Peter’s Hall
The Switch-Triguboff Center for Training and Advancement of Employment has been launched at Israel’s Idan HaNegev Industrial Park.
Elaine and Peter Smaller
The event was held in the presence of distinguished figureheads including local and international leaders, mayors, senior government officers as well as members of partnering organizations with the SWITCH centre such as SodaStream, American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) and others.
The Switch-Triguboff Center for Training and Advancement of Employment was established at the initiative of Mr. Harry Triguboff, with the efforts of the Israel-based Triguboff Institute, in cooperation with the Idan Hanegev industrial authority and with the assistance of JNF-Australia. The centre was built in accordance with the vision of making new employment opportunities available for all residents in the Negev, Bedouins and Jews alike, in order to create a prosperous reality in the region and a model of integration and coexistence. Mr. Triguboff was motivated to launch such an initiative following his visit to the Negev region’s Bedouin communities, the newly established industrial park and the SodaStream factory two years ago. The centre, named “Switch,” will operate as a joint venture with the Idan HaNegev industrial management, led by its CEO Moshe Paul, and in collaboration with “MOONA – A Space for Change,” a non-profit organization founded by its CEO Asaf Brimer that has been involved in technological vocational training and education in many of the Galilee’s Arab-Israeli communities.
Included among JNF-Australia’s delegation were its former president Peter Smaller and his wife, Elaine; incoming chairman, Marcus Rose and his wife Eva; CEO, Dan Springer; Dr. Rafi Glaser and his wife, Louis; and Mr. Gideon Shavit.
Also attending the ceremony were chairman of the Triguboff Institute and former ninth chief of the Mossad, Efraim Halevy; Mayor of Be’er Sheva, Ruvik Danilovich; Head of the Lehavim Regional Council and chairman of Idan Hanegev, Yossi Nissan; Head of the Bnei Shimon Regional Council, Nir Zamir; CEO of Rahat Economic Company, Mr. Mahmud Alamour; and general manager of the nearby SodaStream factory that currently employs over 1600 local Bedouins, Yaniv Abuhatzera.
Shalom Norman, CEO of the Triguboff Institute, thanked Peter and Elaine Smaller for their lasting commitment to the Negev under their leadership for over two decades. In the Smallers’ honor, a multi-purpose state of the art workshop room in the centre that was dedicated as a “tech” training facility was unveiled and named, “Peter’s Hall.” Mr. Norman touched upon the “holistic vision” of the centre reflected in its reaching-out to the local Bedouin community and offering a wide variety of activities related to promoting employment among women in correlation with the maintenance of a healthy lifestyle, parenthood, entrepreneurship and cross-cultural skills.
Mr. Efraim Halevy stressed the need to adopt a “bottom up” approach as a key to success in creating trust within multicultural diverse communities.
Mr. Peter Smaller, who is marking almost quarter of a century of leadership for JNF-Australia, expressed his excitement and appreciation for the most recent developments and praised Harry Triguboff for his leadership and creativity.
Following the ceremony, the delegation visited the SodaStream factory and met with the company’s CEO, Daniel Birnbaum.
The Triguboff Switch Vocational Training Center will be personally dedicated by Mr. Harry Triguboff during the official inauguration ceremony of the Idan Hanegev complex in July of 2019.
