Noy’s Notes

Noy Peri is the Gesher Shlicha (Emissary from Israel). Noy is from Rosh Ha’ayin Israel, where she was raised. She has one brother, two amazing parents and a dog which her family adopted from a dog shelter. She enjoys basketball, hiking and binge watching TV. Noy served in the Israeli Defense Force for two years in the intelligence corps. Noy was a Shlicha of the Jewish Agency for two summers at Ramah Day Camp Chicago, as a general counselor, as Rosh Shlichim and Rosh Ivrit (Hebrew). She looks forward to connecting the community to Israel and the Israeli culture; Show the community her love to her country, connect them to each other as a “Kehila” and making Tikkun Olam together. Check back weekly for thoughts from Noy in Noy’s Notes!

Friday, April 12th, 2019

Shalom all, What a week! One of the most exciting, nerve-racking and filled with anticipation week I’ve had in a while. We will start with the elections. Much have said about the elections by now, but no one could imagine what will be the results. First, we got to see two lions battling each other, Netanyahu and Gantz, when only one got to win (by barely one mandate). A record of all times in mandates for the Ultra-Orthodox Haredi parties with 16 mandates. 2 former ministers, Bennet and Shaked, that are currently out of the government. One party (Zehut) that was predicted with 7 mandates but got 0 instead. Democracy at its best. Agree or disagree with the results, the people of Israel showed what they think will be good for them and their security above all. Two days later it was no longer a thing that people talked about (be sure that we will talk about it for the next 4ish years, but we had something more exciting to talk about). We talked about Beresheet, the first Israeli spaceship that will reach the moon. Hundreds of thousands of people sat and watched the live stream of the landing process. At about 10 kilometers to the moon, as Beresheet started to slow down, the engine stopped working. Few moments after, the spaceship crashed to the moon. At least we made an entry! Israelis were sad at the moment, but understood the achievement second later. We reached the moon in less of a money than anyone can dream of (100M$ to be exact), SpaceIL educated adults and kids in all ages, they inspired all of us to reach beyond our dreams. And to my friend Nir that talked with the kids not a long time ago, you made history with your own hands. You are incredible and remember there is always next time! Shabbat Shalom, Noy

Friday, March 29th, 2019

Shalom all! Yesterday an amazing thing happened, I got the privileged to vote from the Israeli Embassy! It’s not obvious to vote from a different country to us Israelis. The law in Israel says you can’t vote unless you are a representative of the state of Israel. Unlike the U.S., Israel says loud and clear that whoever that left Israel – can’t vote, they lost their voice. For me, voting from a different country is a huge honor and privilege. All the Shlichim waited for about an hour and a half in the lines to vote. We got there, showed our identification card, filled out some forms, chose our party and put the envelope (in another envelope) in the official box that will be sent to Israel. We all know that the elections will be in two weeks, and so many things can happen. Usually – it’s those days that make all the change. But after long talks with my family and friends I believe I made the right choice. All of the votes of people overseas make less then a mandate, about 500 votes. As we believe, each vote matter and I made mine sound! For you to know, an interesting fact. In Israel we don’t have “I Voted” stickers. Why? The government wants everything to be confidential in the elections, including the voting itself! Just to make sure no one gets grief on this choice. Shabbat Shalom!

Friday, March 22nd, 2019

Shalom everyone! Today I got to do Kabbalat Shabbat with my family AND the 1st graders. Almost every Shabbat my parents call me to talk to them during our family dinner. I get to hear from my entire family how their week was and they hear about how my week was. But the best part is to hear my grandfather Yehiel says the Kiddush. Not many people can understand his accent even if they know what he is saying in the Kiddush, but it’s special. He always sits at the top of the table next to my mother and my aunts, then my grandmother, all the cousins and the husbands of all the sisters. The same every Shishi (Friday). The kids got to hear my grandfather and the look on their face was priceless, they really tried to understand what he is saying. When they heard my family saying Amen – they said it too. They were so engaging during the short conversation!! On another note, I’m going to AIPAC this Sunday! Last year when I was there, I understood the power Jewish people can have and the love for Israel that made me appreciate even more the experience I’m in. This AIPAC is going to be even more interesting because it’s right before the Elections in Israel. All the political leaders are going to be there advocating for their parties and support in them, advocating for themselves, getting more support and talking about their achievements. The polls in Israel are surprising every day so It’ll be interesting to see it live (finally!! Things in Israel always happen when I go to sleep. This time difference is annoying). Shabbat Shalom!

Friday, March 15th, 2019

Shalom Chaverim! Yesterday I got to be in the annual event of the Federation of Greater Washington. It was amazing seeing so many people coming together as a Kehila. So let me tell you something about Kehila for me. I never understood the importance of it. You know what? This word never really crossed my mind. Growing up as the majority, seeing Jewish things all over, knowing that that there are so many things that connect me with any other person in the room. In Israeli I thought that I don’t need a Kehila, I have many family and friends here and that’s what’s important. Well here it’s a complete different story. I understand the meaning of the word, a Kehila is not just a group of people getting together, but a group of people who care of each other, want to grow and be prosperous, have each other’s back. Last night, I saw people from all over the DMV meeting to do do something that is greater then us and it was amazing. And if you think this was the best thing about yesterday? oh no! We got to hear one of the most influential woman in the American government for quit some time – Madeleine Albright. She was one of the most incredible speakers I’ve heard. She was smart with a drizzle Chutzpah that made her brilliant. Any way… I’m continuing learning here every day something new and I love it!!! Shabbat Shalom, Noy

Friday, February 22nd, 2019

Hi everyone! Yesterday history was made when Beresheet, the first Israeli spacecraft, was sent to the moon. A big and historic moment that I’m lucky to see live. How it started you ask yourself? Google announced a competition in 2011! The challenge called for privately funded teams to be the first to land a robotic spacecraft on the Moon, travel 500 meters, and transmit back to Earth high-definition video and images. That time, one person in Israel in the name of Yariv decided he wants to join the parade and do this too. He used the Wisdom of the Crowd and opened a question to his friends on Facebook – who want to build this thing with me? Two joined him, and from then it’s history. To understand how special it is I want to give you a few numbers: 8 years of working on this project. 33 companies that applied and only 5 that reached the finals. 100 million that was invested in the project. 3 countries landed on the moon by now, Israel will be next? 2 months it’ll take to the Beresheet reach the moon. almost 71 years of independence for this country. Israel made history yesterday, it’s innovating, enriching, teaching and inspiring, Those people are amazing and I feel so proud of them. Especially one, my friend from school, Nir Amitai, which did a video call today with the kids. He explained to them the process, his job and answered questions. I have the most awesome friends!! Shabbat Shalom filled with new beginnings, Noy

Friday, February 14th, 2019

Shalom, everyone! Not sure if you know it, but the Eurovision is happening in 94 days and Israel is going crazy. If you don’t know, the Eurovision is an international song competition (mostly with countries from Europe). It’s the time where all countries bring their best show and artists to perform. The songs are written especially for the contest and the excitement is going up. Israel won the Eurovision 4 times in history, one of the countries that won the biggest amount of times. Every song, became an anthem in Israel society: Abanibi, Hallelujah, Diva, and Toy. Abanini represents the B language that kids talked so their parents would not understand (yes, my parents did that too), Hallelujah spoke about hope, Diva gave equality a face and Toy came with a story of bullying and having a social hard life. In Israel, the process of choosing our representative is different than most countries. We have a reality show (because why not make more money out of it?) so the whole country has a say in choosing the singer. Yesterday we chose our representative – Kobi Marimi in a very tight competition. It was a great final with 4 amazing singers that are so different from each other. We are lucky to host the Eurovision after winning the last one. We will bring many people to see our beautiful country, to have fun, help tourism, meet Israelis and much more. May 18 is the date – Eurovision finals! It’s going to be amazing! Shabbat Shalom, Noy I want to add a song that Kobi sang during the competition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQvbqVavycU

Friday, February 1st, 2019

Hi All!

This week there was a big protest happening in Israel, I wanted to share with you a beautiful post written by my fellow-Shlicha Waga Brok:

Part of loving your country is protesting when you see that things are going in the wrong direction and not the way you think your country should. My parents and their parents and their parents before them dreamed about Israel for thousands of years. When they finally moved from Ethiopia to Israel their labels switched from “Jewish” first to “Ethiopian” first. Since then, our Israeli-Ethiopian community struggles to get the equality we deserve. Yesterday 20 thousand people came together in Tel Aviv’s main square to protest the murder of a young Israeli-Ethiopian by a police officer. The murder and the protest that followed are part of the ongoing struggle that we as Israel-Ethiopians experience every day in Israel. Israel as a society is not perfect. Like any society, people still profile based on skin color and ethnic background. When each of us stands in front a non-Ethiopian Israeli, we will be judged by our appearance first. Sometimes they will actually stop to learn who we are.

But yesterday’s protest is also a sign of strength and hope. When we come together as a community (Ethiopian and Non-Ethiopian Israelis), we can make a difference. I am so proud of my friends who stood yesterday and fulfilled their civic duty of expressing themselves. Building a justice society doesn’t happen overnight – Israel has been working on this for 70 years now. I know that together we can make this dream a reality. Even from far away I am standing with my family, friends, and community. If you would like to know more, or have questions or comments, feel free to reach out. Waga, we stand by you together and fight for a better cause. A change will take time – but we will succeed in changing Israel! Shabbat Shalom, Noy

Friday, January 25, 2019

Hi Everyone!

My grandparents celebrated their 80th birthday this month and my family decided to do a big celebration. They are going to rent a place and invite all the extended family to honor my grandparents. I can’t even tell you how close we are. They live 10 min away from my house in Rosh Ha’ayin, close to the high-school I went to. If you ask me how I describe them, I’ll have to tell you about my routine every day in Elementary School. After every school day, I would walk to the gates of school – there I saw my Saba (grandpa) standing on the grass waiting for me. Then we would walk to their house and eat my Savta’s (grandma) soup, watch TV, played with the games my mom played when she was my age and just sit and talk. Every day for many years. In High-school I started to go to their house in between classes or sometimes after. Years pass by and they are always there. I can’t believe that we celebrate their 80th birthday and I’m not going to be there. It’s part of the things we give up on while moving to a different country.

Saba and Savta, I wish you many years of health, happy, lots of great food, many grand-kids and great-grand-kids. You are my favorite people on earth and I can’t wait to see you in Israel.

Noy

Thursday, January 17, 2019

Shalom Everyone!

Martin Luther King was an inspiring person, someone that changed the world, a powerful leader that we should all learn about.

He grew up in a difficult time and still did not give up, he fought for rights and for a better future. He had a dream!

In all the tours I do in DC for my friends and family that come (I think that by now I know every brick in the Washington Monument) I always show the Monument of MLK. There is something about it that shows strength and power but also a kind of quiet that I can’t explain.

Growing up, I heard about my parent’s dreams. Some they reached, some they missed and some still exist.

During and after the army, I went on a Mishlachat to summer camps. First time I’ve met the Jewish community in the U.S.

I had host families that became real ones, met new friends and started to think of a dream of my own.

I want to be an Ambassador!!

Who knew that I’ll find myself here? In Fairfax VA? My way here in the past year and a half didn’t even cross my mind when I thought about Shlichut. Tell you the truth? I Never thought I’ll do 2 years of Shlichut, I planned only to do one. Something about this community and this awesome location made me want to stay more. This area is really changing the world, I will too someday.

And you know what? Dreams ARE exciting, but the path you need to go to reach them is even more.

Happy dreamers day,

Noy

Thursday, January 3, 2019

Happy Israeli Election season! I don’t know if you noticed but first day of winter break was also the first day of the election season in Israel. Benjamin Netanyahu announced that April 9th 2019 will be the day of elections in Israel and a parade has started! Only one week into this season and we already have a few more parties. Two big break up and one Eretz Nehederet (in translation it’s great land, but it’s also the name of Israeli SNL). Got confused? Us too. It started with rumors about Beni Gantz (former chief of staff) joining the politics. It’s not strange that army people join the politics, but the power of Beni Gantz is bigger then any person anticipated. The polls say that his new party will have 16 mandates! The Jewish Home lost its two major leaders – Naftali Benet and Ayelet Shaked, that decided on creating their own party. Many people say it’s a good decision for their specific crowd. As The Jewish Home approaches more religious right wing crowd, Benet and Shaked want to approach a religious and non-religious right wing. One big breakup that accrued yesterday rocked Israel.The Zionist Union was established by the Labor Party and Hatnuah Party to build a strong center-left wing to Netanyahu. Avi Gabai (the head of the party) decided to go live and separate the two movements – without telling Tzipi Livni (the head of the other movement in the party). Confused yet? Us too!