AJC And The Municipality Of Jerusalem Sponsor U.S. Seminar For Israeli Educators

American Jewish Committee
Thursday, 15 October 1998

For the third consecutive year, senior Israeli educators are taking part in a unique program to expose them to diverse American Jewish educational systems and the major religious streams in America that emphasize the blending of Jewish tradition and modern values.

The 12-day seminar, which is taking place from October 15 - 27, 1998, under the auspices of AJC's Institute on American Jewish - Israeli Relations, is bringing twelve Jerusalem-based educators associated with a wide range of secular to religious schools, to New York, Boston and Washington, DC to let them experience, first-hand, the pluralist nature of the American Jewish

community, its impact on the relationship with Israel, and the current state of Jewish political activism. In light of recent, much publicized attention to intra-Jewish tensions, such a program becomes all the more timely and important. (A FULL LIST OF PARTICIPANTS IS ATTACHED.)

Among the field visits the group will take are: (in New York) The Abraham Joshua Heschel School, Ellis Island, The Jewish Theological Seminary, the Jewish Museum, Stuyvesant High School, and Frisch Yeshiva High School (in Paramus, New Jersey). They will also experience the diversity of American Jewish religious expression. The group will also visit Brandeis University, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Israeli Embassy, the State Department and AIPAC.

In addition, the group will meet with influential leaders within the American Jewish community to discuss such topics as: "The American Jewish Community: What Does it Look Like? Where is it Going?," "The American Jewish-Israel Relationship," "The Jewish Agenda in Washington," "Israel in the Minds of American Jewish College Students," "The Appropriate Place of the Shoah in Education," "The Jewish Press and the Jewish Community," and "Hebrew Education in America."

Dr. Steven Bayme, Director of AJC's Institute on American Jewish - Israeli Relations, commented: "The success of this program has been gratifying over the past two years, and our ongoing efforts in this arena are consistent with AJC's attempts to foster closer Israeli - American Jewish ties over the years. We are confident that this year's participants will take back to Israel new ideas on how to broaden understanding of Diaspora Jewry and appreciation of Judaic heritage within their schools as well as how to nurture stronger bonds of peoplehood between different types of Jews in Israel and the Diaspora. By studying how Judaic heritage is transmitted within Jewish day schools - the most successful model of Jewish education in America today, and which frequently serves students from diverse religious backgrounds - we can jointly explore how to provide greater access to Judaic heritage for larger numbers of young Jewish people; a heritage that ought serve as the common treasure of Jews everywhere."

The project is coordinated by Rabbi Edward Rettig of AJC's Jewish Communal Affairs Department in New York; David Bernstein, AJC's Area Director in Washington, DC; Adee Strom, AJC's Assistant Area Director in Boston; and Varda Rafaeli, Assistant Director of AJC's Institute on American Jewish - Israeli Relations.

The program is co-sponsored by the Municipality of Jerusalem and made possible by a grant from the Dorothy and Julius Koppelman Fund for American Jewish - Israeli Relations.

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org