(IsraelNN.com) Over two hundred students from Chabad-Lubavitch high schools in 25 cities in the former Soviet Union are on their first visit to Israel this week. The students, from the Ohr Avner day schools, will tour the Land of Israel on the first of what organizers call "Mekorot" (Sources) trips.

The Federation of Jewish Communities (FJC) of the CIS and the Ohr Avner Foundation decided to model the program on the successful North American "Birthright" program, spokesmen said, "in hopes of providing graduating high school students from 70 Ohr Avner schools with a deep and strong connection with Israel and enhancing their Jewish identity before they enter university and face adulthood outside an immediate Jewish environment."

Mekorot is free for students age 16-21, with Jews from seven countries across the former Soviet Union participating. Each group is accompanied by a local rabbi from the students' cities of origin, with whom organizers hope a lifelong bond will be formed over the duration of the trip.

The Mekorot Program was sponsored by FJC President Lev Levaiev and is directed by Levi Shmotkin. The program was developed under the auspices of the Maayanot Jewish Institute in Jerusalem, directed by Rabbi Shlomo Gestetner and Kasriel Shemtov. The first groups arrived in Israel this week, with many more scheduled to participate from August 2-20.

"Judaism was always culture and books or something we studied about," said Julia Menshikova from the Russian town of Perm. "Today after coming on Mekorot, Judaism has suddenly become alive for me. When I touched the Western Wall, I began to cry."