For thousands of years, Jews have lived as minority populations in various regions worldwide, surviving largely through their strong commitment to community.
Orna Eilon is continuing that tradition through tireless work as the unpaid CEO of the MATI Israeli Community Center, in the West San Fernando Valley, helping Israelis stay connected to their faith, their roots and their traditions, as well as to Israel, Israeli culture and the Hebrew language.
MATI, a Hebrew acronym for Israeli Cultural Center, was formed four years ago by Eilon and about a dozen other Israeli mothers, who worried that their own children, and the rest of the younger generation, were losing their identification with Israel and Judaism.
“What Israelis teach their kids at home is not enough,” said Eilon, who reaches out to Israelis in Southern California who cannot afford to pay tuition for Jewish day schools or religious schools. Since most Israelis don’t have extended families here and don’t join synagogues in large numbers, many of the younger generation remain unaffiliated, nonpracticing and disengaged as Jews, often assimilating at a rate even faster than other American Jews.
Story continues after the video.