Nitza White: the giving and support of an educator and volunteer in every Ramah Avria • Help for women and children at high risk

Many of the graduates of the Reali School in Haifa are delighted to recall their experiences in the era of educator and class coordinator Nitza White. This is also the case with the former student Ms. Esnat Paniel, who clarifies: "In my eyes, Nitza White is the "teacher" - the news!

I remember her as an interesting personality, smart and very loved by all her students. As a person and as a woman, she served as a personal example for us and knew how to reach each and every student and give the exact and needy answer. Personally, for me she was an inspiration, and a role model - and following her I also became a teacher in Israel."

About the section - "I also live here"

Here is the section that brings you fascinating Haifa characters in their homes - where the introduction is through the stories, the charges and the unique point of view of the people who make up the human mosaic of our city Haifa. That is, this is life and they live here - just like the name of the section - "I also live here" - and this time, we will be staying in the warm and pleasant home of Nitza Witt, who during many years, until her retirement, Witt was busy with significant educational work at the Reali school in Beit Biram. And today she is a social activist and the chairman of the "Nitza's Friendship" home circle, which works for help solutions and an available answer for girls and women at high risk.

Giving and helping women and children at high risk

For about 10 years, and without any affiliation to a recognized organization, Nitza White has been harnessing around 35 of her personal friends to gather once a month at the home of one of them, listen to a lecture at Romo Shel Olam, and even discuss and contribute to giving help to women and children at high risk.

It is important to note that all of these excellent lecturers are first class and are lecturers in Nitza's membership circle - without any financial compensation, thus enabling the use of all membership fees of the group to help girls and women in need.

A long-standing educational activity

During many years, until her retirement, Witt was busy with significant educational work at the Reali School in Beit Biram. She was an educator, the coordinator of the sociology subject and a supervisor at the Haifa University of Methodology and Didactics of Social Studies for teaching students, she was the link between the real school in Beit Biram and the military boarding school, as well as a social coordinator, accompanies the student council, establishes and leads a "personal commitment" project of student volunteerism The upper division in the community.

And for witness number one among her many students the following:
After almost four decades in his service as the commander of the Hoof district in fire and rescue, at the time of his retirement, Tafser Hazi Levy, he was asked who was the figure that influenced him the most? both on his personal character and on his professional path. Without any hesitation he entered the name of the educator Nitsa Witt from the Raleigh school. According to him, the figure of the educator Whit is above all others.

Hazi adds and explains that for every student, and especially when he is "unruly" and looking for his way and his identity in adolescence, one influential adult who believes in him is enough to guide him to success and greatness. That's how Nietzsche Witt was for him. He adds and says that Nitsa was the teacher of his class at the Raleigh school in the Hadar branch. At that time, studies were not the first in his childhood priorities, but it was the waves in the sea that fascinated him much, much more.

Nitza stubbornly, with endless patience and out of fear that my heart might drop out of the education system and "that a guy like you must not be missed" used all the tools and all her talent as an educator as well as in endless conversations which were sometimes also harsh. Indeed, she managed to change his priorities, she managed to convince the school management to give him an opportunity and a trial period to improve his behavior and improve his academic achievements. Levy points out in full that the title "graduate of the Raleigh school" with a full matriculation certificate - he owes it to the class teacher who was always in the background, interested, advising and above all proud of him.

Helping people who have not been fortunate

Even with her retirement, Nitsa Witt continues the spirit of volunteering, to which she has educated generations of students and dedicates her days and times to public activity in the city of Haifa, to promoting health and helping people who have not been favored by fate - all this in order to help establish a benevolent society.

The guiding line in Nitza's life is acceptance, inclusion, giving and empowering others - when everything is voluntary. Clearly, this is of such a character that is acquired in the human DNA.

Nitsa was born in Kiryat Haim, to her mother Miriam (Masha-1909) who was a graduate of Janusz Korczak's seminary. The mother, Miriam Salzbeg from the town of Sokolov. grew up in the family of the rabbi of the community where they believed that girls should not acquire knowledge. But Miriam rebelled and found herself crying when her father tore up the secular book she was reading. It so happened that at the age of 15, the girl ran away from the town to the big city of Warsaw and sat on the steps of the seminary, outside the classroom, to listen to the class being held there.

That's how Janusz Korczak found it himself. Korchak ordered her to enter the classroom, get educated and pay the school fees only after she finished the seminary.

A happy childhood in Kiryat Haim

Nitza's father, Reuven-Nathan Ostern (born 1907), was an accountant who immigrated to Israel as early as 1934.

Nitza remembers a fairly happy childhood in the old Kiryat Haim (15 30th St.) with her only sister, the late Gila, who died about 1969 years ago, and with the Pliman family, (Moshe Pliman, mayor of Haifa between 1973-XNUMX, who He worked hard to establish a geriatric medical center), the most wonderful neighbors, and their daughter Nurit who was her best friend.

The children played in the yards

Nitza describes the good neighborly atmosphere that existed in Kiryat Haim during her childhood - as open, inclusive and very fluid. The doors of the houses were not locked at all, and most of the time the children played in the yards. She especially liked the lemon tree around which the group of girls and boys gathered, when from time to time they ran to the ice car to remove ice chips and sprinkle a little sugar on them.

The first piano in Kiryat Haim

Besides the mandolin, which her mother played, and the violin, which the father played, there was also the first piano in Kiryat Haim, which many of the neighborhood children learned and played. Nitsa herself learned how to play the piano over the course of 7 years, but her sister surpassed her and persevered even more and was even a graduate of the conservatory.

In those times, the whole family used to listen to the concerts that were in Haifa at the Palace Cinema, under the open roof and the backdrop of thousands of stars.

Because of the father's job, the family moved to Haifa. Grade 3 Nitza studied at the "Ramez" school and later at the "Hogii" school, majoring in biology. As an educational graduate, she graduated from the "Gordon Seminary" and has a teaching certificate. She also completed a bachelor's degree (BA) in sociology and biblical studies at the University of Haifa and even a master's degree (MA) in human resource management from the "University of Leicester" in England.

In the army, Nitza served in the navy as a paramedic in an emergency reserve room. Although her dream was to continue and focus on medical studies, fate told her to meet Ben Tovim Haifai. When she was about 19 years old, she came with a friend to one of the biggest parties of that time, but she left with a twinkle in her eye and an arrow In the heart choose another.

Nitza and Eli Witt, an economist who later became a successful insurance man, married when she was about 20 years old and had three children:

Amit Witt, father of two, Maya and Dean and lives in Haifa. Amit continues in the footsteps of his father, the late Ali, and is even an insurance agent by profession. His expertise is in the field of "risk management for the family", a field that deals with the extreme financial situations in our lives.

Sharon, married to Yoram and mother of 4, lives in Katzir settlement in Wadi Ara. Sharon is a social activist who works as the manager of a diverse management field in organizations at the "Mefaravim Institute" - a non-profit organization that deals with increasing social cohesion in Israeli society.

Tzachi Witt – Master of illusions, telepathy and entertainment. Father of Shuvel and Sahar - lives in Haifa. Tzachi is an artist of illusions, telepathy and entertainment, already at the age of 15. Witt is a master in his field. He won many professional awards in Israel and abroad and left tens of thousands of spectators with their mouths open and their stomachs aching with laughter. His unique talent and creative thinking have made him a highly sought after artist in the field of business and private events.

An open and happy home

When the family was young, their home was open and happy. A permanent table stood in the dining area and was prepared ahead of time for about 16 diners. It was a house that contained many friends, both of the parents and of their three children.

One of the "family legends" tells that once during lunch, without any prior warning, one of the children (Tzachi, being about 11 years old) arrived with a friend, but because it was a surprise, the portion of meat for the extended number of diners was not prepared in advance. While doing so, the event winked at White and asked: "Who doesn't like the meat dish?" Of course the boy understood his mother and decided to give up part of his meal. The problem was more difficult when distributing the dessert portion... but then Nitza said: "He who has not eaten meat - is not entitled to eat dessert!"

Before her retirement, Witt made sure to play sports. Every morning, at dawn at 06:00, she would make sure to show up at the tennis courts for the daily game. Not this one either - she even favored conquering the various ski resorts, especially on the black slopes, and also dancing folk dances at the Technion.

In 2007, the man she loved and the father of her children, Eli Witt, died of cancer.
So it happened that a year later she sold their nice house in the Dania neighborhood and moved to her current apartment in the neighborhood next to her previous residence.

Nitsa brought a number of items that reminded her of her past and the place where she used to live, from Mouna Ha'o, which was a spacious house. Among the items, the collection of copper vessels found in the contemporary apartment is particularly impressive and it adorns the kitchen. According to her "this is a collection of many years" which in her previous house had a greater presence since the kitchen there was really spacious.

Nitza's house has a library with many books, where we can still find writings from the excellent Am Oved library.

From the entire collection of books, Nitza pulls out two books that are closest to her heart:
The first is the book "Leadership", which was written by the former mayor of New York, Rudolph Giuliani, together with Ken Carson. Giuliani is highly valued by her because upon taking office he inherited a city infested with crime. He was one of the most successful mayors of New York in all generations. He mustered all his experience of excellence and his unreserved loyalty to his people, and succeeded in meeting the challenges that lay before him. Furthermore, Giuliani explains in his book the value "leadership" which in his eyes is a "two-way street".

According to Rudy Giuliani's explanations, leadership is indeed a privilege, but it also imposes a heavy responsibility - starting with designing an organizational structure that matches the organization's goals, through recruiting a successful team, and ending with the necessary risks at unexpected moments. Witt, as a graduate of a qualified degree in human resources management, understands and is very connected to this topic.

The other book that is dear to Witt's heart is: "World War II" by Antony Beaver.
Nietzsche often discusses and learns about this important historical period, since the war in Europe seemed completely separate from the war in the Pacific Ocean and China, but the events that took place on the two opposite sides of the world greatly influenced each other.

Antony Beaver emphasizes that the Second World War was "the greatest disaster in history", a disaster that embraced the entire world and influenced the views of future generations and their perceptions more than any other global human conflict. The canvas of Beaver's story is very large, but the book does not ignore the stories of the "ordinary people" whose lives were eroded during this time.

The late Ali Witt was the son of the late Zalman Witt

A special corner in her warm home is dedicated to the memory of her husband, the late Ali Witt, son of Zalman Witt, who was one of the founders of the Hasolel company and the publisher of the newspapers Dar Hayom, Palestine Weekly and Barid Al-Yom.

The late Zalman was one of the founders of the Ben-Zion neighborhood in Haifa, and one of the founders of the Histadrut Bnei Binyamin. As a financier in the Histadrut Bnei Binyamin, father Zalman Witt bought a lot of land in the Land of Israel. He is also a friend of Mordechai Ben-Zion in buying a plot of land near the center of Carmel. and its members the hotel "Ma'onat Ben-Zion" (which became "Lev HaCarmel") as well as a small neighborhood around the hotel.

His son Ali was a highly regarded economist and insurance man. With great pride Nitza points out that Eli was an "Esli" Jerusalemite and seventh generation in it. Therefore, in the study, she exhibits a painting by the painter Blum, which depicts the beauty of the hometown of the late Eli.

The corner of the orchid flowers

As a fan of beauty in her heart and soul, Nitsa has a unique flora corner, this is the orchid flower corner. With great diligence she favors their growth, year after year and hopes that they will continue to grow for many more seasons.

Adjacent to this corner is the area where the "perpetual war" against the wild pigeons takes place. Now she's trying to get away with the silhouettes of shiny owls... but without much success.

On his deathbed and with greatness, Ali ordered his children: "Take care of mother, I don't want her to be left alone."

Indeed, about 5 years after his death, Nitza, through a mutual company, met Ehud Yaffe, who as his name is: Ehud is a man with a beautiful soul, a son of Kibbutz Yifat, who have been in a solid and respectful relationship for about 11 years.

While he was in the kibbutz, Ehud was the manager of a Shalab factory (a factory for copper wires which are raw material for various industries). Therefore, this is the reason why he himself is involved in the activities of the house circles "the companies of Nitza", especially in the technical aspect, related to the connection of various devices, which are related for the course of the lectures.

Today Nitza is used in several roles:

• Member of the repertoire committee of the Motzkin Theater
• Board member at the "Association of Friends of Carmel Hospital"
• Active in the "Friends of Rambam Hospital Association"
• The extended management company at "WICHO Haifa"
• Management company and founder of the project "Pay attention to the heart", thanks to which valuable devices were donated that significantly improved the field of cardiology in Haifa.

"Nitza's circle of friends"

Above all, Witt is the initiator, founder and leader of the house circle "Nitza's Friendship Circle". This is a Haifa women's community that has set itself the goal of helping Haifa women, children and girls in need, battered women, women in prostitution and women with no family and financial support. The department has been operating since 1994 in close cooperation with WICHO Haifa and the Haifa Municipality.

The operating method of the home circle project called "Nitza's Friendship Circle", is based on the recruitment of the best lecturers, so that they will volunteer before the women of the circle, who contribute an annual amount to the circle's fund.

The department helps private individuals, institutions and organizations that are referred to it by the welfare department of the Haifa and Wizo Haifa municipality, in the areas in which these organizations seek help.

For example: renovating dormitories, purchasing dormitories equipment and installing it, repairs, yes participation in social cultural activities and even scholarships for students.

Nitza hopes that this blessed activity, which has been possible for 29 years, will continue and prosper. She hopes that she will be able to persist in intense activity with and against the various parties involved. She hopes to continue for many more years in this activity, which includes both the recruitment of lecturers and lecturers who have a Shem on a full volunteer basis as well as the harnessing of active women as members of the circle, and above all to continue to focus on helping others.