WIZO Tel Aviv
WIZO’s Tel Aviv Branch
Spreads Across the City
From the young to the old and everyone in between, WIZO Tel Aviv
takes care of Tel Avivians of every creed and colour
Zohar Friedman
In operation for over 80 years, the Tel Aviv branch of WIZO
Israel is one of the oldest WIZO branches in the country.
Today, led by Chairperson Meira Drori, the branch has
five clubs: in Ramat Aviv, Arlozorov St., Montefiore St., Yad
Eliyahu and Jaffa, all of which conduct numerous welfare
and community outreach activities in coordination with the
Tel Aviv Municipality and WIZO Israel. Some of these services
include single parents’ groups, women’s empowerment
groups, enrichment for the elderly, activities for children
and a number of initiatives for girls-at-risk.
The branch also runs over 50 extended-day afterschool
programmes for children ages 3-6 in order to help working
mothers who need day-care for the entire workday. To
further promote the status of women, the branch also offers
legal advice through the women’s leadership course and
through a legal office that provides legal aid and services
to women and couples in the areas of personal status and
work-related problems.
There are numerous local community ‘homegroups,’ where
participants meet regularly at the home of a WIZO member
for meetings which include a speaker, discussions, cookery
demonstrations and more. Some of these groups have
been in existence for many years and members form strong
personal friendships. WIZO Tel Aviv is also proud to host a
200-member French-speakers’ group who meet for various
activities, including Hebrew conversation practice.
To help finance its activities, the branch runs four highlysuccessful second-hand shops that sell gently-used and
vintage clothing as well as household and miscellaneous
items. In addition, large fundraising events are held across
the city throughout the year.
grinning and holding hands, other visibly distressed and in
need of advice, a hug, a hot meal and a listening ear – all of
which they readily receive.
The girls, who are usually referred to the programme
by their teachers, social workers or school guidance
counsellors, all come from difficult backgrounds, which
include problematic home lives, poverty, social, emotional
and integration problems at school, as well as behavioural
problems and academic underperformance. In order to
qualify for the Warm Home programme, the girls must all
have an open file at the Welfare Ministry.
Warm Home, Racheli explains, is not a treatment centre,
it’s a safe alternative to the girls’ likely path – “wandering
the streets.” While Racheli doesn’t provide the girls with
treatment, she works hard to provide them with structure
and support. For enrichment, Racheli regularly organizes
workshops with visiting teachers on everything from selfdefence to belly dancing, art, fashion and makeup. She
also regularly holds