The Jewish National Fund (JNF), through its Israel Advocacy and Education Department, has developed a number of ways to engage high school students across America to connect them to the land and people of Israel and prepare them to be Israel advocates when they go off to college.
“Whoever is concerned about Israel ends up thinking about high school kids,” said Rabbi Dr. Eric M. Lankin, Chief of Institutional Advancement and Education for JNF. “High schools teens are a most significant priority of JNF’s education and advocacy efforts for Israel. Many studies have clearly shown that this age bracket is a central time for building Jewish continuity and commitment to Israel.”
Here are some of the initiatives JNF has enacted:
• JNF is promoting the use of Israel Inside/Out, in partnership with JerusalemOnlineU.com and The David Project. Israel Inside/Out is an outstanding video series featuring Professor Alan Dershowitz of Harvard Law School; Sir Martin Gilbert; Professor Bernard Lewis of Princeton University; Ambassador Dore Gold, and other distinguished scholars. With accompanying materials and guides for teachers, this series is an outstanding course for yeshivah students and synagogue adult education programs.
• The Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) has successfully impacted over 30,000 students since 1972. AMHSI’s core program is designed for Jewish public and private school students, offering an outstanding international educational experience. The two-month study abroad program follows a chronological curriculum of 4,000 years by actually traveling through Jewish history, using the land of Israel as a living classroom. In addition, AMHSI is fully accredited so students can continue with their high school subjects, such as math, science, and foreign language, and receive full credit from their high school.
• Caravan for Democracy-High School Edition (CFD-HSE), launched in 2004 by Jewish National Fund, American Friends of Likud, and Media Watch International, helps prepare high school students to respond to anti-Israel acts and rhetoric in an intelligent and informed manner when they arrive at college. Since its inception, CFD-HSE has held more than 60 events in over 20 cities and has educated 6,500 high school students about Israel and the Middle East.
• Plant Your Way to Israel (PYW) allows young adults to fund their trip to Israel by asking friends and family to support forestry projects in Israel. Half of the money raised supports JNF’s important work in Israel, and the other half is placed in a special account to be used by the participant for any trip to Israel. PYW allows the students to become active fundraisers to help pay for their important Israel experience.
For more information on these programs, please contact the Israel Advocacy and Education department at education@jnf.org or call (212) 879-9305 ext. 245.
