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Role at Tufts University’s European Center Builds Our Community of Supporters
Through our partnership with Tufts University; Fabian Bachrach, Tufts alum and recipient of our 2024 Spirt of Beit Ruth Award; and the Beit Ruth-Tufts International Fellowship, Danielle Burenstein was invited to participate at Tufts University’s International Women’s Summit at Tufts’ European Center in Talloires, France. Danielle spoke on Beit Ruth’s model of care, our partnership with Tufts and the expanded reach and impact of Beit Ruth beyond the Village.
Presenting to Tufts’ International Board of Advisors and to Tufts Friedman School of Nutrition, Science and Policy International Women of Influence Health and Wellbeing Roundtable, Danielle addressed the mutual value of the Beit Ruth-Tufts Fellowship and opportunities to deepen the partnership to further benefit young people far beyond the confines of Tufts University and Beit Ruth Village, respectively.
Talking Sports and Beit Ruth with Eli Manning
August 2025 Beit Ruth’s Executive Director, Danielle Burenstein, was recently invited to an exclusive event hosted by R360 at the home of Edward Khalily, one of Beit Ruth’s leading champions. The evening focused on sports as an alternative asset investment. Danielle had the honor of opening the evening, which included a panel discussion with Eli Manning, Marc Lasry, Bob Castellini, and Abe Madkour. Danielle shared Beit Ruth’s mission and the powerful role sports play in the lives of our girls to the 60 guests who were there.
Welcoming Benny Gantz and Knesset Members to Beit Ruth
August 2025 We are proud to share that we had the honor of welcoming Kachol Lavan leader and former IDF Chief of Staff Benny Gantz, along with Kachol Lavan Knesset Members Alon Schuster and Yael Ron Ben-Moshe, for an in-depth visit to the Village.
Their decision to include Beit Ruth in a packed schedule of meetings in the North is a powerful acknowledgment of the reputation and success of our work with transforming the lives of at-risk girls and young women in Israel.
The Samson Riders Visit Beit Ruth with Messages of Support
Summer 2025 Every year, we are thrilled to welcome the Samson Riders MC to Beit Ruth to spend time in the Village, connect with our girls, and learn more about the work Beit Ruth does to combat gender-based violence on national and international levels.
Many of the motorcyclists are educated and employed as law enforcement or lawyers. Respect for women is foundational to the group, and when they visited, they encouraged our girls…
Partnering with Bituach Leumi (Israel's Social Security)
July, 2025 Beit Ruth’s Center of Knowledge welcomed the Afula branch of Bituach Leumi, Israel’s Social Security administration, to the Beit Ruth Village. Social Security in Israel is responsible for providing a variety of benefits to at-risk young women, including subsidized therapy and education. During this visit, our staff and girls spoke to them about their needs and how they could best be supported after their time in the Village.
Beit Ruth's Young Women Visit Law Firm for Career Day
Thanks to Beit Ruth Israel’s Board Chair, Michal Silberstein, the girls at Beit Ruth took our annual trip to Gornitzky & Co., one of Israel’s top-tier law firms where Michal Silberstein serves as a Partner. The firm put together an all-women panel to sit and chat with our group. For many of the girls, this was their first time in a corporate office, and they were able to ask the lawyers questions about their career paths, their education, and what they do now.
This visit expanded the world of career opportunities for our girls and gave them a glimpse of one possible path they could choose, imagining themselves working in a modern high-rise, a future most of them could not have seen for themselves before coming to Beit Ruth.
The Center of Knowledge Grows its Influence
March 30, 2025 Our team hosted Israel's Agency for International Development Cooperation at Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with a global delegation of key stakeholders from different countries to share best practices for addressing gender-based violence. The half-day training was an important opportunity to present Beit Ruth’s distinctive capabilities to transform at-risk populations for the delegation members to incorporate into their networks in their home countries.
THESE ARE THE RIPPLE EFFECTS OF BEIT RUTH’S IMPACT. Nations represented included Cameroon, Estwani, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guatemala, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Nepal, Philippines, and Ukraine!
Alumnae Day In The Village
It was wonderful to host another Alumnae Day at Beit Ruth! The occasion took place on January 30 at the Village, and 30 of our alumnae ages 19 to 30 joined us.
When our alumnae come to the Village, they become role models for all our girls there. To see our alumnae, who were once so vulnerable, mentor the girls in the Village is such an inspiring testament to the power of Beit Ruth and the transformational journey that each girl takes when she comes through the Village doors.
Beit Ruth Launches New STEM Curriculum
December 2024 At the Beit Ruth Gala in May 2025, we announced our intention to design and launch a new initiative focusing on STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. Teaching STEM to girls can significantly empower them by providing them with valuable skills, boosting their confidence and sense of accomplishment, and ultimately allowing them to believe in their ability to consider and pursue new career opportunities.
Our girls and young women will benefit from our newly launched STEM Initiative which includes robotics, computer programming, and tech literacy for competitive edge, including in an AI landscape. This will drive economic empowerment by elevating students’ employability within Israel’s economy... I
Staff Spotlight - Iris Zuckrel: Artist, Teacher, Mentor
August 2023, by Elissa Einhorn, Beit Ruth Director of Communications & Partnerships
When she was 6 years old, Iris Zuckrel created her first painting as a birthday gift for her sister – a portrait of singer Stevie Wonder who she loved. But it wasn’t until she was in her 20s that she considered herself good enough to be called an artist.
“My dad asked me what I wanted to study,” Iris recalls. “I told him 'I’m going to paint.'”
The power to end abuse in the Jewish community
March 2023, by Rabbi Menachem Creditor, Pearl and Ira Meyer Scholar in Residence at UJA-Federation New York
Let us begin with the end in mind: Judaism demands the absolute rejection of all forms of abuse and demands that we do everything in our power to protect our children from abuse, physical, verbal, and emotional.
Heidi Carmel, left, with Esti Eliyahu, a
member of Beit Ruth’s Education Team.
“It was a wonderful experience”
Beit Ruth Volunteer Shares Her Village Memories
July 2022, by Elissa Einhorn, Beit Ruth Grants & Communications Manager
Beit Ruth is grateful for its many volunteers from throughout the world who come to live and work in the Village. Heidi Carmel spent May and June with our girls and staff, teaching English, spending time in the Art Studio, and participating in Sports Day, among other activities. We caught up with her at her home in Boynton Beach, Florida. Interested in volunteering? Visit www.beitruth.com/volunteer or contact melaniev@beitruth.com.
Looking Back: A Year of Fighting the Coronavirus with At-Risk Girls
February 2021, by Mor Ben Simchon Lipin, Beit Ruth Village Manager
A year ago, when news of an unknown illness began showing up in the Israeli media, my mother started talking to me about this mysterious disease. I told her not to worry. I even said, ‘Enough! You’re just focused on bad news.’”
A few weeks later, on February 21, 2020, my niece sent me news about the first documented case in Israel of what has become known as COVID-19 or the Coronavirus.
“International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women” Should Be Everyday
November 2020, by Danielle Burenstein, Executive Director
Since 1981, women’s rights activists have been observing November 25 as a day against gender-based violence. The date was selected to honor the Mirabal sisters. Political activists from the Dominican Republic, three of the four sisters were brutally murdered in 1960. Their names were Patria Mercedes Mirabal Reyes; Maria Argentina Minerva Mirabal Reyes; and Antonia Maria Teresa Mirabal Reyes. Know their names. The ruler of their country, Rafael Trujillo, ordered the killings.
Rotem Farhi, Beit Ruth’s
Supervising Social Worker
Employee Appreciation Day: A Conversation with Beit Ruth’s Supervising Social Worker
March 2020, by Elissa Einhorn, Beit Ruth Grants & Communications Manager
In the United States, National Employee Appreciation Day is observed annually on the first Friday in March – this year, March 6, 2020. This is a day to recognize staff achievements and how much each staff member contributes to an organization.
In appreciation of our amazing Beit Ruth staff, who care for our girls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, we are bringing this celebration to Israel! Meet Rotem Farhi, Beit Ruth’s Supervising Social Worker.
Beit Ruth Summer Fellow Shares Her Experience
August 2019, by Aviva Michaeli, Beit Ruth Summer Fellow
Working at Beit Ruth has truly been a one-of-a-kind experience. I learned so much about the Village and the therapeutic and educational services and programs that it provides for at-risk and vulnerable teenage girls in Israel.
While I had spent the past three summers working at different camps, the campers were from relatively privileged homes. Prior to arriving in Israel for my Summer Fellowship, the Beit Ruth staff briefed me about the girls’ backgrounds of domestic, sexual, or emotional abuse. Based on what I heard, I expected that the girls would be isolated, withdrawn, and quiet. This turned out to be the wrong assumption. Just like the essence of a “Sabra” (cactus pear/native Israeli), the girls had tough and defensive outsides with sweet and wonderful insides that revealed themselves as soon as you got to know them.
Israeli Police seminar at Beit Ruth
100+ Israeli Police Investigators Meet Beit Ruth for a Tu B’Shvat Celebration of Learning and Growing
February 2019, by Karen Gold Anisfeld, Volunteer
The girls and staff at Beit Ruth Village hosted the Investigative Unit of the Israeli Police Force to celebrate Tu B’Shvat – the New Year of the Trees (predecessor of Arbor Day), when it is traditional to plant trees in Israel during the rainy season. More than 100 officers arrived from all over Israel to learn about the important work at Beit Ruth, to tour the facility, and to plant a green fence of Bougainvillea with the 50 at-risk girls who live and learn at Beit Ruth.
Beit Ruth - Breaking the Cycle of Violence
June 2017, by Ronit Lev-Ari, Beit Ruth Project Manager
November 25 is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. The United Nations, and all those who recognize this day’s importance, acknowledge that violence against women is a human rights violation; it is a consequence of discrimination against women; it impacts and deters progress in many areas involving equality, peace, and security; it is preventable and essential. And yet, violence against women is still a worldwide pandemic.
Beit Ruth helps stop violence against women
Happy New Year from Beit Ruth
The Meaning of the New Year for Beit Ruth
June 2017, by Danielle Burenstein, Executive Director
I am blessed to start my year as the Executive Director of Beit Ruth, an amazing place and community that brings promise, possibility, and opportunity for so many young at-risk girls in Israel - girls who otherwise would be out in the streets, lost, forgotten, and desperate. At Beit Ruth, every day for them is a beginning of life and hope.