A bond of love between Woodmere residents Suzy and Elly Libin and the 900 students of Boys Town Jerusalem, an Israeli school for orphans and disadvantaged youth, was shared at a recent informational gathering in the Libin’s home. Long-time supporters of Boys Town Jerusalem, the Libins gave the guests an account of their recent visit to the school. “Boys Town has everything we care about: technology, education, music, art, children and sports,” Elly noted. “On the technological side, we were fascinated by the projects that the boys prepare throughout the year. One particularly intriguing project was a robotic seeing-eye dog to help grant the blind greater independence in life skills.”
Rabbi Ezra Berenholz, Director of Development, gave an update from Jerusalem. Highlighting one of Boys Town’s many inspiring stories, he spoke of one student from a very difficult home, Netanel, who came to Boys Town far behind in his basic academic skills. “Struggling and frustrated, Netanel soon resorted to misbehaving in class. Principal Rabbi Ya’akov Elimelech called the youngster into his office, looked him straight in the eye and told him that he believed in him. He offered to provide extra help if Netanel would commit to apply and exert himself. Thanks to donations from our supporters, we arranged for intensive private tutoring, and Rabbi Elimelech coordinated efforts by teachers and social workers to encourage Netanel. Within four months, Netanel caught up to his class, and I’m proud to report that he just graduated as the class valedictorian. Boys Town helped turn his life around and give him a bright future.”
Boys Town Jerusalem was founded in 1948 by Alexander S. Linchner, a Brooklyn-born rabbi. In the aftermath of the Holocaust, the rabbi devoted his life to building a school for the children of immigrants who poured into Israel from across the globe. His goal: providing young men with a quality education to prepare them to build the State of Israel with technological skill and traditional Jewish idealism.
Today, the beautiful, 18-acre Boys Town Jerusalem campus is one of Israel’s major technological training centers. Nine hundred students from age 12 to 20 live and study on campus. The children and grandchildren of immigrants from 45 countries on six continents, they mirror the ethnic diversity of the Israeli population. Most children come from economically disadvantaged backgrounds and require substantial scholarship assistance. No student is ever turned away from Boys Town Jerusalem due to inability to pay tuition.
Rabbi Berenholz extended Boys Town’s thanks to those who attended the Libin event and invites anyone visiting Israel to visit the campus. To arrange a visit please call 1-800-4MY-BOYS or email [email protected]. More information on Boys Town Jerusalem’s lifesaving work can be found at www.boystownjerusalem.org or by calling 1-800-4MY-BOYS.
