Shaliah Sael Abecassis, far right, introduces youngsters from Central NJ to his brother, Shlomi, second from right.
Photo by Arielle Walzer
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June 4, 2009
For months, students in schools and synagogues throughout Union County have been getting up close and personal with an overseas friend, Shlomi Abecassis of Israel. Shlomi is the 15-year-old brother of Sael Abecassis, the Jewish Agency for Israel shaliah, or emissary, to the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey.
It is Sael’s task to go throughout the community, speaking to groups and running programs on Israeli culture and history and all aspects of life in the Jewish state. Through one of his programs, he has been introducing local students to Shlomi, chiefly through Internet hookups and photo displays.
The brothers are particularly qualified to convey the Israeli side of the difficulties of life in the midst of the Middle East conflict; Sael served in the army in Gaza a few years ago, and the Abecassis family lives in Sderot, the frequent target of rocket attacks from over the nearby Gaza border.
In fact, the brothers’ grandparents’ house was hit by a missile last year, and they lost a young cousin to an attack.
Communication with Shlomi over the past several months has opened up a new world to young people in the Central community: They found out what it’s like to live in a town where it’s not unusual for the “red alert” to sound, signalling that residents have 15 seconds to find shelter, and what its like to know the fears and devastating results of military conflict.
However, when Sael introduced Shlomi in person to a small group of local kids at Temple Emanu-El in Westfield, the theme was more about the similarities between their lives and Shlomi’s. A slideshow revealed that Shlomi loves the Harry Potter series and his favorite movie is You Don’t Mess With the Zohan, the Adam Sandler film about an Israeli hairdresser in New York City.
Rather than focus on Shlomi’s experiences living with constant terror, the youngsters asked the ninth-grader about his school and were interested to learn that Israelis go to school six days a week. Shlomi looked to his brother for Hebrew translation of the questions, but answered in English.
Shlomi is part of a group of teens from Sderot who are visiting communities in the tristate area for two weeks. The program teaches them leadership skills and trains them to be tour guides by the age of 17.
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