Lifestyles Magazine
October/November 2005

Hubert Leven - Sacta-Rashi Foundation

By David Gerlach

After spending the last three years in the Enriched School Day Program at Shilo Elementary School in Hadera, Israel, Etti Ohana feels she is well prepared for her upcoming English lessons in junior high school. Etti lives in Givat Olga, a poor suburb of Hadera, with her mother and three siblings. After her morning classes, she begins the Enriched School Day with lunch and then works on her homework. When Etti finishes, she and the other students break into small groups to do enrichment courses.

Etti likes the relaxed atmosphere of the afternoon program. And she gets to work more closely with her teacher, whom she says is “really good at explaining things.” The extended time at school also allows Etti to play in a drum group and perform with the school’s choir. “By the time I get home, I’m pretty tired,” Etti adds. “I usually eat a light meal, which my mother is pleased about, because it means I’ve eaten well during the day.” Her mother also takes pride in knowing Etti has done all of her homework.

The program coordinator at Etti’s school says, “If it weren’t for the Enriched School Day program, the school would not be what it is today.” She adds that the extra learning time has helped bring many students up to grade level. This benefit comes at a crucial time when recent education reports rank Israel among the worst performing industrialized countries below the university level.

The Sacta-Rashi Foundation, which for more than 20 years has been serving Israel’s population residing in the geographic and social periphery, initiated and manages the Enriched School Day Program. It costs roughly $40 million per year to operate. Funding comes from the Israeli Ministry of Education, local authorities, parents, Sacta-Rashi, and its partners. In 1994, the program served 1,500 pupils; today, more than 60,000 children in 100 municipalities get extra time to learn and develop, just as Etti has.

“How many people know that there are at least 300,000 youth and children in Israel at risk, with growing numbers in danger of using drugs or dropping out of school,” Hubert Leven, Sacta-Rashi’s president, asks Lifestyles one spring morning while seated in the bustling lobby of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. Leven—debonair, with soft, white hair, an open face, and a firm commitment to proactive philanthropy in Israel—visits the U.S. from Paris several times a year to pose this question in hopes of increasing awareness amongst American and Canadian Jews of Israel’s growing health, social, and education problems. Sacta-Rashi also seeks to leverage its investments in Israel by partnering with donors and philanthropic organizations that share its vision.

Early on, Leven says, “Our partners were mostly municipalities and government ministries, not other foundations.” However, as their programs found success, the foundation looked for allies to expand its reach. “We have developed a number of national initiatives, which we can’t handle ourselves,” he adds. “We manage and invest in them, but in order to be truly effective, we need partners.”

Considered to be one of the largest philanthropic bodies in Israel, Sacta-Rashi puts its entire infrastructure at the disposal of those interested in supporting projects in Israel.

Though Sacta-Rashi was established in 1984, its roots stretch back to 1840s Paris. While in high school, Leven’s great-grandfather established an organization dedicated to supporting the educational and financial needs of the poorest families. The movement immediately gained steam and the support of noted Parisians such as Victor Hugo. By 1860, he had founded the Alliance Israélite Universelle, whose mission was twofold: to defend the liberties of both Jews and non-Jews worldwide who were discriminated against because of their religious affiliations, and to establish a vast network of schools for the masses of Jews living and struggling in the Muslim countries encircling the Mediterranean Sea.

The torch of altruism eventually passed to Leven’s grandfather and then to his father, who in turn passed the spirit onto his children. “My father was very involved in practically all the major Jewish organizations in France,” Leven offers. “I got the feeling for involvement in the community from him.” Earlier in his life, Leven was involved with Alliance Israélite Universelle and with the French equivalent of the United Jewish Appeal. After college, Leven spent six months in Israel and was tempted to remain and work in the country. Ultimately, he went back to France and joined the family’s successful brokerage firm, Société de Bourse Leven, eventually becoming CEO in 1975.

In 1984, Leven embraced the family legacy of service and affirmed his commitment to improving life for Jews in Israel. His uncle, Gustave Leven, who had smartly acquired a tiny company called Perrier back in 1948 and turned it into the world’s largest mineral water company, was instrumental in setting up a foundation dedicated to strengthening the weakest segments of Israeli society. He asked his nephew to run Sacta-Rashi. Leven agreed, though he had no experience at the time in running a foundation. He would continue to direct the brokerage house until 2000 when it merged with another firm and he left the day-to-day operations.

“Fortunately, we started small,” Leven reflects on the foundation’s early years. Looking back, he feels this path allowed the foundation to gain a solid footing and an understanding of the “value of money and what it takes to earn it before you allocate and spend it.”

Leven’s business experience, pragmatic approach to decision making and a family history of serving the community most certainly played a role in Sacta-Rashi’s traction and growth. Leven brushes aside this assessment and says the success stems largely from the management team. “It’s like in business,” he says humbly, “If you have a great team, you do great work.”

Mark Charendoff, president of the Jewish Funders Network—a network of philanthropists and foundations—recently began a matching grants initiative for first-time donors to projects in Israel, in partnership with Sacta-Rashi. Charendoff praises Leven’s leadership qualities, noting that “he is passionate about helping Israel. Hubert is a big thinker and he is willing to take risks.” Charendoff mentions that the new partnership was literally designed on the back of a napkin over breakfast at the Hilton Tel Aviv and sealed with a handshake. “It’s philanthropy from a different era, just sitting there and getting inspired by an idea and deciding on the spot to move forward,” he adds.

Sacta-Rashi views Israel as essential to the global Jewish community. The fate of Jews in Israel, most notably the weakest segments of the society, affects the strength of the state and in turn all Jews. One of Sacta-Rashi’s newest programs provides lunches for schoolchildren and is an outgrowth of the successful Enriched School Day Program. According to the latest Poverty Report, more than 650,000 children live below the poverty line—over 30% of all Israeli children. “In Israel, the school day ends relatively early, before lunch. The idea was to use the afternoon hours for educational support in order for them to catch up to the average grade level,” Leven says. If the children were kept in school for the afternoon, they needed sustenance to stay energized throughout the day.

This School Lunch Program began with discussions with the Ministry of Education in the summer of 2004. “We negotiated a deal where we gave 25% of the budget, with the government, the municipalities, and the parents giving the rest,” Leven recalls. After three years, Sacta-Rashi will no longer be involved financially, though they will probably continue to manage the project. The pilot began last September; together with the Enriched School Day program, they are currently providing hot meals to over 140,000 children in an educational environment every day.

Leven strongly believes that Sacta-Rashi should not support individual programs perpetually. The goal is to make systemic, not surface changes. “The real money is in the government ministries,” he adds. “A foundation has tiny budgets compared with public budgets.” Sacta-Rashi can initiate a project, show direction, and prove that it is efficient. And then hands it over. A short-term financial commitment of three to five years is ideal.

Leven believes science education enables social mobility and will allow Israel to compete in a technology-driven world economy. Ten years ago, the Israeli Minister of Education realized that the number of students graduating from high school in the sciences was decreasing. He commissioned a report to determine what could be done on a national level to combat this, which called for more Internet access in the nation’s schools and new teaching methods adapted to modern technology. Though wealthier school districts could implement these recommendations, those in the periphery struggled.

The Madarom Project, fostered by Sacta-Rashi and the Ministry, addressed these issues and worked specifically with 200,000 schoolchildren in the southern region of Israel—”the poorest and weakest,” Leven notes. This population included religious and nonreligious, Jewish and Arab students. Computer labs and Internet connections were invested in, science summer camps were established, and a Science Park in Beer Sheva is now under construction. Leven adds, “We are also developing a number of smaller parks, including a solar park in the Negev desert and a science enrichment center south of Haifa.

Though Sacta-Rashi has found success working in Israel and securing support from partners in North America, Leven understands that many Jews outside of Israel do not understand the problems facing the country. “People don’t realize the educational, economic, and social situation in Israel—the poverty that exists,” he says. Leven thinks this partly stems from North American Jews having fewer family connections in Israel, versus French and other European Jews. Also, he knows that the Israel advertised does not show the whole picture. Visitors arrive at the brand-new terminal at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport and stay at the Hilton Tel Aviv. They take in the city’s nightlife and beaches. Some will visit high-tech companies or go to one of the country’s universities. This leads, Leven believes, to misconceptions about the country’s most pressing needs. “People think that Israel is a modern, rich country and don’t realize that Israeli society has very wide socioeconomic gaps,” he says.

Building awareness, particularly in North America, is essential, Leven believes. “There is so much Jewish philanthropy, particularly in the States, that is not being channeled to Jewish causes, never mind Israel,” he states matter-of-factly. Leven understands that alternatives compete for investment as he weaves through a few examples. “In my mind it is not always necessary increasing huge endowment funds of an American university,” he cites passionately. “What will it change?” He does realize that this type of endeavor gives personal satisfaction to an individual. However, from an economic and a social justice standpoint, Leven believes there are more efficient ways to be charitable.

As the population swelled to 800,000 in the southern region of the Negev by the late 1990s, the Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva—the region’s only hospital—struggled to meet the increased demand for services. “The infrastructure hadn’t grown,” Leven remarks. “Patients were everywhere, even in the corridors.” Expansion was needed, but funding was scarce. Sacta-Rashi provided a $5 million commitment, but another $55 million had to be raised. Within six months they had reached the goal, due in large part to the kick-start and guidance Sacta-Rashi provided. “When you see something like that, you realize you don’t need the 60,” Leven offers proudly. “You need the five and the rest will come.”

Leven takes great pride in Sacta-Rashi’s ability to manage projects. S. Lee Kohrman, president of the Cleveland-based David and Inez Myers Foundation, first worked with Sacta-Rashi six years ago as they partnered to develop the Parents and Children Together (PACT) program that prepared young Ethiopian immigrants in Beer Sheva for kindergarten. Many of these children struggled to move to the next grade level. “They are very American in their style,” Kohrman says of Leven and Sacta-Rashi. “They work on theory but don’t waste time. They go for product.” He adds that they know what works and how to get things done in Israel. PACT has now expanded to 10 other cities, serves 6,000 children, and the repeat rate of Ethiopian-Israeli kindergartners has decreased from 50% to 5%.

Leven has a relaxed, patient manner. These qualities have kept him in good stead as he brokers new partnerships. “You meet people once and they eventually come to Israel. They see your office. You take them around to see a couple of programs. Then you have to find the opportunity to start something together. And then it develops. It usually takes a year, sometimes two years to get going.” Leven has a firm grasp of how to make partnerships stick and new initiatives happen.

There has been some outcry over broadcasting globally the plight of Jews living on the periphery. Leven disagrees. “It is not a question of being an ostrich and burying your head in the sand to solve the problem.” He argues that if people outside Israel do not know what is going on, the problems will fester. Others have voiced concern over foreign foundations, such as Sacta-Rashi, literally providing food to Israelis. Leven agrees, “It should be the state that does it.” But since the government cannot or does not always step forward, than Sacta-Rashi and others must.

Leven knows that Sacta-Rashi’s work will never be done. “Sometimes we have the impression of rowing against the stream,” he says, noting economic downturns that breed social problems. But his passion, understanding, and genuine interest in Zionist engagement overwhelm any shred of real doubt. “It is trying to do all that you can so that it doesn’t get as bad as it could.”

Leven says he does not miss a life in finance, citing the satisfaction of directly helping people. “In the brokerage business, you start all over again every morning,” he states. Leven estimates that Sacta-Rashi’s programs and investments affects roughly 10% of Israel’s population. Talk about long-term dividends.

© 2005 david gerlach- info@dgerlach.com