'Anglo' dating fest for religious singles

J'lem young people "very excited" for gathering.

By MEIRA BIENSTOCK
photos of women 311 (photo credit: Joanna Paraszczuk)
photos of women 311
(photo credit: Joanna Paraszczuk)
What is being billed as “the largest gathering of Anglos in Israel,” is scheduled to take place on next week in Jerusalem in order to help young religious English- speaking adults meet their soul mates.
“I’m very excited,” said Micki Lavin-Pell, Young Israel in Israel’s director of singles programming, which is one of the organizers of the event. “I think we’re onto a better revolutionary approach to helping people date with a difference. I think if people have more knowledge about what they need to do to get themselves in the best space possible then they’ll be achieve their goals.”
The conference, scheduled for July 29, will feature light interactive mix and match games to encourage people to meet and have “get-toknow- you-conversations.” According to a press release issued by Young Israel, the intention of the conference is to create an exciting and enjoyable evening for religious singles who are serious about finding their partner.
There will also be dating workshops to teach people how to date successfully. Run by Lavin-Pell, a marriage and family therapist, the activities are designed to teach the singles how to be more pro-active about dating and instill in them a sense of empowerment and control. The inspiration for the event came from Lavin- Pell’s experiences as a marriage and family therapist.
“I’ve seen lots of clients 20 years down the track and I’m thinking if only you knew this stuff about yourself 20 years ago before you’d gotten into this relationship,” she said. Some of the ‘stuff’ Lavin-Pell stressed was “if you knew what you were needing in a relationship – if you knew how you wanted to live your life, if you knew how you wanted your intimate life to be – how you wanted to spend your time together with your career and your family.
“There’s a common misconception if you just found that person everything will be okay, but you actually need to know a lot about yourself before. I want to help people before they get into a relationship. I want to inspire them before and teach them about them the importance of understanding your needs.”
In addition to Young Israel in Israel, the main organizer of the event is Yehoshua Rubin of Ahava Rabba. The co-sponsors include Shalshelet, and Bechirat Halev, and the AACI, with additional funding provided by The Jewish Agency.
The conference will take place at the AACI building (37 Pierre Koenig Street) in Talpiot beginning at 6 pm, and lasting until 11 pm. Admission fee is NIS 40.