If there's one position that's rising within Israeli municipalities, it's that of 'proyektorit' dedicated to olim from France. In Hadera, it's Sarah Uzan who excels in this most sensitive mission which consists of accompanying, guiding and following French families through their integration process.
Arriving directly from Paris to Hadera with the group aliyah 5 years ago, Sarah Uzan gradually established herself in the position of"proyektorit", notably thanks to her mastery of Hebrew."In Hadera, the French aliyah is relatively recent, orchestrated by Shalom Wach who brought up the first five-six families there in 2009"explains Sarah.
"We were part of the third group in 2011 with 13 families. After six months there,I quickly offered my volunteer services to the Misrad Haklita (integration office) of Hadera and I immediately started working there three times a week. This is how I collaborated closely with the 'proyektor' already in position at city hall. At the same time, I developed the magazine 'FUTÉ' as well as the radio alongside Charles Benguigui and I created the Facebook group for French speakers of Hadera, which has become today a reference tool for French people to get information about the city", she continues.
In 2014, Hadera nearly threw in the towel on aliyah with the arrival of Tvsika Gendelman, the new mayor affiliated with 'Yesh Atid'."A former army general, very rigid, he reviewed all budgets from scratch, eliminating the 'proyektor' position. His priority: making savings. It was only gradually that he redistributed budgets particularly towards olim, realizing that the French-speaking community matters to the city", she confides to us. Sarah was then recruited to the position of"proyektorit"on the recommendations of the former holder who was then moving on to other projects. Since then, Hadera has earned its stripes as an"integration city"for French Jews, thanks to its privileged geographical position on one hand -by the sea, between Tel-Aviv and Haifa, - but especially thanks to a significantly lower cost of living compared to Jerusalem and central cities."At the start of the 2015 school year, we welcomed nearly 30 families, a record number! Last March in Paris, future candidates were queuing at our booth at the aliyah fair",explains Sarah."And a new phenomenon, the city now welcomes families from other Israeli cities like Netanya or Jerusalem where the cost of living happens to be higher. In Hadera, the difference in real estate prices also represents an asset. But beware, as everywhere in Israel, prices keep rising vertiginously", she emphasizes.
Gathering nearly 1,000 souls, the French speakers of Hadera have applied themselves to recreating the community landmarks they particularly cherish."Two French-speaking spiritual centers have been set up recently, a Beth Chabad and a Beth hamidrash, named Chevet A'him, with at their respective heads: rav Meir Hayoun, an extraordinary shaliach, and rav Haim Dorai, former head of the kollel of Créteil"she explains to us.
"I don't count my time, from administrative procedures to school registrations. Aliyah candidates most often contact me via Facebook, we then talk on the phone, I inform them or receive them during a study trip to help them discover the city. In my opinion, today's olim require more support. My job consists of preparing them from France, by making them aware that Israel is another world where you have to fight", Sarah specifies.
"We still have a lot to do in Hadera. We learn enormously from other cities, such as supporting teenagers, which is our urgency, but also welcoming elderly people while the city, which doesn't have French-speaking structures like Netanya for example, attracts them enormously. I hope we can recruit a 'moré mégasher' (mediator teacher) as early as next school year.. New cities must open up to the arrival of French speakers, we need to create other poles of attraction. Each aliyah candidate must keep in mind that we have a country where it's possible to settle and live, from north to south, from east to west. Here, the choice is not limited only to Paris 19th, Villeurbanne or Marseille", she concludes.
