In a city where Anglo, Russian and Ethiopian immigrants live side by side with sabras of Moroccan and other extractions - not to mention the full gamut of religious observance - the Beit Shemesh Women's Council appears to be fulfilling its founder's purpose: to advance the status of women in the city and break down its disparate communities' barriers.

If attendance is a sign of success, then last week's gathering of more than 100 Beit Shemesh women to celebrate the council's first anniversary validated the view that it is well on its way to fulfilling its goals.

MK Naomi Blumenthal (Likud) spoke to the first-anniversary gathering of the group. In its first year of operation, the council drew close to 700 women from all pockets of Beit Shemesh's population to courses and lectures on a wide range of topics.

Favorites - given in Hebrew, Russian and English - include courses in starting and running a business, health issues (in particular, breast cancer), time-management, family planning, and parenting a family as a single mother.

Following the event last week, American Davida Nugiel says she's had dozens of new inquiries about courses and other offerings in the coming year. That agenda will be discussed at the council's general meeting, May 23rd.

City Vice-Mayor Stella Valter, a council founder of Russian extraction and its current president, was there along with Sarit Ramon, a sabra, who has also been a major force in the birth of the multi-cultural council.

Local women's councils exist throughout Israel, but Beit Shemesh's, one of the newest, takes on special importance because of its focus on drawing together disparate sections of the population in a city that, in recent years, has had its share of religious conflict. "One of our objectives [in starting the council] was to bridge the different communities," recalled Nugiel. "They are so diverse, but there is so much they can do together and learn from one another," says Nugiel, who helped found the council with fellow Anglos Mimi Kamilar and Nicole Levine.

Blumenthal urged the Beit Shemesh women to use their talents to advance themselves and women's issues. Her story resonated with the audience, whose diversity mirrored the city's variegated population.

The Women's Council and courses on women's empowerment have been funded by Partnership 2000 for the past four years. Davida Nugiel, an active organizer of this forum, explained that the workshops run by the council have really changed women's lives. The two most powerful programs this year were on emotional intelligence and time management. Through these workshops women were given tools to confront problems with their husbands and children. This year the United Jewish Communities in South Africa have taken over funding the women's council. Following this past year's success, plans are underway to open a women's center in Beit Shemesh with the support of Hadassah Hospital.

Tamuz 5761 - July 2001