At the Passover Seder this past weekend, we asked ourselves, “Why is this night different from other nights?” But now, as we sit here writing about the MZ Teen iConnect with Israel Conference a couple weeks ago, we find ourselves asking, “Why was this conference different from all other conferences?”
Spending a weekend with teens who are excited to learn about engaging with Israel is an exhilarating, and for me at least, almost a spiritual experience. I’ve just returned from The iCenter’s MZ Teen iConnect with Israel conference. Eighty teens from all over North America explored how they could make Israel more a part of their lives, brainstorming strategies to involve their peers, families and communities more deeply in the Israel idea.
Peter Eckstein first became a Jewish educator in 1982 when he lived on Kibbutz Ketura, working with children of all ages and serving as the kibbutz Education Coordinator. He lived in Israel from 1981 to 1993, and served in the IDF as a combat medic. In 1993, he returned to the U.S. and became the Director of Education and Programming at Temple Israel (Reform) in West Palm Beach. He currently is the Director of Congregational Learning at Temple Beth David (Conservative) in Palm Beach Gardens.
What makes a successful video? Brevity. Content. And 600 eager teenagers to help be part of the process.
The idea behind 60 Things in 60 Seconds was to create a humorous marketing piece that educates the viewer about BBYO Passport Israel trips while meeting theattention span of teenagers (and parents). But the secret ingredient is not so secret: it’s engaging the teens themselves to be part of the creative and production process.
Carine serves as the Marketing Director for Authentic Israel, the provider partner of BBYO Passport. Since staging her first flash mob with teens in Tel Aviv in 2008, Carine has continued to explore the creative use of video and teen Israel engagement through Project InCite, during her employment at the URJ, and in her capacity at BBYO Passport. Born and raised in the Boston area, Carine is a graduate of Bates College where she conducted her honors thesis on civil religion in Israel while on a Hoffman Fellowship.
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.
There are many challenges faced by those of us who work full time in Jewish education; the lack of family commitment, the limited hours we have with students, and, perhaps toughest of all, convincing Jewish children who live in the Midwest that spring is coming in February! Tu B’shvat may in fact be the harbinger of Spring in the Jewish homeland but for those of us who greet each day with boots and a shovel, hardly.
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.
In a recent piece in eJewish Philanthropy, James Hyman observes: “Until a far greater number of American Jews understand and have experiences that reinforce a broader conception of Jewish identity, Israel programming will not fit into the self understanding of American Jews and the institutions of American Jewish life.”
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.
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.
Toward the end of May, I spent about four days at a conference of sorts as a member of the 2011 iCenter Fellows. What is the iCenter?
The iCenter serves as a national address and advocate for high-quality and meaningful Israel education. The iCenter is dedicated to developing and enhancing the field of pre-collegiate Israel education in North America, in both formal and informal settings.
Social Media Maven Chaviva Galatz was born in Missouri, bred in Nebraska, and currently hails from Teaneck, NJ, by way of Washington D.C., Chicago, and Connecticut. With a Bachelor of Journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Chaviva worked as a copy editor for The Washington Post, after which she moved to Chicago to work for a Nobel-prize-winning economist at the University of Chicago. Now, she is a Jim Joseph Fellow in NYU’s Dual M.A. program for Education/Jewish Studies and Hebrew/Judaic Studies. Her passion is Social Media in the classroom and Hebrew Language Education, and she recently was accepted to the 2011 ROI Summit and was named one of The New York Jewish Week's "36 Under 36."
Debbie Harris is the technology coordinator at the Sager Solomon Schechter Middle School in Northbrook, IL and teaches religious school at Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism. This blog was re-posted with permission; you can check out the original post, and some of Debbie's other musings at www.museforjews.com.
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.
