On March 12, SHATIL led a day on multi-cultural leadership for young adults from throughout the North, as part of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee’s (JDC) efforts to convince young people to stay in the North rather than moving to the center of the country. On the agenda was transforming the Ethiopian, Kavkazi (from the Caucuses Mountains,) Former Soviet Union, Haredi and native-born populations into a cadre of young leaders that initiates social change. 

Participants in the Keeping the Young in the North day
(Amiram Goldin, head of SHATIL’s Galil office, is first on the right).

The seminar took place in the new Young Adult Center in Tzfat, one of seven such JDC- initiated centers in the North. Each center aims at creating a parliament of local young people that democratically advocates for the needs of young adults in their community. Participants spoke of the importance of recognizing and utilizing the unique treasures of each community. Masha Buman of Alma College argued that multi-culturalism is Israel’s best chance to blossom and flourish.