(Courtesy of OU Israel) On October 7, 2023, 16-year-old Shira Edri’s life turned upside down. Increasing bombardment from Hezbollah rendered her northern Israeli city of Kiryat Shmona uninhabitable, and the 11th grader relocated one day later to a Jerusalem hotel along with her mother and brother. Her father remained in the region as part of the emergency response team.
“The past year has been extremely challenging,” she said. “Our family is broken. We said goodbye to the happy family that used to talk and laugh. We’re worried all the time.”
She added, “It’s been very hard to be away from home and my regular routine. There’s no privacy here at the hotel. When it becomes too much and I need to be alone for a bit, there’s nowhere to go. Some days I just break down.”
Transitioning to a new school last year with different courses and peers was also difficult for Edri. Though she has cultivated new relationships, her close childhood friends are dispersed throughout the country. She misses attending her local OU Israel Teen Center, where, for the past five years, she would meet them weekly.
“Before the war, my friends and I would work, travel and hang out together at various places, including the OU Israel Teen Center, where we would prepare food in the kitchen and have fun. The madrichim and the activities they led were amazing. I would give anything to return to those times.”
As a leading organization helping at-risk Israeli teens to overcome trauma, OU Israel strives to break the cycle of poverty, deepen teens’ connection to Jewish values and give them a sense of belonging, responsibility and confidence. Since 1999, OU Israel’s 22 Teen Centers throughout the country have served as second homes for over tens of thousands of Israeli and immigrant at-risk youth annually, from peripheral southern and northern regions, like Kiryat Shmona. Many come from broken families and impoverished communities where the education and incomes are subpar with those in central Israel.
In partnership with local government officials, Israel’s Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs and local schools, OU Israel identifies 13-to-18-year-olds who might benefit from the Teen Centers’ structured programs and dedicated support staff, which includes over 200 madrichim, managers, logistics coordinators, social workers and psychologists. The centers offer youth a chance to decompress, participate in stimulating, growth-oriented activities, focus on their emotional and spiritual health, and acquire critical life skills to help them become tomorrow’s leaders. Chanichim (participants) are empowered to graduate high school with a teudat bagrut (matriculation certificate) and to move on to meaningful frameworks including serving the country as members of the IDF or Sherut Leumi (National Service).
OU Israel Teen Program Director Chaim Pelzner oversees OU Israel’s Teen Centers and said that October 7 was an extremely destabilizing event for at-risk youth in particular, who are already vulnerable.
“At a time when families are grappling with the existential fear of war and concern around their financial futures, all of the teens’ anchors have fallen apart,” he noted. “Our teens are scattered countrywide in dozens of schools, and communities dissolved once people relocated to hotels and other temporary dwellings.”
OU Israel Teen Centers Northern Regional Director Refael Salab agreed. Like Edri, he also relocated to Jerusalem, having evacuated from Kiryat Shmona with his wife and five children shortly after October 7.
“When you don’t have a home to return to at night, you lack stability,” he said. “If this is how I feel as a mature adult, imagine how our youth are affected. It’s extremely challenging. We want to rebuild their trust and bring back a small semblance of normalcy for these teens, to help them to have faith in themselves and a brighter future.”
In an effort to restore a sense of community and keep chanichim connected with their peers, OU Israel Teen Centers continue to run regular programs, Shabbatons and day trips, and to offer emotional support to thousands of teens, even as the war rages on. Despite serious damages incurred at 11 branches since October 7, the tremendous geographic distances between chanichim and madrichim’s personal and familial challenges during this trying period, the staff is committed to maintaining the same level of services and attention they provided to chanichim before the start of the conflict.
“It is difficult to reunite everyone from all over the country, but we invest tremendous effort and finances to bring everyone together,” said Pelzner. “Above all, our teens know that they hold a warm place in our hearts, and that they have a consistent address to contact, where they will be embraced and supported.”
Salab added,“The teens are so overjoyed to be reunited with their peers that they care less these days about the actual activity on the agenda. Once they meet each other, they’re reminded of home and of their positive memories.”
OU Israel invests $3.84 million annually in its Teen Centers and has relied heavily on additional funding from Israel’s federal government as well as the youth departments in various municipalities. Many of those funds have been redirected to the county’s war efforts, leaving OU Israel with a considerable financial shortfall. To compensate for its significant financial losses, OU Israel is turning to friends and supporters in North America and beyond for help, via its “Promise Me Tomorrow” fundraising campaign.
“For over two decades, OU Israel has worked with tens of thousands of at-risk teens across the country, giving them the strength, the love, the attention and the guidance they need in order to become future contributing members of Israeli society,” said OU Israel Executive Director Rabbi Avi Berman. “Now, more than ever, it is imperative that we support our youth in need to overcome this incredibly painful and challenging time in the most successful way possible.”
OU Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph added, “With the help of our friends and supporters, we can refurbish our damaged Teen Centers, build new ones and reach even more teens who could benefit from OU Israel’s expertise and dedication, both in their darkest hour of need and in brighter times to come.”
To contribute to OU Israel’s Teen Centers Promise Us Tomorrow campaign, please visit ouisrael.org/promise.
