From the Editor 185

June 2016 ESRA News

It always amazes me, even after 37 years, how this magazine comes together, particularly as a welcome mass of unsolicited articles are submitted, written by you our readers, and I never know what the final melange will be. Take this issue for example, we received ten pages on food – vegan haunts, markets where you indulge in mouth-watering food to be drunk down with cold draft beer in the sizzling summer months, as reflected in our cover. Savor them!

Again timely for the summer holidays, there are ideas for a hike to beautiful Ramat Menashe; interesting trips to the Ela Valley to relive the biblical story of David and Goliath, or to the Ochberg Memorial to learn about the South African philanthropist who saved children's lives, or get to know the Bedouin community in the Galilee. Visit the Museum of Zionism in Jerusalem, Eretz Museum in Tel Aviv to see the breathtaking photographic exhibition of animals in nature, or revel in naïve art at Gina Gallery in Dizengoff. Of course, if you want to travel abroad, go to France to follow in the footsteps of D-Day heroes.

Talking about museums, there is a laudable new project at the David Tower hosting children with handicaps and their families on the Jewish holidays.

Wonderful stories for you to read: love letters found in the trash from a Rhodesian soldier to a Tel Aviv belle; a 6-year old kibbutz boy who meets the future president; growing trees in Morocco to mend the wounds between the Moslems and the Jews; a Jewish tartan produced for kosher kilts; a girl who grew up tormented with a photo of a missing head; how a lecture on hemorrhoids lead to creative writing; 3 R's - rabbinical, ravings and rantings; Aunt Rose's life turning sour in south Bronx; reminiscing about telephonic communication in Israel in the 60s, 70s and 80s; a young talented musician who discovers his Jewish roots and leaves Mexico to settle in Israel.

Read about ESRA's social, volunteering and community events, how we assist disadvantaged people – these activities and projects will surely inspire you to become an active member of this dynamic organization.

Sports fiends can read about basketball player Delaney who uplifted Israeli teams; and the efforts of a group of English speakers in Ra'anana who are pushing for rules for bikers of electric cycles.

If you want to sit quietly at home, there are book suggestions, a crossword or bridge bidding tactics to tax your brain, jokes to laugh at, consumer advice that will make you more astute, poems with which you can identify, "Waiting for all this to end" and "We were young once".

Please support us by sending in your New Year greetings and donating to our annual ESRA campaign 2016 – 2017.

About the author

Merle Guttmann

Merle Guttmann was born and educated in Zimbabwe and immigrated to Israel in 1962. She is well-known in Israeli Anglophone circles and Israel’s social and volunteer fields. A social planner, writer, editor and active community leader, she has held tens of positions serving Israeli society.

Guttmann has an M.A. degree in Social Planning from Bar Ilan University, and a B.A. from Cape Town University. She has taught at the Tel Aviv and Bar Ilan Universities and worked in Israel for the National Insurance Institute, Maccabi Health Fund, Ministry of Defense, and other public bodies. She has authored many publications and articles.

For over forty years Ms. Guttmann has been actively involved in the world of volunteering in Israel. She has helped set up numerous nonprofit organizations and served on their board of directors. Her most recent position (2003–2009) was chairperson of ETZA – Israel Self Help Center. She has also served on the boards of the Center of Small Businesses in Raanana (Mati), the Center for Family Peace (Herzliya), the National Council of Voluntarism in Israel, Telfed – South African Zionist Federation, the United Jewish Israel Appeal, and is a former member of the Kfar Shmaryahu Local Council.

Guttmann was the founder and chairperson and is the Life President of ESRA – English Speaking Residents Association, a self help organization composed of volunteers assisting in the absorption of English speakers and a multitude of social and community welfare projects for immigrants from distressed countries, disadvantaged families and people with disabilities. She is also the Editor of the ESRA MAGAZINE which she initiated in 1979.

Guttmann is the recipient of many awards for her contribution to Israeli society including the Israel President’s Award for Voluntarism (1992), the Prime Minister’s Award for Outstanding Volunteer Leadership (1999) and the Telfed Yakir Zion (2008).

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