Herzog visits Jewish volunteers in South Africa, celebrates ‘tikkun olam'

"We strive to develop Jewish social activists and leaders who promote the Jewish value of tikkun olam,” Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog told the volunteers.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog learned how to play soccer without a ball and a traditional dance (photo credit: JEWISH AGENCY)
Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog learned how to play soccer without a ball and a traditional dance
(photo credit: JEWISH AGENCY)
“You fill the heart of the entire Jewish people with warmth and love when we see you receive the tools you need for a successful life from young Jews who have travelled across continents and thousands of miles to come here and help in the name of the Jewish value of tikkun olam,” Jewish Agency Chairman Isaac Herzog told a group of young Africans on Thursday.
Herzog was in Durban visiting Jewish Agency volunteers who are volunteering in the area, assisting disadvantaged people as part of the Jewish Agency’s tikkun olam initiatives. The volunteers run an educational program that helps children and teens acquire skills to improve their lives even after the volunteers leave. They also help shed a positive light on the Jewish State in part of the world where Israel’s name needs strengthening.
It has been nearly 18 years since the World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance was held in Durban. The conference sought to demonize Israel.
Herzog learned how to play soccer without a ball and a traditional dance. He also visited a local school where he learned about a unique chess study program developed by Durban Volunteer Center Director Natalie Moyal and Education Coordinator Meshi Hazan, which helps boys and girls in the village acquire critical and independent thinking skills.
"We strive to develop Jewish social activists and leaders who promote the Jewish value of tikkun olam,” Herzog told the volunteers. “Your faces are the beautiful faces of the State of Israel in the most difficult areas of the globe and in countries where Israel and the Jewish people are struggling to maintain a good name.”
The Jewish Agency operates volunteer centers in areas of distress and poverty around the world as part of its Project TEN international development program. The Jewish Agency Volunteer Center in Durban partners with South Africa's Jewish community, the Victor Daitz Foundation and other local leadership in the Inanda township.