Save the Date to Celebrate!
Join us on February 29, 2012 in New York City for an exciting event to celebrate TY’s past, present and future!
Get more information, register or make a donation here.
If you are interested in helping with or supporting the event, please email us at telyehudah@youngjudaea.org or call 212-303-4579.
Tel Yehudah Campers Spend Winter Break in New Orleans and the Navajo Nation
Yesterday, 53 Young Judaeans arrived in New Orleans and another 26 arrived in the Navajo Nation, Arizona for YJ’s annual Alternative Winter Break: a unique five day program for Jewish teens to engage in enriching, intensive and transformative community service. Only a few hours into the program, the New Orleans contingent already made the local news.
Watch the video here:
NEW ORLEANS — For a second year in a row, Jewish high school students from across the country are spending their winter break volunteering in New Orleans.
Monday, they were in the Holy Cross neighborhood, helping Georgia Johnson.
“I feel very special and very blessed to be picked for them to come and do something in my yard,” said Johnson. “I have a big yard and I can’t do very much myself.”
The young people removed debris and weeds and cleaned up the wheelchair bound Johnson’s property.
“A lot of the kids spend their break partying and hanging out with each other,” said Merav David from New Jersey. “Last year, I really didn’t do much, but this year I decided I have time, I have the power, why don’t I just make a difference for someone else.”
“It’s awesome that we’re doing this during Christmas because you see, like, people who are less fortunate, and they say for Christmas, I just want my family to have a better life, I want my house to repaired. And we’re here, and we’re going to make those Christmas wishes come true,” said Anna Horowitz also from New Jersey.
The students say they were surprised that more than six years after Hurricane Katrina, the rebuilding continues in the hard hit areas of the city.
“Before I came here, I thought, oh New Orleans, they fixed it,” said Horowitz. “It’s been so many years after, there can’t be anything bad, why am I coming here? Now, I’m here and I’m seeing, wow, this place really needs our help and all I want to do is help these people and make a difference in the world.”
Another group of students spent the morning painting inside the Battle Ground Baptist Church on Flood Street in the Lower 9th Ward.
“It was humbling to see all the damage and people are still recovering from it years later,” said Evan Coleman. “I’d just like to be able to help, to be able to make an impact on the world in some way, you know.”
“You could be doing many things as far as enjoying yourself and young kids, there’s many things you could be involved in beside helping someone, so I just thank God for what they have done and are still doing for New Orleans,” said Battle Ground member Robert Jackson.
Alternative Winter Break is designed to help the teens learn first-hand about the issues affecting those who live in recovering and struggling areas.
“A lot of what we stand for is helping other people, peer leadership and working together,” said David. “I think this really embodies what we’re trying to do.”
Georgia Johnson called the teens a gift from God.
“I’m so glad you all came down here,” said Johnson. “You all volunteer for me, it makes my cry.”
A second group of Young Judaea students are spending their winter break in Arizona participating in hands on service projects within the Navajo Nation.
Chag Chanukah Sameach
As we celebrate Chanukah this year and rededicate ourselves to the Tel Yehudah community, we don’t have to look farther than our own backyard to witness miracles.
Some of our 2011 Parents shared:
“I feel like TY allowed our son to feel part of something that is much bigger than himself…TY set an example and exemplified the strength of the movement, its leadership potential and various ways of expressing ones Judaism that does not necessarily rest solely on religious practice.”
“TY’s major strength is the continual reinforcement of Jewish identity, the building of friendships and the focus on Tikun Olam. The camp provides a positive environment for teens to be themselves and become secure in who they are as both a person and as a Jew.”
”Tel Yehudah offers a challenging rigorous environment, where the bar is constantly raised, and the opportunities for success are many.”
”Being able to provide an environment where the kids are proud of being Jewish. Being able to interact with other Jewish kids who come from the former Soviet Union and who are not ordinarily active in Jewish life. Great activities that get more challenging every year and are geared towards kids who are growing up and who are able to handle increased challenges. Varied activities from active to artistic designed to develop well-rounded individuals. Great Job!!”
”One of the first things [our daughter] said on the trip home was I love Shabbat at camp. If you’re looking for a Jewish experience for your child, what’s better than that? She loved the people, the trip, the activities…and came home happy and sharing a million stories.”
YOUNG JUDAEA NAMES INAUGURAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Hadassah and Young Judaea jointly announce Simon Klarfeld to lead the national Zionist youth movement
NEW YORK (November 21, 2011) - In its latest move toward independence, Young Judaea announced today that Simon Klarfeld, a highly regarded community builder and innovative educator with critical skills in organizational change, will become its inaugural executive director. Klarfeld is taking the reins at a momentous time in the youth movement’s 102-year history, as it branches off from its longtime parent organization, Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America.
In a joint announcement, the two organizations said Klarfeld was chosen for his more than 20 years of experience in working with pluralistic Jewish communities around the world and his vision for Young Judaea’s five Jewish camps nationwide, year-round activities, and preeminent Israel programs, including the most successful freshman gap-year program, Year Course in Israel. Young Judaea reaches more than 5,000 Jewish youth each year from grade school through post-college.
Simon Klarfeld, new Young Judaea Executive Director
“Having lived a life devoted to pluralistic Jewish, Zionist ideals, leading Young Judaea is a real honor for me,” Klarfeld said. “This is an absolutely crucial time for us to refocus and redefine our commitment to helping young Jews explore their identities and connections to Israel in profound, experiential ways. I take great pride in the work I have done in building and strengthening vital, passionate Jewish communities, and Young Judaea is the premier place to continue that work.”
Klarfeld, 44, is a native of London, England, where as a teen, he ran his first overnight summer camp for Jewish teens from across Europe, and chaired the Zionist Youth Council of Great Britain. As a young adult, he lived in Russia, directing activities on behalf of the Soviet Jewry movement there. His work included the training of Jewish youth leaders throughout the then-Soviet Union.
“Simon Klarfeld brings a breadth of inclusive leadership that will inspire Jewish youth to engage at the highest levels possible, something for which Young Judaea has long been known,” said David Bechhofer, president of Young Judaea’s founding board. “He is precisely the right person to pilot Young Judaea at a time when developing leadership – true leadership as Young Judaea has always defined it – is critical to the Jewish community worldwide.”
Marcie Natan, national president of Hadassah, said Klarfeld’s appointment is one of the final steps in Young Judaea’s path to independence. In June, Hadassah, which had supported Young Judaea for more than 70 years and had been its sole sponsor since 1967, approved a three-year transition toward autonomy that includes significant financial and organizational support to help the youth movement achieve continued success.
“Simon’s passionate devotion to young people and to Israel truly shines through in everything he does,” said Natan, who was involved in the search process to fill the position. “I am confident that he will empower the youth, the staff, and the lay leaders to fashion important conversations and programs about Israel, and I could not be more excited about working together.”
Alan Hoffmann, director-general of the Jewish Agency for Israel, also praised the move: “I know Simon well, and I am more confident than ever about Young Judaea’s prospects as an independent organization under Simon’s leadership.”
Klarfeld, who most recently transformed the Hillel at Columbia University and Barnard College during his seven-year tenure as its executive director, has taught courses on Jewish Perspectives on Leadership, Contemporary Israel, Zionist History and Ideas, and Jewish Philosophy of Freedom, at conferences, universities, and institutes throughout the world. He also has trained informal Jewish educators through the Institute for Informal Jewish Education, the iCenter, Foundation for Jewish Camp, North American Alliance for Jewish Youth, Brandeis University’s Hornstein Program in Jewish Communal Service, and Machon L’Madrichei Chutz La’Aretz.
Prior to Columbia/Barnard Hillel, Klarfeld professionally served as director of the Soviet Jewry movement in both England and Northern California, vice president of the Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies, interim vice president of Birthright Israel North America, and founding director of Genesis at Brandeis – a summer program for high school students.
He lives in Teaneck, N.J., with his wife, Dara Klarfeld (nee Zabb), an alumna of Young Judaea’s Camp Sprout Lake and national high school leadership camp, Tel Yehudah, and their three young children. Klarfeld, who is fluent in Russian and also speaks Hebrew and French, holds a bachelor’s degree in politics, philosophy and economics from the University of Keele in England, as well as a master’s in Jewish communal service from Brandeis.
Klarfeld will start his new position on December 1 and will work together with Steve Goldberg, Young Judaea’s interim executive director, who was appointed this summer to oversee the transition. Goldberg recently accepted the executive directorship of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun in New York City.
Young Judaea, the premier Zionist youth movement worldwide, challenges young people from grade school through post-college to become involved in social and educational activities that sharpen their senses of Jewish and Zionist identity. Young Judaea programs include year-round activities; five summer camps - Camp Judaea, Camp Tel Yehudah, Camp Young Judaea Midwest, Camp Young Judaea Sprout Lake and Camp Young Judaea Texas; Alternative Winter Break; Year Course in Israel freshman gap-year program, including its Shalem Modern Orthodox initiative; Israel summer programs for teens, including YJ Discovery, YJ Machon, and I Speak Israel; Taglit-Birthright “To Israel Now” trips; Amirim college summer offerings; and WUJS Israel post-college internship and study programs. For more information, please visit www.youngjudaea.org.
If you have additional questions, please send them to answers@youngjudaea.org
or call us at 212-303-7448
For more information, please visit www.youngjudaea.org.
Reflections on Israeli Politics and Culture: A Podcast from Three TY Alumni
The Promised Podcast
Many overseas observers seek an insider’s grasp of the day-to-day in Israel, beyond the headlines of The Jerusalem Post and the English HaAretz, or the occasional article in The New York Times or The Jewish Week. The Promised Podcast, project of the new applied Israeli thinktank Shaharit, brings together three old friends from their Young Judaea youth movement days, who reflect on the events of the week and bring unique perspectives on Israeli politics and culture.
Our regulars are:
- Dr. Eilon Schwartz, Founding Director of Shaharit, Lecturer at Hebrew University, and Director of the Heschel Center for Sustainability;
- Don Futterman, frequent contributor to HaAretz, blogger for +972, and Israel Program Director of the Moriah Fund;
- Dr. Noah Efron, Sr. Fellow at Shaharit, former city council member of Tel Aviv, Huffington Post blogger and Lecturer at Bar Ilan University.
They and their occasional guests will bring you news about Israel and their insight into what it all means. The Promised Podcast is available to download on ITunes or to stream on the Internet.
The Young Judaea Connection
Born and raised in the United States, Don (Machon ’75), Eilon (Year Course ’76) and Noah (Year Course ’77) were active members of Young Judaea, and collectively spent 20 summers at Tel Yehudah, as chanichim, madrichim, and merakzim. They remember those days with great joy and mild embarrassments.
What is Shaharit?
“Shaharit is an independent think-and-do tank, the first in Israel to offer a fresh take on the Israeli reality, breaking down the dichotomies between left and right, Arabs and Jews, religious and secular, privatization and welfare, center and periphery — in order to break out of the stalemate of current Israeli political thinking. Shaharit is engaged in deep thinking about the fundamentals of Israeli political life, and seeks to reframe many of the central issues which plague the Israeli politic for at least a generation through an open conversation with individuals and groups throughout multicultural Israel. After a two year learning process traveling the country, we are now finishing six founding documents, outlining a vision for Israel’s future, which will be presented in the winter months. We are simultaneously launching a host of projects aimed at expanding the dialogue with ever-increasing circles of Israeli society, and translating our vision into initiatives that can change Israel’s political values.”
Tel Yehudah does not endorse any specific political positions or parties within Israel but we invite open discussion and debate about issues facing Israel and the Jewish people. So listen to the podcast and join the discussion below.
Register for Alternative Winter Break and Tzedek: Alternative Summer Break Today and Save Up to $400
Young Judaea and Tel Yehudah announce a unique opportunity to extend the work of tikun olam during the winter and summer.
Register by October 25th for Alternative Winter Break AND TY’s Tzedek: Alternative Summer Break and save up to $400:
| AWB Early Bird Discount | TY Early Bird Discount | ASB + AWB Combo Discount** | Total Savings | |
| AWB: Navajo Nation | $45 | $175 | $160 | $380 |
| AWB: New Orleans | $65 | $175 | $160 | $400 |
* Tel Yehudah Early Bird Discount ends on October 31st.
**Discount will be applied to Tel Yehudah’s Tzedek: ASB registration fee upon completion of AWB.
For more information about Alternative Winter Break in New Orleans or the Navajo Nation click here:
For more information about Tzedek: Alternative Summer Break at Tel Yehudah click here:
Repair the World with Tel Yehudah and Young Judaea this Winter
This is a time of year when we reflect and ask, “What have I done to help tikkun olam (repair the world)?”
Registration is now open for Young Judaea’s 5th Annual Alternative Winter Break! Tel Yehudah is once again a proud partner with Young Judaea as we extend the TY experience and commitment to tikkun olam to the winter months.
Throughout the years, Young Judaeans have dedicated themselves to changing the world. From helping build the Jewish State before independence, marching on Washington with Martin Luther King, rallying and fighting for the rights of Soviet Jewry, Sudanese Refugees and helping children who lost their home in last year’s Carmel fires. Sign up today for Alternative Winter Break or help spread the word and help this generation of Young Judaeans change the world.
Register for AWB by October 14th for the Early Bird Discount!
To learn more, or to register, go to www.youngjudaea.org/awb
Join Young Judaea’s 5th Annual Alternative Winter Break this December and earn 20-25 hours of community service hours while volunteering with and having fun with other Jewish teens from around the country!
*Fee does not include travel expenses to New Orleans, LA/Navajo Nation, AZ. Scholarships available, click click here or email WinterBreak@youngjudaea.org to inquire.
Shana Tova from TY
Wishing the entire TY family a healthy, happy and peaceful New Year. We look forward to seeing you in Barryville for Summer 5772.
TY 2011 Highlights
TY 2011 Highlights, a set on Flickr.
Check out all of the great moments from summer 2011 at Tel Yehudah. See you in 2012!
