About Us
Established in 1982, by Dr. David Portowicz and Col. Ze'ev (Zonik) Shaham z"l, the Institute for the Advancement of Education in Jaffa (“the Jaffa Institute”) is a private nonprofit organization that assists severely disadvantaged children and their families living in impoverished neighborhoods in Israel, including in Greater Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Bet Shemesh.
Demonstrating our programs’ positive impact, the organization has a “Seal of Effectiveness” from Midot, a nonprofit monitoring association, and has twice received the Israeli Ministry of Education’s top prize for academic excellence.
Our work is supported by approximately 6,000 dedicated local and international volunteers throughout the year, and the Jaffa Institute is a proud past recipient of the President’s Award for Most Outstanding Volunteer Organization.
Our Vision:
To create a community in which children are nourished, educated and supported so that they become strong contributors to Israeli society.
The Jaffa Institute works to provide program participants with the educational, nutritional, therapeutic, and social enrichment they need to escape the cycle of intergenerational poverty.
To address the needs of these individuals, the Jaffa Institute operates in some of the most poverty-stricken areas in Israel, where 50% of the population is impoverished, 30% regularly receive welfare services, and much of the population is unemployed. As a result of this socioeconomic distress, these areas are particularly vulnerable to crime, substance abuse, and nutritional insecurity. Consequently, many parents are unable to properly care for their children, which results in dire educational gaps, with numerous children in our service area dropping out of school before completing the 12th grade.
