The Hiriya Recycling Park is visited by children from all over Israel. Here, they learn through experiential education about the connection between the plastic cup they toss in the garbage and the environment we live in.
The park is in Bnei Brak, a majority Haredi municipality, but most Haredi students never visit it.
The Haredi women participating in the LeShma organization’s Policy Training Program together with the Interdisciplinary Center came to the Hiriya Park looking to promote environmental awareness in Haredi
education. The Hiriya program was not adapted to the Haredi community’s needs, due to nuances in instruction and content. In cooperation with the Hiriya management, Haredi female guides joined the staff to teach girls from Bnei Brak and around the country. In the future, Haredi men will also be trained as guides for boys.
This initiative was led by Haredi women who work in senior roles and raise large families. Though they barely have a free moment, they choose to use their professional knowledge to lead initiatives to improve the
community. They do this with the help of the LeShma, established by Miri Rozen of Bnei Brak. The organization provides a platform for Haredi women who want to contribute to the community.
Miri is guided by two core values: “All our activities have deep links to the Haredi community’s values and come from a place of belonging and love.” The second value – the women who are selected to participate in activities are diverse and represent a range of all the ethnicities, communities and streams in Haredi society- Ashenazi and Middle Eastern, Hasidic and Lithuanian. “Each one represents and reflects a different voice and
need. Each requires a different response.”
The organization began working in two arenas: changing policy and working with female Haredi students. The Policy Training Program to help Haredi women lead systemic change, runs in cooperation with the Lauder School of Government at the Interdisciplinary Center and is in its second cohort. Participants have chosen to work on environmental education, policies for informal education for Haredi children, awareness of addiction issues among educators, implications of the changing job market on employment, and government support for Haredi artists.
The second arena is Haredi female students at the Ono Academic College and Hebrew University who participate in a program to promote community, social action and social responsibility.
Following the consultation Miri received in MAOZ’s Meitzim Accelerator, LeShma expanded its activities to work with local government with the belief that this is the heartbeat of the community. The LeShma program develops a professional pipeline for local governments with large Haredi populations where they submit projects led by Haredi women. The program, started in cooperation with the Forum for Haredi Local
Governments, led by Network member Arik Adler, CFO of Bnei Brak municipality, and the pilot began with 6 local authorities and 7 projects. 14 women are receiving training and leading diverse projects including
a youth center in Modi’in Illit, a center for parents and children with disabilities in Ashdod, a system for setting appointments in Bnei Brak and more. Participants have full backing of their municipalities and support and mentoring to ensure optimal success.