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F E AT U R E

A wildlife ranger in Kenya who received emergency medicine training from Magen David Adom via TAG.

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Borders
BY GAVRIEL HORAN Seeing a chareidi Jew in the middle of Rwanda, Indonesia, or Azerbaijan is an amazing experience. Regardless of the surprised looks his appearance invites, Rabbi Yossi Ives continues to visit places few Jews have gone before, driven by a mission to help make the world a better place and at the same time to improve Israels precious public image. I could be described as the last person you would expect to get into [the field of] international development, Rabbi Ives said.
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Chessed

WITHOUT

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ABBI IVES GREW UP in Stamford Hill, London, in a large, insular Lubavitch family. He learned in Chabad yeshivos in London, New York, Sydney, and Brussels, and gained experience as a rabbi in training and as a chazzan in many communities around the world. It may well have been due to this extensive traveling that he cultivated a taste for international development. Today he is the founder and chairman of TAG International Development, a London-based NGO (non-governmental organization) that exports Israeli humanitarian solutions to developing nations around the world. Eight years ago, Rabbi Ives became the Rav of a ninety-five-year-old United Synagogue congregation of two hundred traditional families in Richmond, a neighborhood in South London where he lives today with his wife and seven children. Although many of his congregants are not fully observant, they are members of an Orthodox shul, in great contrast to the situation in America, where a large

percentage of nonobservant Jews are members of Conservative or Reform temples. To many of [my congregants], Im there to provide them with rabbinic leadership: Shabbos drashos, funerals, brissos, and bar mitzvahs, he said. Nonetheless, he offers those who are interested the opportunity to grow closer to Torah and mitzvos. In addition to semichah, Rabbi Ives has an M.A. in social sciences and a Ph.D. in coaching psychology. He has also authored a sefer on some of the more esoteric areas of Chabad Chassidus, printed by Heichal Menachem and with a haskamah from

Harav Mordechai Eliyahu, ztl, former chief Sephardic rabbi of Israel.

Creative Philanthropy
A few years back, when a wealthy religiously unobservant man came to him to discuss a serious problem, Rabbi Ives suggested that he think of something he could do to help others in order to create a vessel to receive Hashems blessing. Everything is hashgachah, Rabbi Ives recalled. Since that man wasnt frum, supporting a yeshivah wasnt one of the options on the menu, so he came up with an unusual philanthropic idea. The result was TAG International Development. TAG connects Israeli experts in disaster preparedness, emergency medicine, and community development with local humanitarian organizations in over a dozen developing nations, including Kenya, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, South Africa,
Rabbi Ives at the Georgia Red Cross.

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Ethiopia, India, and Georgia. The goal is to perform valuable social services while improving Israels public image in the eyes of the world. Over the past few decades, Israel has emerged as one of the worlds foremost providers of humanitarian aid to developing nations, as well as to places that have suffered natural or manmade disasters, such as Japan and Haiti. Less well known, however, is Israels unique ability to provide expertise and social innovations to struggling nations around the world. Since its founding, Israel has faced countless challenges particularly relevant to developing countries, including building a modern infrastructure in a short period of time, surviving and recovering from wars, sustaining agriculture in an arid climate, and dealing with large waves of immigration, economic upheaval, and population diversity. Israel is uniquely placed to help developing countries, given that it has faced many of the same challenges in recent years and has successfully overcome most of them, Rabbi Ives said. It has more humanitarian expertise per square inch than any other country in the world. Think what could happen if the full impact of its expertise were realized in developing countries across the globe.

One of TAGs areas of expertise is post-disaster assistance to leverage disaster as opportunity, which TAG provided in Myanmar following the recent flooding.

International Shidduchim
TAG connects Israeli experts with established charities, government agencies, and community networks in developing countries, focusing primarily on empowerment and health care for women, youth, and the elderly. Current TAG projects include developing safe play areas for children in land-mine-infested regions of Azerbaijan, implementing agricultural advancement programs in Sri Lanka, providing water-supply protection programs in Myanmar in the wake of 2008s Cyclone Nargis, establishing womens health programs and community centers in Indonesia, renovating a first-aid clinic in Uman, Ukraine, and developing an agricultural

"Human beings cannot prevent natural disasters. However, we can prepare and be ready for them when they arise. We are confident that if we had received such training earlier than three years ago, we wouldn't have had to suffer such hardship during Cyclone Nargis."
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youth village in Rwanda. Human beings cannot prevent natural disasters. However, we can prepare and be ready for them when they arise, said Ms. Su Sanda Hlaing, project manager of Myanmar-based NGO LEAD (Link Emergency Aid and Development). LEAD partnered with TAG to organize an emergency-response training seminar in Myanmar earlier this year. In this context, cooperation is the most essential thing, she said. We are confident that if we had received such training earlier than three years ago, we wouldnt have had to suffer such hardship during

Cyclone Nargis. TAGs partners in Israel include Magen David Adom (MDA), Matav, Yad Sarah, the Weitz Center, Hadassah Hospital, Mashav (Israels Agency for International Development Cooperation), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC, the Joint). People have a misconception that Israel is a place of conflict, Rabbi Ives explained. Thats totally false. Israel is full of peace. Israel is one of the worlds experts in shared resources, social services for all people, and humanitarian services.

In Israel, there are dozens of nonprofit organizations, many of which are chareidi and which have developed amazing social concepts. Imagine if these concepts could be spread worldwide! TAG is currently exporting Matavs home-care expertise for the elderly to Indonesia, and MDAs paramedical skills to the emergency-response teams in Azerbaijan and Georgia, and previously to the Kenya Wildlife Service, which handles medical emergencies in Kenyas national parks. Unfortunately, MDA has a lot of experience with mass casualty events,

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paramedic David Abadi said. With the help of TAG, we can deliver that experience to other countries so that they can help their own populations. Were looking for top-class knowledge and Israeli humanitarian expertise, and we look to share it in ways that are most effective, Rabbi Ives said. Were in the shadchanus business getting people with skills to teach the people who need them.

The Value of Life

Rabbi Ives points out that people from First World countries often have a very limited perspective on the world.
(Left) Rabbi Ives speaking at the seudah of a TAG-sponsored bar mitzvah trip to Israel for disadvantaged European children. (Below) With Israel Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger, and Chief Rabbi of the Kosel Shmuel Rabinovitch, presenting bar mitzvah certificates to the bnei mitzvah.

As Westerners, we have expectations about what civilized life should look like even more so as Jews. We assume that it is a terrible tragedy for a person to lose his life in a situation that could have been easily avoided. Unfortunately, this concept doesnt exist everywhere. Around the world people die left, right, and center, and nobody bats an eye. Many cultures believe that since life and death are decreed by G-d, theres nothing we can do about it. We have to teach them that theres not only something we can do to help, but we must help. He points out that the high value of life in the West is a uniquely Jewish value that we have given to the world. The value that inspires us to go to the ultimate degree to save lives cannot be divorced from our adherence

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to Torah and mitzvos. We believe that G-d causes sickness and poverty to happen in order that we should do something about it. You cant allow death to happen when you can prevent it. Doing nothing while someone is suffering in front of you is tantamount to murder Al taamod al dam reiecha, dont stand idly by [while] your brothers blood [is shed]. Yiddishkeit plays an important part in every aspect of our personal and communal lives, but it also has something to contribute to the wider world. We can influence the world in ways that no one else can.

At the End of the Earth

In many of the places Rabbi Ives
(Left) At a TAG-sponsored art workshop in a Tamil village in eastern Sri Lanka, geared toward rebuilding communities. (Below) Tags Smart Village project uses cutting edge technology to connect villagers in Sri Lanka to the wider world.

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A Global Jew
TRAVELING TO FAR-OFF PARTS OF THE GLOBE, Rabbi Yossi Ives has come in contact with some unusual Jewish communities. In Kuba, Azerbaijan, the mountain Jews live in a vibrant traditional community replete with magnificent shuls and community organizations. The first time he visited, he traveled three hours on a barely passable road. These Jews were truly cut off, he noted, yet in many ways it is a community like any other. Yiddishkeit flourishes everywhere. Since then a new road has been paved, so the journey is both quicker and smoother. The bumpy road was part of the experience, he recalled. Rabbi Ives testifies that its possible to practice Yiddishkeit all over the world. On a trip to Sri Lanka, the local Chabad House graciously hosted him and his colleagues for a meal. Entering the building, he saw his own sefer on the shelf! There is no place where a person cannot practice as a Jew, he said. Torah and mitzvos travel well. Not that his travels have been without inconveniences. On his recent trip to Rwanda, he took along a suitcase full of perishable kosher food only to discover that his hotel, which was not exactly a five-star establishment, had no refrigeration. In the end, most of the food had to be thrown out. At least I learned that it is humanly possible to survive for a few days on fruit, vegetables, peanut butter, and crackers, he said. Ill be packing cans of tuna for my next trip. Due to his religious appearance, Rabbi Ives is used to stares of wonder when he arrives at a departure gate, ready to head off to some location that most of us cant even pronounce. Changing planes in Istanbul en route to Azerbaijan, the guard directed him to the Tel Aviv gate. He couldnt imagine that I would be traveling to Azerbaijan, Rabbi Ives recalled. In many of the countries he visits, the common people have never met a religious Jew. When they see his beard and yarmulke, they often mistake him for a religious Muslim. On a recent trip to Hong Kong, Rabbi Ives went into a shop to buy a present for his eleven-year-old son. The proprietor asked him if he wanted to buy a religious statue what we would call an idol. When he refused, she realized her error and apologized profusely. I didnt realize you were Jewish, she said. You obviously wouldnt want to buy that. I doubt many secular Jews would be so embarrassed by such an error, Rabbi Ives said. I was touched by the way she genuinely felt sorry for having possibly caused offense.

visits, the necessities that we take for granted electricity, sewer systems, paved roads, clean running water are luxuries. You get a reality check its not life as we know it, he said. So much that we take for granted doesnt even exist. Were not talking about the jungle were talking about the capital cities! When I managed to catch up with Rabbi Ives for a phone interview, he was in Rwanda, helping to set up an agricultural training center and model farm within the framework of the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village, established by an American Jewish

philanthropist for orphans left in the wake of the recent genocide. In the mid-1990s, Rwanda was in the midst of a civil war that led to the murder of one-tenth of its citizens some 800,000 men, women, and children. TAGs goal is to teach the villagers and the older children new farming methods based on Israeli agricultural expertise. I dont think you can comprehend where I am right now, Rabbi Ives said. This is the end of the earth. A supermarket here has a completely different meaning. It means that they sell more than three products! Many of the

hotels dont even have running water. Agriculture is the main source of livelihood in Rwanda, and earlier that day Rabbi Ives had met with the countrys minister of agriculture. The road that led to the ministry office was unpaved. In America and Israel the average lifespan is eighty; in Rwanda its fifty. There is a high infant mortality rate, and mothers die regularly during childbirth. During his first visit to Rwanda, he saw a fiveyear-old girl who was the size of a twoyear-old because of malnutrition. I was in shock. Thanks to the care of the Youth Village, such children had a

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total transformation, from darkness to light. They grew one foot taller in a year. A few days before we spoke, Rabbi Ives had spontaneously concocted the idea of training kids from the slums of India to become emergency ambulance workers. In India, fully equipped ambulances cost a lot of money, he said. If you cant afford an ambulance, you are taken to the hospital in a regular van that lacks emergency medical equipment and is driven by an untrained driver. Its shocking. That van often becomes a grave for people requiring immediate medical attention. Imagine the radical change a trained team of EMT workers can make on the entire city! I am always excited to create change in the world. Its incredibly satisfying.

Friends for the Jewish People

One of Rabbi Ives primary incentives in starting TAG was to help improve Israels image around the world.

There are so many nations that want to destroy us. We need to strengthen ourselves in emunah and yiras Shamayim, but we also need friends in this world. This is a vital form of self-defense for the Jewish people and Israel. Many people around the world think that Israel is the enemy, but when they meet Israelis and see that they are good people who are trying to help them, it changes their entire perspective. Small changes in friendships can have serious positive implications in the future. Rabbi Ives said he has been surprised to see how much respect for Israel and Jews actually exists in various parts of the world. Across the globe there is a tremendous number of people who want to be connected to Jews, he said. The British ambassador to Rwanda was amazingly receptive to us because were Jewish and associated with Israel. He was enormously proud of the three months he worked on a kibbutz as a young man. Many people think that all

Jews are as smart as Einstein, and therefore they assume that any technology that comes from Israel must be fantastic. They may not be as vocal as our enemies, but there are loads of people out there who already want to be our friends and are willing to support us and learn from us. In many situations, organizations want to develop [official] relationships with Israel but cant for political reasons. We are their sole connection to Israel. Who knows when these friendships will come in handy? A case in point is the Solomon Islands, a remote group of islands off the coast of Papua-New Guinea that has not always been pro-Israel. When

Rabbi Ives and Jordanian Ambassador, His Excellency Mr. Mazen Kemal Homoud.

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Rabbi Ives at his sons upsheren.

TAG started a few grassroots operations there to improve disaster preparedness, agricultural and economic sustainability, and education, an Israeli journalist wrote to Rabbi Ives asking him to explain the purpose of helping them. To change attitudes, he answered. TAG went on to develop a project in Malaita, one of the larger islands, involving solar energy, food security, and disaster preparedness. With TAGs help they set up a development authority that has the word chazon, vision, in its name, in recognition of the Israeli expertise that was so instrumental in its formation. During the recent U.N. vote for Palestinian statehood, the Solomon Islands voted against the formation of a state. Thats one more friend for Israel, Rabbi Ives said. Just before last Chanukah, Mr. Meir Handelsman, director of external professional relations at Yad Sarah, Israels largest organization aiding the elderly, disabled, and housebound, led a series of seminars about how to replicate the Yad Sarah model in Azerbaijan, a moderate Muslim country. TAG is also active in Indonesia, home of the worlds largest Muslim population and a country that has no diplomatic relations with Israel. As a nonpolitical organization, we can go where Israeli diplomats cannot, Rabbi Ives said. There may not be Israeli flags at our events, but everyone will know where we come from. Another example is Israels neighbor Jordan. Although Jordan and Israel are officially at peace, the relationship is often tense. TAG recently hosted an event in the British Houses of Parliament that was attended by 150 parliamentarians, civil servants, and ambassadors. Among them was the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordans ambassador to the United Kingdom. A photo of the

ambassador with Rabbi Ives appeared in the London edition of Hamodia. TAG recently helped organize a conference focusing on community development, resilience, and disasterrisk reduction that was hosted in Israel and Jordan and attended by professionals from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Israel. In Amman, the group was hosted by the Jordan Red Crescent, the Muslim equivalent of the Red Cross. The Red Crescents president, Dr. Muhammad al-Hadid, spoke about the good relationship his organization has with Israel, pointing out that fifteen Jordanian paramedics were sent to study at Ben-Gurion University for several years. He stressed the fact that humanitarian connections among nations help to increase peace and dialogue. Humanitarian relations are very important, he said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post. [They] give us the chance to [discover] the other person and see them in another way. If people are prepared for dialogue, they will realize that there is no difference between us, as we are realizing in Amman today.

A Two-Way Street
Despite all the obvious good that TAG is doing, the idea of a chareidi Jew dedicating so much of his energy to helping non-Jews may strike some readers as highly unusual. For so many years, the Jewish people were struggling to survive. Now we are finally in a position to make a gesture to the greater world to show we care. Just because my all of my childrens problems havent been resolved doesnt mean I cant worry about your child as well, Rabbi Ives explained. Of course, it doesnt mean that we should make non-Jews our only focus, but imagine, G-d forbid, if there were another Holocaust and the world said, We have our own problems we cant worry about yours. How is it wrong for non-Jews to ignore our plight if we can ignore theirs? We have a moral obligation to show sympathy for people who went through a fate similar to ours. When we discuss the worlds turning a blind eye to the genocide that took place only seventy years ago, we have to be ready to do something when it happens to other people. Its exactly what we wish the world would have done for us but I unfortunately didnt.

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