Yahel Alumni
Brandon Roberts
Yahel Social Change Fellowship 2022-23
I initially joined the Yahel fellowship in order to do something meaningful, but also something pertaining to my degree in Community Engagement & Education. Leaving a self-made small business back home behind, I would soon find that Yahel would allow me to fulfil a life-long dream of living in the Holy Land. I was intrigued by the idea of living in a real and authentic community and amongst real Israelis.
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I soon became part of the 2022-23 Rishon cohort, and specifically during my time, I was based in Ramat Eliyahu, a low socio-economic neighborhood of Rishon LeZion. Rishon is actually the fourth largest city in Israel, but Ramat Eliyahu is a neighborhood which faces significant educational and economic barriers.
"One of my favorite phrases in Hebrew is ‘leat, leat’ which means, “slowly, slowly”. Because it is through slow, gradual and effective changes that the day will be won."
I was initially drawn to the idea of working in a senior citizen center, where I thought I’d feel most at home. However, my Yahel coordinators saw different strengths in me. My coordinator Shoshana believed that I’d be a perfect fit tutoring English at the Avnei Ha-khoshen Junior High School several days a week. During this placement, I worked under a teacher and was responsible for taking several students out of the traditional classroom each period to go over lessons, English homework and to practice his Hebrew with the students. I was thrilled by how accommodating and helpful the Fellowship staff was in assisting me and my other fellows in finding appropriate volunteer placements, which spoke to each of our unique strengths.
"From the people, the places, the stores I shopped in, the parks I found myself relaxing in, I grew incredbly attached to my local community."
Additionally, I interned for HIAS, the oldest refugee resettlement organization in the world. Having taken Russian throughout my time at college, I was placed with the Ukrainian Outreach Committee in HIAS’s Tel Aviv office where, alongside mny boss Zoya, I planned and hosted a Career Fair for Ukrainian refugees living in Israel, having fled the war at home.
One of my main aims for the Fellowship, was to experience a true sense of authentic immersion into an authentic Israeli community. I soon found the Fellowship to be the perfect medium in which to achieve this goal, and it was ultimately this element in which I found the most value. From the people, the places, the stores I shopped in, the parks I found myself relaxing in, I grew incredibly attached to my local community. I made sure to put myself out there during my 9 months in Israel, and felt like I he truly became part of my new community. I attended bonfires on Thursday nights hosted by young Ethiopian community leaders, and was the only American to accompany the Osim Schuna camping trip, where I strengthened my leadership skills, helping to make communal meals, assisting with restorations of aging buildings in Ramat Eliyahu and keeping in touch with the various young people in the area.
I feel like Yahel Social Change Fellowship equipped me with even more Chutzpah and has contributed to my journey as a self-starter. As part of this journey, I recently found the motivation to move to Washington D.C. where I am continuing to build my own small food business, previously put on hold during my Yahel experience. I additionally feel that my time with Yahel has inspired a desire to continue working in the Jewish community at home. I haven’t, and will not, forget my time with Yahel, and feel immense pride and recognition of the fact that I was part of the last cohort to experience pre-October 7th Israel.
