The Hidden Gem of Tirat Carmel

May 13, 2009

One of the delights of being a long-term visitor in Israel is that as acquaintances learn my interests, they suggest people to meet and programs to visit. Today we took the train to Haifa to meet Inbar Hurvitz, the director of the Tirat Carmel Community Foundation, and to learn about the foundation’s efforts at community development. A few minutes after getting into her car, we learned that she and her husband and lived in Berkeley for 9 years, where she earned a M.P.P. and her husband a Ph.D. in Chinese history. Both of their kids were born in the U.S. She brings not only excellent academic training, but more importantly a wonderful commitment to the people of this community. The foundation seems to function in a way that is similar to a Jewish federation in a small town. Its major functions are to convene partners to address issues and find funding through grants and partnerships with businesses. The idea of annual fundraising is quite new to Israel, so that is not yet on the table.

Tirat Carmel is a town (as distinct from a city or a village) of 21,000, adjacent to the southern edge of Haifa. Indeed, the Haifa neighborhood of Dania, one of the most exclusive communities in Israel, sits on the hill overlooking Tirat Carmel and there have been conflicts between the two over road access. About 20% of the population is recent immigrants, the largest component of which is Russian. About 40% of the population lives below the poverty level, so there are many challenges. Atar had built and directed the foundation before moving on to Sheatufim and from what we learned it has been very effective in building coalitions to address the needs of the community.

We visited an employment center that works with clients from 18 to 45, crafting programs specific to the needs of particular groups, as Tsalili, the director described for us. For example, students who are not suited for the IDF (e.g., they may have psychological, cognitive, social challenges) when they graduate from high school or especially if they do not graduate from high school, miss that crucial social experience for Israelis (other than Arabs who are not required to serve). The employment programs for the 18-21 years olds attempt to fashion what amounts to an alternative IDF experience (academic study, community service requirements) so that at 21 they are able to re-join the mainstream.

We also visited the youth center. This center has been able to capitalize on some very good luck. A vocational training school with a small campus in town closed some years ago. This campus with 6 buildings was made available to the youth center. One is an art studio, another a brand new bike shop, another a restaurant, yet another for the administrative offices. In the works is a renovation of a building to serve as a disco/club. The center provides services to at-risk youth during the mornings and then becomes a community youth center in the afternoon and evenings. One of the central activities for the at-risk youth is Sesame Sandwiches, a catering service that provides employment for about 10 kids. These teens get up at 5 in the morning to be at the center by 5:30 where they make a delicious array of sandwiches that they then deliver to the vending machines of many of the high-tech and other businesses around Tiral Carmel. Effective programs require planning, coordination, and conscientious implementation, but great personnel can often carry the day. Tal is the big-hearted director of the food program. How did he come to direct this program, getting up at 5 in the morning to supervise at-risk kids, which he obviously loves to do? He worked in his family’s food business, with its ups and downs, for a number of years until his wife persuaded him to go to university to find a new career. He went to the Tiral Carmel employment center and this opportunity was something he could not pass up. Aiton, the overall director, brought several years of working with teens in Jerusalem and seems to overflow with ideas.

Tirat Carmel is further blessed to have one of the most remarkable people and certainly business people that I have ever met. Yoki Gill, the founder and director of Source Vagabond Systems, is tall and lanky with thinning gray hair, pulled back into a ponytail. He speaks with a calm and almost subdued voice, but a powerful message about human dignity. We met in his “office,” one corner of the second floor of the sprawling warehouse-like structure that is the home to this company that employs a remarkably diverse workforce of 200. He related to us the history of his company that began about 30 years ago after he and his wife had returned from 2 years of travel, following their service in the IDF. Starting in their apartment, they have built a company that not only creates highly regarded outdoor gear, but one that has incorporated concepts like “dignity,” “relationships,” and “sustainability” into they way they treat their employees and the communities in which the work and sell, especially Tirat Carmel. Yoki brought his entrepreneurial drive to the foundation. As many business people and philanthropists have commented, they want to bring business thinking to the nonprofit world, so that resources can be used more efficiently. He also, however, is strongly committed to the importance of partnerships or collaborations among nonprofits, businesses, and the government. He speaks convincingly about the importance of a holistic approach to social problems, not just trying to address education or jobs or whatever the favorite category might be. I have heard these three principles articulated, not only in Tirat Carmel, but in other settings here in Israel. What was unique and powerful was when Yoki added a fourth principle, “new terms of communication.” Terms like love, dignity, relationships, treating each other as family, sustainability form the core values for his life and for his company. For the first time, I have heard some “tzedakah” language in discussing philanthropic interests and goals, so I asked him what the word meant to him. He smiled and said, ”You know Israelis are straightforward, so I’ll answer you directly. Philanthropy, tzedakah, does not mean much to me because there is free choice. I think this is not free choice, it is an obligation.” He went on to explain how he built into the corporate by-laws that his company would donate 5% of the profits to charity. In fact, one of the core features of tzedakah is that while we were indeed created as beings with free will, it is the commandments, the mitzvot, that in Jewish tradition bring us closer to holiness (or whatever non-theological term might apply to the concept of holy). As we strip away mitzvot (keeping kosher, resting on Shabbat, and etc.), at some point we come to one of the core mitzvot—tzedakah--meeting our obligations to our fellow human-beings in need. I think Yoki Gill is engaged in tzedakah, not just social entrepreneurship.

As we were finishing the 60th minute of our 30 minute appointment, Inbar briefly asked about a political issue in Canada. Apparently Mountain Equipment Co-op, the largest outdoor equipment chain in Canada and a major customer of Source products has been embroiled in a membership controversy over whether to buy Israeli products. Putting aside the moral simplicity or even obtuseness of those who have tried to frame criticisms of Israel in the language of divestment, anyone who knew anything about this man and this company would denounce efforts to ban its products without hesitation. Yoki let us know that there is even discussion about the need to remove Israeli labels from products sold in parts of Europe. Much work needs to be done to shift the debates about Israel (and there is much to debate, as Israelis do very well) from the existential questions of its legitimacy to political and social dimensions.