Ethiopian singers from ESRA project at Hefzibah, Netanya excite participants at ESRA AGM

ESRA’s Annual General Meeting was held on May 5 in Raanana and according to some of the long-serving officers it was one of the best attended ever.

A warm thank you was extended to Debby Lieberman as chairperson of ESRA for the past three years and a there was a warm welcome to the new co-chairs, Adele Hunter and Nina Zuck, who were previously vice-chairs. They have now moved into the hot seats and are being replaced by two new vice-chairs, Val Kantor and Jane Krivine.

The new Executive and Control Committees were also voted in, and the Financial Statements for 2009 were approved, as were the auditors Stark & Stark.

Merle Guttmann, Honorary Life President and Founder of ESRA, divided her address into two topics, the first being “Israel’s national honesty and integrity and ESRA’s part”. Although ESRA has always acted with honesty and integrity, Merle gave us food for thought and a challenge for the years ahead. Our projects and programs of excellence have given the disadvantaged children in our society enrichment, hope and encouragement for their future. But could we not, through and in these programs, also instill good and decent citizenship and behavior? The preparation of a planned, multi-faceted, well thought out program, to promote ethical understanding and behavior through our different educational programs could awaken the awareness of the over 7,000 students whose lives we touch through our various projects. Let us take up the challenge, said Merle, and be part of helping a reawakening of becoming, once again, an “exemplary society and people”.

Merle’s second topic, “Does ESRA have a future?” is a frequently asked question. She answered by stating the fact that five new ESRA branches started up in the last 18 months, and the fact that the number of English immigrants is growing continuously and that we should be involved in their social absorption much more effectively. ESRA’s future depends upon our developing new areas; expanding existing ones; effectively absorbing new Anglo immigrants; expanding our volunteer jobs and especially our English tutoring in order to activate our English-speaking population, and activating new Anglo pensioners. Volunteering is a vital and critical element of ESRA’s being and vitality, and activating volunteers ensures the future of ESRA, concluded Merle.

Merle thanked Debby Lieberman for her tremendous commitment, deep caring, untiring hard work and real sacrifice. She kept harmony in ESRA during a time of difficulty and challenge.

Debby Lieberman spoke of the last three years of challenges and accomplishments during her term of office, including some major changes of key leadership and staff. ESRA not only survived these changes, but is growing and developing in many directions. New leadership potential is always being sought and nurtured, courses, seminars and workshops for leadership are offered to members, and our new achievements are impressive and exciting.

Adele Hunter thanked everyone for their support and said that having been a volunteer in ESRA for the last 15 years means she knows exactly what the position of joint-chairman entails and she is going into this new position with her eyes wide open. She hopes that she and Nina Zuck, together with the two new vice-chairs and executive, would carry ESRA’s good name into the future and build on new projects and ideas, and that they would have the support of everyone for their new roles in ESRA.

Nina spoke of the excitement of working in the leadership of ESRA and of the daily joy in overcoming problems and challenges to reach viable, vibrant, working events, activities and projects. “I often feel like Alice in Wonderland,” she said. “It starts when you slide into the warren at the ESRA office – dozens of white rabbits scurrying in and out mumbling ‘where are my glasses, where are my car keys, where are my papers, I’m late for a very important date’ and it continues on to the many mad hatter’s tea parties (where seldom is there any tea) where one comes out feeling 10 feet tall or smaller than a mouse and where, by the end of the day one is so bewildered that it’s impossible to remember what happened at the start of day. And then there’s the queen of hearts struggling to maintain decorum, while the soldiers are shouting ‘off with her head!’. The most amazing thing in this wonderland is that finally things come together; total sense is made of chaotic beginnings, and events and projects by the dozen all actually happen.”

A surprise speaker was the head of the Hefzibah (Netanya) Ethiopian neighborhood steering committee who, with much emotion, thanked ESRA for improving the lives and raising the standard of a whole community by listening to the needs of the community and then acting upon them. He especially appreciated Nina’s great personal involvement in this endeavor. His bottom line was that if the government could run Israel the way ESRA runs Hefzibah, we’d have a far superior country!

This year a few results of our ESRA projects were shown to the audience. The appearance of young Ethiopian singers and dancers from our Project of Excellence in the Arts in Hefzibah Netaya turned out to be the highlight of the evening.  The choir sang Irish and Hebrew songs, and the dancers performed a charming Ethiopian folk dance. The excitement in the hall was palpable as much of the audience was seeing, for the first time, how our projects are enriching and improving the lives of less advantaged children.

Roger Lavender, chair of the finance committee, presented the financial report which showed ESRA to be in a really strong position at the end of a year that had started out as promising to be a difficult one. Thanks to the treasurers for their sound financial investments and advice.

Thanks were given to our wonderful staff in Herzliya and Raanana for their devotion and dedication to ESRA. Reports on new happenings in ESRA were given by Nina Zuck on community projects, Adele Hunter on welfare, Audrey Goodman on the vast amount of cultural and social activities happening in the near future, Val Kantor on volunteering and services and Jane Krivine showed our new website which promises to bring us right into the cutting edge of technology for the 21^st century.

Linda Olmert, our Executive Director concluded the business of the evening with a detailed breakdown of ESRA’s achievements in all the areas of finance, projects, volunteers, communities, populations and individuals empowered and enriched by ESRA’s social, cultural and welfare activities.

The evening ended on a high note with a cheese and wine gathering where the feeling among the participants was one of excitement and positive energy for the future.

Thanks to all our volunteers: those on committees, those in the field and especially those who do both.