Na’amat Canada and Na’amat USA celebrate their 100th anniversary!

(Feb. 27, 2025) – At a time when charities are fighting to survive, an organization that’s been helping women and children in Israel and North America is proudly celebrating its 100^th anniversary. Na’amat Canada and Na’amat USA, which began as a North American chapter in 1925, will mark its centenary at a gala conference in Toronto in May with delegates from across Canada and the U.S.

“It’s a huge deal. It’s a milestone,” says Vivian Reisler, executive vice-president of Na’amat Canada. “We’ve come a long way from Golda Meir sending a message that we need $100 to build X, Y, Z.”

The forerunner of Na’amat was founded in 1921 in what would later become the modern state of Israel to empower women, including providing vocational training and advocating for improved working conditions and equal pay. Four years later, a North American branch was born and Na’amat chapters were formed across Canada and the U.S. over the ensuing decades. Today, thousands of hard-working volunteers are continuing to empower women and children in Israel and abroad.

“We’ve come a very long way,” says Reisler. “The success of the organization is due to the dedication of the members, volunteers and donors — because without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today.”

Na’amat Canada president Susan Inhaber, a member of the organization for 25 years, agrees. “We just want to keep building, get our name out there, build the membership and thank all the donors, supporters and members who are making everything possible. This is an exciting time for us to be together. It’s nice that we have an organization that’s lasted so long.”

While the North American branch of Na’amat (a Hebrew acronym for ‘Movement of Working Women and Volunteers’) began in 1925, Na’amat Canada and Na’amat USA became two autonomous divisions in 1965. “We were together, we split, and now we’re back together (informally, at the Toronto conference) celebrating 100 years,” says Reisler.

Na’amat, the largest women’s organization in Israel, provides a wide variety of services, including a daycare network for thousands of children, legal aid centres, technological high schools for students who have trouble succeeding in regular classroom settings, boarding schools for underprivileged students and the Na’amat Canada Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention. Established in 1993 in Tel Aviv, the Glickman Centre was the first women’s shelter in Israel.

The Glickman Centre encompasses three distinct sections: the shelter, a counselling and treatment area and the Rhodie Blanshay Benaroch Multipurpose Children’s Centre wing, a safe haven for children living in the shelter.

The Rhodie Blanshay Benaroch Children’s centre houses a computer room, baby nursery, kindergarten, audio-visual education corner, library, learning centre and outdoor playground, named in honour of Rhodie’s granddaughter Rho Schneiderman. A one-of-a-kind musical playground was built in honour of Rhodie’s two granddaughters. Blanshay Benaroch was a dynamic third-generation Na’amat member who was committed to building a safe, loving environment for children who needed it most.

Recently, Na’amat Canada was instrumental in building a new middle school at Kanot Youth Village. More than 300 students will now have a state-of-the-art school to enhance their education.

In the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel needs Na’amat’s help as much — or even more — than it did a century ago, says Doris Wexler-Charow, past national president of Na’amat Canada. “I think that Oct. 7 changed everything,” she says of the 2023 massacre of more than 1,200 Israelis and others by Hamas terrorists — the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust.

Everyone in Israel is suffering from PTSD, says Wexler-Charow, a retired social worker. “Everybody’s been traumatized,” she says, explaining that Na’amat is providing more counselling services than ever. “Israel needs us. It’s important for us to keep going. The cause is a good one and I think we need our young people to continue where we leave off.”