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Make a Difference in Gedera
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The Challenge
Gedera is one of the oldest towns in Israel, founded in 1884, located in the Center District of Israel. The city is known as an Ir Yeladim, “a city of children”, because of its emphasis on the needs of its children.
The town’s total population is 23,800 (CBS, 2011). 1,508 Ethiopian-Israelis are living in this city, 239 of which are between 13 and 18 years old.
Higher chance for dropouts, poorer academic performances and segregation with the mainstream Israeli society among Ethiopian-Israelis in Gedera
Despites the city’s emphasis on children, there are still Ethiopian-Israeli youth at-risk. Gedera has faced in the past and still faces challenges regarding the Ethiopian-Israeli community:
• Most of the Ethiopian-Israelis live in the Shapira neighborhood, which is the place that suffered for a long time with high dropout rates and poor academic performances.
• There is still segregation between the Ethiopian-Israeli community and mainstream Israeli society. The reason for this is that many of the youngsters are strongly connected to their traditional culture and they prefer to hang out with other Ethiopian-Israelis.