Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam) in Haifa, Israel has a long collaboration with the Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) in Boston, which includes the Haifa-Boston Connection, a well-known community project. In a heart-warming ceremony on Tuesday at Rambam, hospital employees from the local Ethiopian community, and children of employees were awarded scholarships towards their academic studies.
Photo: Recipients of the Rambam and Haifa-Boston Scholarships at the award ceremony, together with Haifa-Boston representatives and Rambam executives Photography: Rambam HCC
Among Rambam’s more than 6,000 employees, members of the Ethiopian community are represented in many hospital departments including nursing and housekeeping. Establishing a scholarship program for furthering the education and professional skills of these hospital employees or the children of these employees, with the Haifa-Boston Connections is a foundation to strengthening their professional and leadership skills, all the while encouraging patience, social justice, tolerance, and other similar values.
Nine scholarships were awarded; four to Rambam employees and five, to the children of Rambam employees from the Ethiopian community. Meeting distinct criteria, the recipients were selected by a joint committee from among tens of potential employees. The scholarships are worth thousands of shekels and will be used to further academic studies or completion of a professional certification.
During the award ceremony, Mr. Nissim Haim, Rambam’s Deputy Director (COO) and Mrs. Hila Perlman-Paniel, Director of the Haifa-Boston Connection, greeted and addressed the joyful recipients. Perlman-Paniel states: "We at the Haifa-Boston Connection believe that personal development and studies are the key to a productive and progressive society and therefore encourage students to acquire higher or professional education. The scholarships awarded by the Haifa-Boston Connection are the result of the generosity of philanthropists in Boston and the dedicated work of the CJP, believing that this contribution is much more than the amount of money given to the student. Behind the scholarship is a value of mutual guarantee and encouragement for excellence and self-realization. With the help of the scholarship program, students can focus on their studies and personal development, strengthen their family and strengthen the resilience of Israeli society."
Nissim Haim quoted a line from the Hebrew poet Shaul Tchernichovsky, “Man is but the imprint of his native landscape.” He spoke about the diversity of Rambam’s employees and being part of a mosaic of Israel’s society; walking and living together and creating a society that would benefit the State of Israel.
He also spoke about Rambam’s vision “To be the leading medical center in – medical quality, patient experience, health promotion, research, education and in pioneering innovations changing the future of medicine. To constitute a beacon of high-quality patient care to the entire State of Israel and especially to the North, and promote the development of a multicultural pluralistic environment placing the human in the center.”
Haim concluded his address with these words, “Providing scholarships for our employee’s education and that of their children, is rooted in the Rambam’s vision and we are happy and blessed to have this relationship with the Haifa-Boston Connection.”
Rambam’s vision is “to be Israel’s leading medical center for quality healthcare of patients and their families with leading-edge technologies for diagnoses and interventions, pursuit of bench-to-bedside innovation and research, and investment in the personal professional development of all staff. Rambam HCC will be a lighthouse emanating from Northern Israel to the world for the health and healing that is achieved when multi-cultural diversity is pursued, for the benefit of humankind.”
The CJP’s activities are rooted in building and connecting Jewish diaspora communities around the world. The connection between sister-cities, Haifa and Boston was confirmed with the official establishment of the Haifa-Boston Connection in 1989, at the time of the first wave of Ethiopian immigration to Israel, in order to assist in integrating these and other new immigrants into Haifa’s society.