by Antje C. Naujoks, PR Director, Neve Hanna Children’s Home.
As at the beginning of every new school year, the summer of 2025 also brought changes. At our end-of-year celebration, we bid farewell to seven young adults who had come to Neve Hanna as children and who are now stepping out into life as independent adults. Only a short time later, we began caring for the admission of younger children. There was also considerable turnover within the team this year, as Neve Hanna is currently undergoing a kind of generational transition. Alongside long-standing staff members who entered well-earned retirement or early retirement, younger colleagues likewise left the children’s home after many years to reorient themselves professionally.
Without doubt, the greatest change stems from the decision of David (Dudu) Weger to conclude his engagement for Neve Hanna after more than forty years of dedicated work. Dudu assumed the leadership of the children’s home by the end of the 1970s, merely six years after its founding. His first decades as director were accompanied by the voluntary engagement of our legendary founder, Hanni Ullmann, who passed away in 2002. For over four decades, Dudu shaped Neve Hanna both as an educator and as a director with a clear vision for its future.
Roughly eight years ago, he handed over the position of Director to Itzik Bohadana. Since then, Dudu has served as President of Neve Hanna and as a member of the Board, acting as Itzik’s mentor. Step by step, Itzik—who assumed his first role at Neve Hanna twenty years ago—took on more areas of responsibility. This summer, Dudu, who had formally retired at the start of this decade and thus served on a voluntary basis in recent years, withdrew entirely. Itzik, who continues to follow in Dudu’s footsteps, remains supported by Chaim Appel, who has served as Chairman of the Board since Hanni Ullmann’s passing.
Itzik, a married father of three, grew up in Ashkelon. He was still studying at the renowned Adler Institute in the field of pedagogy when he took on his first positions at Neve Hanna—initially as a youth counselor in one of the family groups, later as a housefather. Over the years, he was responsible for security matters, coordinated affairs concerning our former children, and supervised activities at our youth club, now named Street Light. Prior to his appointment as Director, Itzik headed Neve Hanna’s Daycare Center program. During these years, he continued his academic studies. He completed his MA in the field of supporting at-risk youth in crisis situations. He is currently pursuing further training in coaching and psychotherapy.
In a brief interview, he shared his goals and vision for Neve Hanna:
“When I began working at Neve Hanna, Dudu handed me a book about Janusz Korczak, his life, and his educational approach. Among Korczak’s pedagogical principles were the ‘allowing’ of each child’s individuality, responding to their individual challenges, and fostering the child’s autonomy. When I meet with children today, it resembles a team meeting in the spirit of Korczak, who repeatedly emphasized the need for self-administration. We do not make decisions over the children’s heads—we decide together with them. Participation is essential for us, ensuring that they feel respected and valued, that they are part of our community and of the world beyond the home. Neve Hanna places great importance on focusing on the healthy and positive development of each individual child, and my task is to devote myself fully to the educational principles that guide our children’s home.”
Written by Antje C. Naujoks, PR Director
Neve Hanna Children’s Home, Kiryat Gat, Israel
American Friends of Neve Hanna 