Shalom Chaverim,
For the Israeli public as well as for world Jewry, there is life before October 7th — and after. In Israel, living under the current unprecedented, existential threats has a severe effect on both educators and children.
The Village Way practice is all about leading at-risk youth from brokenness to wholeness. Our national grassroots educational movement is therefore immersed in addressing the unsolved, epic-scale issues which Israel’s educators and youth face right now. We do so by focusing on:
Providing educational tools that serve to heal trauma.
Restoring the young generation’s trust in the institutions that have failed us.
In the face of extremism and separatism, instilling in the young compassion and empathy to all human suffering.
Brigadier general Dan Goldfuss, an esteemed combat officer, recently made a strong appeal to Israel’s political leadership, demanding that they exemplify solidarity and unity. “You must be worthy of the fallen and the soldiers who risk their lives here every day, fighting shoulder-to-shoulder on the battleground.”
For years, our Village, our mechina (pre-army leadership program),and our affiliate educational communities throughout Israel, have raised a young generation that now serves the country with determination and resilience. Our responsibility is to do our utmost so that the current young generation will grow to become resilient, value-driven citizens. We must raise a new generation of leaders able to see the big picture, while heeding the hard-earned lessons from our people’s distant and recent past.
As our philanthropic partners in the U.S., I hope that this message will resonate with you and with the young Jewish generation. Certainly, American Jewry must have an emphatic say in the renewal and reconstruction of the Zionist dream which we are engaged in.
Thank you for being a part of our mission. I wish us all success in our efforts of healing young people, particularly at-risk youth, in Israel.
Yours,
Dr. Chaim Peri