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Gateway to Hope
Yocheved Golani

Gateway to Hope

by Yocheved Golani

At the time of the Exodus from Egypt, 80% of the Jews elected to remain in Egypt and a mere 20% left with Moses. From this we learn the seductive effects of slavery and from that, we extrapolate many lessons about various forms of enslavement. One nefarious form of slavery is the addiction to drugs and another form is the addiction to a life of criminal conduct. Usually, these two problems accompany each other. In the annals of law enforcement, the rates of recidivism (repeated violations of laws) for addicts and criminals is high.

With this brief frame of reference, I wish to introduce my readers to a pathetic reality: Drug addiction and criminal behavior involving Jews in Israel has become an established phenomenon for the people who were freed from bondage by G’D. With its current population containing an estimated 30,000 regular users of "hard" drugs and 250,000 casual users, Israel’s youth is at great risk for inclusion in a sordid lifestyle. The toll of the current drug use and concomitant crime on the rest of Israeli society is significant.

Rabbi Doctor Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., creator of the Gateways Rehabilitation Center in Pennsylvania (twenty-five years old this past year) found these realities appalling. Garnering the support of Avraham Hoffman, the founder and director of Israel’s Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority, Rabbi Dr. Twerski appointed Executive Director Michael Pasternak to help in the development of a facility to skewer the odds in favor of rehabilitation for Israel’s drug-addicted criminal population. Named Shaar HaTikvah, Gateway of Hope, the building and its program are succeeding. Founded in July of 1993, Shaar HaTikvah is currently located in Beersheva, Israel.

In the first two-and-one-half years of its existence, sixty former convicts have been admitted to Shaar HaTikvah and only six have returned to jail. Statistics would indicate that forty-eight would otherwise have returned to prison. To further clarify matters to skeptical readers, the following information is essential for a better understanding of Rabbi Twerski’s success rate: There are presently fifty graduates of Shaar HaTikvah. Twenty nine graduates have not used any drugs or alcohol since they graduated from its rehabilitation program. Eight graduates had brief relapses but are currently "clean" (this is a total of 74%, a remarkable feat). Thirty-four graduates are gainfully employed and pay taxes to support their government rather than stealing or existing in jail at government expense. Some of these graduates are in educational programs. Two graduates are awaiting readmission after they complete a detoxification program to cleanse them of the illegal drugs currently in their bodies. These are numbers that portray success. "Eventually," Rabbi Twerski says, "I hope to increase the rate of our success among addicts/convicts".

Two success stories that deserve more publicity than they have received are as follows: One concerns Avi, a Shaar HaTikvah graduate. While helping to move donated furniture to a Shaar HaTikvah half-way house, he found an envelope containing several thousand shekalim in a couch. Realizing that no one would be the wiser if he pocketed the money, he realized that he could purchase a quick "high" or two. Instead, he notified the family to whom the money rightfully belonged and the family in turn donated it to Shaar HaTikvah. Rabbi Twerski observes that Avi’s recovery had involved two major principles: 1) The realization that property ownership is sacred. 2) The acceptance that one’s body is sacred. "One bit of dishonesty does as much harm as one taste of drugs to initiate a relapse to a disreputable life," says Dr. Twerski. Avi observes, "When I used to take drugs I’d reach a ‘high’ that lasted briefly and afterwards I would feel terrible. When I found that envelope and told the owner, I felt a high that has continued for four months".

The second underpublicized story is about Yoram, who secured a job with a landscaper upon his graduation from Shaar HaTikvah. As he was trimming the bushes before Tel Aviv city hall, he found a bag of white powder and tasted it. Pure, uncut heroin worth a great amount of money was sitting in his hands. The temptation was great, but he turned it over to his incredulous boss. The supervisor wanted to report the find to the authorities, hoping to make Yoram look like a superhero. Yoram knew that if that were to happen, he’d be suspected of trying to peddle the stuff. He reclaimed the bag and walked away. And he dumped a fortune’s worth of heroin onto the lawn of city hall! It now bears the glossy, emerald testimony of the fertilizing effects of one man’s recovery from addiction.

Dr. Twerski explains that the road to becoming a convict/addict in Israel is a simple one. "The Zionist dream is morally bankrupt. It has no ideals such as one person being morally responsible for another. Once the land was built, Zionism ran out of steam. Furthermore, these convict/addicts come from homes where they fell out of the family structure at ages as young as nine and ten. They started with marijuana and went on to hard drugs. Feeding the addiction has been the only important goal of their lives. By the time Shaar HaTikvah receives them, they need to be taught how to make a bed, how to care for their clothing and hygiene, attend to what is called ‘the activities of daily living’. We have Russians, Moroccans, Sabras, a variety of people. Many are illiterate adults. They all suffer from the same problem. They are self-absorbed and have been causing mayhem in their quest for drugs for a very long time. They are totally devoted to pleasure-seeking. The ‘chalutz’ (Zionistic pioneer) spirit is entirely missing. The caring atmosphere of Shaar HaTikvah repairs much of that inner damage".

Once a convict/addict arrives to Shaar HaTikva, they can anticipate a three-month stay. The first three to four weeks are spent on acclimating themselves to their surroundings and to the concept of recovery. Graduation means moving into a halfway house or rooming with a ratio of two university students per convict/addict. The students are well-versed on the etiquette of dealing with and the mindset of convict/addicts. Structured, purposeful time is paramount. From the halfway house there is a progression to kibbutz placement. The religious kibbutzim, with their internalized concept of "kol Yisrael areivim zeh l’zeh (one Jew is responsible for the welfare of another Jew)" have never refused the placement of Shaar HaTikvah clients, despite their histories of multiple arrests. They are very receptive to taking in these people who desperately need help to maintain a structured, sane lifestyle. Two Shaar HaTikvah graduates have joined their kibbutzim permanently. Others have taken jobs in the private sector. All of them are indebted to the unconditional love they experienced at the religious kibbutzim. All of them experienced this unconditional love first at Shaar HaTikvah. "This is something that can never be done in the United States, and it is a great factor in the successful rehabilitation of these convict/addicts," says Dr. Twerski..

When one of the outgoing groups of Shaar HaTikvah graduates was vacating its premises (due to an expired lease) to go on to other locations, they called a television news station to report the rehabilitative work that was being accomplished as a charitable endeavor. They appealed to the reporters to advertise the need for donated furniture for a newly acquired Shaar HaTikvah facility. They did so. Then the station bosses sent reporters to the site of Shaar HaTikvah’s facility, and caught the graduates on video, bringing in the anticipated drapes, chairs and beds, as well as the unexpected: A full range of gym equipment! It had been laboriously carried in by the graduates themselves, for the exclusive use of newly arriving convict/addicts. "It was phenomenal and it was caught on tape," Rabbi Twerski beamingly explains. "Those men understood and acted upon the concept of selflessness. They would never personally benefit from that expensive equipment. This is personal progress on their behalf of significant proportions". He adds that each graduate is routinely asked to make a farewell poster to express the important lessons that they learned at Shaar HaTikvah. "And the one that greets everybody is in front of the main door. It reads ‘Lo alimut’. No violence. This is another of the great lessons that these people learn here."

With the ability to achieve such lofty results, Rabbi Twerski’s work in Israel remains hampered by a serious lack of funding. Because the Israeli socialized medical system does not classify addiction as a disease, "State insurance does not cover the cost for appropriate treatment so it is difficult to come by, just as private insurance coverage was difficult to come by in 1950s America," Rabbi Twerski explains. Shaar HaTikvah’s program is therefore only partially subsidized by the government. Due to security concerns which are a constant and major priority in Israel, social problems tend to be overlooked and poorly addressed. Since the aftermath of the 1982 war with Lebanon, a flowing courier route for drugs opened at the south Lebanese border. It is a personal form of slavery for the addict. In addition to the ready availability if drugs in Israel there is another serious problem of a spiritual nature in the country. "As long as there is a prevailing social outlook that the thing to do in life is to have fun, we will never win the battle against drugs," Rabbi Twerski admonishes. "In any society where selfless ideals are less important and the main goal is to seek pleasure, then addiction can flourish. This explains much of the problem in the United States years ago, and it seems to be the problem in the Holy Land. I’m not against people having a good time, but there must be something more to inspire people to make sacrifices that are beneficial to one’s well-being".

Avraham Hoffman, whose inimitable drive to create the State of Israel Prisoner Rehabilitation Authority (of which Shaar HaTikvah is an offshoot) led him to also create innovative programs for the rehabilitation of female offenders, is a man of vision. His assistance has made not only Shaar HaTikvah a success, it has opened new chapters in the lives of pattern criminals and blazed a trail of successful innovations in the maintenance of the rehabilitative effort. He innovated the housing of mothers with their children so that families need not be put totally asunder by the mothers’ problems, the housing of graduates of the program with two university students per graduate, and he created clubs where former addicts can socialize among their peers and receive appropriate counseling. The combination of group therapy and the normal fabric of a social life does much to instill the qualities necessary for the pursuit of reasonable, law-abiding lives into the participants. Many of them also hold jobs and become thoroughly productive members of society. Each one has left their personal bondage, their Egypt.

All of this is accomplished by trained, dedicated professionals who exemplify the ideals to which they want their audience to aspire. Shaar HaTikvah’s staff will be happy to provide newsletters about their work. They can be contacted in Israel at P.O.B. 34131 Jerusalem, 91340. The phone number is 02.652.7266 and the fax number is 02.652.7269. In the United States, Shaar HaTikvah can be reached at P.O.B. 81571 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15217-0371. The phone and fax numbers are the same: 412.421.8524.


Yocheved Golani can be contacted at Golani@Juno.com.


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