Huntsville woman leads national Jewish Network

Laura1.JPGLaura King of Huntsville, president of the Network of Independent Communities of the Jewish Federation of North America, sitting at center, enjoys a program in her honor at a school in Dimona, Israel. Among the work of the Jewish communities in the U.S. is raising money for schools that serve Beduoin and immigrant children in Israel. Seated at center left is Ysrael Turgeman, coordinator of the Lunth-and-Learn program at the school that provides food and tutors for at-risk children.

HUNTSVILLE, AL -- Laura King spends her professional life connecting supplies to the men and women in the U.S. Army, most recently in

Afghanistan

.

She spends the rest of her time, as the national chair of the Network of Independent Communities of the

, connecting the resources of Jews in the

United States

with the resources of Jews and others in

Israel

.

The Network connects more than 400 of the smaller Jewish communities in the

United States

, like those of

Florence

and

Huntsville

. It also helps raise some $11 million a year, most of which is sent to

Israel

for humanitarian purposes, but her work is not, primarily, King says, to raise funds for the poor of

Israel

. Her work is to help protect and nurture the identity of Jews in both the

U.S.

and in

Israel

.

"

Israel

is not just the poor beggar," King said. "They have something to offer."

And what Israel has to offer, besides shelter to the millions of Jews from Russia, Morocco, Ethiopia, North Africa and radicalized pockets of Iran, Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, is a direct link to the identity of members of one of the world's oldest faiths.

It's an identity under siege in many places because of active attempts to drive Jews out. In developed countries, it is under siege from assimilation and apathy among younger Jews.

"In the West, we really have to fight for our identity," King said. "It's too easy to slide into being something else - this is what

Israel

has to offer."

King, a member of Etz Chaim,

Huntsville

's Conservative Jewish synagogue, has long been active in Jewish community work. She is a past president of the Jewish Federation of Huntsville and

North Alabama

and board member for the national Network.

This week, she was in

New York City

with meetings of the Joint Distribution Committee of the Network and Federation. That committee allocates aid to troubled spots around the world, including helping to set up a hospital in

Haiti

after the earthquake.

"You name it: If there is a problem, we're probably there," King said by phone from

New York

.

Lifting everyone
Laura2.JPG Students at Nave Amram School in Dimona, Israel, dance during a program to welcome Huntsville's Laura King, president of the Network of Independent Communities of The Jewish Federation of North America, which helps support their school.

When she visits

Israel

, King tours projects supported by Network donations. On a visit this spring, she was the honored guest of a school in Dimona, a city in the

Negev

desert that has a large Bedouin population.

The Network's donations help support a "Lunch & Learn" program for students in need of extra food and extra help with school work. Many of those students are children of new immigrants. Nearby, more donations help fund a vocational school for Bedouin women, who struggle against prejudices in that largely Muslim culture that have left them disproportionately illiterate and unskilled.

The Network's support for programs that largely benefit non-Jews goes against stereotypes about

Israel

, King said, and point to the heart of the Israeli aim.

"You can't bring up one segment of the population and leave someone else behind," King said. "You have to bring everybody up."

That includes supporting a school largely attended by Palestinian children, she said.

"Peace is not just for one guy," King said. "You have to take everyone into account. You can't just isolate people; you will never have a healthy society if you isolate any group."

Christian brothers

In addition to helping Jewish communities network, King networks locally with Christians interested in supporting the state of

Israel

and also with exploring the Jewish roots of Christian beliefs.

Pastor Bob Somerville of Awareness Ministries and coordinator of the citywide Christian Passover, Christ Our Passover, will be presenting the local Federation with $1,000 during Sunday's local observance of the Israeli Independence Day.

The local Federation has used past donations to help with funding scholarships for local teachers to the

Holocaust
Museum

's teacher training program and with programs like those at the Dimona school in

Israel

.

Theological differences, King said, can wait.

"We don't argue about the Messiah," King said. "When the Messiah comes, we'll just ask him."

"What matters is what you push into the future - did you leave something better, or did you just breathe the air while you were here?"

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