Neighborhood Renewal in Rehovot

By Ofir Abikasis,
Director of the Torani Teachers Garin,
Orot Israel College Rehovot Campus

A few years ago, the Rehovot neighborhood of Oshiot was on a downward spiral. Residents were afraid to go out at night. No one wanted to come to the neighborhood and everyone there wanted to leave. But if you were to ask one of the residents now, you would hear that there's no longer any reason to leave – Oshiot is blossoming again! Police statistics show the crime in the neighborhood has dropped by 50% since 2005, the year the Torani Teachers Garin came to the neighborhood.

Since the Torani Teachers Garin began around ten years ago, it has succeeded in effecting social change in the targeted neighborhoods and populations in Rehovot. The Oshiot neighborhood, which was known for its high density of new immigrants from the FSU, Yemen and especially Ethiopia, has seen a renaissance due to the Torani Teachers Garin members who came to live in the neighborhood.

The garin started as a small group of students and graduates of Orot College's "Moreshet Yaakov" campus in Rehovot and the Yeshivat Hesder "Orot Yaakov", with almost no resources. However, they saw the need for social change in Israeli society as a national mission, and they set for themselves the goal to impact every needy household in the Oshiot neighborhood through a number of social initiatives.

One such program concentrated on Ethiopian olim, helping to close social gaps and advance their integration into mainstream Israeli society. The garin members received training to run leadership development seminars, pre-enlistment preparatory courses, cultural and social events for the Ethiopian youth at the local community center. Before that the local Ethiopian youth had no place to meet except the street. Now they flock to the center where they are occupied with positive activities.

Another garin project is the "Advocacy Initiative" in which each volunteer advocate from the garin agrees to adopt one or more families in distress and to become personally involved in securing solutions for their day-to-day, as well as long-term needs. Each advocate must have prior experience in social activism and community work and is supervised by social workers from the municipal Welfare Department. The advocates make a long-term commitment to the family, assisting them in seeking whatever support the family members need to overcome obstacles and give them the tools they need to realize their full potential and become productive members of Israeli society.

The garin members have earned the respect and gratitude of the Rehovot Municipality and the Oshiot neighborhood residents for their concern for the community, and for their activities promoting the integration of diverse groups into Israeli society. The presence of the garin has not only raised the quality of life in the area, but the property values too. The light of hope kindled by the garin in the Oshiot neighborhood continues to burn brightly today.