Haifa Rape Crisis Center to share its expertise during virtual program

The Afula Branch of the Haifa Rape Crisis Center will share the professional practices it uses to support victims of sexual assault, and to teach and promote appropriate education in the community, in a virtual program, “You Are NOT Alone,” on March 13.

Aviv Tessler, director of the Education Department at the Haifa Rape Crisis Center, will create a safe space during the program to address this difficult topic with great sensitivity and to answer questions.

The Afula Branch of the HRCC receives funding from the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island’s annual campaign and from the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund.

The HRCC provides a professional and direct response to victims of sexual assault, helping to protect their rights and to manage the trauma they have experienced. Victims of sexual abuse receive emotional, legal and therapeutic support through the organization. The Afula Branch provides ongoing workshops and lectures on violence prevention to children, youth and adults, as well as training for professionals in the educational, health, social service and criminal-justice systems.

The branch reports that its 24-hour hotline had a 140% increase in call volume during Israel’s first 2020 pandemic lockdown, as many victims live with their abusers and therefore faced a greater risk of assault. In an immediate response, the Afula Branch trained far more volunteers and held additional workshops in the educational and criminal-justice systems.

The Afula Branch serves the Afula/Gilboa area, which is partnered with the Jewish Alliance and other federations in southern New England as our sibling region.

To learn more about the ways the Haifa Rape Crisis Center provides emergency long-term support and community education, and about its experiences, please join the free program, on Sunday, March 13, at 2 p.m. Register at https://bit.ly/3s9lyOR.

For more information about the annual campaign, the funding that the Jewish Alliance and the Women’s Alliance Endowment Fund allocate to the Afula/Gilboa region, or the important work of the crisis center, contact the Alliance’s chief fundraising officer, Sara Masri, at smasri@jewishallianceri.org.

LARRY KATZ (lkatz@jewishallianceri.org) is the director of Jewish life and learning at the Jewish Alliance of Greater Rhode Island.