Last Thursday, Lapid, the Coalition for High School Programs in Israel, celebrated Lapid Day. Celebrating the 150th anniversary of Herzl's birth, the events were put together by Lapid member organizations in conjunction with Israel Experience, and support from Masa and The Jewish Agency, Israel Phones, Harel and private sponsors. During the day, the 1st Lapid World Jewish Teens Council, held at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel campus in Hod Hasharon, featured workshops and discussion panels led by program alumni and staff. In the evening, the 2010 Israel Experience and Lapid Youth Festival took place at Park Herzliya with the participation of over 4,000 high school age teens from all over the world and Israel. Participating in the festivities was Natan Janner Klausner, 16 years old, a … Continue Reading
Lapid: The Coalition for High School Age Programs in Israel
As a follow-up to our recent post, High School Israel Trips Regain Foothold, Lapid Israel has produced a new promotional video. about: Lapid, the Hebrew word for "torch", was founded in 2008 as a cooperative initiative to raise awareness of and to significantly increase participation in quality high-school age programs in Israel. The coalition was built on the concept that a strong relationship with Israel begins with a meaningful Israel educational experience and is vital to developing and fostering collective Jewish identity in youth. As one of the three primary organizations bringing youth to Israel from abroad, Lapid seeks equal recognition and financial and institutional support on par with comparable programs for university-age participants. Category: … Continue Reading
High School Israel Trips Regain Foothold
by Ramie Arian In the midst of the recent Jewish Agency board meetings, a small but significant policy shift was announced, one that was barely reported in the media, but which may produce a significant change in the way in which young American Jews experience Israel. This news was the announcement of a grant of $1 million to Lapid, to complement Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) support of Birthright and MASA, in order to determine how to structure what will eventually be a program budgeted at $20 million per year. Lapid? Given that most folks have never heard of Lapid, and given that $1 million is a very small grant in the context of JAFI’s budget, it is hardly surprising that the story garnered little notice. So, what’s it about, and why might it be important? Here’s the … Continue Reading
Israel Government and Jewish Agency Announce Major High School Initiative
Within the past two days, Israel's Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Ministry - in partnership with the Jewish Agency - has offered $2 million for a high-school initiative to compliment Birthright Israel and MASA. Here's more from Haviv Rettig Gur in this morning's Jerusalem Post: At a meeting last week that included agency chairman Natan Sharansky, Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs Minister Yuli Edelstein and Deputy Finance Minister Yitzhak Cohen, two years of campaigning for recognition and funding from the government came to fruition as Lapid was formally offered government funds to help offset the cost to participants. “This is an important program, and we haven’t paid it enough attention until now,” Edelstein told The Jerusalem Post on Tuesday. The developing plan … Continue Reading
The Jewish Agency’s New Vision
The Jewish Agency for Israel is undergoing change. Over the past year, on the leadership side, we have seen the election of Natan Sharansky as chair of the Executive and the recent appointment of Alan Hoffmann as Director-General. On the governance side, the Board of Governors approved sweeping changes to JAFI's relationship with Israel's political system. And now, just weeks away from the annual convening of the Assembly and JAFI's June Board meeting, the finishing touches are being placed on JAFI's new strategic plan. In the words of Board chair Richie Pearlstone, "We want to build on the Jewish Agency's strengths – chief among them, as the organization which links the Jewish People worldwide with Israel and Israel with the Jewish communities around the world. We seek to take the next important … Continue Reading
Sharansky on What Jewish Community Means
An interview with Natan Sharansky. from The Jerusalem Post: Freedom and identity Doesn’t teaching about Jewish identity differ depending on the country you’re talking to - whether it be the US, France, Russia, or even Israel? Yes. In different countries, the way in which Jews got to the point they are at is very different. In Russia, it was absolute, total forced assimilation. As a result, the way to come back is to reconnect them to a basic knowledge of Judaism. On the other hand, in America, the best way to fuel their Jewish identity is programs like Birthright or Masa or Lapid (the university and high-school study-in-Israel programs), or any other type of Israel experience. In France, it’s strengthening the system of Zionist Jewish education, and so on. But what is … Continue Reading
Alexander Muss High School Begins to Expand
Last week, on the grounds of the Eshel Hanassi Youth Village in the northern Negev, the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) broke ground for the first of three dormitories planned for a new resident program. This marks the first stage of an ambitious multi-campus expansion of the Hod Ha'Sharon school. The Alexander Muss High School, established in 1972 in conjunction with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, has developed into the premier program for high school students experiencing short-term Israel programs - a program that despite the current economic challenges is charging ahead. Their main campus operates at capacity during several periods of the year and early enrollment for 2010-2011 indicates a strong upward momentum in both their core program and to the shorter visits geared to … Continue Reading
Sharansky Suggests Training 5000 New Leaders
At the opening plenary of the Jewish Agency's board meeting, Natan Sharansky - the organization's chairman - presented similar thoughts to those he enumerated last week at a session of the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations. In addition, Sharansky spoke highly of the initiatives of Birthright Israel, MASA and the Lapid programs and laid out an ambitious plan to train new Jewish leaders. Working in conjunction with Israel's government, he proposed that the Jewish Agency train 1000 participants each year for five years in order to strengthen Jewish identity in the Diaspora. Sharansky also announced that in the spirit of Tikkun Olam, the Jewish Agency will send an exploratory team to Haiti to examine possibilities where JAFI can be helpful. … Continue Reading
Clawbacks, Day School Funding and More
from SunSentinel.com: Bankruptcy lawyers to Florida charities: Give Rothstein money back Charities across South Florida got a bitter piece of mail this holiday week: letters demanding the return of money Scott Rothstein gave them. About 30 charities that were recipients of the fallen lawyer's largesse received the letters early this week, warning them to return the money in the next 10 days or be sued. The list of charities wasn't released, but Rothstein has given to... the Jewish Federation of Broward... ... And at Rothstein's spiritual home, a new building off Broward Boulevard whose front proclaimed "The Rothstein Family Downtown Jewish Center Chabad,'' his name has been stripped away. from The Jewish Ledger: Crisis in Jewish Education There is no question that the … Continue Reading
AMHSI Scores a First With Google Translate
In what we believe is a first for an Israel based initiative of its kind, Alexander Muss High School in Israel has added Google's latest translator tool to the top-right hand corner of every page of their website. As AMHSI endeavors to expand to international markets, the ability to instantly translate into 51 different languages offers them measurable marketing advantages. The school is already creating buzz in France among potential participants and their families. AMSHI is also a founding member of Lapid, a coalition of twenty-two high-school age programs in Israel whose goal is to strengthen awareness, recognition and financial aid for participants [on par with university-age programs]. Unlike MASA and Taglit Birthright-Israel, programs directed to high school participants receive no … Continue Reading
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