WUJS Arad, established in 1968 to provide a one year pluralistic program in Israel for recent college grads, is now history.
At a meeting this past Sunday night, the Hadassah WUJS Arad Company voted to permanently close the program in Arad later this summer.
Young Judaea is currently in the process of re-engineering the program to open this September in Jerusalem.
WUJS Arad has enjoyed a long history and a sterling reputation. The Ulpan program was continually rated one of the tops in Israel. The feeling of community among the participants and alumni has been first rate. 8000+ participants have passed through the sleepy dessert town of Arad; the best guess is 25% have made Israel their home. WUJS Arad is not only responsible for many marriages, but also boasts several 2nd generation participants.
Originally established under the auspices of the World Union of Jewish Students as an International Graduate Centre for Hebrew and Jewish Studies, the idea was to provide a one year Israel experience for the mostly British graduates in attendance. In its 2nd year, WUJS Arad became an independent educational program.
As with many long-term programs, over time WUJS Arad experienced its fair share of ups and downs. But the registration fall-off as a result of the 2nd Intifada eventually forced the WUJS executive to re-examine its core support and structure. During the fall of 2004 while still maintaining some independence, from a practical point, the Arad program became part of Young Judaea Israel. By the fall of 2006, following several years of negotiations between Hadassah, JAFI and WUJS, WUJS Arad was formally absorbed into YJ-I.
What has transpired since?
For one, the Jewish Agency (in the midst of a serious cash crunch) put the wheels in motion this past October to close two underused absorption centers – Arad and Lod. Additionally, WUJS has not been able to achieve the necessary registration numbers for the program to be viable.
Why?
Some of this is subjective. Does a program in the periphery have the same drawing power as previously. Has MASA funding allowed the growth of more programs than the market is currently ready to absorb (I have heard this voiced by more than one gap year program administrator). Has Hadassah / Young Judaea properly targeted their marketing approach?
Or, quite frankly, did the new owners blow it. Like a Chinese menu, probably a selection from each.
Will Jerusalem be the answer? And will Hadassah allow sufficient time and resources to tell. In a letter to those enrolled for the September machzor, YJ-I in explaining the change, quoted Harry Truman:
“Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” OK, this is necessary spin. But does YJ-I have the right leaders to guide WUJS back on track. Do they really want to, or is this their way of gradually backing out. Will the Hadassah-YJI organization make-up the cash shortfall caused by JAFI’s actions. Nancy Falchuk, Hadassah’s president, told me the decision to go forward is for only one year and then it will be re-evaluated.
I guess time will tell; and I genuinely hope YJ-I is successful with this change. But like many others who maintain fond memories of the program and friendships made, for me this is a sad closing chapter for such a wonderful set of programs.
On a related note, I understand Otzma has also been subject to the current set of JAFI cutbacks and may not survive into 2009.
updated July 3: Hadassah and Young Judaea Israel are determined to paint JAFI as the ‘bad guy’ here. True, JAFI is closing the absorption center, but not before the end of the year.
What made Hadassah – Young Judaea pull the plug in Arad early. Why when they have known this for about nine months did they wait until the end of June to make decisions that were effective almost immediately, tell the Fall participants, and fire the Arad staff?
Here is what JAFI had to say this afternoon,
Last year the Jewish Agency announced that it was closing its absorption centers in Lod and Arad at the end of 2008;
Lod-because of the down-scaling of aliyah from Ethiopia
Arad-the location was not attractive to olim making the running of the facility financially unfeasible because of the small numbers staying there.
Nevertheless the Jewish Agency was committed to keeping the Arad facility open until the end of 2008 in order to provide for the WUJS Arad program.
WUJS Arad for its own reasons decided not to continue through 2008.
Seems to me, Hadassah – Young Judaea has failed in marketing the program.
Will Jerusalem become their golden bullet if it sells itself?
for a related post, see The Hadassah PR Team Spin.
Please forward this post to any WUJS alumni you may know.
The logo image above is the original and long-time WUJS Arad logo; it has unfortunately lost some clarity over the years.
The author of this post is an alumn of the WUJS program and a past Director of the American Friends of the WUJS Institute. Aware of these changes for most of the past few weeks, I was asked by Young Judaea Israel to hold off on this post until the fall program participants and Arad staff were informed of the decision.
Like many program alumni, especially those residing in Israel, and despite promises to the contrary, I am distressed at the breakdown of the WUJS community, built up over decades and allowed to completely disintegrate under Young Judaea management. This alone causes me to have little belief in promises now being made.
updated July 1: the sad news of WUJS closing has made the front page of today’s Jerusalem Post. Unfortunately, the article has been removed from the Internet by the JPost. I understand Hadassah put some major pressure on the paper.
updated July 27: you can read some insightful comments from former WUJS Arad’s Director, Aubrey Isaacs, here; and all of our posts on the closing in Arad here.
And here is Hadassah’s official press release, issued yesterday (Tuesday) afternoon.
Personal observation: both in the press release and the letter to participants, Hadassah holds JAFI and the closing of the merkaz klitah as the responsible party for the move.
Also, and again a personal observation, what does the year course volunteers have to do with the WUJS program closing in Arad.
The WUJS Israel Hadassah study-internship program for adults will move from Arad to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv on September 1. According to Hadassah National President Nancy Falchuk, “the change in location was precipitated by the Jewish Agency’s impending closure of the Arad absorption center where both classrooms and living quarters for participants have been located since 1968.”
The WUJS Israel Hadassah program, which includes Hebrew language, Judaism and Zionism as well as special interest tracks, will be expanded from five to six months. WUJS Director Mike Mitchell confirmed that all fifty students who are in the process of finalizing their applications for the fall semester have been notified of the change in venue and all have agreed to continue their participation. The three tracks of Land, Language and Society, Peace and Social Justice and Arts will be located in Jerusalem. The Intern Tel-Aviv program will now be based in its entirety in Tel-Aviv.
Hadassah took over management of WUJS in 2006, through its Young Judaea youth movement, to provide new programming and organizational leadership. Young Judaea runs numerous programs in Israel, including the Young Judaea Year Course, and a variety of short-term travel-study trips for high school students through adults.
At the same time Hadassah’s WUJS course is leaving Arad, Hadassah’s Young Judaea Year Course is expanding its volunteer work in that city. 36 American and British teens will be living and volunteering in Arad this year.
Mahzor fall 2005. I think comments about mismanagement of the program are accurate but who has ever experienced an organization that’s managed well? Whenever I join up with some organzation, whether it’s a nation, a synagogue, or a Jewish program, I never expect good management. But certain claims were made by WUJS the year that I went, like they would match participants up with internships and stuff like that, which never materialized.
When I went to WUJS, I wasn’t expecting the program to offer anything too spectacular, so I went in planning to make my own experience. The best aspect of the whole experience by far was making friends with Mauricio, a recent immigrant from Argentina who spoke no English and was learning Hebrew with us at the Merkaz. He, I, and a fellow WUJie started playing rock music together and as we all learned Hebrew we all gradually became better able to communicate with each other. Eventually we started a band and performed a couple of times at Nisha.
This is an experience that could not be duplicated in TA or Jeru with their huge populations of English-speakers and distractions. Arad formed me into what I am and gave me a much stronger understanding of the Israeli mind than anyone could get from the religious pressure cooker of Jerusalem or the fevered atmosphere of TA.
But I think a Tel Aviv program is actually a pretty good idea, because most people on my program were talking all the time about how they wanted to be in TA. I’m not sure what other programs are there for English speakers, but I don’t think it’s a very crowded market, unlike Jerusalem which has fifty thousand MASA programs. I wouldn’t give WUJS another year in Jerusalem but I think it can have a good future in TA, to be perfectly honest.
I would echo the praise for Steve Israel and add Neil Lazarus to the list of excellent educators at WUJS, although I would suggest that everyone try to stay off his email list. Also, I don’t remember her name but I had a great ulpan teacher (and a few mediocre ones too).
Um, I don’t want to downplay the positive aspects of the programming. The multi-day tiyulim to the North and South were some of the most important experiences in my life so far. The election season was a kick-ass program that placed each of us into different parties and we had mock elections. I was hanging up fake Shas posters all over the building.
It’s sad that I won’t be able to go around propagandizing for WUJS anymore.
I was in the October 1983 Machzor at WUJS.
WUJS was one of the single most formative times of my
life. The friendships I made there have held up for
more than 2 decades.
WUJS Arad
OBM
WUJS alum ’94. This breaks my heart.
Arad was a magical place for so many reasons! The friendships, the special desert air, the Dead Sea, the teas with Bedouin sheiks, the valiant struggleto learn a new language, the walks in the community among the Rumanian immigrants with babies everywhere. I was in the May, 1970 program and my “job” following the 5 months was public relations director for WUJS. If anyone out there knows the whereabouts of the director Michael Cobey,or any students from that era, I’d love to hear from you. May the program continue to thrive in its new urban digs!
This is a sad day. A friend of mine that I worked with at WUJS in 1991-1992 sent me this link. I knew that WUJS wasn’t the same after moving out to the absorption center at the edge of town and after most of the people on staff that I knew and worked with had moved on, but somehow I hoped it would go on forever.
Because of my experience on kibbutz in 1975, I converted to Judaism and wanted to make Aliyah in 1979. My Shaliach on the west coast suggested WUJS. I never ever regretted it. I fell in love with Arad, met my first husband there, and after my year was up, began working for WUJS for Copey as the English Secretary and then for Clive as the Registrar (I was the one who read all your essays submitted with your applications). I absolutely loved it!
I watched so many of you go through that wonderful experience–saw the awakenings, the love grow for each other and for Ha Aretz, the coping with all that is different in Israel from Philadelphia, LA, London and Buenos Aires, not to mention Moscow. I had so many adopted WUJie kids and when I had my twins, many of you were so good to offer to help. After the Gulf War, in the spring of 1992, Israel televised the NBA playoffs (Blazers v Bulls) live and I had WUJies at my house midnight to 5:00 am for 7 games in a row (Michael Jordan!!). I went to your parties, too, and participated in the talent shows–remember those, with the Rocking Rabbi, Artie Fischer?
A few of us always made sure the Americans had a Thanksgiving dinner (although a lot of other nationalities joined us). That was so much fun. The first time I bought a whole turkey, it took the butcher forever to realize I didn’t want it carved in to schnitzel first. I always made pecan pies and saved up bread all year for real stuffing (though Mom had to send me sage).
My children remember WUJS although they were only 7 when we had to leave Israel. The Arad Music Festival, the Dead Sea trips, Ein Gedi, the “forest” outside Arad and the Hot Air Balloon Race that started next to that forest.
I still miss Shosh and Clive and Artie and Michal and Norberto and the Leah and other ulpan teachers, who were all there when I left.
WUJS–we’ll always have it in our hearts and therefore, it can never die. Thank you, WUJS!
Rhonda Tiger
October ’79 Machzor
Employee and Friend
In 1986 my wife Dianne and I had the great fortune to have three wonderful ulpan families, two of whom were founders of Arad. One of our ulpan fathers, Uzi Haimovitch, had been city manager. He was also our community shaliach in the US and, after shlichut, was responsible for bringing to Arad the family that opened Arad Towels, one of the city’s major employers. Our other ulpan father, Beiga Shochat, was, at the time of our machzor, mayor of Arad. He subsequently became Treasury minister. His wife Tema is the daughter of a former prime minister. Both families told us the story of Arad’s founding as a socially engineered environment. Recruitment was aimed at highly motivated ex-kibbutniks ideologically disposed to pioneering the Negev per BG’s vision and willing to create a community in an isolated development town. And the government, before Likud, provided incentives to get them there. We have a copy of an early pictorial history of the town published around 1970 showing people living in tin roofed buildings.
As explained to us, Arad was deliberately selected for the home of WUJS. One of the most important reasons for this choice was so that WUJIES could get to know and be influenced by the locals, especially our ulpan families. In 1968 these families represented some of the best “human material” in the country. Bluntly put, that’s why WUJS is in Arad and not in a place like Yerucham. The idea was that such social contact would help foster an appreciation of the country and hence motivate WUJIES into making aliyah. In short, they wanted us to fall deeply in love with Arad and, by extension, all of Israel. Also, Arad’s relative isolation would lead to regular contact with our ulpan families (and would provide a far less distracting environment for engaging in meaningful study, than, say, Tel Aviv). While this formula (and the Sochnut’s investment in the two of us) didn’t lead to an immediate dividend for Israel, I am proud to say that our 18 year old daughter is making aliyah this August with Garin Tzabar and will be drafted into Tzahal in November.
Alas, none of our three ulpan families still live in Arad. Arad (which was supposed to top out at 75,000 people based on the original long term plan) went into decline. No, I’ll be blunt for those who’ve not been there in years. It’s a dump. The Mercaz is filthy. The Russian aliyah was used to fill the vacant flats in town so that it now seems that every other storefront features the finest pork and vodka available in the Negev. The Bedouin are another story. And Arad has been in receivership no different than Yerucham, So, after army and university, the children of our ulpan families, armed with law and business and hi-tech degrees, left Arad. And, with great sadness, their parents, many of whom had lived there for 35 years or more, followed them. And they no longer even visit Arad because none of their friends are left there. Several years ago I asked Uzi how many people like him (former pioneers of Arad who followed their kids out of town) were living outside of Arad, and said that he knew of at least a dozen in Rishon alone.
While I concur in with of the post-mortem described above, despite the failings of YJ or anyone else, this ain’t the same Arad that many of us knew and adored. The people we came to know and love, that wonderful and inspirational founding group (and their kids) is no longer there. They were the lynchpin. And they’ve not been replaced. We weren’t brought to Arad for the scenery. And we weren’t put there so as to make friends with other Anglos (although finding one’s besherit is always properly on the agenda). We were there to learn Hebrew and to fall under the spell of the best that Israel had to offer. And without them there, without that part of the equation in place, WUJS, as a catalyst for aliyah, became severely incapacitated. If WUJS is to continue with an aliyah agenda (because without it, it’s not really WUJS), then it has to be reconstituted in a place, if it exists, that resembles what Arad used to be – small, removed, yet accessible, and populated with unabashed Zionists willing to befriend and engage without reservation.
After we arrived in Arad the city observed the 25th anniversary of its founding at the old hotel (I forget its name). Amos Oz, the featured speaker that night, paid homage to the town and its founders. As we had just arrived a few weeks earlier my ulpan brother Tzvikah translated for us (he and his family insisted that we be there). With almost the kind of reverence that people used to display when in the presence of a notable rabbi, Tzvikah and his father quietly pointed out to us all of the government officials who were there who had helped make Arad happen. With all of the dark pants and white shirts the scene looked like something out of a history book. That’s when we got a crash course as to what Arad was about. Without that kind of Arad today, the kind of WUJS we knew can’t exist today. Despite all of the press and communiqués from YJ I have yet to see anything that articulates with any meaningful clarity the purpose of WUJS. Without the context of Arad, without a truly intensive ulpan, and without a clear agenda for WUJS YJ should simply rebrand the program and promote it as an addition to and extension of its popular year course. There would be nothing wrong with that. And once YJ has done so, I would not object to having my name removed from the YJ mailing list as I am not a YJ alum. As the teudah on my office wall says (the one next to my law license) I am an alum of WUJS.
1985 Machzor
I can’t imagine Israel with out WUJS. Arad was my first home in Israel where I met so many people from so many places. As an Ethiopian Arad was the place where I set goals for myself. In the lat 23 years I returned many times to Arad to visit the old WUJS building which is now used as senior citizens housing. I had a plan to send my kids from Michigan to atttend WUJS in the future. It is really sad to learn this sad chapter of WUJS.
Yoseph Baynesan
This is sad news and truly a real bummer. I arrived at WUJS in Feb 2001, during the 2nd Intifada and enjoyed my time but wasn’t ready to make aliayh…but returned to do the WUJS Arts program in 2002 because of the warm reception i received from the Arad community and because I valued the Jewish education and ulpan I received the first time I was there. I made aliyah in 2005, direct to Tel Aviv, knowing only a few people outside of Arad who were WUJS friends, then living in Jerusalem. Even though i only visited WUJS 2x since aliyah, it was were it all began for me, loving Israel and the desert and the spaciousness and friendly, safe environment of Arad. It’s all still fondness and laughs for me and will remain so, but it’s a real blow to hear the news..i arrived in Israel the first time at age 28 not having had the chance to spend a summer or semester here before due to time constraints, work and money. WUJS was affordable, relatively easy, even if remote and gave me a longer term, soft-landing for which i will always be grateful. And, no matter what the commentary is, I learned so much studying with my friends and Aubrey Issacs, former education director, WUJS resident rabbi and director. He was instrumental as my greatest teacher and sparked my love of Torah, Jewish living and traditions. I wish everyone would have such a mentor. With rich memories and a sorrowful heart I bid the program farewell.
Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better.” Harry Truman
Well done WUJS team, seize the challenge and I am sure you will bring more Olim now than ever.
The climate has changed and the world dynamics are dictating new conditions to encourage Jews to come to Israel.
More young Jewish professionals are looking for a brighter future than ever. The economy here is at a good point and unemployment is low. There are jobs and opportunities for a lot of young productive people in Israel.
Don’t waste time on petty politics and get on with the job.
Now more than ever, go get our people.
Chazak ve ematz
I couldn’t believe it! So sad news! In 1997 I deside to make alijah, and first steps in Israel with WUJS makes me be really israeli. Friend from all over the world, great team – Aubrey, Ido, Sophi, Maya…, traditions, studies, great ulpan, “hader ohel” with shnitzels, Arad’s wild “football” field and Ultimate Frisbee, travels and hikes in very interesting places… I will never forget 1997 with WUJS.
Sergey Zazovski
Machzor June 1997
I too have great and fond memeories – I left Israel after 8 years but I made friends then that I still have today. The memories of Arad & WUJS – the movie theater that showed new movies every Tuesday, “chug” Aliyah, Kahana coming to speak and the controversy that broke out, my first experience with the wonder pot, the chicken soup on Friday night that needed at least 6 napkins to take the grease off, pinochle, frabraggens. The list goes on and on – what a shame that others won’t be able to be a part of this program that immersed you into hebrew, the culture and the people and gave you life long friends. Not a week goes by without me thinking about a good and happy memory of Arad and WUJS.
WUJS, July 1981
I too share fond memories of the Chug Aliyah Judy speaks of as well as the memorable fabrengan(sp?). WUJS was not just the wonderful program in Arad, but the builder of community for people who stayed in Israel post-Arad. Considering how many Olim WUJS created or consider how many WUJS alums remain active supporters of Israel in the Diasporah, it is clear the program did its job and did it well. As someone who has a college age son who is considering Aliyah, I had kind of hoped he would have attended WUJS in ARAD as well.
I’m just glad I was able to attend when I did and had the opportunity to share the experiences with the wonderful chevre of Machzor July 1981.
I was a member of the October, 1978 Machzor. We had Rafi and Shelly and I believe there were 93 students. I had a great experience. I lived with a man from England and we have kept in touch over the years. The trips we took to explore the country were awesome. We were the next to the last machzor to see the Sinai before it was given back to Egypt. We had a great group and I wonder where everyone is right now. I am sad to see WUJS closing down as it was a great experience for myself and I am sure everyone else.
To all those in the Machzor of January, April and July 93. It was a great experience sharing with you my first 6 months of Aliyah, 15 years later, I’m still here.
To those of you in these Machzorim, I’ll be gladd to hear from you, either you are in Israel or not, so you are welcome to get in touch with me: ilana_weissman@hotmail.com
being at wujs completely changed my life. the people i met, the opportunities i was exposed to… the choices i made personally and professionally were all based on my time at wujs and in israel. marrying someone jewish, raising kids in a jewish home, doing meaningful work to better the world. i am sad to hear about wujs in arad ending. but i will keep all my memories and share them, as i have over the years, with a fondness and appreciation that i can give to no other time in my young adult life.
i read some of the comments and there were a few from my machzor and it is sad. But, wujs gave so much to me. i still have friends from my time there starting in july 75. The tiyulim were wonderful and the people were great. i especially liked meeting folks from all over the world. One of my best memories is of all the singing we did on shabbat. i had never been exposed to this and it holds a special place in my heart. i am still in contact with joyce and melissa and value my friendships from israel above all else. best of luck to everyone and may we all share shalom and harmony one day.
Michele (Hersch) Snyder
July 28th, 2008
| 9:27 pm
July 28,2008
I am a graduate of Machon WUJS – the Winter 1977 Machzor, as is my husband, Kerry Snyder. Everything I wanted out of Machon WUJS I got plus some! My Ulpan and Jewish studies were exceptional and my adopted family on Kibbutz and in Arad were very complimentary of my Hebrew skills. I loved all of our tiyulim and got to see various aspects of Israeli life from as far north as Mt Hermon, all the way down south to Sharm el Sheik. I had no problem finding a job ( I am a Nurse) and interviewed at many hospitals throughout the country, including those our Vocational Counselor sent me to as well as the ones I went to on my own initiative. As an added bonus, I also met, fell in love with and married my husband who happened to be in my Machzor, 4 years after we met and this year we are celebrating 28 years of marriage ( and you said it would never last Arieh R.) We managed to visit Arad in January of 2005 and had the pleasure of meeting the son of two people that we knew from 1977, his father being one of the Madrichim at the time (Cecil), and his mother being one of the members of our Machzor (Claire). We also talked with some of the office staff but never had the opportunity to meet Aubrey of who everyone speaks so highly of.
I know that the WUJS program has changed considerably from when we attended but I think the core reasons and objectives of the program remain the same. WUJS is there to give individuals the opportunity to experience Israel at the level of their needs, whatever that might be and possibly aid that same individual in a decision as to whether Aliyah might be a possibility in their life. To change the location is not such a horrible thing (although the everyday life of Arad is just as much a challenge as that of Jerusalem, without all of the tourists and points of interest to distract you). What is such a horrible thing to do is to change the focus of the program so much that it no longer meets the needs of the applicants and the program then becomes the sibling stepchild of Young Judea’s Year Course or other Jerusalem projects sponsored by Young Judea. I truly hope this does not happen!
Regards to any and all Winter and Spring 1977 participants and you can contact Kerry and I at grayroan@yahoo.com . We’d love to hear from you!
I was in the second or third cohort at WUJS Arad arriving in January of 1970.
It was one of the most searing experiences of my life. I came with absolutely no Hebrew knowledge and that September I began my Masters Degree at the Hebrew University – in Hebrew of course.
Aside from the program there was an incredible program of Jewish and Israeli studies, delivered by some of the top experts in the field.
And yes there were friendships and lovers that began there.
Friends and I often hiked through the desert sometimes ending up at Sedom and then bussing back or hitching a ride back. And on numerous occasions we would climb Massada at dawn or dusk for unparalled views.
At times we would sit out on the rocks overlooking the desert and meditate and talk.
And then there was the cinema which, as I recall, would change the movie twice a week. A real flea bag of a place but we would miss very few of the movies.
We were all “adopted” by local Israeli families which was invaluable in aclimatizing and language practice.
So it is sad indeed to learn of its demise and to think that others will not have that unique experience that I and my cohort were privileged to share.
Adam Kahan
How can WUJS leave Arad? I thought the whole point was to build community and encourage participants to meet locals rather than just other Americans.
I was in the 2000 machzor and still have friends from WUJS that I keep in touch with, as well as bonding easily with other former Wujies. WUJS allowed me to learn Hebrew at the rate I needed to finish my degree in Comparative Literature and to complete my conversion. It made me feel like Israel could offer not only a home, but also a strong community of friends.
I am a lifetime member of Hadassah, and a former Hadassah film archivist, and I do support the work that Hadassah does, both in Israel and America. I just don’t see that WUJS fits or even ought to fit into the model of Young Judea programs. I don’t really understand why Hadassah decided to take over the program, considering how different the two models were.
To me, WUJS always felt kind of like the Jewish summer camp I never had, plus ulpan and Jewish studies. I’ve never experienced a communal atmosphere quite like that one, with such a tight community. Arad really made the difference in a lot of ways, and I’m sorry to see the program leave the city that defined it for so long.
I agree with many participants that went to WUJS in Arad. It was a fantastic place to see the real Israel and be with everyday Israeli’s. The Jewish and Hebrew courses were brilliant and the camaraderie among the WUJS students and staff was awe inspiring. I recommended it to many people and all who went to WUJS loved it more than I did. But with WUJS changing hands to Hadassah, all the positives were erased leaving just a vapid shell of a program. Moving this empty shell to Jerusalem, with so many other existing and successful programs there, WUJS will not be original or so brilliant. It isn’t WUJS if WUJS isn’t running it. Bring it back to Arad and give it back to WUJS Alumni to run. Amen.
Rhonda Tiger
If anyone wants to get in touch, I’d welcome the opportunity to rekindle relationships–employees and students!
New email address: tiger-may@comcast.net
I was really sad to hear the news about WUJS. I went there to experience and live Israel and I did. It was one of the best experiences in my life and I still look back with fond memories, despite being in mourning when I arrived (my Dad) and despite ups and downs with food, roommates, leaky gas heaters (not in any order), all of which seem so trivial now. I met some wonderful ‘life’ friends and would love to hear from some of the people in my Machzor from 1993-1994. I regret that I won’t be able to send my daughter there, but hopefully she will have access to some other program which will give her half the experience I got. Send me emails at: reginacarol@usa.net.
Carol
Ok- I must be out of the loop. A Jan. 1983 WUJS facebook group has just been started- little did I know that the Arad program has sadly ended! Chaval!
Machzor July 1988 I will always remember what WUJS did for me. If I did not come there with “baggage”, I would have stayed in touch with some of the people I met there. The tiyulim, my Ulpan teacher,and just being a part of a wonderful place to grow and experience.
I just now saw the article. Having attended in 1970 I am sorry it changed hands as it was my first actual experience with Orthodoxy; with living in a Jewish atmosphere. It informed the rest of my religious life. There was no pressure on participants, but we lived a Jewish life.