The work of The Abraham Fund helps to make a difference in the day-to-day lives of Jewish and Arab Israeli citizens, enabling them to choose coexistence in their businesses, community centers, hospitals, neighborhoods, schools and universities, theaters, and youth groups.  Working together, we are creating a framework for peaceful coexistence in Israel. 

READ Educational Center 

formerly

AEHI, Alternatives in Education for the Hearing Impaired
The Lachman Education Center 
2020 E. Camp McDonald Road 
Mount Prospect, IL  60056 
Tel:  847-297-3206 
Fax:  847-297-3208 

READ’s Mission:  READ fosters literacy and empowers people with hearing impairements to achieve their potential through unique educational options. 
READ was established in 1986 by pats and educators as a not-for-profit organization.  READ visionaries want students with hearing impairments to be able to attend their neighborhood schools and to compete academically throughout the school day with their hearing peers.  READ advocates the use of Cued Speech as a tool to improve literacy.  Cued Speech is compatible with oral/aural, total communication, and bilingual philosophies, enhancing instruction and communication in each mode.  READ’s approach is unique.  There is no other agency in the midwestern United States that provides the same services and programs. 
Cued Speech is a sound-based visual communication system used to clarify lipreading.  It consists of eight handshapes in four different locations (cues) near the mouth.  When combined with the natural oral movements of speech, the deaf person can see the same language sounds that hearing people hear.  Visit NCSA (National Cued Speech Association). 

Community Foundation for Jewish Education 
618 South Michigan Avenue 
Chicago, IL  60605 
Tel: 312-427-5570 
Fax: 312-427-7486 

The Ronald an Mary Ann Lachman Foundation has given grants to the CFJE Computer program.  The CFJE has used these funds to purchase programs and CD drives for religious schools and to help them get connected to the Internet. 

Foundation for Hearing and Speech Rehabilitation 
18 S. Michigan Avenue 
Suite 1002 
Chicago, IL  60603 
Tel:  312-704-1344 
Fax:  312-704-1345 

Holocaust Memorial Foundation of Illinois 
4255 West Main Street 
Skokie, IL  60076-2063 

Lachman Documentation and Research Library 
When winter winds blow and snowflakes accumulate, consider expanding your mind with a selection from our fine Lachman collection.  Recent additions to our shelves for younger readers include:  After the War by Carol Matas - After being released from Buchenwald at the end of World War II, 15-year-old Ruth risks her life to lead a group of children across Europe to Palestine. (Fiction - Grade 7 and up.)  Passage to Freedom, The Sugihara Story by Ken Mochizuki - True story of the Japanese Consul to Lithuania who, by issuing visas, saved thousands of Jewish lives, told through the eyes of his 5-year-old son. (Nonfiction - Grade 5 and up.)  Elisabeth by Claire A. Nivola - Forced to flee the Nazis, a young girl and her family eventually end up in the United States where, years later, with a young daughter of her own, she is improbably reunited with the beloved doll she left behind in Germany.  (Fiction - Grade 4 and up.).... 
“The Lachman Library collection is available for browsing and borrowing during all regular Foundation office hours, Mondays through Fridays, and on Sundays from 12:00 until 4:00.  Special assistance is provided by our Library Volunteers on Thursdays from 9:00 until Noon.  Come visit us soon!” 
  

Shemesh 
The Organization for Jewish-Arab 
Friendship and Coexistence in the Galilee 
MATA Misgav,  D.N. Misgav  20179 
Tel: 972-4-9800039 
Fax: 972-4-98000389 
email: shemesh@trendline.co.il 

Yasser Faour, Board Chairman 

Donations to SHEMESH should be made through American Friends of Shemesh.

Children’s Programming 
SHEMESH Camps:  SHEMESH begins with young children, ages 6-10, who participate in the annual two week SHEMESH Day Camp.  Children who participate in the camp continue to meet throughout the year when they go on field trips together.  An outgrowth of the day camp is a 4 Day Overnight Camp for 11-12 year olds.  Graduates of this program are eligible to become members in the SHEMESH Youth Leadership Project. 

Youth Programming 
Neighbors, a student newspaper in Hebrew, Arabic and English, continues to be a growing project.  Eighth and ninth graders, Jewish and Arab, get to know each other through a common project, by working together and producing a joint product. 

The Young Galileans Chorus, a joint chorus, which will sing in Arabic, Hebrew, and English.  Arab and Jewish teenagers will rehearse together and prepare a unique repertoire to be performed in Israel and abroad. 

Youth Leadership for the Future,  SHEMESH has developed a unique Jewish-Arab youth movement, with Arab and Jewish teenagers meeting regularly, having fun together, getting to know one another, and learning to respect different cultures and lifestyles.  Our future is in their hands. 

Adult Programming 
Arabic Courses, for the past eight years SHEMESH has been offering courses for spoken Arabic.  The Jewish population, as a whole, does not speak Arabic.  We cannot create a society where all are equal if part of the population does not speak the other’s language.  SHEMESH offers a beginning for those Jews who are interested in learning more about their neighbor’s language and culture.