A Y2i feature for The Australian Jewish News
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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2015 – ELUL 20, 5775
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The programs
Y2i’s goal is to make participating
in an Israel program an integral part
of every student’s education.
In 2015, Y2i supported programs are conducted by; BJE (NSW Board of
Jewish Education), Emanuel School, Masada College and Moriah College.
In 2016, additional program options may be added.
We are the future of Israel. We are students
from the diaspora. It is our duty to learn,
experience and discover our Jewish roots,
For those students not in a Jewish day school, we invite your family
to register so we can make sure you are offered a Y2i Year 10 $5,000
voucher. www.youth2israel.org.au/register
identity and our land, Israel.
(Tarryn Langman – Emanuel School)
Year 10 Israel programs are life changing
I have seen first hand the difference it makes when you give students the
opportunity to experience being in Israel in a learning environment.
(Jeremy Dunkel – Chair, Y2i)
You can ask about all our field trips and you will hear about museums and
parks and speakers, but you may not understand how much knowledge
we gained from each one. Each story, whether told to us by our teachers
or by a speaker, fitted in another new piece to the puzzle that was our
knowledge of the land of Israel and its people.
(Ella Grinberg – BJE)
Every Year 10 student going to Israel
The facts:
Youth 2 Israel (Y2i) grants $5,000 vouchers to Year 10 students
• Approximately 50% of Jewish students are not enrolled in a Jewish
from NSW/ACT/QLD with a Jewish parent, to make participation
in Israel-based programs affordable. These Israel experiences
of five weeks duration or longer are a life-changing journey of
day school
• Programs to Israel have been financially out of reach for many*
(Rabbi Benji Levy - Dean of Jewish Life & Learning, Moriah College)
• Participation rates in Israel programs dramatically increase when you
remove the financial barriers (a pilot program last year saw numbers
increase by 55%)
Jewish identity.
Through the creation of an independent communal endowment appeal under
JCA, Y2i ensures that every Jewish student has the opportunity to participate
in a Year 10 Israel program.
There is no more impactful way to boost Jewish identity than the right
Israel program. Immersion in Israel allows students to discover their
relationship with the people, Torah and land of Israel, as well as themselves,
connecting them to their illustrious past and empowering them with a
brighter future.
• Experiencing Israel better equips you to respond in your own words
to prejudiced or ill-informed confrontations
• Israel programs stimulate greater enthusiasm for Jewish studies/
As a parent, there can be no greater gift for one’s child than to give them
a trip to Israel where they can connect with our heritage and history.
And for most families, receiving a voucher ensures a child can definitely
attend this trip of a lifetime.
(Alicia Mayer Beverley – Masada College parent)
Hebrew language and participation in communal activities*
Who is behind Y2i?
Board
• Israel programs rank amongst the most positive and transformative
life experiences of any kind*
• Participants are more likely to volunteer, donate money and take
on leadership roles**
Jeremy Dunkel (Chair) – Director, Education Heritage Foundation
Peter Philippsohn OAM – immediate past President, JCA
• Participants are 40% less likely to marry non-Jewish partners
Darren Chait – Member JCA Engagement Working Group
than non-particpants.**
Ariane Fuchs – active community member
Danny Goldberg – Vice President, JCA
Whilst it seems like such a cliché, Israel really does provide this amazing
sense of self and belonging. It is a place where I feel so accepted, so safe,
so comfortable.
(Keren Lax – Moriah College)
I strongly support the priority your community is placing on enabling
every youth the opportunity to participate in a transformative experience
in Israel in the critical teen identity building years.
(Natan Sharansky – Chairman, The Jewish Agency for Israel)
Yair Miller – CEO, UIA NSW, immediate past President NSW JBD
Dr. Ron Weiser AM – Honorary Life President, Zionist Council of NSW
Donor Representatives
Robert Goot AM SC – President, Executive Council of Australian Jewry
Stanley Roth AM – Life President, UIA Australia
Participation
Alex Abulafia – former President, JNF NSW
• In 2013, 110 students
Stephen Chipkin – President, JCA
Jeremy Spinak – President, NSW Jewish Board of Deputies
The endowment appeal – 25 October to 15 November
The challenge with Israel programs has been that they are beyond the financial reach
of most families. The Y2i Endowment appeal is about changing this and making
participation possible.
An endowment appeal differs from a capital appeal. Rather than funding a building
or reducing debt, an endowment appeal establishes a corpus to meet an ongoing
significant need. The investment income then funds the works of the endowment.
The endowment works on the basis of generating an annual return to cover the costs
of the vouchers and any operational administration costs.
participated in a Year 10
program.
• In 2014, with the
If you would like more information
or to offer your support for the
Y2i Endowment appeal, please
call (02) 8353 1612 or email
[email protected]
introduction of the
pilot Y2i program, that
number rose 170.
• In 2015, it is expected
that 230 students will
participate.
• In time, Y2i aims to grow
to 375 students annually.
* Touch Points was a communal review, completed in 2013 under the auspices of JCA.
** ‘Securing the Future’ research study by Rosov Consulting, focussed on religiously non-Orthodox individuals, based on participants in the Masa Israel Journey program between 2008 and 2014.