Pictured: Kav L’Noar’s Founding Director, Dr. Ron Wachtel and MK Dr. Avraham Neguise
Kav L’Noar at the Knesset
Anglo Olim have it easy
The Israeli Establishment has long believed that Anglo Olim ‘have it easy’. Unlike Olim from other countries like the Former Soviet Union or Ethiopia, it is assumed that English speakers in Israel are all wealthy and that it is easy for them to fit into the Israeli way of life. Dr. Ronald Wachtel founded Kav L’Noar because he could see and hear from Anglo Olim families all around him that this was not true. Many English speakers were struggling financially, socially, linguistically and emotionally. Many felt that they had nowhere to turn to for help with emotional crises.
14 years on, and not much has changed. We still treat many, many English speakers who usually pay the minimum fee. Yet just a few months ago, the Knesset’s Aliya and Integration Ministry told the Knesset that ‘immigrants to Israel from English-speaking countries have no unique needs and do not require any special assistance.’
What has changed for Anglo Olim? MK Neguise and the Knesset Committee
English speaking olim now have a new champion in Likud MK Avraham Neguise, who recently declared that “There are challenges unique to English speakers that must be addressed”. He has committed himself to learning more about these challenges. The Knesset Committee that he chairs, the Immigration Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee, has had a series of meetings over the last few months with a group called Unified Anglo Voice. Unified Anglo Voice is led by the World Zionist Organization. The group includes representatives of agencies that work with English speakers, including Kav L’Noar.
The group focuses on a number of key areas, including mental health. Kav L’Noar was invited to present its recommendations to MK Neguise and the Knesset Committee. We are proud to be a part of this important forum, enabling us to emphasize the importance of providing funded, accessible and culturally sensitive interventions for English speaking at-risk teens and families in Israel.
Watch the video of Kav L’Noar Therapist and Director of School Group Programs Akiva Harow making recommendations in reference to Anglo Olim to MK Avraham Neguise at a recent Knesset Immigration Absorption and Diaspora Affairs Committee meeting.
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