Section archive - Israel Education

Stephen Muss, Honorary Chairman of Lapid - The Coalition for High School Age Programs in Israel, reacted to a recent announcement about new extraordinary support for Birthright Israel – Taglit, by the Israeli Government. He points out that the Birthright model of awarding free ten-day trips to Israel for Jewish youth age 18-26 has caused the enrollment of Israel high school-age programs to suffer as they do not receive financial support of the Israeli Government. Parents faced with the decision to either pay out money for high school age trips to Israel or wait until “Birthright” age, when it can be free, choose the latter, even though intensive Israel high school trips may even be more effective in helping youth develop their Jewish identity.

The CJN writes of the Chicago launch event for the iChallenge Ideas Incubator, focusing on activating creativity. At the end, participants were invited to submit proposals for grants for dynamic ideas in Jewish education, five of which will ultimately be chosen for grants of $30,000. The event was sponsored by the iCenter, a Chicago based non-profit educational organization aimed at developing and enhancing the field of Israel education. More than 100 Jewish educators, gathered into small groups, chattered and buzzed in search of the next big idea in Jewish education - or maybe just something that would get the kids they teach excited about Israel.

The Melton Centre for Jewish Education represents the Hebrew University’s commitment to the advancement of Jewish education worldwide. For many years that commitment has included a focus on understanding and improving how Israel is taught in the Diaspora. This focus has seen expression in conferences, research projects, professional development programs, and curriculum development initiatives, all animated by a shared incentive to advancing the field of Israel education. In recent years, the Centre's work in this field has intensified in response to a widespread concern that younger Diaspora Jews are increasingly disconnected from the State of Israel. This intensifying work has, in turn, fostered insights, skills and institutional capacity at the Centre that is expected to bear on future projects.

Seven honors students from the Yeshiva University high schools — four from the Yeshiva University High School for Boys/Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (YUHSB) and three from the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls (YUHSG) — will be participating in a new independent study Hebrew literature course in which they will be mentored by a renowned Israeli author with the goal of developing their Hebrew-language creative writing skills. Entitled “Meet the Israeli Author,” the workshop is the first of its kind in a North American Jewish high school.