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AACI South - Programs & Activites
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Check out our new AACI presentation on Beer Sheva!
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Update on counseling hours
Counselor Miriam Green is in her office on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Contact her now for an appointment to discuss your aliyah and Klitah at 08-643-3953 or mgreen@aaci.org.il. There is an NIS 75 fee for a counselor appointment for non-members. The fee will be waived if you join.
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Announcing a great new trip from AACI on Thursday evening, May 9th, 2013.
 Specially (but not only) for our working members!!!Come for an evening at the Maresha winery in Moshav Zarchia, near Kiryat Malachi. Maresha Estate Winery is a Kosher Family Winery which produces high quality wine in a new wine region developing in Israel. One of their most important goals in establishing the winery was to add new tastes and fragrances to the Israeli wine scene, and to be the “home of wine” to this region. The vineyards, which are planted close to the winery and to the visitor’s center, are located in the Judean Hills –Tel Maresah region. Included is a tour of the nearby vineyard, an explanation of the wine-making process, a sample taste of various wines, and to finish off, a light meal of cheese, bread, vegetables and hot drinks.
We will leave from Ganei Yeelim, Rehov Aliya in Shechuna Hey, at 5:30 p.m. promptly, and returning at approximately 9:00 p.m. Time permitting, we may also visit a look-out point near Zarchia.
Cost including bus, tour, and refreshment: NIS 150 for AACI and Hadassah members;
NIS 160 for non-members.
Minimum of 20 participants required. Final registration date is May 5, 201. For more info, and to register, contact Counselor Miriam Green at mgreen@aaci.org.il, or Tamar Iancu at mumwawa@012.net.il or 08-641-7560.
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AACI Southern Branch invites you to a riveting evening with
Sarah Hoffman on The Eichmann Trial
A member of Bureau ’06, Sarah was part of the prosecution team at the trial of Adolf Eichmann. She served as the chief document translator and editor from German and English to Hebrew. Was Eichmann the small Nazi cog who was only doing his duty, as Hannah Arendt portrayed him in her 1963 book, Eichmann in Jerusalem; or was he the cunning adversary and anti-Semitic architect of Jewish extermination as portrayed by Deborah Lipstadt in her recent book, The Eichmann Trial.
Date: Thursday, May 30 (the 51st anniversary of Eichmann’s execution)
Time: 20:00 (8:00 PM)
Location: Beit Omanim – the Artist’s House, Rechov Avot 55 in the Old City of Beer Sheva
Addmission: 10 NIS per person to cover costs
We look forward to seeing you there!
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Ophir Tours Opens New Local Line for the Southern Branch
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Ophir Tours now has a dedicated phone number for AACI members in the South. The Ophir Tours phone number is 08-8523138 and will actually ring in the Ophir office in Ra’anana where they have a staff of English speaking agents (with many years of experience) at your disposal. Ophir Tours looks forward to assisting the Southern Branch with the same excellent service and expertise we have been providing in the Central Branch. If you have any questions or if we can be of any assistance please do not hesitate to contact us. We are always looking for ways to improve service.
Agents in Ra’anana: Marcelle, Iris, Lea, Mati and Livia
Hours: Sunday-Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
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AACI Southern Branch Seniors -Young at Heart
.jpg) The AACI Southern Branch Seniors is our most active group, planning monthly trips for their members and parties for all occasions. If you have suggestions for places to visit or interesting activities to organize, please call Chaya Aft at 08-642-2915. Past outings have included visits to Kibbutz Yad Mordechai’s Honey Workshop, the Israel Museum, Yad Vashem, Kibbutz Urim Art Center, and more. If you know of English speakers in the community who might be interested in joining the AACI Seniors, please contact Chaya or Counselor Miriam Green at 08-643-3953 or mgreen@aaci.org.il |
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AACI Aliyah Conversations for Olim in the Absorption Process
New Program to be announced.
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To Start April 28, 2013
Do you dream of opening your own business? It’s time to turn your dream into reality! The AACI Southern Branch is joining forces with MATI Beer Sheva to offer a special course to assist potential entrepreneurs improve or create their existing business. Existing business may join the course if the business is up to 6 months old. This special course is being offered in English to AACI Members. MATI’s Entrepreneurial course is 14 sessions, once a week, for a total of 56 academic hours. Starting date to be determined. This is a highly subsidized course for olim and other sectors of the population. To qualify for this course you need to be in one of the following categories:
Special benefits for people attending the course:
Registered participants can use the tools offered for up to six months from the date of opening of the course. Please contact Beth Arnstein 052-432-8062 or betharnstein@yahoo.com or AACI Counselor Miriam Green at mgreen@aaci.org.il for details and a course description.
** Special populations: single parents, Arab, Haredi, new immigrants (up to 10 years) and returning residents (5 years overseas and within 2 years in Israel), limited, disabled, Ethiopians, aged 45+.
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AACI is announcing a new and improved Hebrew Conversation group. As before, the focus is on becoming fluent with the Hebrew you already know and helping each other communicate on a wide variety of topics. Each participant is expected to bring a story, idea, word list, picture story, photo, game, song, questions or something else that will stimulate real conversation.
We now have a fluent Hebrew speaker who is going to come and gently help us get it right and keep us on track. All levels up to intermediate can benefit from these practice sessions. If you are a beginner, come for the listening practice and a bring a list of words in English that you REALLY need to know in Hebrew.
NEW TIME: 3:30 to 5:00-ish Yom Rishon (Sunday) afternoons.
Place: As always, mercaz klitah yeelim.
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AACI Offers a Warm Welcome To New Olim and American Visitors AACI wishes a warm welcome to the new olim who have settled in Arad, Beer Sheva, Dimona, Eilat, Ketura, Meitar, Netivot, Omer, Revivim, Shokeda, Yerucham, Yotvata—your presence here is a spiritual boost to our humble communities. There are also many students who have recently arrived in the Negev. These include students in various BGU programs: the Columbia Medical School Program, the Overseas program, MAPMES (Masters of Arts Program in Middle East Studies), Desert Research, Sde Boker International Program and English Literature. New olim and students who wish to meet long-time members of the community are welcome to contact Counselor Miriam Green mgreen@aaci.org.il or 08-643-3953. In addition, during the year, two US-based programs use Beer Sheva as their home ground. Of particular interest is OTZMA, a ten-month program of the Jewish Agency and United Jewish Communities that strives to promote direct contact between North American Jews and Israel through volunteer and educational opportunities. While in Beer Sheva, participants live in the Merkaz Klitah in Shechunah Hey for three months, attend ulpan, and engage in community service projects at the Merkaz Klitah and in the surrounding community. The program is religiously unaffiliated.
Another program to bring its students to Beer Sheva is the Nativ-USY Israel Program. Young North Americans arrive in Beer Sheva in February on the last leg of their nine-month Nativ-USY Israel program. They are housed, along with two counselors, in the Merkaz Klitah Ye’elim for four months while they work as volunteers in organizations and schools all across Beer Sheva. Another group will be living in Yerucham and volunteering there. Nativ combines exploration of Israel with academic studies and leadership training. It is part of United Synagogue Youth, and as such, places an emphasis on Jewish living and learning in the framework of the Conservative Movement. And while these 18-year-olds strengthen their Jewish identity, they’ll be learning how to take care of themselves before returning to colleges and universities in their home States. |
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The AACI Southern Branch Library.jpg) Below is a selection of the new books to welcome-in the New Year. Don't forget we also have many books for sale for NIS 10 each or five for NIS 25. Come and browse, there is something for everybody!
Monday and Wednesday from 4 pm to 6 pm
PLEASE HELP US BY BRINGING SMALL CHANGE WITH YOU
(* from our 'For Sale' section)
Last but not least, a big 'Thank You' to everyone who donated books to the library.
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Finding Work for Olim and Vatikim a Priority  The Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel (AACI) is dedicated to the successful absorption of North American olim into Israeli society. To that end we have established an Employment Club in Beer Sheva to assist both new and veteran olim successfully find work. Our participants include accountants, lawyers, teachers, bankers, nurses, and writers. As part of a new initiative, we want to create a Referral Service to advertise actual positions to our participants. The goal of our efforts is to introduce prospective employers and employees to each other.
How can you help? When you notify our office of openings in your company or organization, we will seek to inform appropriate candidates to make contact with you, according to your needs and direction. When you volunteer to act as a mentor in your field, we’ll connect you with an appropriate oleh or vatik candidate in your profession.
Please note that the AACI Employment Referral Service is not an employment agency. We can refer reasonably suitable candidates to you, but the responsibility to screen and interview remains up to you.
What we need from the employer
What information we have about the Jobseeker
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 Beer Sheva, the capital of the Negev and Israel’s fourth largest metropolitan region, has over 200,000 residents. The prosperous university-city has commercial and industrial centers, serving 600,000 residents in the entire metropolitan region. Built more than 4,000 years ago, Beer Sheva grew as a city under Ottoman rule in the 19th century and under the British in the early 20th century. Modern Beer Sheva was founded in 1948 and built up by immigrants from about 60 countries. In the past 15 years, the city’s population has doubled, with tens of thousands of new immigrants as well as young and veteran Israeli couples choosing to make Beer Sheva their home.Beer Sheva – The Future Development of Israel – “A Window of Opportunity” Beer Sheva and the Negev represent the central focus for Israel’s future development, with 60% of the country’s landmass, and its available land reserves. In recent years the city has witnessed particularly rapid development, and a large-scale plan is being implemented to transfer major army bases from central Israel to the Negev including the Intelligence, Communications and Training bases of the IDF. Ongoing highway improvement, paving Highway 6 to the Dimona Junction and intensive upgrading of the railway shorten travel between Beer Sheva, Tel Aviv and the north. These processes, alongside many city development projects, strengthen Beer Sheva as Israel’s fourth urban center. Urban Development In recent years the city has been undergoing vast development with such major projects as: *A Wastewater Recycling and Purification Plant, one of the most advanced in Israel, built some three years ago. *Payis Center for the Performing Arts, includes 950-seat and 450-seat auditoriums. *Reconfiguration of Rager Boulevard from the northern entrance to the city, is in an advanced stage of development with the addition of 1,600 housing units, public, commercial and office buildings.
*A Sports Complex including a 16,000-seat stadium, five training fields and extensive parking. *The Beer Sheva River Park, 8 km. of green expanses, with attractions including an amphitheater, lake, sports facilities, promenades, a conference center and more, will enable hundreds of thousands of residents to enjoy a quality outdoor recreational environment. *A Children’s Museum opened in 2009. *The Old City: Millions of dollars are being invested in renovating infrastructures, preserving buildings, and transforming the Old City by building culture and leisure centers to attract young people and students: *The Youth Center for Culture, Arts and Communications in the heart of the Old City. Already in operation. *A Science Museum, one of the largest in the country (contributed by the Rashi Foundation), is being built, as part of the renovation of this area. A Young and Dynamic City
Beer Sheva is a young city with over 100,000 residents under age 34, who enjoy a quality education system, stressing science and technology. In the past decade NIS 1 billion has been invested in the building and infrastructure of schools. Beer Sheva is home to fine institutions of higher education such as: Ben Gurion University of the Negev, with 18,000 students, Sami Shamoon College of Engineering and Kaye Teachers’ College. Each year more students apply to Ben Gurion University (a world leader in many academic disciplines) than any other university in Israel. The Soroka Medical Center is one of the country’s leading hospitals. An academically-sponsored drama school was recently opened to serve the many talented young people of Beer Sheva and the Negev. Beer Sheva is home both to shopping malls and to many cultural institutions, including Beer Sheva Theater, the Sinfonietta, LOGON, dance troupes, museums and more. A Balanced Budget City
For the first time in many years the Beer Sheva Municipality balanced its budget in 2005. Its financial strength was improved and debts to banks, suppliers, and charter institutions reduced. The Municipality has an operating annual budget of about NIS 1 billion – NIS 850 million in the ongoing budget; NIS 150 million in the development budget, over and above the previously mentioned projects. The city has completed privatizing its water and sewage system with the setting up of the “May Sheva” Corporation, and also operates through subsidiaries including: the Beer Sheva Economic Development Co.; “Kivunim” for Culture and Leisure; the Regional Industries Management Co.; the Bet-Yatziv Youth Hostel, in partnership with the Rashi Foundation, and the Beer Sheva Foundation (which raises donations for the city), and more. Employment and Industry
Since the start of the 90s, following a surge in development when the city received Development Area A status for capital investments, Beer Sheva has become an attractive city for entrepreneurs and investors. In addition to 7,000,000 sq.m of industrial zones in the south of the city, a new high-tech park is being built adjacent to the university. The High-Tech Park is a joint venture of Ben Gurion University, the municipality and the U.S. company KUD. It will be one of the most advanced parks in the country, facilitating integration of leading high-tech companies in one well-situated compound, and providing employment opportunities to the thousands of students graduating each year in the city. |
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Campaign for Overseas Members
.jpg) AACI is conducting a campaign to increase our overseas membership. We urge our members to help us by informing us about potential overseas supporters. Please send us names of relatives and friends who might join AACI as overseas members. Your support, and that of your family and friends, will enable AACI to continue to provide its vital Aliyah and Klitah services and to maintain its high level of programming. Please email membership@aaci.org.il |
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 In addition to the main branches of Bituach Leumi on 15 Rager St., and 6 Wolfson St., the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) now has new offices on Shazar St., Beit Prizma (next to Misrad Haklitah). These offices are for “kabalat kahal,” client reception and for various payments—including Health Tax (Mas Briut). There is a national hotline with electronic information at *6050. Bituach Leumi recently published an updated book in English on “Your Rights at the National Insurance Institute,” and maintains an English website that can be accessed either through the “links” on the AACI website |
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 Come join us for the AACI children’s monthly story hour! We’ll meet on Wednesday, January 16th at 4:15 p.m., in the Southern Branch Library.
The story hour is for kids aged 5 to 8 and will be led by storyteller Mark Shapiro at the AACI Library, Matnas Yud-Aleph, 11 Mordechai Namir St. (behind the Shaul HaMelech shopping center). This is an opportunity to interest your child in reading in English, and even improving his/her language skills.
More than 100 new children’s books are now on the library shelves, thanks to the efforts of our volunteer Librarians. Bring your children to the Library and enjoy browsing through the shelves of books. Thousands of books are available for borrowing. There are also many books for sale. Looking forward to seeing you there!
For more information, contact Reesa Stone at reesa432000@yahoo.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!
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 The AACI Southern Branch will host US Consular Services on Tuesday, November 13, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., in Beer Sheva. US citizens will have the opportunity to renew passports, file for new or replacement passports, apply for your child’s 1st adult passport, and file for reports of birth abroad all without leaving the South! If you would like to sign up for one of these services, please respond by email to mgreen@aaci.org.il, with the following information: name, email, phone number, and service requested. More information on the process can be obtained from the US Embassy Website at www.usembassy-israel.org.il.We must have a minimum of 25 people signed up. All payment for services must be made by US Certified Bank Check (which can be requested from your bank in advance). All children must arrive in person with both parents (or a notarized letter stating the acquiescence of the absent parent). A donation of NIS 15 per person to AACI is requested for this service, and for the use of the copy machine should you need it. Just think of all the money and aggravation you save by not traveling to Tel Aviv!!
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An English speakers’ group meets in Eilat at WIZO House on Jerusalem St. every Tuesday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., to shmooze and share information about what’s doing in Eilat. Occasionally there are guest speakers or evening programs. If you would like to be informed of activities, send your email address to Sarah Greenberg: surieg@gmail.com.
There is also a Yahoo chat list for sharing information in the Arava region. Join the NegevEilat information group. Subscribe: NegevEilat-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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Registration for the Summer English Language Debate and Public Speaking Workshop, geared at junior and high school students, is now open. This includes a workshop in Beer Sheva and a 15% discount on the regular price to AACI members. Information about the workshop can be found on the Season website, www.season.co.il, or by contacting Hayah Eichler at info@season.co.il or 052-421-8389. The workshop will be conducted in English and will follow international debate rules. Your child will learn to speak in public with confidence and think on her feet on any number of topics.
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