New Hadera apartment first step after shelter for domestic violence survivors
By Sharon Sutker McGowan
The first occupants of a new NA’AMAT transitional shelter for survivors of domestic violence have moved into their apartment in Hadera, an important milestone in their lives and for NA’AMAT as an organization.
Women leaving the NA’AMAT Center for Women and the Family (formerly known as the Glickman Center) in Tel Aviv often need additional support. The Hadera apartment is a step in that direction.
“We’ve seen many women who do very well at the shelter but then they have trouble on the outside,” explained Zvia Nebenzal, the center’s director. “Most women didn’t work – not because they didn’t want to, but because the men wanted them to be at home. They don’t know how to manage their finances or go to a doctor.”
The three-bedroom Hadera apartment is housing a mother and her two children, ages 1 and 3, who moved there after an eight-month stay at the center, as well as a single woman, 21, who had been living at another shelter for seven months. She already has found work and Nebenzal expects her to stay for a short time, after which another woman from the Tel Aviv shelter will move in.
NA’AMAT to hold annual event for domestic violence awareness
On Nov. 15, NA’AMAT will sponsor its annual domestic violence awareness event at Tel Aviv University. The theme this year, “See Me,” is about encouraging institutions such as education, healthcare, welfare, police, the justice system and others to recognize domestic violence and provide assistance to women.
The transitional housing is not appropriate for everyone, according to Nebenzal. A woman needs to be able to take care of herself and her children and must be capable of holding a job. She also needs to be open to the range of services that NA’AMAT provides, including a weekly therapy session with a social worker and assistance from a coach who teaches life skills such as cooking, managing a household budget and raising children.
NA’AMAT also helps the women find a job through a local employment center. “We want them to leave the shelter and never come back,” said Kim Marks, executive director of NA’AMAT USA.
According to Nebenzal, research shows that 66 percent of women who leave a domestic violence shelter without a job will end up in another violent relationship. If she gets a good job, the odds of returning to a violent relationship are near zero. “That’s why the apartment is so important. The woman must go to work; we help her but she must work. After she leaves our apartment, she will know how to live alone. She doesn’t need a man,” said Nebenzal.
The 17-story, 500-unit apartment building includes a private park and soon will have a gym. It is located in a desirable neighborhood, Nebenzal noted. “I wanted to go to the best area. I wanted my women to live in a very nice place with good neighbors, and to understand that they are no different than their neighbors,” she added. Hadera is also more affordable than Tel Aviv, making it easier for women to stay there after they move out of the transitional housing.
NA’AMAT USA provided $30,000 to pay for the apartment’s furniture and kitchen appliances. The grant was possible because of unrestricted donations, according to Marks. “This is the type of project we want to be able to respond to in the moment – and we did,” she said.
NA’AMAT Canada, which provides major support for the Center for Women and the Family, is paying for the bulk of the women’s rent. The apartment’s residents pay 1,000 shekels (about $335) a month, which they receive for three years from the Israeli Ministry of Welfare and Social Affairs. “It’s good for them to pay. If you get everything free, you don’t feel self-sufficient,” Nebenzal noted.
Marks said that the goal is to have several apartments in the same building. Nebenzal dreams of a time when every community in Israel has an apartment building where women and their families can live free from abuse and support one another. She envisions women creating a community — helping each other and celebrating holidays, birthdays and other occasions together. She said that the building could also house women fleeing abusers who never stayed at a shelter. “They can go to another city far from where they live now, get help and have their own life,” she said.
In the meantime, the Hadera apartment “is a dream come true,” Nebenzal said, adding, “We could never have done it without you — NA’AMAT’s members and donors. I want to say thank you, and I want you to be proud of it.”•
NA’AMAT from coast to coast
Message from the President
By Susan Miller
I’m excited to announce that NA’AMAT will hold a special Zoom event on Wednesday, Oct. 14, at 3 p.m. Eastern time to commemorate the bravery of a group of Israeli women soldiers on Oct. 7, 2023, and to reflect on what their courage means for all of us. Please save the date!
Our speaker will be Capt. Karni Guez. She was stationed in Egypt when she heard that Hamas terrorists had breached the border and were pouring into southern Israel. She didn’t wait for orders. She got in a tank, gathered her all-female crew, and drove toward the fighting. “I got to the border area, and I grasped the situation when I saw 40 terrorists rushing in my direction and I heard the shooting toward the tank,” Guez recalled. “And I understood: That’s it, I need to calm my fear. I’m in a war. A war for my life and a war for my fellow citizens.”
What followed was 17 hours of combat that would rewrite what Israel — and the world — believed women in uniform could do.
Guez’s tank company reached the battleground within the hour. She made a split-second decision that would prove critical: send one tank to guard the fence, another to the Sufa military post, and take her own crew to personally defend Kibbutz Holit — standing between the terrorists and the civilians inside.
Guez also will share the experiences of others on her team. Abigail Fishman, then 21, was on guard duty that morning when the first bombs fell. “I heard the bombs dropping and I heard the news, I saw everything happening live, and I knew that something was starting,” she said. Fishman held the company’s base and the Egyptian border line — alone at her post while chaos broke loose around her.
Tank commander Tamara Ziff, then 20, was home for the weekend when the attack began. She got in her car and drove straight to her base in southern Israel. “We kind of drove through the rockets, through the shootings and disturbing brutal attacks that Hamas came upon us, the civilians of Israel,” she said.
By the time the fighting subsided, Karni’s crew of four women had helped kill dozens — possibly hundreds — of terrorists. They cut off the attackers before they could reach the towns behind the line, saving hundreds of civilian lives. It was the first war in modern history in which women fought as tank crews in direct combat.
“We do the same job as the men do, we do the same work, and we fight the same,” Fishman said. “Nothing really is different just because we are women.”
Their courage changed how an entire country sees what women are capable of in its most dangerous hour. Please join me on Zoom on Oct. 14.
Register at https://naamat.org/events.
A Record Year for NA’AMAT
By Lea Templer, National Treasurer
This past fiscal year, ending June 30, NA’AMAT USA transmitted $1.67 million to NA’AMAT Israel — a 71% increase over last year’s total of just over $978,000. The $1.67 million had four sources:
• $411,000 in Named Fund grants — Payouts to NA’AMAT Israel facilities and programs from endowed funds: the Eleanore Raymer Trust (domestic abuse awareness, prevention and recovery), the Zaidins Trust (children’s services) and the Rosette Ellman Endowment (children’s services).
• $175,000 in foundation and passthrough grants — Funds NA’AMAT USA sends in full to a specific Israeli institution, including yearly grants that support Kanot and the Epstein Technological High School.
• $665,468 in donor-designated gifts — From donors who choose exactly where their money will go: for example, a day care center, emergency stipend fund or scholarship. Major gifts and grants — not counting funds raised through chapters — made up $378,000 (more than half) of this total. Donors included the Jack, Joseph and Mort Mandel Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Princeton Mercer Bucks, as well as individual donors and families. Clubs and chapters directed more than $250,000 to Israel programs and facilities, and inspired giving from their communities.
• $420,000 in Board-directed funds — Funds from investment appreciation and unrestricted fundraising directed to Israel, without drawing on principal.
Included in the $1.67 million total is $160,459 from tribute gifts in honor or in memory of a loved one. Behind every number are engaged members and donors who chose to help sustain NA’AMAT USA and the work we support in Israel.
Designated and undesignated gifts are important for different reasons. A designated gift lets donors connect directly to a place or a cause they love, such as a specific daycare center or other facility. An undesignated gift gives us the flexibility to respond quickly when something urgent comes up, such as furnishing the new transitional home for domestic violence survivors (see article on page 1). We need both to do this work well.
Thank you to everyone who gave, organized and worked to make this record year possible — our donors, our clubs and chapters, and the NA’AMAT USA staff members who support our work every day.•
Meet the NA’AMAT USA staff
NA’AMAT USA is fortunate to have professional staff members, led by Executive Director Kim Marks, who are passionate about the organization’s mission and goals. “They are each so dedicated to the women and children we serve, and the volunteers we empower,” said Marks. In the next issue of NA’AMAT Now, we will introduce you to the rest of the staff.
Macey M., Development Manager
Macey began working at NA’AMAT USA in November 2024. She has more than 17 years’ experience helping nonprofits to achieve their revenue goals. Macey, who lives in Miami, Florida, works to develop fundraising initiatives that align donors’ goals with NA’AMAT USA’s needs. NA’AMAT Israel’s focus on combating domestic violence is particularly meaningful to her, as someone who has lived experience with the issue. In her free time, Macey enjoys Pilates, cooking and her cat, Shish Kebob. She also volunteers with a Florida agency that places individuals experiencing homelessness into shelter beds.
Ashlyn E., Customer Relationship Management & Experience Manager
Ashlyn manages many of the digital systems, donor records, forms, gifts, communications tools and engagement processes that help NA’AMAT USA operate smoothly. One of the most gratifying parts of her job, which she began in February 2024, is to see the full journey of NA’AMAT USA’s community — from someone’s first gift or event registration to a deeply connected supporter of the organization. Ashlyn is grateful that her work connects her organizational and digital strengths with a mission she cares about. She lives in Indiana with her husband and their dogs, and enjoys spending time outdoors.
Adell M., Communications and Programming Manager
Adell’s focus is to develop a cohesive, strategic approach to how NA’AMAT USA communicates its mission. She enjoys working on programs that tie fundraising with specific, timely needs in Israel. Adell, who began her job in March, was born in the USSR; her family members were refuseniks who were able to leave thanks to American Jewish organizations such as NA’AMAT USA. She earned a BFA in Visual Communications from Washington University in St. Louis. Adell lives in Santa Fe, New Mexico with her partner and two daughters. She loves art and design, as well as hiking, biking and reading.•
