Labels: Israel

Labels: Food, Israel, Politics

eCamp Israel is a technology summer camp based in Israel and open to American Jewish youth. As a member of the rabbinic cabinet of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism's Project Reconnect, I was asked to look into the feasibility of including eCamp Israel as one of United Synagogue Youth's summer options in Israel. USY sends hundreds of teens to Israel each summer, and this program would allow some of those teens to specialize in a hi-tech track while in Israel.

I am very impressed with this new program. eCamp's mission is to "help young people realize their highest potential, discover their talents, and reach for their dreams". Their cutting-edge e-workshops will allow each individual camper to express their creativity, and the youth participants will work on their own projects in a collaborative environment (open-space computer lab).

eCamp, located in a residential educational institution near Caesarea, will not be a "computer camp" where kids sit in front of a computer all day. Rather, the camp will encourage the campers to go outdoors to do the normal summer camp activities like sports, swimming, and nature exploration. The camp will motivate campers to create a better world through the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) with each camper receiving a certificate for 5 hours of community service per session.

eCampers will meet with entrepreneurs including the founder of ICQ, now the originator behind the AOL Instant Messenger, visit leading Israeli research centers such as Intel, Microsoft, Google, Motorola, and train in the Israeli Air Force’s flight simulator. Participants will have experience theoretical developments by visiting leading academic centers such as the Technion and Weizmann Institute. Shai Agassi, a hero in Israel’s technology world and the founder of Project Better Place, will be eCamp’s Chief Scientist. When I spoke with Nir Kouris, co-CEO of ecamp and an Israeli entrepreneur, he explained that "As one of the global centers of technological innovation, it is time Israel gives back some of our know-how and share it with children from around the world."

The idea of an International Technology Summer Camp in Israel is brilliant. Jewish youth already flock to Israel in droves each summer and many of them have to put their technology interests on hold during that time. So, while most Jewish youth won't be able to use Instant Messenger while they travel in Israel this summer, the campers at eCamp Israel will be introduced to the hi-tech gurus who developed the infrastructure to run Instant Messenger. This program will open the gates for Jewish youth to the #1 success story of Israel – Technology Innovation.

eCamp is just one more piece of great news in the world of Jewish camping. Recently, the Jim Joseph Foundation and Foundation for Jewish Camping announced a $8.4 million partnership grant to create a Specialty Camping Incubator. The Incubator will create four Jewish specialty camps based on skills such as athletics, computers, and arts according to the successful model already established for Jewish camping.

It is truly remarkable to see the innovations taking place in the field of Jewish camping. It makes me want to be a kid again!

Labels: Camp, Israel, Jewish Youth, Judaism and Technology, Technology

"Everyone assumes I'm Italian," says Jamie Lynn Sigler, 26, with a sigh, pausing over her hummus lunch at the open-air market in Jaffa, one of the stops on her birthright israel tour. "Even kids on the trip keep asking, 'Are you Jewish?' "

Sigler, who played the daughter [Medow Soprano] of Mafia kingpin Tony Soprano on the acclaimed HBO show "The Sopranos," grew up in a Jewish home in Jericho, N.Y., going to Hebrew school and having a bat mitzvah.

Her father's family immigrated to America from Greece and Poland. Her mother, who is Puerto Rican, converted to Judaism. But it was only touring in Israel, during her recent visit to the country, that she said she felt a true spiritual and emotional connection to her roots.

"It's one of the most beautiful, inspiring places I've ever been to," Sigler said. "I now have a greater understanding and motivation about preserving my Jewishness."

Among the highlights she noted were riding camels in the desert, dining on roast lamb in a Bedouin tent and exploring the back alleys of Jerusalem's Old City. Sigler said she was especially moved during her visits to the Western Wall, where she was surprised by her tears, and to Yad Vashem, where the Holocaust and its history suddenly felt deeply personal.

"I started to think, 'What if I was there, what if I had been ripped away from my family?' " she told JTA.

Sigler said Israel had been a fairly abstract concept before the trip, with her images limited to the coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict portrayed in the media. [Her] group was accompanied part of the time by a small group of Israeli soldiers. Through them, Sigler said she heard about a much different life than the one she and her friends lead in America. She was taken by their sacrifices and the pride they have in their country and history.

"It's so different but so inspiring to be part of that," said Sigler, her face dominated by a pair of large designer sunglasses. "I would want to move here and join the army" too.

Labels: Celebrities, Israel

In a step that marks a major change in gender roles within modern Orthodoxy, women will be ordained as Orthodox rabbis. Jerusalem's Shalom Hartman Institute, founded by Rabbi David Hartman (right), himself a modern Orthodox rabbi, will open a four-year program next year to prepare women and men of all denominations - Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist and also Orthodox - for rabbinic ordination.

Labels: Conservative Judaism, Israel, Jewish, Orthodox Judaism, Rabbi, Reform Judaism

Labels: Israel, Politics

Labels: Christianity, Israel, Zionism

Labels: Israel

The Persistence of Vision: Israel at 60
www.IsraelAtSixty.org.il

This forum brings together five experts in their respective fields who share their own perspectives on the meaning of Jewish statehood. What unites them is their common belief that vision has always constituted the heart of the Zionist enterprise, and that it continues to beat vigorously today. Here they will reflect on the significance of 60 years of Israel's existence, how the reality that has emerged compares to the 2000-year-old dream, how to handle the disappointments, and how to work towards fulfillment of the promise. Readers are invited to turn the blog into a dialog by posting their own opinions and comments. They are also encouraged to take advantage of numerous links to additional resources for further learning and for ideas for celebrating 60 years of Israel’s independence.

Our hope is that this blog will stimulate six months of heightened reflection on the contemporary significance of Israel and Zionism, as well as on the relationship of Jews everywhere to the Jewish state. Together with the rest of Am Yisrael we are looking forward to a joyous celebration of Israel's 60th birthday, but we want to make sure as well that it will be an occasion infused with substance. Much will remain to be done "the morning after," and the more the task is discussed, and the more it is understood, the better will be the outcome.

Labels: Israel, Politics

Labels: Holidays, Israel

Herewith some thoughts about tomorrow's Annapolis peace conference, and the larger problem of how to approach the Israel-Palestine conflict. The first question (one might think it is obvious but apparently not) is, "What is the conflict about?" There are basically two possibilities: that it is about the size of Israel, or about its existence.

If the issue is about the size of Israel, then we have a straightforward border problem, like Alsace-Lorraine or Texas. That is to say, not easy, but possible to solve in the long run, and to live with in the meantime.

If, on the other hand, the issue is the existence of Israel, then clearly it is insoluble by negotiation. There is no compromise position between existing and not existing, and no conceivable government of Israel is going to negotiate on whether that country should or should not exist. [more]

Labels: Israel, Politics

Labels: Conservative Judaism, Israel, Jewish, Orthodox Judaism, Pluralism, Reform Judaism

Labels: Israel, Politics

• The level of play was somewhere between college ball and AA minor league.

-- Rabbi Jason Miller, after attending a game.

Labels: Baseball, Israel, Sports

This Monday, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, will deliver the keynote address at Columbia University's World Leaders Forum. The event is co-sponsored by the School of International and Public Affairs and will be moderated by John H. Coatsworth, Acting Dean of the School of International and Public Affairs.

The "generous" hatemonger has kindly obliged to take part in a question and answer forum at the conclusion of his anti-semitic talk. The Columbia website announces: "If you were unable to register for the event but would still like to submit a question, please email your question to worldleaders@columbia.edu with the subject line, 'Question for the President of Iran.' Due to the large volume of questions, we cannot guarantee that yours will be read at the event. Thank you."

Of course, like every other citizen of democracy in their right mind, I find this public, academic forum given to a demonic despot to be utterly unacceptable. I have tremendous respect for President Lee Bollinger (pictured at right) and his strong stance on the freedom of speech issue, however, he should have used his authority to keep this travesty from ever taking place. Here is the Zionist Organization of America's statement on this event.

Perhaps the most shameful part about this event is that it will take place in Alfred Lerner Hall on the Columbia University campus. Alfred Lerner Hall is named for the late Jewish, billionairre philantropist Al Lerner, who was the former owner of the Cleveland Browns NFL football team. Mr. Lerner was successful in real estate and banking, and was chairman and chief executive of the MBNA Corporation. According to his NY Times obituary from 2002, he was born in Brooklyn, the only child of Jewish immigrants from Russia. The family lived in three rooms behind their candy store and sandwich shop. The family only closed the store three days a year, on Jewish holidays.

Al Lerner is certainly rolling in his grave knowing that this "Modern Day Haman" is speaking in a building named for him. What a shame.

Labels: College, Football, Israel, Politics

However, auctioning off a subscription to Playboy magazine and an all-expenses-paid trip to a VIP party at the legendary Playboy Mansion in California might not be the best idea for a Jewish organization. That is what the Greater New York branch of the JNF planned to do for its "JNF Sports Bonanza," but in the end they created the "Playboy Scandal" for an institution committed to planting trees in Israel and improving Israel's water sources.

Of course, Jewish feminist groups and some Israeli officials were none too pleased with this fundraising idea. And so this week the Jewish National Fund decided that it would no longer auction the Playboy package for charity.

The JNF released the following statement:

Thank you for your concern regarding the auction of more than 100 items including the Playboy Mansion golf tournament item at a local New York JNF event. JNF more often than not gets things right, but of course sometimes we don't. Clearly this is a case of poor judgment. The item in question was donated by local New York lay leaders who were only trying to help raise money. If JNF could reverse its course we would, but since we can't, we apologize for accepting the donation and have removed the item from the list.

Labels: Charity, Israel, Jewish

Labels: Baseball, Israel, Sports

By Aaron Marshall, Plain Dealer Bureau

State Rep. Josh Mandel will trade the buttoned-down look of a state lawmaker for the desert camo gear of a Marine as the 29-year-old reservist is headed back to Iraq.

The freshman state lawmaker, considered a rising star in Ohio Republican circles, has volunteered for a second stint in Iraq as an intelligence specialist in the Marine Corps.

"I didn't join the Marine Corps to say no when the Marine Corps needed Marines in my field," Mandel said Thursday.

Mandel, who was elected to his first term as state representative in 2006 after serving on the Lyndhurst City Council, previously served a tour in Iraq in 2004 as an intelligence officer attached to a battalion in the Al Anbar region, an insurgent stronghold in western Iraq.

He will undergo about six weeks of training in the United States before returning to Iraq this fall for an approximate eight-month tour. He said he isn't sure yet exactly what unit he will be stationed with in Iraq.

Mandel said he has already pulled petitions for re-election and will keep his seat in the legislature while he serves in Iraq. He said he believes the people who voted him into office will support his decision to hold onto his seat.

"I'm fortunate to represent a district with many World War II, Korea, Vietnam and Desert Storm veterans in it and my constituents are very patriotic and supportive," he said.

He declined to comment directly on the current debate over the war in Iraq, but said he was returning in part because of a sense of allegiance to his fellow Marines.

"One thing I will say is that regardless of how people feel about the war in Iraq, people here support the troops," he said.

During his first seven months as a lawmaker, Mandel stirred up controversy with a bill he sponsored that would have required Ohio retirement systems to divest themselves of roughly $1.1 billion in investments in companies doing business in Iran.

After members of his own caucus balked under pressure from the retirement systems, Mandel was forced to accept a deal allowing voluntary divestment of half of the pension funds' investments in firms doing business in Iran and Sudan.

Labels: Israel, Ohio, Politics

Until ignorance divides us

By Yair Ettinger (Haaretz.com)

Labels: Conservative Judaism, Israel, JTS, Reform Judaism

Labels: Israel