Empowering Haifa Youth

Haifa-based Empowering Haifa Youth has been working with young people in Northern Israel since 1999. Today, there are 500 teenagers enrolled, 80% among them, Russian-speaking immigrants. While the core of the center's activities focuses on sports programs, Genesis' funding supplements the curriculum with an infusion of Jewish content in the form of lecture series, field trips, and classes on Israeli history. There is a "salon" in which teens in the north can meet Israeli leaders and famous athletes and engage in dialogue about their personal history and identity. This project provides a natural educational framework for Russian-Israeli youth, and, importantly, exposes participants to positive role models – both factors contributing to the emergence of an aware and engaged generation of Russian-speaking Jewish Israelis. GPG's 2009 grant allows children involved in Maccabi Moscow to attend the Jewish summer camp operated by Empowering Haifa Youth in Northern Israel.