Far from the hubbub of malls, cut off from the marketing and advertising machines, Upper Nazareth has a shopping center of an entirely different breed. In the framing workshop, 83-year-old Michael Branski puts the finishing touches on a picture of a romantic sunset. He says he is happy, not just because he will make money from selling the picture, but mostly because he found work. Sixty-two-year-old Bracha Kroyter, who considers herself "someone who cannot live without work," is also pleased, selling toys at the store where she works. "Of course, first and foremost this is a livelihood," she says, "but moreso, it is the feeling I am doing something, I'm getting out of the house, being with people."

Branski and Kroyter are among 40 retirees who work at the "Center" shopping center in Upper Nazareth's Har Yona neighborhood. The shopping center, in a building belonging to Upper Nazareth's Association for the Elderly, was established specifically so the retirees would run or work at the businesses. Tammi Rosh, who runs both Center and the town's day center, says "the idea for Center came from the fact that people are ejected from the labor force and retire. Most are forced to live on small old-age stipends, and here they can make a few more pennies.

"In today's employment world, it can be hard to find a new job at age 50. The competition for each job is fiercer, and the social approach once accepted no longer exists." It is a frustrating process for an older person, Rosh says.

	Advertisement

The shopping center was at first called "Sav-Center" (a play on the Hebrew word for grandfather) and was operated solely by the elderly, but few shoppers showed up. "The population saw the place as a sort of nursing home," says Rosh.

Elderly advocacy groups decided to change the business model to solve the crisis. It was decided to rent some stores to younger owners who promised to employ elderly workers, and the "Sav" was dropped from the name. Rosh says the combination of young energy and older street sense "is a winning combination, and the younger crowd visits more."

One of Center's advantages is that the newly-constructed Har Yona neighborhood of 10,000 residents has almost no other businesses. In addition, Center has a post office, which draws regular clientele to the shopping center.

At Center, they say the real contribution to the elderly is emotional, not just financial. "It helps them not to sit around depressed and lonely within the four walls of their houses," Rosh says.

"I'm young again," Branski declares in the framing studio. Kroyter says she came "to a place with a feeling of home, of warmth. I was welcomed by lovely people." Roie Hartman, who owns the store where Kroyter works, says "I got a saleswoman with experience, and experience is a lot. Sometimes a 20-year-old store clerk knows nothing about life. Bracha is patient, calm, makes good connections with people and creates a comfortable atmosphere."

Tova Tamir retired from the post office after 30 years on the job. A few months later, she was asked by the Association for the Elderly to go back to work at the Center post office. "It was a little weird to go back to work after I retired, but it made me happy and gave me the chance to get out of the house," she says. However, she adds that sometimes "I feel insulted by individual clients. When there is a long line, some say I am slow because I am old."

Stella Capoza, who owns the coffee shop, retired from Bank Leumi after 35 years on the job. "After I rested, celebrated and traveled, I was sick of it and dreamed of opening a coffee shop and baking the cakes myself. I found exactly what I wanted here. People aren't waiting in line yet, but I am optimistic."