Helping Kavkazi Jews in Israel

The 100,000-member Kavkazi Jewish community, Caucasus Mountain Jews from Azerbaijan and neighboring areas in the former Soviet Union, has faced unique challenges in adapting to life in Israel.

The traits that enabled this special Jewish community to survive through the centuries now constitute obstacles to integration into modern Israeli society. The desire for tight-knit communities, their distinctive language, and the conservative values that long sustained the Kavkazim are now a hindrance to their adjustment.

The Challenge of Integrating the Kavkazim

The key issues now facing the Kavkazim include:

• A lack of Hebrew proficiency.

• A 25 percent high school dropout rate.

• Unemployment, financial distress, and poverty.

• A lack of role models and communal leadership.

UJA-Federation's Response

In response to these challenges, UJA-Federation of New York is engaged in a groundbreaking initiative in Beersheva, which is home to about 20,000 Kavkazim and is the largest Kavkazi community in Israel. The initiative is designed to address the diverse challenges that face this distinct population.

UJA-Federation, working with the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC), has developed a comprehensive range of interventions for teens and their parents. The initiative consists of some 15 programs run by JDC, the city of Beersheva, and a number of government agencies and local community-based organizations. These programs involve some 700 teens and their families.

The Beersheva Initiative: KELIM

Read more about the Beersheva Initiative (PDF) and its 2008–2009 programs (PDF).

Together, these individual projects form a large-scale, citywide intervention to help the Kavkazim in Beersheva. Specifically, these programs nurture talented Kavkazi-Israeli youth to inspire community pride and break down negative stereotypes. They offer personalized mentoring to help Kavkazi teenagers entering ninth grade transition to high school, and high school preparation for preteens in junior high; provide group and individual treatment for at-risk youth; create youth centers to offer such activities as sports, music, martial arts, and games; and hold parent workshops in three central neighborhoods. A Youth Leadership Council has been formed so Kavkazi teenagers can participate in the ongoing development of the initiative.

UJA-Federation supports this high-impact initiative that aims to influence change on a citywide scale. Over a period of time, we hope to see a decrease in the high school dropout rate, an increase in scholastic achievement, positive social behavioral changes, and an overall improved psychological, educational, and community status of these youth — and, therefore, ultimately strengthen the entire Kavkazi-Israeli community.