Batya Gitahon
Participant, JDC's Center for Young Adults, Hadera
Meet Batya and learn about her role at at JDC's Center for Young Adults in Hadera..
21-year-old Batya made Aliyah to Israel with her family when she was four years old. Upon arrival to Israel, Batya and her family were placed in an absorption center in Safed, where they lived for one year. At that point they were then moved to a caravan site, where they lived for three years, where they felt isolated from the rest of Israeli society.
Batya's mother then decided that the family should move to a permanent housing situation, and the family settled in Hadera. This transition to a new home in a new place was meaningful for the family, as it marked the beginning of their real Israeli life. As Batya grew, she began to notice all the things that bothered her about life in Israel for the Ethiopian community and in general, and she decided that something needed to be done. At this time, Batya, only a fourth grader, already had a strong sense of self-esteem and wanted to make changes. She began by establishing herself as a dance teacher for neighborhood children, whose parents could not afford to pay for extra-curricular activities. Batya's dance lessons offered the children an after school activity, keeping them off the streets in the afternoons. The lessons culminated in a neighborhood performance for parents, the mayor of the city, and all those who were interested to see the performance.
After completing high school, Batya enlisted in the army, where she served in a special unit for the Druze for two years. She was also in the army during the Second Lebanon War, which was a difficult time. Upon release from the army, Batya was invited to an event at the Center for Young Adults in Hadera for those who had just completed their army service. It was at the center that she learned of the social action initiative course. She completed the course in four months and then started the "walls speak art" project, a successful initiative of Batya and three fellow students.
Batya is beginning her course of study in International Relations this fall at University in Jerusalem.
JDC's Centers for Young Adults
Israel’s immigrant population includes some 250,000 young adults (ages 18-30) who made aliyah or were raised in immigrant families. Many of these young adult immigrants are struggling to find their place in Israeli society, due to their families’ unresolved economic, social, and cultural difficulties. A lack of services at this crucial age, when life-shaping decisions about army service, higher education, and job options are made, has led to a high rate of chronic unemployment—over 30%—among this group. As a result, potentially contributing Israeli citizens are being cast to the margins of Israeli society.
Centers for Young Adults are established in cities, which are home to large immigrant populations. Open to all young adults, they serve as a central and non-stigmatizing platform for launching projects to help young immigrants. Centers provide a wide range of counseling and orientation services under one roof, including guidance regarding higher education and vocational training; job skills such as how to find and keep a job as well as advance in the workforce; life skills, such as money management, volunteering projects, housing advice, and courses on key skills for education and employability.
