?While we hear all too often how people aren't going to Israel, in particular on youth trips, our numbers have increased by 65% over the last year.?
That was the encouraging information received recently by Arutz-7 from Jason Orenstein, the North American Director of Student Affairs for the Israel Program Center of the Jewish Agency. He was justifiably proud of the accomplishments he helped to bring about for the Jewish Agency in North America, in its efforts to increase participation in the Jewish Agency?s long-term Israel Programs (Magen David Adom, Kibbutz Ulpan, Marva, WUJS, Stagerim) within North America.
The Agency initiative was dubbed Student Reps and was started in August 2001. The ?reps? (representatives) were generally students responsible for recruitment and promotion within their respective regions, including Toronto, Montreal, Washington, Oakland, and Boston, and the New York region. The ?reps? were sent out to bring as many Jewish youth as possible to programs in Israel. And they did. It was an accomplishment that very few Israel program providers can boast of during a period when the PLO terrorist war on Israel raged.
Jason reports that ?in particular, our MDA and Internship programs are very attractive to student interests.? That was borne out by the statistics for the two programs from 2002, relative to 2001: MDA volunteer programs attracted 31 students in 2001, but 108 in 2002; similarly, the Agency?s Stagerim (Internship) program had 30 participants in 2001, but 57 in 2002. The other programs saw similar, if not greater, increases in the number of participants.
?If one thing can be drawn from this project,? Orenstein concludes, ?it is that individuals are still willing to participate on Israel programs, even during the matzav. We can only hope that once the matzav ends, participation on the programs will only increase.?
A final note: Jason Orenstein is no longer in North America, as he and his wife have provided a personal example for all of those Jewish North American youth and fulfilled the ultimate mission of the Jewish Agency.
They made aliyah to Jerusalem earlier this month.
That was the encouraging information received recently by Arutz-7 from Jason Orenstein, the North American Director of Student Affairs for the Israel Program Center of the Jewish Agency. He was justifiably proud of the accomplishments he helped to bring about for the Jewish Agency in North America, in its efforts to increase participation in the Jewish Agency?s long-term Israel Programs (Magen David Adom, Kibbutz Ulpan, Marva, WUJS, Stagerim) within North America.
The Agency initiative was dubbed Student Reps and was started in August 2001. The ?reps? (representatives) were generally students responsible for recruitment and promotion within their respective regions, including Toronto, Montreal, Washington, Oakland, and Boston, and the New York region. The ?reps? were sent out to bring as many Jewish youth as possible to programs in Israel. And they did. It was an accomplishment that very few Israel program providers can boast of during a period when the PLO terrorist war on Israel raged.
Jason reports that ?in particular, our MDA and Internship programs are very attractive to student interests.? That was borne out by the statistics for the two programs from 2002, relative to 2001: MDA volunteer programs attracted 31 students in 2001, but 108 in 2002; similarly, the Agency?s Stagerim (Internship) program had 30 participants in 2001, but 57 in 2002. The other programs saw similar, if not greater, increases in the number of participants.
?If one thing can be drawn from this project,? Orenstein concludes, ?it is that individuals are still willing to participate on Israel programs, even during the matzav. We can only hope that once the matzav ends, participation on the programs will only increase.?
A final note: Jason Orenstein is no longer in North America, as he and his wife have provided a personal example for all of those Jewish North American youth and fulfilled the ultimate mission of the Jewish Agency.
They made aliyah to Jerusalem earlier this month.