Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs is making a major investment in Jewish day schools across the United States to strengthen their connection to Israel and Jewish heritage.
Titled “Project Aleph Bet,” the initiative aims to increase enrollment in Jewish day schools, recruit and train new teachers, and make Jewish education more enriching and affordable. Israeli educational nonprofit UnitEd was selected to lead the program.
Eighteen schools will be included in a three-year process of what UnitEd calls “strategic growth,” in which they will adopt an Israeli education program tailored to their individual needs. Additionally, students in all grades will view a video series on Zionism, introducing them to the movement’s early modern history — such as the first efforts by Theodor Herzl to inspire the Jewish people to reestablish a Jewish state in the land of Israel amid rising antisemitism in Europe at the turn of the 20th century.
UnitEd also plans to address what it describes as a shortage of Jewish education teachers, an issue the group plans to address by finding, placing, and mentoring “untapped talent” from across the country in Jewish day schools.
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“What’s new is that we’re doing all of this now on a digital platform when previously we were out in the field,” UnitEd CEO Hana Dorsman told The Algemeiner in an interview. “I’m sure it’s going to become a more important project in the coming years, not only for Jewish schools but also for exposing more and more people to Jewish education.”
In the past, UnitEd has provided consultation to Jewish day schools, guiding them on how, for example, to manage available resources. The nonprofit has also subsidized various projects for school improvement.
UniteEd’s US partner for Project Aleph Bet is Prizmah, a nonprofit that brings together yeshivas, philanthropists, and Jewish communities of every denomination. Project Aleph Bet stands to show “the power of Israel and Diaspora communities working in partnership,” according to Prizmah’s CEO, Paul Bernstein.
“As the network for Jewish day schools and yeshivas in North America, Prizmah is proud to work closely with UnitEd to support our schools,” Bernstein told The Algemeiner. “Thanks to their commitment, Prizmah is able to provide strategic planning, leadership coaching, and other services to schools through our network.”
Established in 1999, Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs fosters engagement between Israel and the world’s roughly 8.25 million Jews who don’t live there. Last month, the ministry announced the formation a new committee for commemorating non-Israeli Jews who have been murdered in antisemitic attacks.
Earlier this year, the Israeli government voted to change the official name of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs to the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. The name change also included a transfer of the authorities of combating the so-called Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which seeks to isolate Israel from the international community as a step toward the Jewish state’s eventual elimination, from the Foreign Ministry.
Original article: https://www.algemeiner.com/2023/06/29/israel-launches-program-strengthen-us-jewish-day-schools-solidify-american-ties-jewish-state/
