Educational Experiences in Israel
“Wow, this must be really different than what you expected!” That’s the common exclamation I’ve heard as I meet and talk with people (from behind our masks) here in Israel, where my family and I are on a six-month sabbatical away from our home in Boston. It’s perhaps the understatement of the year, as all of us grapple with this new uncharted reality. For the past four months, we have been living on a lovely, extremely well-kept and organized kibbutz in the center of the country, where, right now, there is a bit of a wartime vibe – unfortunately quite a familiar mode for Israelis. “B’... Read More
Teacher: “Class, what’s the definition of Zionism?” Students, in unison: “Zionism is the aspiration of the Jewish people to build a Jewish democratic state in Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel)!” High schoolers in the URJ Heller High study-abroad program in Israel quickly gain an understanding that Zionism is the founding ideology of the State of Israel. Next, it’s time that we take class outside and see this in action. Going on tiyulim (trips) to understand Zionism allows us to see that the goal of having a Jewish state is actually reflected in the differing... Read More
Andrew Rehfeld, Ph.D., is the 10th president in the 144-year history of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR). Having served as associate professor of political science at Washington University in St. Louis and as president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Dr. Rehfeld’s career has bridged the academic and Jewish worlds. I sat down with him at the New York City campus of HUC-JIR to ask him about the path that led to his new role. ReformJudaism.org: Who were your Jewish earliest influencers growing up in Atlantic City, Philadelphia, and Baltimore?... Read More
In a nondescript building in Nof HaGalil (a town in the north of Israel that until this year was called Nazareth Illit), 150 people – half of whom are children – are attempting to create societal transformation. These individuals, members of Kibbutz Mishol, are part of a burgeoning “urban kibbutz” movement. Although the word “kibbutz” calls to mind isolated, agricultural settlements, now considered by some to be a part of Israel’s past, Kibbutz Mishol is no ordinary kibbutz. Urban kibbutzim such as Mishol pride themselves on being integrated into the city and focus on the values of... Read More
This year, I was chosen by the New Israel Fund of Canada as one of three “young” adults to be the country’s Naomi Chazan Fellows. Honoured to be selected, I am charged to learn about the work of some of the New Israel Fund (NIF) grantees and share that knowledge within my own community. We began the year with a study tour that took us, along with the fellows from Australia, the U.K. and the U.S., on an eye-opening journey through Israel and the West Bank, where we met with grantees who are working in six distinct areas: Social and economic justice Shared society and combating... Read More
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