Chile: Report from the Field

Marcelo Lewkow is the National Director of ORT Chile. This is his update: At 3:40 am on the last Shabbat of our summer holiday, just a few short days away from the first day of classes in schools throughout Chile, the earth moved. I was home asleep and my bed moved so violently that it took me seconds to get down the stairs and outside my house in an open and safe space. I was working for ORT Mexico in 1985, and vividly remember that catastrophic earthquake. Based on my memory and perception, this latest earthquake was both stronger and longer. The communication system was very fragile – cell phones were off and sending MSM messages was the only way people could be in contact. I was able to communicate with my family and friends in Chile to make sure everyone was okay, as well as contact my... Continue Reading

JNF (U.K.) Sues Board Member

from The Jewish Chronicle (London): JNF sues board member for £700k costs JNF UK could be heading for a new High Court case later this year after suing a former board member for nearly £700,000. The charity claims that Maurice Sherling (known as Charlie), owes the money to cover the JNF’s legal fees in its past dispute with its Israeli associate Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL). … The dispute between KKL and JNF broke out nearly four and a half years ago when the Israeli agency said it was going to set up a rival fundraising operation in the UK because it was not getting the funds it expected from JNF. Taking the dispute to the High Court, the UK charity then failed to win a temporary injunction to stop KKL using the names JNF or Jewish National Fund for raising money in Britain. Finally,... Continue Reading

Mexico’s Oldest Jewish School Affiliates with World ORT

Earlier this week, more than 600 people gathered at the Colegio Israelita de Mexico (CIM), Mexico’s oldest Jewish school, for a ceremony all agree is an historic moment in the development of the 40,000-strong community. It is the first school in Mexico to affiliate with World ORT and marks the realization of a long-held desire by ORT Mexico to have an ORT school in the country. For the school, which is now known as CIM-ORT, and for ORT Mexico and World ORT, the immediate goal is to improve the quality of education by building on the programmatic and pedagogic reforms initiated since the signing of a cooperation agreement in May. And in doing so, CIM-ORT may set in motion dramatic changes in the community’s education system. “This is a very, very important evolution, not only for the school... Continue Reading

2030: The Recommendations

The Recommendations – 2030: Alternative Futures for the Jewish People The authors’ opinion is that the Jewish People has never been as strong as it is today, in terms of both the military power and global standing of Israel, and the ‘soft power’ embedded in the political and economic powers of the Jewish community in the US. Cyberspace has contributed significantly to Jewish development, using innovative information and communication technologies that have enhanced communication between the State of Israel and Diaspora communities, between various Jewish organizations, and among Jewish individuals around the world. The vast majority of Jews reside in the world’s wealthiest countries. Although, in terms of numbers the Jewish People has not yet recovered from the Holocaust, in other major... Continue Reading

Alternative Futures for the Jewish People

Executive Summary – 2030: Alternative Futures for the Jewish People The Alternative Futures project identifies main trends and key drivers shaping the possible alternative futures of the Jewish People. The time horizon chosen is 2030, which is near enough to enable identification of main drivers and alternative futures, but far enough in the future to permit effective interventions. The underlying value position of this project is striving for a future in which the Jewish People thrives in terms of culture, quality of life and sense of cohesion, based on pluralistic Jewish values, with the State of Israel as the core state of the Jewish People. The operational goal of this project is to provide Jewish People decision-makers, thinkers, opinion shapers and communities at large with a professional... Continue Reading

The Jewish People in 2030: A Positive Future or a Nightmare Reality?

“In the year 2009 two unexpected, un-expectable and counter-expected events happened, namely the global financial-economic crisis and the swearing in of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States. As to the first event, it may well be that the financial-economic crisis should in principle have been predicted in minds that had not been blinded by inadequate theories and linear views of history. As to the second, seasoned observers agree that only a few years ago the possibility that an African-American, born to a white woman and a black father would be elected by a vast majority as President of the United States of America would have been nearly inconceivable. Taken together these two foundational events – sure to have significant impact on the future – demonstrate the... Continue Reading

Jewish World Begins Longer-Term Development in Haiti

World ORT sent two experts to Haiti to see how the organization’s expertise in education and vocational training – as well as its extensive experience of aiding post-crisis countries including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, India and Sri Lanka – can best serve the country’s recovery. from the World ORT blog ‘Live” from Haiti (updated February 22nd): Saturday 20th February 2010 There are two areas that emerge as priorities to help Haitians rebuild their country: agriculture and vocational training. Haiti is the only country in the Caribbean that suppressed the taxes on food importation. As a result, Haiti’s agricultural businesses function at a 30 percent capacity level, which led to a major rural emigration to Port-au-Prince before the disaster last month. Now, as... Continue Reading

New Ideas from the Old World

Lisa Capelouto, Director of JHub – a London-based incubator that focuses on Jewish social action and innovation – presents a European perspective to the conversation about innovation, and looks at how the old world is learning from the new (and sometimes the other way around). For Jews in North America, Europe is often seen as repository of memory rather than a source of exciting innovative ideas. On the other hand we Europeans tend to look longingly at the landscape of innovative startups “across the pond” and wonder why our communities lack that creativity and energy, and how we can encourage that level of innovation in Europe. Does the reality on the ground reflect this conventional wisdom? The 30 young people from 16 countries due to attend this week’s ROI/Paideia gathering of... Continue Reading

2010 Survey of New Jewish Initiatives Will Expand to Europe

New Transatlantic Partnership Links the Pears Foundation, Jumpstart, and the ROI Community of Young Jewish Innovators The Pears Foundation, Jumpstart, and the ROI Community of Young Jewish Innovators today announced that the 2010 Survey of New Jewish Initiatives will include the first-ever census of innovative and entrepreneurial Jewish ventures in Europe. “Europe is recovering its historic place as a source of new Jewish ideas,” said Amy Phillip, deputy director of the Pears Foundation. “Our survey aims to demonstrate the range and scope of the exciting new European projects that are transforming contemporary Jewish life.” In the past decade, training programs such as the Paideia Project-Incubator, the ROI Global Summit for Young Jewish Innovators, PresenTense, and the Ariane... Continue Reading

European Gathering Aims to Strengthen Jewish Culture and Innovation

With the aim of strengthening Jewish life and innovation in Europe, Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Sweden and the ROI Community have joined forces to create the 2010 ROI/Paideia European Regional Gathering. Kicking off today in Vilnius, Lithuania, the Gathering will offer 31 European leaders and activists the unique opportunity to meet, learn and create together, while developing and improving their professional skills for the benefit of innovative work in Europe. “Dictionary-wise, ‘tradition’ and ‘innovation’ are contradictory,” says Barbara Spectre, Founding Director of Paideia. “But ROI and Paideia have learned that when inventive entrepreneurs are put in the mix, then tradition and innovation can be combined into dynamic creative projects that... Continue Reading

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