More Than Making the Grade

CJP and the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC) have partnered to create Shiluvim, a project that helps Ethiopian immigrants become self-sufficient members of Israeli society. At Aharon Haroeh, an all-girls religious Zionist school located in Kiryat Shmuel, Haifa, 20% of the students are Ethiopian Israelis. Through Shiluvim, an enrichment program was created to help improve their academics.

The enrichment sessions initially focused on bettering the Ethiopian Israeli students’ educational skills. However, Principal Revital Skuri and her teachers discovered that all of the girls in the program faced additional challenges of fitting in, making friends and building self-esteem.

A New Direction
The original enrichment program evolved into more of a support group focusing on confidence-building and communication skills. This new direction allowed mixed groups of Ethiopian and veteran Israeli students to participate and learn together. It has also alleviated isolation, allowed friendships to blossom and created an environment where the girls can support one another.

A Surprising Outcome
“The more these Ethiopian Israeli kids are integrated in these special service sessions with non-Ethiopians, the more successful both groups are,” says Rabbi Jim Morgan of JCRC, which oversees the program in cooperation with the Boston-Haifa Connection.

The broadened focus on community, family and social interaction has improved academic scores for both groups of students and resulted in them being more motivated to succeed.  

“We hope that this [program at Aharon Haroeh] will give the girls the tools to move forward in whatever challenges and opportunities they meet in the future,” says Diane Richler, one of the Co-chairs of the Boston-Haifa Connection Ethiopian Jewry Committee.