Making a Lasting Impact through Education

Hadasa was born and raised in Derbent, Dagestan. A successful schoolteacher, she taught English for thirteen years, yet aspired to make a significant contribution to Jewish life in Derbent. An active member of the Caucasus Mountain Jewish community, Hadasa studied Hebrew and founded the city's first Hebrew Sunday school. A true success, children and adults alike studied there, and satellite courses were even offered in the state-run education system, a remarkable professional achievement.

In 1993, Hadasa came to Israel as part of an educational delegation, co-sponsored by JDC. She had always dreamed of moving to Israel with her husband and three children, but not before contributing what she could to her hometown. While in Israel she arranged for JDC to assist her in her efforts to educate her community in the former Soviet Union, obtaining books, Passover Haggadot and arranging for funding of a large communal gathering to celebrate the upcoming Passover holiday.

But the rampant and growing anti-semitism, fear of war and terrorism due to their proximity to Chechnya, and increasing threats from the local Muslim community heightened the sense of urgency which ultimately resulted in Hadasa's moving with her family to Israel in October 1994, leaving her home and belongings intact.

In Israel, Hadasa immediately began to contribute to the Mountain Jewish community. She aided JDC-Brookdale with its 1995 mapping of the Mountain Jewish community in Sderot. She then found work in the Ministry of Education, assisting in the integration of immigrants in schools, including Mountain Jews. And most recently, after furthering her studies, she reached what she considers the ultimate in her ability to contribute to the Mountain Jewish community in Israel: Hadasa is the professional in charge of JDC's educational activities for Mountain Jews in its Youth and Education Division.

"I felt I needed to do something for the children. I sought the place in which I could make a real and lasting impact. At JDC, I feel I can influence the system and truly create change. It is vital that we succeed in doing so."

Through and with JDC, Hadasa is doing just that.