In her first visit to Israel earlier this month as US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton initiated a meeting with NIF grantee Supportive Community – Women’s Business Development Center.  Founded in 2003, Supportive Community has assisted 1,600 Israeli women in becoming economically self sufficient through micro-business development.

The organization focuses on helping Israel’s most disadvantaged sectors - new immigrants from the former Soviet Union and Ethiopia, ultra-Orthodox and Arab women - and brings together the country’s diverse populations in courses and workshops.

Hillary Clinton together with Yulia Resnikov, Deputy Dirctor and Founder. 

Lena Gurary, Executive Director of Supportive Community who immigrated to Israel from Uzbekistan in 1992, said that the initiative for the meeting came from the American administration.  She explained, “Two of our women who set up a film production company took part in a workshop given by the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. Their work was then included in an informational film made by the Embassy. A senior aide of Secretary Clinton suggested that she meet with us and she eagerly agreed.”

Shortly after the meeting, Clinton told Israel’s Channel 2 News, “I enjoyed the opportunity to have a discussion with a group of women entrepreneurs, just a short while ago at the hotel, who are being featured in a little video made for a contest that the US State Department is running seeking interesting projects around the world. This project from Israel discusses a supportive community that helps women become entrepreneurs, particularly immigrant women, women from the former Soviet Union, women from Ethiopia and elsewhere."

Hillary Clinton meets staff, partner and women entrepreneurs who have graduated from Supportive Community's courses.

She added, “As we discuss the critical issues of our time, it’s also important to remember why we do this.  It is to provide the people, who both the prime minister and I are privileged to represent, with a chance to fulfill their own dreams, to live lives in safety and security, and to be given the opportunity to fulfill their own God-given potential.”

Yulia Resnikov recounted, "Secretary Clinton was very concerned to hear how the global economic crisis is affecting our graduates. We told her that none of our participants have gone bankrupt yet, but we fear this may start to happen if the situation does not pick up soon."