Dimona and the Network: A Perfect Match

I just returned from a wonderful trip that took me to Vienna, Austria and several places in Israel. The main purpose of my trip in Israel was to go to Dimona, a small city of about 40,000 in the middle of the Negev Desert. I came as a representative, officially the American Steering Chair of the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA), to meet my Israeli counterpart, Professor Haim Kalman, see projects in which we are invested, and hear proposals for possible new projects.

Now that I have explained why I was in Dimona, I want to discuss this partnership and what makes it perfect. The Network is a confederation (my description) of approximately 350 small Jewish communities around North America with only lay leadership. We raise funds for distressed Jews in Israel and the Diaspora. Our contributions originally went to the United Jewish Appeal, then toits successor the United Jewish Communities and today to the Jewish Federations of North America. Not quite 20 years ago, a separate division was created, the Network. As I view it and I am sure if someone from JFNA reads this they will disagree, the Network is kind of the Ugly Duckling of the organization. As one would expect, JFNA, is run by the large federations. Many times I have met Jews from large Jewish communities and when I tell them I am from South Dakota they ask are there really Jews there? In the Network, we raise significant dollars but not by a New York, Los Angeles or other large Jewish community standard. Understandably, they cannot overlook our contributions, but likewise, being so small and spread out, what services can JFNA provide?

Dimona is a town established in the 1950s. As with other communities in the Negev, this town was the fulfillment of Israel’s first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion’s dream to populate the Negev. Israel, following her independence in 1948, absorbed hundreds of thousands of displaced Jews from Europe and the Arab world. While Ben-Gurion’s dream was great, the reality was that the government did not have the resources to fully take care of these immigrants. Over the last 12 years, I have been to Dimona 4 times and usually I get asked by Israelis why would I want to go there? Like the Network, Dimona is an Ugly Duckling of Israel.

In 1996, our parent organization and the Jewish Agency for Israel established partnerships between various Jewish communities outside of Israel with communities inside Israel. Dimona and the Network, the two Ugly Ducklings got each other. One could easily say that each got dumped on by its national organization. I disagree, we are a perfect match. We understand what a fight we have just to be recognized. Our adversity creates opportunities to find ways to work together for the betterment of both. While many of the larger North American communities may see their partnerships as just a philanthropic endeavor, ours can be a true partnership. The Network can help fund programs for the less fortunate in Dimona and Dimona can be the Network’s strong bond with Israel. As always, the devil is in the details. Together, we can face our challenges and our needs. Together, we can meet adversity and overcome it. Together, we can win for everyone. These two Ugly Ducklings were made for each other – a perfect match. And like the Ugly Duckling in the children’s story, we will grow into beautiful Swans.