New experiences
On Monday, we visited Leffell School. First, the local students gave us a tour of the school, and then we attended the morning prayer, which takes place every day for all school students. Afterwards, ...
Category: SOS general
It’s no dream – it is reality
‘If you will it, it is no dream, and if you do not will it, a dream it is and a dream it will stay.’ – THEODOR HERZL, 1902
This is how I can sum up the day we have been through. We wanted it, it is not a dream anymore, we are doing it and we are doing it together. BT and SSG. It is much more than friendship. Our kids are brothers and sisters. Words cannot express how important we consider it is to keep the relationship between our kids all alive. That is how we felt at the end of our extremely busy and very useful day.
To begin the day we were hosted by Peter Paplanos, the Head of Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Hungary in Washington DC. First, he made a presentation for all of us, for the sake of BT students when he told them about those Hungarian Jews who became world-famous. Among them, he mentioned Theodor Herzl, Imre Lichtenfeld – founder of Krav Maga and so many more. We then heard about some further plans that the embassy fulfills cooperating with the Hungarian Jewish Community in Budapest, supported by Yad Vashem as well. Hopefully, the matter of antisemitism is going in the right way. After the presentation, BT kids’ questions were answered. We also learned the fact that Israel is the third biggest investor in Hungary and the USA is the second biggest one, which means to us that our country does matter on an international basis. It is another important reason to keep our personal relationships alive, which we are sure both parties can take advantage of. He put a strong emphasis on the bilateral relationship that is between the two countries.
Yisroel A, Grade 10 was happy to play the very famous Boganyi piano at the Embassy. It was beautiful and heart-warming to listen to him play.
Last but not least Mr. Paplanos told us that he as the Head of Public Diplomacy at the Hungarian Embassy is widely open to any common project which helps the two communities keep our bridge between us which he considers as a flourishing project and is worth all the support it possibly can get.
Our following programs were visiting the Lincoln Memorial and we could also see the Washington Monument from inside. Kids were all amazed by the spectacular view.
Following this, we went inside the US Capitol Visitor Center where we were shown around in the crypt. We learnt a lot about the statues set up there. e.g. the fact that the number of statues represents the thirteen colonies which became one nation in around 1787 with the Constitution of the United States.
After the Capitol, we were honored to meet Congressman John Sarbanes who had a very friendly welcoming conversation with us. He introduced himself to the kids and told them about the story of his career. He also introduced the House of Representatives and in a few words and had an interactive conversation with the kids. Finally, he expressed how opened he was to any form of relationship between the kids of the two schools. He also expressed how important he considered it to keep such relations going on. We were very happy to see how many important people welcome what we have been doing, which makes us keep believing how important is our mission and it could not exist without the further support of SOS International: Enriching Jewish Identities or the support of Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School.
By the end of the day our kids were mixed. They are not kids from BT or SSG any longer, they are the kids from the same community, who have one goal, one heart and one way to go together on and holding hand together they can fulfill the dream that Alan Reinitz and Glynis Smith had one day, bridging Jewish Communities throughout the world, enriching Jewish Identities and it means to us something that we must take care of and there is no doubt about it for sure.
Following through Theodor Herzl, we hope we will (want) this dream enough to come true that it will not stay a dream, but remains reality so that we can all be proud of what we have created together. It cannot be sustained without our common will, so we are very grateful again to everyone involved in the project with all of their hearts. ~ Violetta Varga, SSG
In Conclusion – Global Education Summit 2018
Because of a relatively new heightened concern about next generation Jewish identity in the Diaspora, the Israeli Ministry of Education and Diaspora Affairs sponsored a five day Global Education Seminar in Jerusalem, 8-12 July, 2018. As SOS International strives to enrich and enhance next generation Jewish identity and values through international exchanges, I was invited to attend and join 150 educators from 31 countries.
Although contemporary Diaspora Jewry is being confronted with many serious religious, political and cultural issues, this seminar was entirely devoted to next generation Jewish identity and Jewish education in the Diaspora. Israel has come to the realization that maintaining strong Jewish communities is not only the moral thing to do, but it is a strategic investment by Israel. When one religiously, culturally and educationally disengages from Judaism, one tends to disengage from Israel. The challenge facing Israel is the masses of Jews distancing themselves from Judaism and Israel and how best to respond to this cataclysmic fact in a Diaspora that is not homogenous.
Both the Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs, Naftali Bennett and Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin very candidly stated that after 70 years of Diaspora Jews helping Israel, it is time for Israel to help Diaspora Jews. Unlike 1948, Israel is a strong country and must take a leadership role in providing educational support and assistance because without Jewish education, the Jewish people will cease to exist. That said, Israel does not know what is needed and wanted. From the multi-national participants they asked for specific ideas, suggestions and recommendations how Israel can help and support Jewish Education in the Diaspora.
Because the Diaspora is so very heterogeneous, the responses were as diverse and varied as the 150 representatives from 31 countries. In multiple round table discussions, interactive lectures and assorted presentations, concerted collective efforts were made to understand what the Diaspora educators want from Israel. So what is the answer to the question the Israeli Ministry of Education and Diaspora Affairs posed?
One size does not fit all and meaningful and impactful educational responses must be personalized and customized. There is no singular magic educational bullet and even a Jewish Day School education does not guarantee next generation Jewish identity and values.
As the seminar came to an end, organizers and participants realized that the most significant outcome of the seminar was that this was the first time Israel held a seminar solely devoted to trying to find ways in which Israel can help and support Jewish Education in the Diaspora. Although the seminar had an overwhelmingly difficult task, it was hugely successful in providing a forum for dialogue and discussion. Will there be a follow up seminar devoted to practical realistic next steps, only time will tell. Stay tuned!
Alan Reinitz
So much to learn
The morning began with a lecture by Dr. Alex Pomson. His topic was Israel and Hebrew Studies in Jewish Schools. He provided a statistical analysis of the pre and post effects upon teens who visit Israel. He also correlated visits to Israel with the positive and/or negative impact upon teens interest in speaking Hebrew.
Following his presentation, there were back to back roundtable discussions. The first roundtable was devoted to reflections and applications. The second was a brainstorming session about Next Steps.
Once the roundtable discussions were complete, there was a NGO Fair. Each NGO representing their respective educational supplies and material were displayed on tables throughout a large ballroom.
This was followed by three more speakers whose topic was Unit-Ed. The speakers were Josh Spinner, Dvora Serrao and Rabbi Tzvi Allon.
The next lecture was about Jewish Ed-Tech Entrepreneurs ship which was primarily a brainstorming session.
For the next 30 minutes the Chairman Elect of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Isaac Herzog spoke. This was followed by about 60 minutes of Q & A and ideas, suggestions and recommendations for the Chairman Elect.
The last lecture was presented by Dr. Micah Goodman. He is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He is also Rosh Midrasha at Ein Prat.
Alan Reinitz
The Negev not Silicon Valley
Now today’s update: There were four full day excursion options: Hashomer Hachadash Youth Movement with CEO Yoel Zilberman; An Israeli Journey (Masa Israeli) with CEO Uri Cohen; Footprints of the Tanach with Rabbi Menachem Leibtag; and Innovation in the Negev.
I selected Innovation in the Negev. More than half of the day, we were at MindCet in Yeruham. MindCet is a center for innovation and technological development in education. The founder and CEO is Avi Warshavsky. He has built a most innovative, creative approach to using state of the art technology for all different kinds of teaching and learning. Seeing and experiencing his R & D department, I had to remind myself I was in the Negev and not in Silicon Valley. Following this very impressive visit, we stayed in Yeruham to meet with the Executive Director and the beneficiaries of ATID BAMIDBAR. This is another Israeli organization doing ma’asim tovim/very good deeds on behalf of local Yeruham people who desperately need help and assistance.
From Yeruham, we traveled to another “Californiaesque” tech park. There we met with the CEO of a company called Center for Digital Innovation. He is part of a group of an undetermined number of incubator entrepreneurs. Interesting fact is that besides all of them being start up entrepreneurs, the various services all of them are providing only targets the American market.
Our last stop was Ben Gurion University. There we spent several hours at the Rothschild Cube Center for Effective Social Education. The extraordinarily sophisticated technology they use for interactive teaching and learning was an amazing experience.
After having left Jerusalem 12 hours earlier, we began our trip back. Everyone quite exhausted from all that we did, but everyone feeling it was a very worthwhile day.
~Alan Reinitz
Teaching Israel to Diaspora students
Today the program was filled with a variety of lectures and roundtable group discussions. The lectures included:
- Dvir, Kahana, Director –General, Ministry of Diaspora Affairs
- Gila Ben-Har, Director-General, Center for Educational Technology
- Simon Caplan, Director of Education,
...
What Israel is saying about the diaspora
Last night I attended the opening program of the Global Jewish Education Summit at the residence of the President of Israel. More than 150 representatives from 31 countries and Israel were present.
Both the President, Reuven Rivlin and the Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs, Naftali Bennett gave extremely inspiring speeches. In brief, both speakers had common themes:
- Israel is very concerned about diaspora Jewry and in particular next generation Jewish identity.
- Israel acknowledges it does not have the answers to address this issue.
- Israel
...
-
It’s no dream – it is reality
‘If you will it, it is no dream, and if you do not will it, a dream it is and a dream it will stay.’ – THEODOR HERZL, 1902
This is how I can sum up the day we have been through. We wanted it, it is not a dream anymore, we are doing it and we are doing it together. BT and SSG. It is much more than friendship. Our kids are brothers and sisters. Words cannot express how important we consider it is to keep the relationship between our kids all alive. That is how we felt at the end of our extremely busy and very useful day.
To begin the day we were hosted by Peter Paplanos, the Head of Public Diplomacy at the Embassy of Hungary in Washington DC. First, he made a presentation for all of us, for the sake of BT students when he told them about those Hungarian Jews who became world-famous. Among them, he mentioned Theodor Herzl, Imre Lichtenfeld – founder of Krav Maga and so many more. We then heard about some further plans that the embassy fulfills cooperating with the Hungarian Jewish Community in Budapest, supported by Yad Vashem as well. Hopefully, the matter of antisemitism is going in the right way. After the presentation, BT kids’ questions were answered. We also learned the fact that Israel is the third biggest investor in Hungary and the USA is the second biggest one, which means to us that our country does matter on an international basis. It is another important reason to keep our personal relationships alive, which we are sure both parties can take advantage of. He put a strong emphasis on the bilateral relationship that is between the two countries.
Yisroel A, Grade 10 was happy to play the very famous Boganyi piano at the Embassy. It was beautiful and heart-warming to listen to him play.
Last but not least Mr. Paplanos told us that he as the Head of Public Diplomacy at the Hungarian Embassy is widely open to any common project which helps the two communities keep our bridge between us which he considers as a flourishing project and is worth all the support it possibly can get.
Our following programs were visiting the Lincoln Memorial and we could also see the Washington Monument from inside. Kids were all amazed by the spectacular view.
Following this, we went inside the US Capitol Visitor Center where we were shown around in the crypt. We learnt a lot about the statues set up there. e.g. the fact that the number of statues represents the thirteen colonies which became one nation in around 1787 with the Constitution of the United States.
After the Capitol, we were honored to meet Congressman John Sarbanes who had a very friendly welcoming conversation with us. He introduced himself to the kids and told them about the story of his career. He also introduced the House of Representatives and in a few words and had an interactive conversation with the kids. Finally, he expressed how opened he was to any form of relationship between the kids of the two schools. He also expressed how important he considered it to keep such relations going on. We were very happy to see how many important people welcome what we have been doing, which makes us keep believing how important is our mission and it could not exist without the further support of SOS International: Enriching Jewish Identities or the support of Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School.
By the end of the day our kids were mixed. They are not kids from BT or SSG any longer, they are the kids from the same community, who have one goal, one heart and one way to go together on and holding hand together they can fulfill the dream that Alan Reinitz and Glynis Smith had one day, bridging Jewish Communities throughout the world, enriching Jewish Identities and it means to us something that we must take care of and there is no doubt about it for sure.
Following through Theodor Herzl, we hope we will (want) this dream enough to come true that it will not stay a dream, but remains reality so that we can all be proud of what we have created together. It cannot be sustained without our common will, so we are very grateful again to everyone involved in the project with all of their hearts. ~ Violetta Varga, SSG
In Conclusion – Global Education Summit 2018
Because of a relatively new heightened concern about next generation Jewish identity in the Diaspora, the Israeli Ministry of Education and Diaspora Affairs sponsored a five day Global Education Seminar in Jerusalem, 8-12 July, 2018. As SOS International strives to enrich and enhance next generation Jewish identity and values through international exchanges, I was invited to attend and join 150 educators from 31 countries.
Although contemporary Diaspora Jewry is being confronted with many serious religious, political and cultural issues, this seminar was entirely devoted to next generation Jewish identity and Jewish education in the Diaspora. Israel has come to the realization that maintaining strong Jewish communities is not only the moral thing to do, but it is a strategic investment by Israel. When one religiously, culturally and educationally disengages from Judaism, one tends to disengage from Israel. The challenge facing Israel is the masses of Jews distancing themselves from Judaism and Israel and how best to respond to this cataclysmic fact in a Diaspora that is not homogenous.
Both the Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs, Naftali Bennett and Israel’s President Reuven Rivlin very candidly stated that after 70 years of Diaspora Jews helping Israel, it is time for Israel to help Diaspora Jews. Unlike 1948, Israel is a strong country and must take a leadership role in providing educational support and assistance because without Jewish education, the Jewish people will cease to exist. That said, Israel does not know what is needed and wanted. From the multi-national participants they asked for specific ideas, suggestions and recommendations how Israel can help and support Jewish Education in the Diaspora.
Because the Diaspora is so very heterogeneous, the responses were as diverse and varied as the 150 representatives from 31 countries. In multiple round table discussions, interactive lectures and assorted presentations, concerted collective efforts were made to understand what the Diaspora educators want from Israel. So what is the answer to the question the Israeli Ministry of Education and Diaspora Affairs posed?
One size does not fit all and meaningful and impactful educational responses must be personalized and customized. There is no singular magic educational bullet and even a Jewish Day School education does not guarantee next generation Jewish identity and values.
As the seminar came to an end, organizers and participants realized that the most significant outcome of the seminar was that this was the first time Israel held a seminar solely devoted to trying to find ways in which Israel can help and support Jewish Education in the Diaspora. Although the seminar had an overwhelmingly difficult task, it was hugely successful in providing a forum for dialogue and discussion. Will there be a follow up seminar devoted to practical realistic next steps, only time will tell. Stay tuned!
Alan Reinitz
So much to learn
The morning began with a lecture by Dr. Alex Pomson. His topic was Israel and Hebrew Studies in Jewish Schools. He provided a statistical analysis of the pre and post effects upon teens who visit Israel. He also correlated visits to Israel with the positive and/or negative impact upon teens interest in speaking Hebrew.
Following his presentation, there were back to back roundtable discussions. The first roundtable was devoted to reflections and applications. The second was a brainstorming session about Next Steps.
Once the roundtable discussions were complete, there was a NGO Fair. Each NGO representing their respective educational supplies and material were displayed on tables throughout a large ballroom.
This was followed by three more speakers whose topic was Unit-Ed. The speakers were Josh Spinner, Dvora Serrao and Rabbi Tzvi Allon.
The next lecture was about Jewish Ed-Tech Entrepreneurs ship which was primarily a brainstorming session.
For the next 30 minutes the Chairman Elect of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Isaac Herzog spoke. This was followed by about 60 minutes of Q & A and ideas, suggestions and recommendations for the Chairman Elect.
The last lecture was presented by Dr. Micah Goodman. He is a research fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. He is also Rosh Midrasha at Ein Prat.
Alan Reinitz
The Negev not Silicon Valley
Now today’s update: There were four full day excursion options: Hashomer Hachadash Youth Movement with CEO Yoel Zilberman; An Israeli Journey (Masa Israeli) with CEO Uri Cohen; Footprints of the Tanach with Rabbi Menachem Leibtag; and Innovation in the Negev.
I selected Innovation in the Negev. More than half of the day, we were at MindCet in Yeruham. MindCet is a center for innovation and technological development in education. The founder and CEO is Avi Warshavsky. He has built a most innovative, creative approach to using state of the art technology for all different kinds of teaching and learning. Seeing and experiencing his R & D department, I had to remind myself I was in the Negev and not in Silicon Valley. Following this very impressive visit, we stayed in Yeruham to meet with the Executive Director and the beneficiaries of ATID BAMIDBAR. This is another Israeli organization doing ma’asim tovim/very good deeds on behalf of local Yeruham people who desperately need help and assistance.
From Yeruham, we traveled to another “Californiaesque” tech park. There we met with the CEO of a company called Center for Digital Innovation. He is part of a group of an undetermined number of incubator entrepreneurs. Interesting fact is that besides all of them being start up entrepreneurs, the various services all of them are providing only targets the American market.
Our last stop was Ben Gurion University. There we spent several hours at the Rothschild Cube Center for Effective Social Education. The extraordinarily sophisticated technology they use for interactive teaching and learning was an amazing experience.
After having left Jerusalem 12 hours earlier, we began our trip back. Everyone quite exhausted from all that we did, but everyone feeling it was a very worthwhile day.
~Alan Reinitz
Teaching Israel to Diaspora students
Today the program was filled with a variety of lectures and roundtable group discussions. The lectures included:
- Dvir, Kahana, Director –General, Ministry of Diaspora Affairs
- Gila Ben-Har, Director-General, Center for Educational Technology
- Simon Caplan, Director of Education,
...
What Israel is saying about the diaspora
Last night I attended the opening program of the Global Jewish Education Summit at the residence of the President of Israel. More than 150 representatives from 31 countries and Israel were present.
Both the President, Reuven Rivlin and the Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs, Naftali Bennett gave extremely inspiring speeches. In brief, both speakers had common themes:
- Israel is very concerned about diaspora Jewry and in particular next generation Jewish identity.
- Israel acknowledges it does not have the answers to address this issue.
- Israel
...