Tell Magazine - March 2018 / Sivan 5778

{MY NETZER SHNAT JOURNEY}
Mili Haber
“I saw two paths standing in front of me; to look for my
inner self and turn a blind eye to the errors that surround
me, or to invest my strengths in a hard and challenging
war for the things I believe are good and true. Lord,
if you gave me fire in my heart, enable me to ignite the
passions within me in my home, the home of Israel. And if
you gave me eyes to see, if you gave me ears to listen, give me the
power to forge, to strike, to lift. And let these words be more than
poetry, let them become the certificate of life.” Hannah Sennesh
And the fire was ignited… being in
Israel for one year, for Netzer Shnat,
Netzer’s leadership training year in Israel,
this was not going to be an ordinary
year. The Netzer Shnat program is
an immersive, informal experience
in Israel, aimed to develop young
adult’s Jewish and Zionist identities.
The lessons i’ve learnt and experienced
are ones that will stay with me for life.
The way we run our youth movement,
and something that is introduced to
our senior Chanichim (participants) is
a documentation of our Beliefs, Aims
and Policies (BAP). On Netzer shnat
the program is split into three distinct
sections that are inlined with this
framework. At the beginning of this
experience we had an option to do either
Machon or Etgar. As a participant on
Etgar, we lived communally in Jerusalem
for 4 months. This program was directed
by Netzer Olami (the worldwide
movements main office in Israel),
and was focused on Netzer’s ideology:
Progressive Judaism, Reform Zionism,
and Tikkun Olam. We engaged in many
formative ideological experiences, that
created a deeper understanding but
also in some cases made you question
yourself and even more confused than to
when you began. Equally as formative,
Machon participants experienced a
pluralistic approach with a number
of other movements, including Betar,
22
Habonim Dror SA and Hineni. In the
second part of the program alongside
with self run programs throughout
the week, all participants lived in
South Tel Aviv where we volunteered
at a number of places that may have
been a area of interest or somewhere
we may have been needed.
I volunteered at a refugee children day
care center, before flying off to the UK
as a leader on their Netzer camp. Both
experiences, Ifound incredibly different
but both very rewarding and assisted
my quest to Hagshama, ideological
fulfilment. In saying that, this quest
continued during our third and last
part of the program, participation
on Kibbutz Lotan, a kibbutz down
the south of Israel, near Eilat. On
kibbutz I personally learnt a lot about
communal living and intention, this
was through working on the (believe
it or not) date fields, and participation
in the community plus everything
else we did. On Lotan we met some
incredible Israeli’s our age, who were
there volunteering before joining the
IDF. Through this connection plus
many many more we’ve created a larger
community in and out of the diaspora.
The poem written at the beginning
was something that I received at the
conclusion of Etgar (the first 4 months)
by Netzer Olami. This poem, wasn’t
something that I was invested in but
after this experience and being back in
Australia where everything is so different,
this poem has guided me with intention
and purpose within my community
and the way I live everyday. The fire
in my heart, enables me to ignite the
passion not only for Israel but towards
everything I do. The power as we forge,
strike and lift up together now back as
a bogrim body (leadership body within
Netzer) we continue to learn, build
strong friendships and educate. These
terms are ones I see define every member
in Netzer and alumni. The year that
used to seem so far away, has now been
a year of so much growth, knowledge
and connections worldwide. Moreover
the year that has helped build and guide
me for years to come. And with the
method learnt through my time in the
movement and with more to come, I
will continue to develop my beliefs,
create aims of what i want to do and
policies of how I can achieve hagshama.
This upcoming year is full of exciting
events as a Netzer Madricha (leader),
more specifically as Netzer;s Metam’et
(PR coordinator), as a teacher in our
Hebrew school, Kef Kids, working
in disability care and now studying
‘sustainable communities’. And each
experience I go through now and forever,
will become the certificate of my life.