haviva, a center for
conflict-resolution outside Haifa, and working with the Institute For
Counter-Terrorism in Herzelia. 'Thank you
again for all your support."
Sarah
W. defended her
dissertation on Illegal, undocumented migrant workers in Tel Aviv. She
already has numerous articles, book chapters, given Invited lectures across
the U.S. and at Hebrew University. Sarah writes, “the
grant I received from the Fund came
at a crucial moment
in the development
of my research. Please accept my
sincerest thanks once again."
Dafna
H. worked at Seeds of
Peace, the Council on Foreign Relations, interned with NJ Senator
Lautenberg, and now has earned her PhD. She sent her own contribution,
noting, "May the Fund continue to
grow and support its mission of
encouraging Tikkun Olam. Here is a small gift in honor of our engagement.
All the best. " Signed,
Dafna and Doug
Page
4
DENA
T., "Climbing Walls and Building Bridges" (cont.
from page 1) Dena, who is now a junior at Northwestern, describes the intimacy
of the symposium and international walls: “…students from around the globe could study, eat, sleep, and party
together, creating bonds beyond the superficial... I recognized similarities
and began to break the surface of our international glass walls. Some may look
at this wall and see a lack of
footholds, but I note that I can see what's on the other side ... "
Citing
one example, she tells of a "double speaker session" on the Israeli/
Palestinian conflict. In the morning a member of the PLO spoke about the
Palestinian perspective on Israel's peace map and creating a climate
for
peace in Palestine. "As a
Jew, I heard his presentation as extraordinarily one-sided and full of what I
took to be offensive bias. Afterwards. I had an incredibly heated conversation
with my peers over lunch (four Jews and four non-Jews from various countries
and mixed ethnicities). As I vented my frustration with the presentation, I
was shocked to discover that almost no one shared my exact point of view ...
We marveled at the realization that each of us had sat in the same room but
heard entirely different things ... It was illuminating to place my feelings
and perceptions in check and reconsider them through various lenses that my
friends might have been using."
After
lunch they heard an Israeli perspective about the peace process.
"I
enjoyed hearing the two present opposing points of view on the same day
because they actually got to argue points back and forth without allowing
extreme positions to go unchallenged ... "
But
"testing" began immediately following the end of the conference.
For
additional information, grant criteria, and a grant application, check our
website. www.AmyAdinaSchulmanFund.org
ruth.mel@att.net
Shanah
Tova, a good year, health and peace to all our friends, contributors,
grantees.