Issue #1 - United Synagogue Youth

10Volume 5, Issue 3February 2011How Do We Make This Place A Better One To Live In?Avital Elfant, USY Central ShlichaOk. I admit, I flip channels when I don’t feel like dealing with choresthat I have to do. On one occasion, I watched a few minutes of the Spidermanmovie. I was overtaken by the fact that Spiderman could never lookaway when other people were suffering or in need.On a different note, If someone would come up to you and ask you,how you would make the world a better place by the year 2020, what wouldyour answer be? For one person the answer changed his life and the world’sway of thinking “green”. This man’s name is Shai Agassi. He was inspired bythis question which was asked by Klaus Schwab at the 2005 World EconomicForum in Davos, Switzerland, which led to the founding of a companynamed Better Place. Better Place aims to reduce global dependency on petroleumthrough the creation of a market-based transportation infrastructure that supports electric vehicles. BetterPlace is building its first electric vehicle network in Israel. Better Place's primary R&D facility is located in Tel Aviv,Israel.Many times we hear aggravating things about Israel: how it is disturbing that there is no peace settlement orthat the gap between the rich and the poor is increasing more and more. I wouldlike to show you the Israel that many times you will not see on CNN or in the“New York Times” that should make us proud. I want you to see the parts ofIsrael that I am so proud of. Better Place is one Israeli development and theother goes back to the remote days when Zionism meant working and protectingthe land and assisting people around the world that are in need. MASHAV –Israel's Center for International Cooperation is only one of many examples ofthat. MASHAV is responsible for Israel's international cooperation and assistancearound the world, through the provision of guidance and training in Israeland abroad. The assistance is provided in a wide variety of areas, including agriculture,medicine, education, the advancement of the status of women, community and family. Israel's own developmentexperience enables it to design comprehensive and integrative programs both for urban and rural settings,which are of critical concern to developing countries. Since it was first established in 1958, more than 200,000 peoplehave benefited from MASHAV training programs.When we speak of making the world a better place I think of us, the young generation, that can help improvethe world. We don’t necessarily need to have Spiderman or Superman’s powers, we justhave to care enough and not look the other way. It is interesting to see how famous leadersthat brought change to the world, started their careers. We have much to be proud of in ourJewish state but we can’t leave all the work for others. We must all take part of the buildingand improvement of a more just and clean society. I would like to end with the words of ananonymous writer: “True leaders are not those who strive to be first but those who are firstto strive and who give their all for the success of the team. True leaders are the first to see theneed, envision the plan, and empower the team for action. By the strength of the leader'scommitment, the power of the team is unleashed."Yours,AvitalVisit: http://mashav.mfa.gov.il/mfm/web/main/missionhome.asp?MissionID=16210&