Na\u2019amat Canada and Na\u2019amat USA, which began as a North American chapter in 1925, will mark the centenary at a gala conference in Toronto in May with delegates from across Canada and the United States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a huge deal. It\u2019s a milestone,\u201d said Vivian Reisler, executive vice-president of Na\u2019amat Canada. \u201cWe\u2019ve come a long way from Golda Meir sending a message that we need $100 to build X, Y, Z.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The forerunner of Na\u2019amat was founded in 1921, in what would later become the modern state of Israel, to empower women, including providing vocational training and advocating for improved working conditions and equal pay. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Four years later, a North American branch was born and Na\u2019amat chapters were formed across Canada and the United States over the ensuing decades. Today, thousands of volunteers are continuing to empower women and children in Israel and abroad.<\/p>\n \u201cThe success of the organization is due to the dedication of the members, volunteers and donors \u2013 because, without them, we wouldn\u2019t be where we are today,\u201d said Reisler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Na\u2019amat Canada president Susan Inhaber, a member of the organization for 25 years, agrees.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\u201cWe just want to keep building, get our name out there, build the membership and thank all the donors, supporters and members who are making everything possible,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is an exciting time for us to be together. It\u2019s nice that we have an organization that\u2019s lasted so long.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n While the North American branch of Na\u2019amat (a Hebrew acronym for \u201cMovement of Working Women and Volunteers\u201d) began in 1925, Na\u2019amat Canada and Na\u2019amat USA became two autonomous divisions in 1965.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were together, we split, and now we\u2019re back together (informally, at the Toronto conference) celebrating 100 years,\u201d said Reisler.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Na\u2019amat is the largest women\u2019s organization in Israel. It provides a wide variety of services, including a daycare network for thousands of children, legal aid centres, technological high schools for students who have trouble succeeding in other classroom settings, boarding\u00a0<\/span>schools for underprivileged students, and the Na\u2019amat Canada Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention.<\/p>\n Established in 1993 in Tel Aviv, the Glickman Centre was the first women\u2019s shelter in Israel. It has three distinct sections: the shelter, a counseling and treatment area, and the Rhodie Blanshay Benaroch Children\u2019s Centre wing, a haven for children living in the shelter. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The Rhodie Blanshay Benaroch Children\u2019s Centre houses a computer room, baby nursery, kindergarten, audiovisual education corner, library, learning centre and outdoor playground, named in honour of Rhodie\u2019s granddaughter, Rho Schneiderman. A musical playground was built in honour of Rhodie\u2019s two granddaughters. Blanshay Benaroch was a dynamic third-generation Na\u2019amat member who was committed to building a safe, loving environment for children who needed it most.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Recently, Na\u2019amat Canada was instrumental in building a new middle school at Kanot Youth Village. More than 300 students will now have a state-of-the-art school to enhance their education. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel needs Na\u2019amat\u2019s help as much \u2013 or even more \u2013 than it did a century ago, said Doris Wexler-Charow, past national president of Na\u2019amat Canada.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that Oct. 7 changed everything,\u201d she said of the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust.<\/p>\n Everyone in Israel is suffering from PTSD, said Wexler-Charow, a retired social worker. \u201cEverybody\u2019s been traumatized,\u201d she said,\u00a0<\/span>explaining that Na\u2019amat is providing more counseling services than ever. \u201cIsrael needs us. It\u2019s important for us to keep going. The cause is a good one and I think we need our young people to continue where we leave off.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"photo](\"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/mar-14-milestones.14.Naamat-Glickman.jpg\")
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