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16 HASHALOM February
2017
February 2017
HASHALOM
17
COMMUNITY NEWS
Natan Sharansky to speak at
the official launch of
Project Ten
It is with great pleasure that the
Kwazulu Natal Zionist Council
will be hosting Natan Sharansky,
the Chairman of the Executive
of the Jewish Agency for Israel,
during February. We urge you all
to take this opportunity to hear
Mr Sharansky speak at the official
launch of the KNZC’s wonderful new
initiative, Project Ten, onWednesday
15 February at 7pm at the Durban
Jewish Centre.
Natan Sharansky was born in 1948 in Donetsk, Ukraine. After
graduating from the Physical Technical Institute in Moscow with a
degree in computer science, he applied for an exit visa to Israel, which
was denied for “security reasons”. He became involved in the struggle
of Soviet Jewry to emigrate to Israel. At the same time, he joined the
human rights movement in the Soviet Union led by Andrei Sakharov.
He became one of the founding members of the Moscow Helsinki
Group which united Soviet dissidents of all types. Natan Sharansky
soon became an unofficial spokesperson for both movements.
In 1977, a Soviet newspaper alleged that Mr. Sharansky was
collaborating with the CIA. Despite denials from every level of the
U.S. Government, he was found guilty and sentenced to thirteen
years in prison including solitary confinement and hard labour. After
nine years of imprisonment, due to intense international pressure
and a campaign led by his wife Avital, Mr. Sharansky was released on
February 11, 1986, emigrated to Israel.
In Israel he continued the struggle for opening the gates of the Soviet
Union. The final chapter of this historic struggle for the release of
Soviet Jews was the momentous rally of over 250,000 people on
December 7th, 1987, of which Natan Sharansky was the initiator and
driving force. The rally coincided with Soviet President Gorbachev’s
first visit in Washington and was influential in pressuring the Soviet
Union to ease its restrictions on emigration.
Ten years after arriving in Israel, Sharansky founded the political
party Yisrael B’Aliyah which means both “Israel on the Rise” and
“Israel for Immigration.” The party was established to accelerate
the absorption of the massive numbers of Russian immigrants
into Israeli society and to maximize their contribution. From 1996-
2005 Natan Sharansky served as Minister as well as Deputy Prime
Minister in four successive Israeli governments. In November 2006
Natan Sharansky resigned from the Israeli Knesset and assumed
the position of Chairman of the newly established Adelson Institute
for Strategic Studies at the Shalem Centre in Jerusalem. He is also
the Chairman of One Jerusalem and Beth Hatefutsoth, the Jewish
Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv.
In June 2009, Natan Sharansky was elected Chairman of the Jewish
Agency for Israel. He has continued to lead human rights efforts both
through his writings as well as public activities. Natan Sharansky is
married to Avital. They reside in Jerusalem and have two daughters,
Rachel and Hanna, and two grandchildren.
By Michelle Shapira
COMMUNITY NEWS
What have Project TEN been up to?
Time flies when you are having fun- the first cohort have already finished their second month in Durban. This month we got involved in a myriad
of projects and learned more about different cultures, traditions and environments.
Where?
Amaoti No. 3 Combined School
What did we do?
Together with four of our volunteers we completed a three week Math camp for about sixty learners from grades 5 and 6. The small class sizes
allowed the volunteers to give the learners the personal assistance and attention they needed. Through fun games and activities the volunteers
taught difficult math topics such as multiplication, division, fractions, and measurement. In addition to the math lessons the volunteers created
activities focusing on team building, interpersonal communication and self esteem.
Where?
LIV Village
What did we do?
Two of our volunteers - Tamar Unger and Guy Grossman are very talented photographers. They created a photography course at LIV which took
place over six days in total (three before Christmas and three after). During this time the participants learned how to use a camera, different
photography techniques and how to express their feelings and emotions through photography. With the generous help of people from the
community in Durban, we borrowed 3 cameras and over the course of Christmas the children were given an assignment to take pictures of “life
in the village”. After Christmas the course continued and the kids learned how to edit their photos and each child chose one photo which was
printed in a large size format.
Where?
ICARE
What did we do?
TEN volunteers bring their skills and knowledge to create meaningful activities for the boys. The time the boys spend at ICARE day centre keeps
them off the street. The activities prepared by TEN volunteers aim to stimulate and challenge the boys. Some of the activities include lessons on
hygiene, 1st aid, African geography, ODT(outdoor training). We also taught the boys how to bake challah bread and they each baked their own to eat.