Spotlight on Northern Goals Association (Yeadim Latzafon) - Opportunity, resilience, and the future of Israel’s North

Northern Goals Association (יעדים לצפון) has been working in Israel’s northern periphery for more than two decades, with a consistent focus on expanding opportunity for people living far from the country’s political, economic, and institutional centers. The organization operates across a large and diverse region and engages with children, youth, young adults, families, and communities facing structural disadvantage.

In a conversation with Michael Shachar, the organization’s CEO, who previously served as Head of the Education Department in the Haifa Municipality, it became clear that while Yeadim Latzafon’s mission has remained stable, its priorities have sharpened significantly in the wake of the war.

A region that is fragmented by design

Michael describes “the North” not as a symbolic idea, but as an operational reality. In practical terms, it begins in Haifa, particularly in neighborhoods with weaker social and economic infrastructure, and stretches north through Akko, Tzfat and Karmiel, across the eastern and western Galilee, and up to the Golan Heights. In total, he refers to a region of roughly 120 local authorities.

This scale matters because the North does not function as a single system. Municipal capacity varies widely, services are unevenly distributed, and coordination between education, welfare, health, and civil society is often limited. Michael contrasted this with the South, noting that while the South faced a more concentrated and visible crisis, the North is characterized by decentralization, demographic complexity, and overlapping vulnerabilities. Arab communities in the North face a dual challenge: coping with the consequences of the war as residents of the region, while also contending with long-standing neglect and inadequate responses to violence and crime. 

What Yeadim Latzafon does

Yeadim Latzafon works across a wide scope. Its activities span early childhood and parents, adolescents and young adults, people with blindness and visual impairment, families facing poverty and social exclusion, and children and youth harmed by sexual violence. Across these areas, the organization develops and operates services intended to reduce structural gaps and enable social mobility.

Michael framed this work through a single organizing idea: equality of opportunity. The North, he said, is “an amazing region with incredible potential,” but one constrained by social, cultural, economic, and transportation barriers. Yeadim Latzafon’s role, as he sees it, is to expand the range of real choices available to residents so they can realize that potential.

What changed in the wake of the war

In the wake of the war, Yeadim Latzafon’s focus has shifted more explicitly toward emotional resilience, particularly among adolescents. Michael linked this shift not only to the war itself, but to the cumulative impact of the past five years, connecting COVID-19 and the war as interrelated shocks that have strained families, systems, and developmental trajectories.

He described a growing concern that much of the emotional damage in the North remains unseen and insufficiently addressed. Evacuations, partial returns, disrupted education, and prolonged uncertainty have left many young people carrying trauma without clear pathways for support.

A sharp focus on ages 10–17

Among all age groups, Michael identified adolescents as the most urgent priority. He spoke about the need to map what is actually happening in this age group: current emotional states, risky behaviors, parental capacity, and the readiness of schools and local systems to respond.

“This is the gap that’s going to explode in the coming years,” he said. “And it’s burning—because the damage is here and now.”

One example he shared was a trauma-processing retreat model adapted specifically for teenagers. In preparatory conversations, participants repeatedly expressed a sense of invisibility. “Kids aged 16–17 tell us: ‘No one sees us. That’s the story.’” For Michael, this captures the core risk—not only trauma itself, but the absence of recognition and timely intervention.

Early childhood: a quieter but serious concern

Alongside adolescents, Michael raised concerns about children from birth to age three, particularly those in unregulated, home-based care settings. In a context of chronic stress, constant alerts, and ongoing uncertainty, he described caregiving environments where attention is fragmented and emotional availability is limited.

He emphasized that the developmental consequences of this period may only become visible later, but that the risks are well understood. From his perspective, the war’s impact is already shaping the earliest stages of child development, especially in communities with fewer formal supports.

Coordination instead of duplication

A recurring theme in the conversation was fragmentation—between organizations, between systems, and between levels of government. Michael described competition and duplication as real problems in the North, particularly when resources are scarce and needs are escalating.

His response is not to centralize everything under one body, but to build focused coalitions where each organization contributes its specific expertise. Rather than multiple actors doing similar things in parallel, he argues for shared frameworks around clearly defined populations and problems.

He described initial collaboration with partners such as the National Council for the Child and the Israeli Center on Addiction, with a deliberate effort to keep the group small and targeted. “The more we expand, the more it gets lost,” he said, explaining why focus is essential.

From programs to policy

Michael’s background in education leadership shaped his views on what sustainable response requires. He was clear that resilience cannot rely solely on optional programs or short-term funding cycles.

“I think every school needs a social worker,” he said, arguing that ministries must make binding decisions rather than leaving schools to navigate fragmented offerings. In his view, this requires coordinated action between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Welfare, with clear standards and multi-year commitments.

Without that, he warned, systems default to technical budgeting exercises rather than addressing what children and adolescents actually need.

What Yeadim Latzafon is trying to build now

Yeadim Latzafon has long been an implementing organization, operating services at scale across the North. What Michael is pushing toward now is a complementary role: helping convene focused coalitions, articulate urgency around specific age groups, and translate field-level realities into clearer policy demands.

Much early funding during the war, he noted, understandably went to infrastructure and immediate municipal needs. But a large share of those most affected emotionally did not receive meaningful support. His concern is that without deliberate coordination and prioritization, the North will face a delayed but deeper crisis among young people whose needs were visible—but not addressed—in time.

For Michael, the challenge is not a lack of activity, but a lack of alignment. The work ahead, as he sees it, is about making the invisible visible: adolescents who feel unseen, very young children whose development is quietly shaped by stress, and systems that will not correct course without clear choices and shared responsibility.