Since her recent visit, Noga Vaisblat now sees the Jewish Federations’ partnership program with northern Israeli communities differently. Noga attended Coast to Coast to Partnership (P2G) meetings in Etzbah Hagalil, representing five municipalities spanning from Metullah to Yesud Hamala.
Noga, a native Israeli, came to Edmonton in 2012 and has gone back several times over the years to visit family. The October 7 Hamas attack affected her extended family, prompting her desire to return to Israel and reconnect with them. During this trip, Noga witnessed firsthand how the ongoing trauma has affected family members. She could take part in her husband’s aunt’s (Pessi) burial. Pessi had a funeral in November and her body was transferred to Kibbutz Beeri for a permanent burial when Noga was visiting.
For the past two years, the war has displaced family members. Their living situation transitioned from a hotel room to a mobile home on a kibbutz. “There are ongoing challenges. They are all deeply traumatized. There are also challenges with the government not recognizing what they have been through and not providing the resources that they need to take care of themselves financially or mentally,” says Noga.
One stop on the Partnership2Gether trip underscored the great need for mental health support among Israelis. The trip’s participants visited Mashabim, a mental health centre, in Kiryat Shmona. Since its establishment in 1981, Mashabim has been using state-of-the-art approaches for treatment and training both nationally and globally. The work spans over all community life, from toddlers to older adults, from the individual to family and community.
They also received a briefing from a regional knowledge centre, launched with coast-to-coast funding prior to October 7. The knowledge centre collects data that has been fundamental to understanding the situation and for advocacy with the Israeli government about residents’ situation.
“They gathered data on the number of relocated people, their needs, and their mental health. For example, they found out families who were not evacuated had a better mental health outcome than families who were evacuated,” says Noga.
The information helped form strategic decisions and resulted in more centres opening throughout northern Israel to keep up with the demand. Mashabim’s staff grew from six to over 100.
“A lot of the funding for the centre came through the P2G partnership. To me, that was amazing,” says Noga.
The itinerary featured stops at Tel-Hai College, the Canada Centre, and meetings with residents of the region. Tel-Hal is on its way to becoming a university that has a goal to draw more students and result in higher employment for the area. Canadian communities built Canada Centre, and it is a community centre and attraction with a hockey rink and a swimming pool. It had 15,000 visits annually prior to October 7. However, bombs heavily damaged it. Noga recalls going to Canada Centre for ice skating when she was young and seeing it as an adult, the connections came full circle.
“I’ve been going to this place since I was a child without knowing it is remotely Canadian. It never clicked. But I could stand outside and see all the communities’ names, including Edmonton. The partnership touches every Israeli’s life without them realizing it,” she says.
Before her trip, Noga understood P2G as Federations raising money for Israel.
Her experience altered her viewpoint. “I came back a believer. We collect funds through the United Jewish Appeal campaign and allocate part of the funds towards the partnership in Israel. The big difference is that, instead of giving them money and dictating how they use it, our Israeli partners propose how they want to use the money; this ensures the money reaches those who need it most,” says Noga.
“Although I am an Israeli, seeing this from the other side, it was very powerful. It brought back home the special connection that we have between Israel and our community. It’s important we keep maintaining it as long as we can.”