Israel: Center
For Jewish Study

LISA SAMIN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

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n Jerusalem today, educa-
tional institutions offering in-
tensive Jewish studies are
attracting more and more
young Jewish people from
around the world.
Through these programs, re-
ligious and nonreligious Jewish
youth and young adults from
abroad come to Jerusalem to
learn and experience their rich
heritage — an experience which
often evokes a unique sense of
belonging and commitment to
Israel.
The Joint Authority for Jew-
ish Education, a combined divi-
sion of the Jewish Agency for
Israel and the World Zionist
Organization, established specif-
ically to advance Diaspora Jew-
ish Zionist education, brings
approximately 10,000 youth a
year to participate in Israel
Experience programs. Accord-
ing to their statistics, over
250,000 Diaspora youth have
visited Israel during the past 20
years.
Through their Department
for Torah Education and Cul-
ture in the Diaspora, the au-
thority plays an important role
in Zionist education of a reli-
gious nature. Over 250 young
observant men and women from
the Diaspora study at the Beit
Midrash L'Torah and the Ma-
chon Gold institutions.
At BMT, boys age 17 and over
engage in Torah study and vol-
unteer activities while partici-
pating in a leadership training
program. They return home to
be youth leaders in their com-
munities or enroll in a "smicha”
program, in which they train to
be rabbis.
At Machon Gold, young
women from the United States,
South America, and, this year,
20 from Russia, study in a one-
year program in which they re-
ceive certification for teaching
in the Diaspora.
At the Ohr Torah Institu-
tions, located eight miles south
of Jerusalem in the city of Efrat,
Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, founding
rabbi of Manhattan's Lincoln
Square Synagogue, and Rabbi
Chaim Bravender have built a
growing network of education-
al institutions for men and
women, serving thousands of
students from abroad.
The majority of Ohr Torah's
students are either newly reli-
gious or come from a religious
Zionist background, but Rabbis
Riskin and Bravender make an-
nual tours to campuses through-

out the United States to reach
out to secular Jewish students.
Further north, in the rapidly
expanding religious neighbor-
hood of Har Nof, Neveh
Yerushalayim offers 400 young
women between the ages of 18-
30 a wide range of learning op-
portunities. Five different
departments cater to Russian,
French, Israeli and American
speakers; and a beginners' pro-
gram, or "mechina," runs every
six weeks for women with lit-
tle Jewish education.

SAMMY AVN ISA N/WZ PS

For the 5,756th time:
Happy New Year.

K

Youth outside Kiryat Moriah.

In addition to a multilevel
learning program stressing Jew-
ish philosophy and text study,
Neveh has a one-year seminary
for 18-year-old religious girls
who receive a teaching certifi-
cate for the Diaspora.
Two of their programs offer
academic degrees, one a bach-
elor of arts, the other a master's
in social psychology, with a con-
centration on family counseling
in conjunction with two Ameri-
can universities.
The Institute for Youth Lead-
ers From Abroad at Kiryat Mo-
riah, established in 1946, offers
a four-month course of study
combining seminars on Jewish
history, Zionism, Holocaust,
Yishuv and Mandate, history of
youth movements, Arab-Israel
conflict, etc., with courses on
leadership and trips around the
country.
Some 160 youth from Eng-
lish-speaking countries are
presently participating in the
program, 130 Spanish speakers
each year participate in the
Latin American program and 30
in the French program.
Defining one's Jewish identi-
ty for students and young adults
in the Diaspora is no easy task.
But the vast number of Jewish
and Zionist educational institu-
tions in the capital affords
individuals from every level
of religious belief the opportu-
nity to study Judaism in
Jerusalem. ❑

WZPS