ISHA Project, a part of the Jewish Agency Israel Department, is now launching a new program: "Women in the Galil".

The goal of the program is to train women leaders in the community who would lead and promote women's health and education among the women in their communities. 

The program will run in 10 community centers in the Galil: Maale Yosef, Merom Hagalil, Shlomi, Carmiel, Kefar Kama, Migdal, Daboriya, Abu Snan, Hatzor and Yavniel.

"Women in the Galil" is a joint program of the Women's department of UJIA Great Britain, the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Israel Community Centers Association.

It is a natural continuation to the general ISHA Project which was established by the Jewish Community Federation of Cleveland in 2001 and ever since then is involved in various fields including 28 community centers throughout Israel.  

Following is a quote of Joyce Wald, a lay person from Cleveland who visited the community center in Carmiel:

"In Carmiel we observed a session of the Israel Health Advancement for Women Program (ISHA).

After a snack of Hummus and cookies, we sat down with a group of women, each representing a community in the area.

They were attending the second meeting of a four-month workshop designed to teach them about protecting and advancing the health of women, to provide them with leadership skills, and then guide them in implementing a program for the women of their own communities.

At this particular meeting, we were struck by the diversity of the group.

All of the faces, young and old, were warm. All of the faces were friendly.

But each face was unique. In this group of native Israelis, Holocaust survivors, new immigrants from the Soviet Union and Ethiopia, Muslims, and Christian Arabs were diverse women working together to meet their common goals.

Each woman introduced herself and told us a little about where she was from and what she hoped to accomplish.

Many knew of Cleveland and thanked us for the role our Jewish Community federation played in their own projects."

The success of ISHA, however, lies not only in the determination of the program's participants, but in the ability of its supporting bodies to continually create programs that provide the participants with unique, life changing experiences. With your help, ISHA can continue to welcome new participants and to inspire them, so that they, in turn, will be able to share this inspiration with the greater community. Donate now.