Israel\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Titled \u201cProject Aleph Bet,\u201d 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.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Eighteen schools will be included in a three-year process of what UnitEd calls \u201cstrategic growth,\u201d 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\u2019s early modern history \u2014 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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 \u201cuntapped talent\u201d from across the country in Jewish day schools.<\/p>\n\n\n\n House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) on Tuesday introduced a bipartisan resolution declaring that it is the policy…<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s new is that we\u2019re doing all of this now on a digital platform when previously we were out in the field,\u201d UnitEd CEO Hana Dorsman told The Algemeiner <\/em>in an interview. \u201cI\u2019m sure it\u2019s 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n UniteEd\u2019s 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 \u201cthe power of Israel and Diaspora communities working in partnership,\u201d according to Prizmah\u2019s CEO, Paul Bernstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAs the network for Jewish day schools and yeshivas in North America, Prizmah is proud to work closely with UnitEd to support our schools,\u201d Bernstein told The Algemeiner<\/em>. \u201cThanks to their commitment, Prizmah is able to provide strategic planning, leadership coaching, and other services to schools through our network.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Established in 1999, Israel\u2019s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs fosters engagement between Israel and the world\u2019s roughly 8.25 million Jews who don\u2019t live there. Last month, the ministry announced<\/a> the formation a new committee for commemorating non-Israeli Jews who have been murdered in antisemitic attacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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\u2019s eventual elimination, from the Foreign Ministry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n