Young Judaea and Year Course alumnus Benji Lovitt made Aliyah in 2006 and has been working both as a comedian/writer and as a Jewish educator.  Beni has had a continued connection with Young Judaea since his childhood in many capacities.  His latest article – of a more serious bent than his usual work highlights the need to teach about Tel Aviv as a relevant centre of modern Zionist and Jewish culture.

Here is a link to the full article

http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/israel-programs-the-case-for-tel-avi

Below are some blurbs from the piece:

“From synagogue and organization missions to Masa programs, and from high school trips to Birthright, we do a horrendous job of exposing Diaspora Jews to Tel Aviv and everything it stands for: modern Israel, the “start-up nation”, religious pluralism, and Jewish peoplehood.”

“when I came on a Federation mission and extended my stay, did I finally discover this “secret community”, still mostly unknown to English-speakers in 2003. In just a few days, I managed to lie on the beach, go dancing till 5 AM, walk around staring at Israelis with my tongue hanging out of my mouth, and ask, “HOW AM I ONLY DISCOVERING THIS NOW?????” This wasn’t about bars and sand. This was about connecting to modern Israel and my Israeli peers in a way that I had not done before.”

 

“Does Masada make a bigger impact on Jewish identity than time in Tel Aviv? I would argue that it does not. Is Masada more likely to make thousands of young Jews excited to possibly return to Israel for a long-term program, date other Jews, get an internship at an Israeli start-up, or discover a connection to Jewish peoplehood which they never had before? In my opinion? Absolutely not. Now repeat this exercise for many possible sites in place of “Masada”.”

 

“This is not a suggestion of “fun” over “education”. This is focusing on exploring membership as part of the Jewish nation, a nation and people that young Jews are often “reborn” to feel part of after meeting Israelis who are like them.

Lastly, this isn’t only about the “White City”. This is about evaluating Israel programs and figuring out not only what will turn on our participants to Israel and Jewish identity but also what will not. Israel has changed over 66 years. Our programs should reflect those changes.”

 

– See more at: http://ejewishphilanthropy.com/israel-programs-the-case-for-tel-aviv/#sthash.gxWFAs3O.dpuf

and of course a little clip of Benji’s comedy

Benji Shmoozes a Taxi Driver

 

Check out the amazing video created by Ariel Navarro – a current WUJS participant – on how her WUJS experience and the 5 months she spent living in Israel influenced her life!

Make sure to check out the rest of the Artwork that was on display at the recent WUJS Art Exhibition as well.

If you want to know more about WUJS and how you can sign up visit the page or email Yonit Shachar at yonits@youngjudaea.org.il

Watch me!

Enjoy!!!

Over the next few months we will be posting occasional blogs written by students in Rabbi Rob Kahn’s classes “City of Faith” and “Ideology.”  In our first installment, Evan Dolgow writes about a class tour to numerous burial sites in Jerusalem that represent the diversity and power of the city.

 What can I say? Starting from the foundation of Jerusalem to exploring Jewish history through archaeology was phenomenal. Our group, led by Rabbi Rob Kahn, began the exploration at a fountain on the edge of Yemin Moshe. Even though I have ignorantly passed that fountain over a dozen times in my life, little did I know the meaning was so significant.

(The fountain at Yemin Moshe.)

The fountain structure is composed of three main water spouts. The spouts are stacked three levels high, which slowly point to a dove at the top of the structure. The three spouts represent the three main religions of Jerusalem: Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. The spouts point to a brass dove portraying the coexistence and that efforts towards peace should persist. What a way to start the day! We then made our way to a number of other sites in Jerusalem including a centuries old first-temple burial cave, Oskar Schindler‘s grave, David’s tomb, the room of the last supper, and finally, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Virgin Mary’s burial crypt.

Sounds exhausting but with enough energy we kept on moving! We discussed how the sites represented something bigger than the physical aspects, something bigger than all of us. These sites represent the magnificence of coexisting religions, especially in the holy land of Israel. While we paused for a few moments overlooking a view covering the Jewish section of Jerusalem to the Muslim section of East Jerusalem, I realized something very important; politics play a key role in the land feud to the deep seeded hatred amongst all the religions. Removing the political factor, I saw three peaceful sections living in each others presence. Although not always the friendliest towards one another, this was no pre-1967! I glanced back at history and tried to imagine the battle ground and guaranteed, what I saw yesterday was no battleground! Remember, at the end of the day Israel is only 65 years old. In any book, that’s a country just starting to walk.

 

Walking through Jerusalem’s streets of history really proves that peace is underway. Whether land is given up or unilateral actions are taken, people are people and everyone is innately attracted to peace. From the old Jewish cemeteries to watching an Ethiopian Christian ceremony in front of Mary’s tomb, I truly believe that peace is possible. After all, Jerusalem is no longer a war zone.

(Ethiopian ceremony at Virgin Mary’s tomb. They were very nice and loved to talk once a few of us began to speak with them.)

“I’m on AWB to make a change in a person’s life, make a difference in the community, and inspire others to do the same.”  Emily Hecht, 9th grader from Westfield, NJ.

“By living and working in communities where the effects of their efforts can be felt, these teens learned firsthand about the issues affecting those who live in recovering and struggling areas. ” Andrew Fretwell, Alternative Winter Break program manager.

Read full article on JNS.org

Andrea LeVine is the Senior Programmer/Community Organizer for Tulane Hillel. She wrote about a day on the Tulane Hillel’s Young Judaea Taglit-Birthright trip.

We spent our volunteer day at Rosh HaAyin. It was an amazing experience to work with New Orleans’ sister city! We were greeted with an amazing performance by the Begin High School Gospel Choir, and then spent some time helping the students practice their English for their upcoming English oral exams. It was absolutely one of the highlights of the trip; many of the kids are even following some of our participants on Instagram now!

After volunteering, we had dinner at the homes of our Israeli soldiers, and it was truly special to feel like part of the family for a night. It really connected all of us that much more.

We were honored to have been a part of this unique partnership! We had a blast!