This is a bittersweet moment. After 22 exceptionally wonderful years with the Jewish Federation, and after much soul searching and contemplation, I will be retiring at the end of July.

In looking back at the long and beautiful road since joining the Federation in 1999, when my husband Gadi and I had just arrived from Israel with our two young children, Ben-Ari and Maya, I am in awe of all the ways our Jewish community has grown and connected to Israel. I feel very lucky to have been given the opportunity to help build those connections.

Starting out as an administrative assistant in the Endowment department, and with time growing into the position of Israel & Overseas Director, the support and encouragement I’ve received and the connections I’ve made, both professional and personal, have been invaluable.

Please join me for a few moments as I walk down memory lane and look back at some of the programs that I believe made a lasting impact on our community. I am so appreciative for the immense efforts of the many volunteers, lay leaders and professionals who helped bring these programs to fruition. Without their support, none of it would have happened.

Our Partnership with the Western Galilee and Budapest enables Hoosiers to learn about Israel and connect with Israelis and Hungarians, one person and one family at a time. Of the scores of programs over the years, here are a few highlights- 

Women Leading a Dialogue visit – a multi faith delegation of 17 Israeli women; Jewish, Muslim, Christian and Druze, visited Indianapolis and spoke to groups in the Jewish community and on campus at IUPUI. Together with JCRC we organized a multi-faith dinner for sixty women, during which important issues were discussed. The Israeli women were hosted in homes, giving an opportunity to learn about them and the issue of co-existence in Israel. Their visit was the impetus for JCRC creating a similar program in Indianapolis.  

• ​Many years of collaboration with the Hasten Hebrew Academy, running ‘Twinning programs’ with schools in the Western Galilee. HHAI’s 7^th and 8^th grade students visit with their counterparts during their annual trip to Israel. Our Israeli Shlichim (Emissaries) collaborated with HHAI on a variety of programs, including helping to organize the HHAI volleyball team receiving medals before a Pacers game.

• Business Delegation, Teacher Delegation, Leadership Delegation, Teen Delegation visits from Israel – visiting delegations are always hosted in homes, giving an opportunity to develop deeper relationships. If you have never hosted a guest from Israel or Budapest, do yourself a favor and next time the opportunity arises, do it. You will not regret it, I promise!  A few photos of the P2G Business delegation:

Teen delegation from Israel who visited Indy after collaborating with North Central students on photography and Delegation visiting from Budapest -

Partnership2Gether Steering Committee meetings in Indianapolis culminated with a fun community event with drumming circle

• Tri-Team, a yearlong program for young adults from the Western Galilee, Budapest and the U.S., culminating in a gathering in Hungary and Israel. The young adults learned about and from each other regarding their Jewish identity, antisemitism, etc. Through joint activities during the trip, the Indy participants realized that the Hungarians had a difficult time advocating for their needs and rights in their community. 
  
• At the conclusion of the Tri-Team program, each group was charged with creating a Tikkun Olam project of their choice. The Hoosier participants decided on a follow up program titled Advocacy2Gether, with the purpose of helping the Hungarian young adults learn various methods of advocacy. The delegation arrived in Indy the following year and experienced a whirlwind week of professional meetings with our agencies and young adults in our community. 
  
• Weeklong visit of the Israeli Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, one of the top dance companies in Israel.  We organized opportunities to work with Indianapolis’ Dance Kaleidoscope and the Kenyetta dance company, which culminated in a spectacular performance for the community at the end of their visit. One of the Hoosier performers later joined the Kibbutz Dance company in Israel.
   
• Community collaboration with Israeli artists in creating art pieces – the ‘ Two Birds’ large mosaic was created in one day, during the Israel Independence Day event, with the help of dozens of community members. It now adorns the JCC’s J-Cafe wall. The large ‘One-World’ Glass Art hangs at the entrance of door #3 in the JCC. 
  
• Through Partnership2Gether we collaborate with the Galilee Medical Center (GMC), a hospital in our partnership region that services 600,000 people of all faiths in the Western Galilee. Over the years many medical professionals from Indianapolis have visited or collaborated with the GMC, and their doctors have visited Indianapolis and collaborated with our hospitals. 
  

It has been my greatest joy to supervise the impactful work of our eight Israeli Shlichim during the past twelve years – Etay Furman (2008-2010), Guy Shachar (2010-2011), Adi Shacham (2011-2012), Marva Eden (2012-2013), Roy Swisa (2013-2015), Inbar Nadir (2015-2017), Roie Gonen (2017-2018), and Lian Bar Zohar (2018-2020).

• During the years of Israeli Shlichim working in Indy, many Hoosiers enjoyed home cooked Israeli meals, or better yet, enjoyed learning how to cook Israeli food, from ‘Shakshuka in Your Home’ to ‘Taste of Memories’, learning how to bake Challah for Shabbat, learning the secret ingredient that makes falafel balls so delicious, learning to eat Sufganyot (jelly donuts) for Chanukah, or how to make Israeli pickles. We learned about the history and culture of Sephardic and Ashkenazi recipes, Yemenite, Iraqi, Persian, Russian, Moroccan and so much more. The heydays of homemade hummus have just begun!

• Over the years the Shlichim brought Israel into many public and private schools in the area, often setting up Israel Booths at the schools’ International Fairs. Most of the students in these schools are not Jewish, but they learned about Israel through music, song, stories, and traditions. The schools include North Central, Carmel, University Highschool, Brebeuf, Cathedral, Heritage Christian, St. Richards, Sycamore, Allisonville Elementary , Lynhurst Middle school, Speedway Junior High, and of course the Hasten Hebrew Academy. 
  
• All the Shlichim developed a wonderful relationship with Yossi Cohen (z”l) and created Israel activities for the North Central and Carmel Hebrew classes
  
• The Shlichim and our Partnership have initiated programs and worked with the Hillels at many universities and colleges, among them Butler, Ball State, IUPUI, IU, University of Indianapolis, Ivy Tech, Purdue, Anderson, DePauw, Earlham, and more.  Large holiday parties in Indianapolis that brought in students from many of these universities, especially the smaller ones, as an opportunity to mingle with other Jewish students. 
• For many years the Shlichim have been meeting with Anderson University Nursing students to teach them about Israeli culture and basic knowledge of the Jewish faith. The nursing students are learning to be sensitive and understanding of the different cultures and religions that they’ll encounter in patients during their work as nurses. It is an honor for us to be part of that process.
• Together with JCRC, collaboration with the Indianapolis National Guard Armory.  Participating in the Indiana National Guard and Israeli Homefront Command unit at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.
• Presenting at all the synagogues, especially during holidays. Teaching about Israel to all age groups at Sunday school, throughout the year.
• Working  with the Center for Interfaith Collaboration, an annual commitment to do programming about Israel culture for children at the Interfaith Summer Camp in the Indiana Interchurch Center
• Running Israel oriented programs for the JCC Aftercare, ECE and camp.

• Programming at Hooverwood for the day care participants and residents, mostly about Israeli music, film and books.
• Working with BBYO, giving opportunities for our teens to experience Israeli culture
• Over the years many families functioned as ‘Adoptive Families’ for the Shlichim, opening their homes and hearts to these young men and women. It was a win-win relationship. The Shaliach had a home-away-from-home, and the families developed very strong relationships with them, their children grew up with an ‘older Israeli brother or sister’. These relationships continue long after the Shalich returns to Israel. In fact, some attend weddings or celebrate the birth of a baby years later. A heartfelt thank you to all the ‘Adoptive Families’!
• In collaboration with JFS, the Shlichim created activities for the Libby Fogle Lunch Bunch
• Israel Talks – monthly discussions about timely topics related to Israel, and presented by professionals in the field. A Shaliach program developed with JCRC. We heard interviews with an Ethiopian Israeli woman about the story of her family’s trek to Israel, we learned about the Israeli Space Agency from a NASA researcher and analyst, we met a Druze who told us about his community, we heard from an Israeli-Russian World Champion in Kung Fu, and more 

 Adi Shacham, Michelle Korin and Barb Bailie z”l, first Indianapolis Partnership Chair

• ‘Under the Same Moon’ – an interactive book and international project developed by Israeli Shlicha Adi Shacham, designed to connect families with young children from Indianapolis to families in the Western Galilee, in a fun and creative way, over the period of about a year. Many friendships between the families last until today, so many years later.  The project was such a success that other partnerships, and other cities throughout the U.S. signed up to help their families connect overseas.

Yoms

• Yom Hazikaron (Israel Memorial Day) –
  

When we arrived to Indianapolis 22 years ago, it surprised us that one of the most important and solemn days in Israel was not being honored in the community. Our Israeli friends and we wanted, no, we needed an outlet for such strong emotions on the day of remembrance. So, we gathered a few Israelis and created a program for ourselves, in Hebrew, as a place for us to collectively remember, mourn our fallen and express our pain. That first year some thirty Israelis attended. In the following years, American friends, mostly non-Hebrew speakers, asked to attend and over time they requested that we do some of it in English for their benefit. Those years it was still a private event, not a Federation program. But in 2008, with the arrival of the first Israeli Shaliach, I realized that the Indianapolis community deserves to experience this very powerful program. And so it became an annual event, a collaboration with the Shaliach, Rabbis and cantors, HHAI, participants representing all synagogues, Israelis and Americans, young and old, a true joint effort of the whole community. Since that year, and until today, we have an annual Yom Hazikaron program, in Hebrew and English, with translations and transliterations on the screen for every poem, prayer and song. We’ve grown to an attendance of some 250 people, and for Americans who attend their first time it leaves a very strong impact and a window of understanding into the Israeli psyche. 

This large annual community event celebrating Israel is a beautiful collaboration between the Federation, our Shaliach, the agencies and synagogues. Families and folks, young and old, come out for an afternoon of fun activities, educational opportunities and delicious Israeli food.  We brought in Israeli performers that would have our audience up and dancing in the aisles, from the Rockdim Band to the musical duo Shuli &  Moshe Dayan from Acco, to the  Holy Band. 

Some years we coordinated with the JCC’s Earth Day celebration. Another time we planned a large community event at the Indianapolis Art Center with the ‘Israel Story’ podcast crew.

In 2019 we decided to bring the celebration to Coxhall Gardens in Carmel and worked for months planning a big bash we called ‘Israel in the Park’. The idea was that families who may not come south to the JCC campus might bring their families if the event was in a nearby park. We also wanted to give the non-Jewish community an opportunity to experience the beautiful Israeli culture and food and learn something about the country in a fun way. We invited all the nearby zip codes. We did everything right, but there was one thing not in our control. That day a serious storm rolled through Indiana, and we had to relocate the event back to the J campus. Much to our joy it was the biggest Yom event in years, more than 600 people showed up in spite of the rain, among them many who attended for the first time. The idea to do it in Carmel proved worthy, and I hope it will indeed happen there one day.

This festival showcases the diversity that exists in Israeli and Jewish films, it entertains, educates, and shines a spotlight on Israeli’s thriving film industry. The films shown are inspirational, educational and exciting.

JIFF was a dream come true for me. It started in 2015 with a Shlicha who had a passion for film equal to mine. It continued for years afterwards thanks to a strong collaboration of the Jewish Federation with JCC and JCRC. It also provided an opportunity to partner with the Heartland Film Festival.

The festival was funded entirely by sponsorships and ticket sales. Huge thanks to the sponsors who supported this program year after year.

Israel Booth at the Indianapolis International Festival at the State Fairgrounds

For many years the Shlichim organized an Israel booth at this four-day festival that brought in 30,000-45,000 Hoosiers and folks from the surrounding states. Many schools bussed in their students to learn about the countries and cultures from around the world. There had not been an Israel presence at this festival until we started in 2013. People who had never met a Jewish person, or knew nothing about Israel, would stop by and learn from the many volunteers at our booth. Huge thank you to the kind souls who spent hours and days volunteering!

It has been my absolute pleasure organizing trips with a Jewish heritage focus for the community. While planning the trips, and through travel, I learned so much about the history and culture of our people.  I hope that all of you who traveled with me feel the same. The friendships and bonds that were created during our journeys to Israel, Cuba, Warsaw, Krakow, Auschwitz, Budapest, and Berlin will surely last a lifetime. 

For all of you who have requested my assistance in planning your family trips to Israel, or to add a Jewish component to your global travel, I sincerely enjoyed helping create an itinerary that would be interesting, exciting and educational for you, your children and family. It was especially fun to plan tailored visits to the Western Galilee, according to your interests and hobbies, together with our Israel Partnership staff. I loved hearing about your trips when you returned! 

Sliding Dors – a yearlong program for 2^nd generation Holocaust survivors. It was an honor to lead this group, it was especially dear to my heart as my parents were Holocaust survivors. Connecting with others who had similar childhood experiences, and learning about ourselves by sharing our parents’ stories, was enlightening.
We also met with Israeli and Hungarian 2^nd Gens through our Partnership program. It’s amazing how some of our experiences were similar, no matter where our parents ended up after the war. We all agreed that it is of utmost importance that we tell our parents’ stories publicly, and we have a collective hope that our children, the 3^rd Gens, will pick up the baton. Because if we don’t bear witness to the world, who will?
 

CelebRussian event in 2011 -

An epic celebration of the Russian-speaking community, where they had an opportunity to showcase their foods, music, dance, song, chess prowess, and more. We learned about the history of their arrival to Indianapolis in the 80’s and how our caring Jewish community welcomed them with open arms, coordinated by the Jewish Family Service, JFGI, and others.
Everyone pitched in to make this the incredible success that it was; our Israeli Shaliach, our Young Leadership director, the Russian school, Jewish Family Service, and others.
It was a wonderful opportunity for the community to learn about the Russian-speaking community. This too was a dream come true for me. It is so important to pull all parts of our community together.

A few more things -

Summer performances of the Israel Scouts Tzofim Caravan for the community, including workshops for the JCC camp children. The Israeli scouts were hosted in families’ homes, for that extra benefit of spending quality time and getting to know each other. 

• Over the years we developed a wonderful relationship with the Children’s Museum. They have graciously hosted many Israeli delegations, specifically showcasing the ‘Power of Children’ and Anne Frank exhibit. The Shlichim ran activities of Holocaust education for children visiting the museum.
• Together with the Shlichim we have worked with and attained grants from the Israeli American Council for programming in Indy
• Together with the Shlichim and JCRC, we have organized rallies to support Israel, especially after tragedy struck
• After terror attacks or devastating fires our community had the opportunity to send hugs in letters and cards, and drawings to IDF soldiers or children in our partnership region. A huge thank you to everyone who donated when we ran Emergency Campaigns after such tragedies. 
   

A final word…

I was honored and humbled to have received the Frank Newman award in 2014.  My work at the Jewish Federation has been a life mission, I would live and breathe the Partnership programs with the Western Galilee and Budapest, and the Shlichim were dear to me like my own children. All these programs bring Israelis into Hoosier homes, so you have the opportunity to get to know about Israel, one person at a time. I wish for you to engage, participate, support and enjoy all that the Jewish Federation of Greater Indianapolis offers you.

There are many things that I, and Gadi, want to do in this next stage in life, including spending more time in Israel where our daughter and most of our family live, international travel (whenever that becomes possible), developing my hobbies, learning new languages and so much more.

I want to thank my colleagues over the 22 years, all the professionals and lay-leaders and donors and friends who have made my career at the Jewish Federation a joyous labor of love.

I look forward to being on the other side of the table now, as a volunteer, continuing to help our community connect with Israel and global Jewry.

This is not goodbye, but rather Shalom & L’hitraot – see you soon!                                             

Signing off for the last time as…

Michele Boukai

Israel & Overseas Director