Grapevine: Good, nutritious food in their bellies

Abandoned at the age of two, sexually abused at the age of five, raped and suffering other forms of violence as she grew older, homeless and sleeping in the streets of Tel Aviv or on the sands of the Sinai Desert, it would not come as a surprise to find that the woman with the awesome shock of red hair was a prostitute, a drug addict, or an alcoholic. But no. Mariuma Ben Yosef – founder and CEO of Shanti, a movement that takes young people at risk off the streets, gives them a roof over their heads, good, nutritious food in their bellies, plus therapies and workshops to help them walk toward a brighter future – felt the need to ensure that the next generation of young people would not have to go through all that she had endured.

It was something she later made her life’s work.

Although her life in the army had been a fulfilling experience, following her discharge she was back on the streets because she had gotten pregnant and could not imagine that anyone would give a job to a single woman who was about to have a baby. In the streets, she felt strangely safe. The youth who had similar backgrounds to hers were like extended family.

So she hit on the idea of community dinners. Everyone brought whatever they could scrounge, and shared their finds with the others. Attendance continued to grow. One day, a girl who had recently returned from India said that the gatherings reminded her of the Indian shantis – chants which offer inner peace. The word clicked, and in 1984 the first Beit Hashanti was born, providing not only meals but the closest thing to a home environment for at-risk youth – a place to sleep, to eat, to make friends, and to engage in positive life-changing experiences.

The house in Ein Kerem was purchased in 2021 by the Jerusalem Foundation and Beit Hashanti. Shai Doron, who was then president of the Jerusalem Foundation, was very excited about the project, which he hoped would receive its first inhabitants in 2022 following extensive renovation of the building. But few things start on schedule in Jerusalem, and Beit Hashanti was no exception. A war and other issues got in the way of planned progress. But happily, the building is now ready for occupancy.

Over the years, Beit Hashanti has helped more than 50,000 young people to realize their potential, to get jobs, to study, and to gain self-confidence. Ben Yosef expects that there will be many more in the next year or two, as youth whose families have been evacuated cannot adapt to their displacement. They mourn the loss of their homes, their schools, their friends, and, eventually, many get fed up with the cramped quarters of a hotel room environment, and just get up and leave. This was seen in 2005 following the disengagement from the Gaza Strip. A disturbing number of youth went off the rails because insufficient attention was paid to their psychological and emotional turmoil.

Twenty-one Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip were dismantled 20 years ago this month. Some of the residents of these settlements never recovered and were unable to build productive new lives for themselves. Ben Yosef wants to make sure that young survivors of missile attacks who have been evacuated to Jerusalem don’t have to suffer the same uncertainties.

■ ANOTHER PROJECT in which the Jerusalem Foundation and the Jerusalem Municipality have a hand is a new R&R facility for soldiers, which will include dormitories and other amenities in the heart of the National Precinct.

■ SCHEDULED FOR completion around October, the Tiferet Israel Synagogue in the Old City has been the subject of controversy about which organizations should be responsible for its management. Last week, the government gave its approval to a plan proposed by Jerusalem and Heritage Minister Meir Porush, whereby management of the project will be jointly conducted by the Jewish Quarter Restoration and Development Company and the Western Wall Heritage Foundation. That decision leaves the National Religious Party out in the cold with regard to the holy sites in the Old City. The two above-mentioned organizations already manage the Western Wall and Tunnels and the Hurva Synagogue. Both the Hurva and Tiferet Israel were seriously damaged during the War of Independence, and they suffered further damage during the 19 years in which the Old City was under Jordanian rule.

It would seem that, unlike the positions of Ashkenazi and Sephardi chief rabbi, which are limited to 10 years each, the position of rabbi of the Western Wall, which is strongly affiliated with the Western Wall Heritage Foundation, is a lifetime appointment. Though technically operating under the auspices of the Chief Rabbinate, the rabbi of the Western Wall is more or less an autonomous entity.

Rabbi Yehuda Getz, the Tunisian-born first post-United Jerusalem rabbi of the Western Wall, served in the position for 27 years until his death in 1995.

He moved to Jerusalem from his home in Kerem Ben Zimra in the Upper Galilee after Avner, one of his seven children, was killed fighting in the Six Day War. Getz himself had joined the IDF in his younger years and had risen to the rank of lieutenant-colonel.

He was succeeded in 1995 by Rabbi Shmuel Rabinowitz, who this year celebrates the 30th anniversary of his appointment as rabbi of the Western Wall and Holy Sites. Rabinowitz is also chairman of the Western Wall Heritage Foundation.