Rasnic

Record Negev Dinner

Left to right: Gary Segal, 2014 Jewish National Fund Negev Dinner honoree, 2016 honoree Shirley Barnett and Ilan Pilo, Jerusalem emissary and executive director of JNF Pacific Region. (photo by Robert Albanese)

The tally is in. On April 10, the Jewish National Fund, Pacific Region’s soldout Negev Dinner raised a record-breaking $1 million to rebuild a shelter in Rishon LeZion. To be called the Vancouver Shelter, it will be a safe haven for families of all religions and backgrounds while providing them with the time and space to forge new independent lives. It will be run and operated by the Israeli nonprofit No to Violence Against Women, which works with women and children fleeing domestic abuse. The shelter project was selected by dinner honoree Shirley Barnett.

Josh Cooper, chief executive officer of JNF of Canada, praised Barnett for her community leadership and Frank Sirlin, JNF-PR president, lauded her dedication to the Jewish value of tikkun olam, repairing the world. Addressing the dinner guests, Sirlin said about Barnett’s philanthropic work, “Shirley knows what she wants and she makes it happen.” He also thanked the JNF-PR’s board and donors for making the event a great success.

Ilan Pilo, JNF Jerusalem emissary and Pacific Region executive director, spoke about the importance of the shelter and the funds raised from the dinner for it. He thanked the community at large, as well as the volunteers, lay leaders, dinner chairs and committee and all JNF supporters for supporting the project and for making it a record-breaking year.

photo - Jewish National Fund Negev Dinner honoree Shirley Barnett, left, and B.C. Premier Christy Clark — Jewish National Fund Negev Dinner honoree Shirley Barnett, left, and B.C. Premier Christy Clark. *(photo by Robert Albanese)*

Attending the dinner, which was held at the Four Seasons Hotel, were several dignitaries, including Consul-General of Israel to Toronto and Western Canada D.J. Schneeweiss, Premier Christy Clark, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Linda Reid, Minister of Justice and Attorney General Suzanne Anton, Minister of Advanced Education Andrew Wilkinson, B.C. NDP House Leader and Official Opposition Solicitor General Critic Mike Farnworth, former member of Parliament Stockwell Day, former member of the Legislative Assembly Grace McCarthy, and founder of No to Violence Against Women, Ruth Rasnic.

Entertainment for the evening was provided by Arik Davidov, an Israeli trumpet player, who also impressed the audience with his shofar playing. Arnold and Anita Silber were this year’s honorary chairs for the Negev Dinner and television and radio broadcaster Shane Foxman was master of ceremonies. Lorne and Melita Segal hosted a reception at their home the night before the dinner.

Since its inception in 1901, JNF has been the sole agency responsible for the development and infrastructure of land in Israel. Its many programs include land reclamation, reforestation and road-building.

Donations go directly to fulfilling the needs of one of the many development areas such as water, forestry and environment, education, community development, security, tourism and recreation, and research and development. For more information, contact Pilo at [email protected] or 604-257-5155, ext. 821.

JNF hosts Israel’s Rasnic

At the Jewish National Fund, Pacific Region, Negev Dinner on April 10, left to right, are Ruth Rasnic, dinner honoree Shirley Barnett and B.C. Premier Christy Clark. (photo from JNF Pacific Region)

When many people think of feminism, it’s likely they connect it with the second half of the last century – names like Germaine Greer and Betty Friedan, who garnered followers in the 1970s for their discussion of equality and freedom.

Some will think of the suffrage movement at the beginning of the past century, which struggled to get women the vote.

But feminism for Ruth Rasnic means safety from harm, respect at home.

Rasnic is a much-decorated social activist recognized in her home of Israel for the work she started in the 1970s creating the organization No to Violence Against Women. She was also a founding member of Ratz, a political party that focused on human and civil rights, and, in 2008, she was appointed by former prime minister Ehud Olmert to his advisory council for women’s stature. She was awarded the Israel Prize for lifetime achievement in 2009, joining the ranks of Golda Meir, Abba Eban and Amos Oz.

Established by Rasnic in 1978, No to Violence Against Women provides emergency housing for victims of physical or psychological abuse. It also runs a 24-hour hotline and advocates for women’s rights.

Rasnic was in Vancouver recently to promote the collaboration between No to Violence Against Women and the Jewish National Fund, Pacific Region (JNF) to raise funds to rebuild a shelter in Rishon Le Zion. The goal is $1.5 million Cdn.

“By building shelters like the Rishon Le Zion shelter, giving women and children a safe haven, support, empowerment, legal aid, we enable them to carve a different future for themselves and their children,” Rasnic said.

The shelters provide victims of domestic violence with a safe environment in which to get a fresh start. They are provided with clothing, access to therapy, employment and assistance in finding new housing. A 24-hour housemother ensures that someone is with the women all the time. To ensure security for the women and their children, they are housed in a shelter that is not within their own city.

“Most women are in shock when they come to the shelter,” said Rasnic. “They have nothing. They may be haggard, malnourished, suffering from PTSD. Within a week, they are physically changed.”

Israel particularly faces challenges servicing victims of domestic violence because many women are new immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Sudan, and don’t speak common languages. Many have no national status and are not medically insured.

“These are some of the harrowing things we have in the shelters,” she said. “Seven to eight percent of our residents are women, with children often, who are stateless and have no status in Israel. We are now working with the government to ensure that while these women are at the shelter, they can get medical aid.”

Rasnic said that legislation around this problem should be passed after Passover.

Rasnic was a guest of honor at the JNF Negev Dinner on April 10, and the next day visited King David High School to speak to the students. She is adamant that education has to be a key factor in making any difference in abuse toward women.

“No male baby is born a violent man. No female baby is born a victim,” she told the audience at the Negev Dinner. “These are societal norms learned in the home, school and army.”

She has even produced a book, The Shelter is My Home, which is written looking at life in a shelter through a child’s eyes.

“Nobody can take out an insurance policy for their daughters,” Rasnic said. “This is our joint responsibility.”

Beyond the issues for which she’s best known, Rasnic also feels strongly about other social issues in her hometown of Herzliya. She has worked on no-smoking campaigns, which included a free course for those wanting to quit; she has worked to get better access for people with disabilities to public areas in city; and she helped transform a kindergarten space into a drop-in health centre for teens.

At a national level, Rasnic is troubled by laws still on the books that require a woman to get her husband’s signed agreement in the case of abortion or a get (Jewish divorce document).

“Oh, talk about the get,” Rasnic said, her whole body seeming to stiffen at the thought. “Rabbis have to find a solution to the get. They must do it. My own daughter’s husband wouldn’t give her a get for three years.”

While in Vancouver, Rasnic remarked on the federal government’s new cabinet, which comprises 50% women, and Christy Clark being British Columbia’s premier.

“I think it’s wonderful,” she said. “I think it will make a better society. I don’t think women are cleverer than men – I think we’re sensitized to different issues that men have simply ignored.”

No to Violence Against Women has three shelters in Israel, in Hadera, Herzliya and Rishon Le Zion. The fundraising efforts spearheaded by Rasnic are to rebuild the shelter in Rishon Le Zion, to be renamed the Vancouver Shelter. The cause was chosen as the beneficiary of the Negev Dinner by this year’s honoree, Shirley Barnett. To donate to the campaign, visit jnf.ca/index.php/vancouver/campaigns/negev-campaign.

Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer and media trainer in Vancouver. Her consulting work can be seen at phase2coaching.com.

Barnett fêted at Negev

Shirley Barnett, a longtime community activist and philanthropist, is to be honored by the Jewish National Fund at its annual Negev Dinner April 10.

photo - Shirley Barnett — Shirley Barnett *(photo from JNF Pacific Region)*

“The Jewish National Fund is a strong organization that is entering a new stage of many joint ventures and many new directions and worthy of support,” said Barnett, who selected as the recipient project of the event a shelter for women and children fleeing domestic violence.

Jewish National Fund, Pacific Region, is collaborating with No to Violence Against Women, which was established in 1978 by Israel Prize laureate Ruth Rasnic, who is scheduled to be in Vancouver for the event.

The goal is to raise $1.5 million for the project, which will shelter 10 to 12 families at a time and provide victims of domestic violence with a safe environment from which they can start over. Staff and volunteers of the organization work with families to access therapy, secure income and new housing.

As many as 65% to 70% of women and children fleeing domestic abuse in Israel cannot access shelters due to lack of availability. Moreover, the shelters run by No to Violence Against Women are the only ones open to people of all religions and denominations, said Barnett.

The shelter, in Rishon Le Zion near Tel Aviv, will be named the Vancouver Shelter.

The cause is in line with Barnett’s lifetime work.

“I was involved in the women’s movement going way back to the ’60s,” she told the Independent. “I was on the board of directors of the Vancouver Status of Women in the ‘60s. I’ve always been aware of the lack of empowerment in women and the lack of women seeing their potential to be strong. And, when you’re abused, you need to develop the strength to be more resilient.”

Barnett said she knew she wanted to be a social worker from age 12. While at the University of British Columbia, she had the opportunity to work as a women’s matron at Oakalla prison in Burnaby.

“I was always interested in institutional work, I don’t know why,” she said. “I worked there for about half a year and then I did my fieldwork in juvenile probation.” She worked in other prison settings, as well as with people with addictions.

“More recently, I was on the board of the Odd Squad Society,” she said. “It’s a group of police officers who do gang prevention work in their off-hours.”

She also helped found Food Runners, now part of the Vancouver Food Bank. It is a program in which a refrigerated truck picks up surplus food from hotels and restaurants and delivers it to organizations that feed people.

After graduating with a bachelor of social work degree, Barnett worked for a federal agency setting up affirmative action projects for women and resettlement projects for Ugandan refugees.

As a volunteer, she served on the board of directors of the Jewish Family Service Agency for 12 years, including four as president. She also spent two years as the agency’s acting executive director. During that time, she founded the Hebrew Free Loan Association, which now holds more than $1 million in assets and has provided thousands of loans to people in need.

Barnett has also co-chaired campaigns for the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCCGV) and the Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia (JMABC). She was the first president of Shalva, a facility in Israel for special needs children. She established a garden in Fir Square at B.C. Women’s Hospital and a unit for addicted mothers and their infants, a peer-to-peer coaching program at the UBC Counseling Centre, a pilot project at Vancouver Hospital for early intervention for depression in women, and led the restoration of the old Jewish Cemetery at Mountain View. She has advised the Aboriginal Mother Centre and currently serves on the faculty of arts advisory committee to the dean of arts at UBC, on the board of directors of the JMABC and on the Schara Tzedeck Cemetery board, and she is an honorary director of the Hebrew Free Loan Association.

With her brother, Philip Dayson, she administers the Ben and Esther Dayson Charitable Foundation, which provides philanthropic funds to local Jewish and other community causes, particularly in the area of non-market housing and rental subsidies for members of the Jewish community.

Barnett said that the shelter project in Israel is especially meaningful because it is supported by the JNF, a charity that her family has always supported.

“We grew up with the JNF in our house,” she said.

In addition to the latest honor from the JNF, Barnett’s contributions to the community have been recognized by the JCCGV, N’Shei Chabad and Jewish Women International, and she received the Gemilut Chasadim award from the International Association of Hebrew Free Loans.

The sold-out Negev Dinner takes place at the Four Seasons Hotel.