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My last trip to Israel was incredible. I led a birthright trip of young professionals from Chicago, my home city. After spending several days traveling across the country, our group arrived at Kiryat Gat, a small town in the northern part of the Negev. Chicago is partners with Kiryat Gat, a vibrant partnership that began in 1996.
Judd is passionate about Israel, Jewish education, and international humanitarian work. He has traveled extensively to Israel as a participant and trip leader with Shorashim and has served as a Jewish educator in numerous capacities. Prior to joining the iCenter, Judd spent several years focusing on international poverty issues while serving as Executive Director of Link Community Development USA, the U.S. division of a global non-profit that works to improve education for children in Africa. For this work, he received the Charles C. Stewart International Young Humanitarian Award. He also worked at Facing History and Ourselves, an education non-profit that works with teachers and students to eliminate anti-Semitism, racism, and prejudice. Judd has a Masters degree in Anthropology and Development Studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and a Bachelors degree in Religious Studies from the University of Illinois. He also studied religion at the University of Oxford as a Visiting Student and Chad Lobdell Scholar, and in India as a Ford Foundation Scholar. Judd and his wife Lindsay live in Chicago.
Yesterday, in partnership with the Schusterman Family Foundation, the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Marcus Foundation and the AVI CHAI Foundation, the iCenter hosted iThink: A New Look at Israel Education. For a full day, more than 80 organizational leaders, Jewish and Israel educators, funder representatives and scholars reflected on the emergence of the field of Israel Education and envisioned what the future could look like.
Israel education has been Anne's personal and professional passion for three decades. As a pioneer in cross-cultural education and teen travel to Eastern Europe and Israel, Anne is the Founder and former Executive Director of Shorashim, a nationally-recognized Israel education organization. She is regarded as the seminal figure in making the mifgash a central component of Israel educational programs, and is the recipient of numerous grants and awards for her pioneering work in this field. Anne received her M.A from the Steinhardt School of Education at NYU, and is a graduate of the Senior Educator Program at the Melton Centre of Hebrew University. She served as Director of Education at Congregation Hakafa in Glencoe, Illinois and taught Hebrew at New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, where she developed new methodologies of Hebrew language and culture instruction. Anne also has experience in the world of Jewish youth group and camp settings. Anne resides in Riverwoods, Illinois with her husband Barry and their three children.
What is it about Thanksgiving and Americans? We have a visceral connection to this all-American holiday that makes celebration among American Jews almost universal, even American Jews living abroad.
Lori B. Sagarin has served as the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth Israel in Skokie, Illinois for fifteen years. She is the former president of the National Association of Temple Educators (NATE), and is also past president of the Chicago Association of Temple Educators. Lori and her husband, Rabbi James Sagarin, are co-authors of Oseh Shalom, published by the URJ press. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Wisconsin and received a Masters degree in Jewish Education with the designation of Reform Jewish Educator (RJE) from Hebrew Union College.
Today is the first time I have seen Aviva Schalit smile. After over five years in captivity her son is coming home. A nation takes a big sigh of relief, and the woman who has become Israel’s conscience – an Israeli “every”-mother, can go back to being an actual mother.
Adam Stewart has been involved with Israel education and teen travel experiences for fifteen years and is the Director of the Goodman Camping Initiative. Adam has taught at the Newberry Library Center for Public Programs and Loyola University Chicago, has lectured on topics in Jewish history and culture, and has served as an educational consultant to a variety of Jewish organizations.
Israel. The name conjures up countless images of our history, religion, culture and politics. But for my kashrut-observant family, visits to The Land also mean a food marathon. We race from falafel stands to food courts. Every visit to a tourist attraction ends with ice cream.
Daphne Price is a wearer of many hats (literally!). She lives in the Modern Orthodox world and is a key member of the executive of the senior staff at the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism in Washington, DC. Lovers of Israel, she and her family vacation there once a year. You can read some of her other blog posts on www.rac.org and www.challahcrumbs.com
One of the most meaningful stops on my journey to Israel in 2008 was to Yemin Orde, a youth village that houses, educates, and nurtures young people that have recently immigrated to Israel alone from 20 different countries. We all lived at Yemin Orde for a week, and even after my short time there, I felt the warmth and beauty of this special place, a place that was clearly more than just a facility - it was a home.
In 2008, Eliana Sagarin traveled to Israel on Nesiya, a program that engages American and Israeli teenagers in a six-week journey through Israel focusing on the arts, Judaism, and community service. Eliana grew up in Skokie, IL and is a freshman at Muhlenberg College majoring in English and Acting.
Our friends at the Perelman Jewish Day School in Philadelphia have had a long relationship with the Youth Village of Yemin Orde. Eigth grade students at Perelman spend a Shabbat at Yemin Orde when they visit Israel, and the Yemin Orde Youth Choir has performed for the students when they are in Philadelphia. Now, we take a look back at some of those students' reflections on Yemin Orde:
This letter was written by Jay Leberman, head of school at Perelman Jewish Day School in Philadelphia, in May 2008 on one of his trips to Israel with the 8th grade students.
Jay Leberman has thirty years of experience in day school education. He currently serves as the Head of School for the Perelman Jewish Day School in Philadelphia, PA. In all of Jay’s work, he has been instrumental in developing and integrating special needs programs for day school families. As Head of School at Perelman, he sent over 100 teachers and school personnel to Israel on various seminars and teacher programs. Jay has degrees from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Oriental Institute, Oxford University.
The Hebrew month of Kislev begins next week, and I found myself whistling Hanukah songs as the breeze blows cooler and the days grow shorter... 'Tis the season, after all, when Jewish educators are perhaps most conscious of promoting Jewish identity in a predominantly Christian country. Unlike so many generations of our ancestors, we live in a time when it is possible to visit Israel.
Dr. Joshua Yarden brings to the iCenter 30 years of experience in Jewish education in a variety of settings, including camping, campus activism, youth movement work and community organizing, and as an officer in the IDF education corps. He has a B.A in Middle East studies from McGill University, an M.A in Judaic studies from the University of Haifa, and a PhD in education, culture and society from the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote his dissertation on cultural transformation through experiential learning.
