by Aubrey Isaacs
The news of the closing of WUJS Arad has caused sorrow to all who have heard of it and maybe to no one more than myself. I served in WUJS for 11 years (1993-2004) as Director of Education, Rabbi, Deputy Director and Director. I guided WUJS through the incredibly difficult years of the second Intifada when buses were blowing up weekly or even daily and spending time in Israel was a hard concept to sell. In those days the going was tough but we struggled on, brought around 65-80 students each year and delivered the best program there was.
Recently I have heard many explanations as to why WUJS is closing, ranging from the influence of MASA, to the financial crisis in the Sochnut, to the devaluation of the dollar and to a claim that Arad is no longer attractive and that the Arad municipality is not supportive. I am sure there is truth in these claims.
Yet the true reason lies in the failure of Young Judaea to recruit students and that failure stems from the fundamental educational mistakes that were made from the day that Young Judea took over in 2004.
In my understanding there are a few factors that led the Young Judaea management to commit educational errors.
- They envisioned WUJS in terms of constituting a follow up program to their impressive youth movement and their highly successful one year gap program. That created in their minds a potential market of relatively committed young graduates for whom WUJS would be another step in a long process of informal Jewish education.
- When analyzing WUJS and taking the decision to take it over, Young Judaea saw a program that worked very hard, with a strong family atmosphere. The program was long – 7 months and demanding, functioning usually 7 days a week. Young Judaea read all this as inefficiency and came in determined to cut costs and streamline.
- Young Judaea saw the significant Jewish religious aspect of programming. This did not fit well with their concept of pluralism against a largely non Orthodox ethos and so they determined that the religious elements of WUJS must be severely cut back.
But in my opinion they mis-read the target audience and the reality. In my time although the entrance age was 21, the average age was mid to late twenties. The WUJS students were not youth movement people fresh out of college, but young Jewish adults at a crossroads in their lives. The WUJS students were graduates with a few years of work experience looking for something, looking to fill their lives with new meaning by connecting to Israel and to their own Jewishness. They usually came alone, looking to find support, understanding and spirituality. So they were looking for Judaism and had come to Israel in search of it.
WUJS used to meet these needs. WUJS guided students on their journey with a strong emphasis on meeting and understanding the individual. WUJS provided an intensive community that studied 6 days a week, and celebrated Shabbatot and chagim together. WUJS provided close guidance to every student as he or she tried to find work or study elsewhere in Israel.
WUJS was a home, a place where love blossomed and a place to where there were always some alumni coming to visit every single week.
Young Judaea arrived, eliminated the position of Rabbi, greatly reduced the functioning of the Beit Knesset, cancelled the weekly parshat Hashavua chug and largely eliminated Shabbatot and chagim from the WUJS program. Friday Ulpan classes were canceled thereby allowing and encouraging students to go away each weekend. This weakened the community cohesion, reduced the amount of non classroom time that staff spent with students and weakened the incredible staff – student relationships that had previously existed.
The virtual removal of students from Arad each weekend contributed to a looser connection between students and the Arad community than had previously existed and indirectly weakened the all important adopting families program – since the students had less reason to inviting themselves to spend a Shabbat meal with the participating families.
The elimination of the role of Rabbi also related to a misunderstanding of the crucial importance of the counseling role of the Rabbi. Students who are on a spiritual quest, in need and distress had no personality on the staff in the role of community leader, equipped with the counseling skills that the students so badly needed.
In the interests of cost saving the program was then cut back from every angle.
- The seven month program was reduced to 5 months.
- The proven system of overlapping machzorim in which one machzor welcomed the next was disbanded .
- The amount of Ulpan and Jewish Studies hours were reduced.
- The volunteer period was made optional, chugim and student committees such as the long lasting “Jewish Life Committee” and “Moadon Committee” in which students played an active role in designing and implementing programming were discontinued.
- The total number of days of tiyul were reduced and the management of the tiyulim were subcontracted out. This replaced the old system in which the tiyulim were run by WUJS staff and the students cooked their own meals creating intimate and memorable bonding experiences.
- The employment coordinator position was eliminated in Arad and those students seeking post WUJS employment in Israel could either function through Young Judaea in Jerusalem, or more often, needed to fend for themselves.
Meantime the new administration seemed to deliberately take apart some of the infrastructure that had kept WUJS going. The first class North American Director position disappeared and the American Friends of WUJS Institute (the alumni organization) was closed, rendering its enthusiastic and committed chairman / director redundant. Contact was not maintained in any meaningful way with alumni. The monthly alumni e-newsletter was discontinued. No significant alumni activities were held and recent alumni living in Israel had no address to return to. The crucial potential of alumni in promoting the program was lost and the alumni were no longer cultivated in any meaningful way.
And in the end it all falls on marketing and leadership. In my opinion, Young Judaea had not appointed inspiring leaders who could attract potential participants to sign up in adequate numbers. Instead they went for efficient administrators who were so efficient they efficiently led WUJS Arad to its sad demise.
eJP note: since our original post, WUJS Arad Bites The Dust, a significant number of program alumni have chimed in (both online and off) with their memories, thoughts and comments. Scroll down to the end of that post to read what they had to say.
Meanwhile, Hadassah-Israel insists that the approximately 50 students enrolled for the September machzor have all agreed to the program’s relocation to Jerusalem. I hear it is more like 18 participants; a significant difference. Whatever the actual number turns out to be, we will know in a few short weeks as the new machzor begins; and we plan to be on top of the WUJS rebirth in Jerusalem as 5769 enfolds.
You can find all our posts on WUJS Arad here.
image source: Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life
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Rabbi Aubrey hit the nail right on the head. I was there in 97-98, as a 25 year old, looking for something new and different and for an experience in Israel that covered learning, traveling, and the ability to have a good time. WUJS was great, 10 years later and some of the people I met are still my closest friends, from my machzor and others. It’s a shame Young Judea had to pull a typical Young Judea move, thinking they are better than everyone else, and kill a program that sustained itself for so long
Thanks for the link. The few WUJS alumni I keep in touch with all say the same thing, that it was one of the best years of their lives. One of them recently sent a memoir that included many scenes of WUJS. I loved it. I met my wife, Toni (January ’89 machzor) and we have three children. I’m just a little stunned to consider that 20 years have passed, and sad to think WUJS-Arad is no more. Anyway, I’d love to hear from anyone from the ’88/’89 machzorim.
Todd Pitock (Sept ’88)
Thank you for the link. I loved reading the comments and reminiscences.
Laurence Glazier (Machsor Fall 1978)
I had a wonderful experience at WUJS (Oct. 2002 Machzor). I was 39 years
old at the time. Although I was one of the older students, I remember
several students who were older than I was. I wouldn’t take my WUJS time
back or change anything. I was sad to learn that the new WUJS under
Hadassah made the cutoff age at 35. This would have precluded me and many
other talented and colorful characters who made our machzor an interesting
one. This is one of the errors that I perceive was committed by Hadassah.
I can’t imagine what my Jewish life (learning, experiences, etc.) would have
been had WUJS excluded me because of my age. Thank Hashem that I got my
WUJS experience in before Hadassah took over.
I attended WUJS in 1986, 10 years after a great man, an honest man, a decent man resigned his position as Prime Minister because his wife had forgotten to close a bank account. How much my country has changed since then! And this is just another part of the beautiful country that I made aliyah to gone forever.
Have the words cry my beloved country ever been more apt.
WUJS taught us about our land, it developed a love for Israel in all of us which changed our lives.
We wanted to become Israelis, and we learned that was not enough – we had to help to make Israel even better.
I remember the thrill of a week mending the fence at the bat galim naval base, wearing an IDF uniform for the first time.
22 years later and the army has finally told me that i am so far past my sell by date that i can no longer volunteer. But i still had the priviledge of attending the latest passing out parade at Ba’ad 1 and saluting Snd Lt. Tal Norman!
This country desparately needs what is good, and WUJS was not just good it was exceptional.
We waited more than 1900 years for Israel to be reborn – surely WUJS can be resurrected faster –
I submit the reason for WUJS’ demise are twofold – its price and location. First, last time I checked (and the website still has start dates for 2009) the tuition was $5,500. This is in stark contrast to the paltry $2,000 tuition that we paid for WUJS back in 1995. The small tuition in 1995 was a great deal for 6 months in Arad, daily ulpan, tiyulim and a meal a day. I am not convinced it was such a great deal anymore and I am sure many willing participants were price sensitive. Regardless, the ulpan was great if one applied oneself, and to this day Israelis that I meet are surprised at my Hebrew proficiency which I credit to both the WUJS – Arad’s ulpan and my motivation to learn. Second, when I was a participant in Arad, the program was located in an apartment builing directly across from the city’s shopping center and was also conviently located near the shopping mall. A couple years later, WUJS was moved to the absorption center located in an isolated area in the outskirts of town. This surely severely impacted the participant’s experience living in Arad. I know exactly where that absorption center was (and for those reading this, it is located I’d say 1/3-1/2 of the way to The Pointe, on the north side of the street and up a few blocks). I couldnt imagine living there and I probably would’ve left the program early (even though I did anyway but probably would’ve left sooner) had I been forced to live there like the recent participants. Wrapping this up, if I were to have considered WUJS now, if the price of the program didn’t turn me off then I am sure the location of WUJS in Arad would have. Comments welcome.
I have what I think is an almost unique perspective on this matter because I was there literally during Aubrey’s last weeks and Young Judea’s first year. I made aliya at the end of July 2004 and because I had a girlfriend at WUJS that summer I went down to see her in Arad. Aubrey basically invited me to all but join the community as it wound up the summer session-a remarkable act of hospitality-and I was able to experience a good deal of the warmth and wisdom that had made people like my girlfriend so enthusiastic about the program in the first place. In spite of the fact that Aubrey was rather suddenly fired, I decided to sign up for the next machzor, and I wound up being part of the first year of Young Judea’s management.
I can’t make the same sort of professional criticisms that Aubrey can make about the changes in the program, but I can definitely second them in my own way, and I will say that much of it is definitely right on, especially regarding the spiritual guidance and community that WUJS-Arad provided while Aubrey was still there. The fact is that while he was there it was a place where people who had questions about Judaism could find someone to talk to, and ways to experience their Jewishness that were hard to find elsewhere. I literally saw people “hound” him (good-naturedly, of course) for spiritual guidance. After he “left”, there simply wasn’t that quality to the program.
Let’s face it, WUJS-Arad wasn’t a spectacular program. It had some good things going for it, but based on conversations that I’ve had with people over the years, as well as my own experiences, I feel pretty confident about saying that it was the people who made WUJS-Arad special, whether it was Aubrey, Steve Israel or other faculty, the madrichim of the moment, or Jeffrey and Iris and the gang in the office-most of the stories that I’ve heard over the years had to do with those people-it certainly wasn’t the food or the concrete “comforts” of the Merkaz Klita. It was the good experiences that you had with those people that made you overlook the things you gave up in order to live out there in the desert.
The fact is that, in spite of the fact that I rather liked Jonathon and some of the new staff that came in, it was definitely a program that had been gutted of something vital. And not at all because Aubrey was the head of some sort of personality cult-he is the last person to be involved in something like that!-but because of a spirit that he helped to usher into the community, a spirit that invited participants to bring their questions and gifts into the circle.
In a way I’m glad to hear that the program is moving, in some way, to Jerusalem or Tel-Aviv. It will make a better brochure for an organization which wants to run a program which offers primarily bells and whistles. But I wish that Young Judea would take a cue from the National Football League. Back in the day when my beloved Cleveland Browns were moved to Baltimore, the league relented and allowed the city of Cleveland and it’s devoted fans to hold on to the name and logo of the team, so that it could eventually be reconstituted under new management in the same city. The organization which had been the Browns then became the Baltimore Ravens-the same organization-technically speaking, but with a new and distinct identity.
Young Judea should go ahead and make it’s move and develop it’s program. The question is, why do they have to destroy a classic in the process? Let WUJS-Arad stay in Arad, and let someone who actually loves the program for what it was come back and take it over.
I’d welcome feedback at overlookingthevalley@gmail.com
I’m proud of Aubrey for speaking his mind. Two elements of WUJS ’98-’99 experience stand out to me as crucial turning points in my Jewish development (i am now a full-time Jewish professional)- the course in Chumash w/ Rashi, and Shabbat Seudot, both of them facilitated by Aubrey, who was the Rabbi of the program.
If I had attended a WUJS without Shabbatot and without a full-time Rabbi, I would not be who I am today.
I currently work as a Rosh Chavura at JAFI’s Machon l’Madrichei Chul in Jerusalem, and I can see first-hand how the lack of on-campus Shabbatot detracts from the participants’ Israel experience.
It’s a shame to see WUJS Arad go. It was a unique and special place
I was a part of the wonderful WUJS program Feb. 2001. It really saddens me what has happened. There will always be a place in my heart for WUJS. I do hope that there will be some kind of contact with the alumni, whether a newsletter, or a reunion of some sort in Israel. It would be such a shame to let every go. WUJS will never be the same in Jerusalem. There won’t be the morning hikes in the desert, or the special feeling of living in the negev and experiences that come with it.
I just wanted to thank you for keeping me (I am sure others) updated on the situation. I agree 200% with Aubrey’s article. How could they do that? I was in the Machzor who arrived in the middle of the initifada. We were a strong group and even today, those people are some of my closest friends and my best memories.
I participated in WUJS in the July, 1994 Machzor. I absolutely loved the program, and got out of it exactly what I was looking for. I developed a wonderful relationship with Aubrey Isaacs, and only recently have found a rabbi with whom I can connect in the same way. What Aubrey wrote about WUJS Students, that they are ‘graduates with a few years of work experience looking for something, looking to fill their lives with new meaning by connecting to Israel and to their own Jewishness’ was completely true for me, and I found it at WUJS. During my 6 months at WUJS I realized that being Jewish was far more than the Holocaust, trying to assimilate, and modern-day anti-semitism, which significantly influenced me to begin to openly embrace my Jewishness. I was thus extremely saddened to read that WUJS is closing. I agree with what Aubrey said made WUJS unique and special, it will be sorely missed. Aubrey, if you are reading this, I live in Portland, OR now, just got married to a nice Jewish boy three weeks ago, and would love to be back in touch. –Rebecca Darling-Budner (rbudner@yahoo.com)
Thank you Aubrey for taking the time to write about this. I have such great memories of WUJS (Oct ’96 machzor) — i consider it the 2nd most influential experience in shaping who i am (2nd to AMHSI). I’m very sad about the situation, and disappointed in Young Judea. Anyway, please keep doing your good work!
I wanted to add a few words about my WUJS experience and how significant it was it my life
I came to WUJS in 1979 with no intention of making aliyah WUJS significantly changed my views and widened my world. Until today a group of my best friends are friends from WUJS.
I’m sorry to see it close. Janet Mazer Melzer 1979
hey , let me say, after spending 3 months in arad, and having some of the best experiences in my life, i’ll add it is a shame, a bloody shame, and whomever is responsible for it is not only hurting us hwo have gone through the program, but everyone in arad who i know gained plenty of joy from being the ambassadors of their fair city for the world to see!
as well, the future generations who will miss the great experiences that would have been !
shame on you who let it go to waste!
Aubrey,
Your leadership made all the distance in the program and after reading your critque I can just imagine that the program only went down hill…I can only say ‘ditto” to all the above comments… I miss all my friends and the learning and growth I experienced that year!
Aubrey,
It is nice to hear from you. You started your time at WUJS the same time I had arrived. I had been on a 6 week summer program the year before and decided to enroll in the full program once I finished school. I did not have any family in Israel and I was essentially reliant on the Arad community which I came to enjoy. Let’s face it, for most of us Arad probably seemed a world away from the communities in which we were raised. At the weekends when many went off to visit family and friends I stayed at WUJS and was made to feel welcome at every Shabbat morning service by the families that attended WUJS as their local kehilla. Once I graduated WUJS and left Arad I returned for Chagim and either stayed as a guest at WUJS or with the families I met through WUJS.
It is a shame that people who attended in the later years (particularly people like me with limited family/friends in Israel) never had this opportunity to become a part of the Arad community that I was able to have. I feel richer for the many Shabbats and Holidays I spent there. Without these experiences, there is no opportunity to develop advocates for such a great program. Arad was an integral part of the WUJS experience and I will miss it.
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!
Aubrey, thank you for your insight. I and numerous others have valued your wisdom and positive influence. You will always be a role model for me personally. Thank you for sustaining WUJS during those second-Intifada days. June 1st, 2001 was the date of the Dolphinarium bombing, and June 3rd was the first day of my machzor. You and the wonderful staff at the time: Hezi, Iris, Iris, Jeff, and the madrichim made one of the best experiences of my life.
Now I can’t pass on to any new enrollees the skeleton key of the building that I fenagled from the maintenance staff. Chaval.
Hi to all from a 1975 WUJS student.
I was involved with WUJS first as a student and much later
as their accountant. (that was during Aubrey’s time.)
I cannot comment about the Young Judea takeover because after living in Arad from 1975-2001 I left the area and have not kept up on WUJS since then. I can comment on the Jewish Agencys financial gutting of the institute already in 1999-2001. So if blame should be initially placed anywhere it is with them. The move to the new building was, in my opinion, a social disaster (but the Agency never cared about that, they were only interested in lowering their budget to WUJS).
Aubrey and the staff did wonders with less and less money as the years went by, and from what I read Young Judea was the final nail.
Anyone from back then – hi
Chuck and Ariela Zucker
Thank you Aubrey for your comments. Some of my best memories are of your parsha hashavua chug…I still remember some of your teachings today. It is a shame that WUJS Arad is gone and I think that is especially true for those of us who were on the Arad Arts Project. I was 38 years old when I came and the experience changed my life both Jewishly and creatively in a way that being in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv would not have. The desert environment was a big part of that…I am truly sorry to see the program go.
I was there in 2005-06, right after the transition, and personally I think it was all pretty great, although not advertised very clearly.
WUJS changed my life and helped me become who I am today. I’m so sad about what happened to this place that meant so much to me. I even became a “professional Jew,” currently working for Canadian Jewish Congress in Toronto. My October ’94 machzor was a true family for me. Aubrey was the first rabbi I felt I could relate to, and who never judged. It was an incredibly supportive, fun environment where I learned so much. I’m still in touch with Aubrey, and was fortunate to see him in Jerusalem in January.
Aubrey, you should feel proud of what you achieved in your time at WUJS. You touched the lives of many people, and for that you should be proud.
Hadassah is a corporation disguised as a non-profit. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any heart and soul invested in this program. I feel they merely used the name and created something completely unrelated to the actual Wujs. I can only hold the memories of the old WJUS and hope that another creative and spirtual program can rise from the flames. (June 2000)
Hadassah didn’t have any heart and soul invested in this program. I feel they merely used the name and created something completely unrelated to the actual Wujs. I can only hold the memories of the old WJUS and hope that another creative and spirtual program can rise from the flames. (June 2000)
I’m sad like everyone else that WUJS in Arad has closed. I was in the October 1979 machzor, not during the Aubrey era. Religion was a big part of WUJS for me. Chanukah on the beach in Eilat, snow on the ground Purim morning. Some of us staged a small religious revolt at a time when services were too orthodox and certainly not egalitarian. An alternative Shabbat morning minyan was started that was more participatory and inclusive. I don’t remember how long the minyan lasted or if it was weekly or monthly but it certainly was meaningful in many ways.
I know it will be only cathartic to write this, but I, too, am very sad that WUJS has found its time to close. My machzor is earlier than most who have responded here (August 1976), but in reading the article and responses I see that my need and purpose in going to Israel and to Arad when I did are not much different.
I came to Arad as a new college graduate, hoping to find work in television in Israel, as Television Broadcast Management was my college major. Not only did I eventually find work at the then Televisia Limudit in Ramat Aviv, but more importantly I found a lot of myself in Israel, and I had a fantastic year. From my Ulpan teacher Arnona to the director Shelly Schreter to the Rabbi Steve to my adopted family who forced me to speak Hebrew when I did not think I could, it was a watershed year in my life.
Now as a Rabbi, I reflect upon that year very often, and my experiences in Israel color my attitude toward Zionism and Diaspora support for Israel, as well as my ability to teach Jewish identity to my congregants and their children. I always miss the friends I made there, as well as the year of exploration and fun.
B’shalom,
Rabbi Jonathan Biatch
I was 24 when I attended the July 96 machzor, and my reasons for coming were exactly as Aubrey described. Having just completed graduate school, I was at a crossroads and came to gain both perspective and exposure to the life and culture in Israel. Although I was relatively young, I considered it a strength that WUJS appealed to a wide age range. I was looking for a “real world” program, not a glorified teen-tour. The sense of community, educational opportunities, and inexpensive lifestyle were amazing. I considered several programs, but heard the highest praise for WUJS.
Twelve years later (has it really been that long?), I am still in touch with a group of friends from my machzor as well as my adopted family in Arad (Jeffrey and Jean – I was there before he worked at WUJS). I always stop by to see the staff when I visit Israel, and it is hard to fathom that it will no longer be there. Since WUJS I’ve been teaching and working at Gann Academy, a pluralistic Jewish day school in Boston. That decision certainly stemmed from my positive experience in Israel.
Perhaps alumni can maintain connections through the Facebook group (which I just now discovered)? My best to all from Feb 96 and July 96. I’d love to hear from you all at wujs “at” reena “dot” com.
I was notifyed by a fellow WUJS-friend about this tragic outcome. Some of the nicest people I ever met, I met in WUJS Arad. The best thing about WUJS for me was the humans that were there, and I am not only talking about the participants of the program: living in the “merkaz clita” we met olim from russia, ethiopia, romania and various other corners of the world. We spoke to them in the only common language that we had: our new Hebrew.
This message is my way to say thank you to the rabbi that wrote the above (mr Isaacs) for his words that woke up the distant memories from the wonderful time I spent in Arad. Allthough we might all be spread all over the world again, the students from WUJS will always have the memories of the great time we spent there. WUJS might be gone but our memories remain in our hearts. Maybe some day we will meet again.
I was saddened to hear of the change in program and the loss of the incredible site at Arad which I will never forget. I was there part of the January 93 Machzor and remember Rabbi Aubrey Isaacs with much warmth and gratitude.As for Arad, what a wonderful place. I never realised the desert could be so quiet. I spent many hours walking to the “Mitzpeh” and remember being spiritualy awakened by the desert. I also remember my months in Arad as some of the best times of my life. I made lifelong friends there. I would however love to reconnect with some at my Machzor- I am at bishopscourtgal@att.net.
Regards
Melissa Levin
What a sad end to what essentially was a good program overall. It wasn’t perfect, but was very informative and gave me experiences about Judaism and Israel I would never otherwise had. I’d agree that Aubrey is spot on and it’s a shame the program wasn’t allowed to grow to help foster the next generation of young Jews looking to further understand their own Judaism and Israel.