BBYO

Why Israel tours will be getting more scientific

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 13:13:12 +0100

Youth group members on Israel tours this year will have an additional item on their itinerary — a visit to the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot.

The idea originated from Weizmann UK as part of its educational drive and has been taken up by UJIA, which organises the Israel trips, and the youth movements themselves.

Bnei Akiva, FZY, JLGB, BBYO,Tribe and RSY-Netzer are among the organisations which have committed to visits and well over 1,000 students are expected this summer.

They will view the Clore Garden of Science and the new and interactive visitor centre. It is further hoped that some groups will have the opportunity to meet scientists and go on tours of the Weizmann laboratories to gain an appreciation of the institute’s world renowned research.

UJIA short-term programme co-ordinator Ilan Scorah said that UJIA Israel Experience was “extremely excited by the addition” which would enlighten participants about “Israel’s advances in technology and medicine. It is a fantastic example of collaboration within the community and we hope the relationship will continue for many years to come.”

Weizmann UK executive director Sheridan Gould said the movements had shown great enthusiasm for the idea “and we look forward to hearing from them on their return”.

BBYO reaches out to Europe

Marcus Dysch — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 14:46:05 +0000

Bulgaria sent two participants to the annual BBYO winter camp for the first time.

The teenagers, from Sofia, joined around 80 youngsters and the organisation’s United States-based international president at the annual event, held in Hampshire.

The programme works to strengthen students’ Jewish and Zionist identities.

New young Zionists are tired of waiting

Hannah Weisfeld — Fri, 16 Nov 2012 10:28:59 +0000

In September 1999, I left home to spend a year in Israel with a youth movement that had filled my Sunday afternoons, winter and summer, for the entirety of my teenage years. That journey had more impact on shaping my identity than any other experience I'd had so far and cemented my relationship to Israel. It is no coincidence that not a year has passed since then where I have not found myself in Israel at least once, and often several times a year.

I grew up being taught that the Jewish people had redeemed a piece of land that was not really inhabited. Mine was the story of the pioneers employing Jewish labour to work the land. It had never occurred to me that perhaps there were other versions of this. But it didn't really matter because, in 1999, as far we were concerned, peace was coming. The Oslo Accords had been signed, the massive terror that had ensued during and immediately after their signing had abated. Palestine was just around the corner, both literally and metaphorically.

Disputes over 1948 and 1967 were being consigned to the history books. I hitch-hiked, took Christian friends to Bethlehem, and pitched tents in the middle of nowhere without a second thought. It was a golden moment. We watched the withdrawal from Lebanon. We read newspapers and watched the TV to keep abreast of the news.

Twelve months later, I arrived at university and the world changed. The second Intifada erupted - out of nowhere, as far as I was concerned. Then 9/11 happened, Afghanistan and Iraq were invaded, the government introduced university tuition fees and I found myself on a politicised campus and a member of the student union executive committee for two years. My fellow union activists told me that my politics were just great but that I really should get over this Zionism thing.

I watched Jewish students stand up and recite paragraphs out of "Speaking up for Israel on campus" pamphlets as to why settlements were not a barrier to peace and why the current situation was not "our" fault. Suffice to say, they did not win the debate when faced with 10 students returning from a week in Ramallah, during which Israel launched Operation Defensive Shield and surrounded Yasir Arafat's compound.

At this point, we did not have the internet in my student house - we used it in a computer room on campus. I kept on top of the news in Israel by reading back editions of the Jerusalem Report that I found in the offices of my youth movement, or by watching the news unfold on the international pages of our newspapers.

I imagine my story resonates with many. It is not unique to me - it is the experience of a generation of British Jews, although what follows will not speak for all. Not every student will agree with the content of this essay. Not every youth-movement activist thinks Israel education needs rethinking.

However, it does speak to many of the individuals I have the privilege of spending time with as they engage with the work of Yachad, the pro-peace, pro-Israel movement. The voices throughout this piece are those of individuals running youth movements, and of active members of student Jewish societies.

The difference between my generation and the next is that they did not have that sense of euphoria as they watched Rabin and Arafat tentatively stick out their hands and shake them on the White House lawn and, a year later, when they witnessed Rabin and King Hussein do the same.

They did not participate in the national grief that united Israel and the Jewish people after Rabin was assassinated. Instead, there was the second Intifada, a war with Lebanon, withdrawal from Gaza, failed peace talks, war with Gaza and the rise of nationalist extremism in the settler movement.

This is not the place to discuss who bears the burden of responsibility for any of these moments in history. What is important are the scenes and the images with which a whole generation has grown up - scenes that are a million miles from the Israel I knew and loved.

And it was not just the conflict between Israel and her neighbours: "I arrived on tour aged 16 as disengagement from Gaza was taking place. It shattered the narrative I had grown up with of a unified Jewish people: there was a war taking place between Jew and Jew" said one person. And, unlike me, they could watch all this unravel in real time, on the pages of Israeli papers online, on Facebook and Twitter.

As one student told me: "I care about Israel and feel deeply attached to it, but I don't feel a great sense of pride in the way I think people used to. In 1994, when you were celebrating peace with Jordan and the Oslo process was flourishing, I was starting nursery. Oslo is what we discuss in history lessons."

For a group that came of age in the middle of the second Intifada, much of the relationship to Israel was built on hasbarah (Israel advocacy). As one said: "My relationship to Israel was fostered on the idea that we are under attack, and therefore we must defend."

Or the thoughts of another: "We were hard-wired that advocacy for Israel, dressing up in blue-and-white and eating falafel is what it meant to be pro-Israel, while at the same time understanding, through having access to information at our fingertips online, that not everything our parents said about Israel, or what was written in the paper of their choice, was necessarily quite right."

But the disconnect between the hard-wiring and the reality has left them with a gaping hole. Several months ago, I spent an afternoon with the leaders of one of the youth movements, now at university and responsible for educating the next generation. They were having what I would describe as an existential Jewish identity crisis. They were trying to work out how they could, as responsible, thinking adults, best educate the younger members of their youth movement about Israel. They were not coming up with easy answers.

They wanted to keep them connected to Israel and instil in them a love for the country, but also show them that it is a complex and not necessarily comfortable story. Many of these individuals and others to whom I have spoken said they are no longer satisfied with one side of the story - they want a bit more objectivity. They want to understand how the occupation looks to Palestinians living in the West Bank. It is no longer tenable to spend a month in Israel without more than a cursory nod in the direction of non-Jewish narratives.

T his generation want to do things differently but they are not quite sure how. "Ironically, the advocacy lessons we were given during the second Intifada gave us a basis of support for Israel on which we then built a complex narrative, but I worry that without that base, this generation will just get the complex narrative and will probably end up being apathetic about Israel," they explained. I asked several individuals why this dilemma could not be solved by teaching the same straightforward Israel narrative they learned, and wait until the younger generation were a bit older to worry about the "grey". I was told this would be "intellectually dishonest" and that they refuse to be "like the people who were doing it to us 10 years ago". Plus, one added "time is running out. We can't wait another 10 years for these young people to be engaging in the political debate."

The political debate is, of course, ripe among Jewish students on university campuses, which are seen to be the battleground for Israel's legitimacy. Many students do not want to engage any longer in what they describe as "shouty hasbarah".

They don't think it works and don't want everything they do on campus in relation to Israel to be "only a reaction to campus hostility". I have heard time and again that they want to inject their liberal and progressive values into their Zionism. "My liberal values push back at my Zionism and my Zionism pushes against my liberal values and that clash is a permanent battle". They no longer want to feel a dissonance between how they relate to the rest of the world and how they relate to Israel.

A common theme running through all these conversations is the desire to be empowered to create a new type of engagement with Israel, one that can be proudly taken into the public sphere. One movement worker told me she had found refuge in her youth movement, in being surrounded by others who felt like her about Israel. But she feels it has only been in the past few years that they have become brave enough to make certain changes to the Israel education they offer.

Some of this newfound confidence she attributed to the fact that traditional organisations like the UJIA and the Board of Deputies have become involved in the Task Force on Arab Citizens of Israel. This, she said, makes it harder for people to criticise them for tackling these issues. And she and several others added, much is down to the work Yachad has done in bringing to the mainstream a discussion in the community around the importance of British Jews expressing their support for a two-state solution.

T his summer, Yachad worked with Ir Amim, a Jerusalem-based organisation, to build a half-day education programme suitable for 16-year-old tour participants. It tackled issues related to citizenship, political rights and the peace process in Jerusalem. Around 380 young people from five youth movements took part, seeing areas of Jerusalem they would never have had the opportunity to see a few years ago, and dealing with the complex political narrative of the city, a topic not usually tackled on Israel tours.

It was successful because there is a demand for it from youth movements. They sent their Israel tour leaders for an extra day of training with Yachad so they could spend the day in East Jerusalem learning about the issues the programme would raise. And they sent their new movement workers with Yachad to East Jerusalem and the South Hebron Hills in the West Bank at the beginning of their year, because they no longer want to shy away from these conversations. A group of 50 students gathered at the start of the academic year to discuss how this work might play out on campus. It was no surprise to see them deep in conversation for part of that day about the application of international law in the West Bank. They want to learn and understand.

It is from this group that the next generation of our community's leaders will come. It is probably accurate to describe them as more sceptical when it comes to Israel than my generation has been. However, it is a place to which they feel a very deep attachment and connection, and a very serious sense of responsibility.

They do not take lightly the question of how you create a relationship between young people and Israel. Neither are they prepared to dismiss a political reality that they feel deeply troubled by and also implicated in, by virtue of being part of the Jewish people. They will not stand by when they feel Israel is being unfairly treated on campus but neither do they want to be just foot-soldiers in an army of reactionaries. They want to forge a Zionism reflective of their values and ways of thinking about the world.

This is an impatient generation. They see the world in 140 characters on Twitter and can spread information across the world via a Facebook status in a matter of minutes. There is frustration among these individuals about the time it has taken for some of the more traditional organisations of our community to give them the tools - and permission - to rethink Israel education. There is a sense of relief from those we work with that Yachad has been able to provide this for them.

They are tired of waiting: tired of waiting for the right moment for a young person to be shown that Israel is not just flags and falafel, tired of waiting for a credible peace process to emerge, and tired of waiting for the atmosphere on campus to change so they can then stop reacting and start being proactive.

So they have stopped waiting. They are reclaiming Zionism and reframing Israel education. And we as a community should be delighted by the fact they are turning up the volume on Israel. After all, it would be much simpler for them to press the mute button.

BBYO leader is going global

Jennifer Lipman — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 19:38:02 +0000

A BBYO member from Northwood is the first European member of the youth movement's international board in 15 years.

Nick Phillips, 17, will take up the year-long position in July, following his election at the annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia.

One of 10 board members, he will serve as the international secretary and treasurer. He will also help to organise next year's convention.

The Merchant Taylors' pupil joined BBYO when he was 13 and has been actively involved. He is a programmer on the domestic national executive.

"This election shows how far BBYO has come in terms of bringing together Jewish teens from around the world," Nick said. "That unity is now a reality, not just a concept."

National director Hannah Minsky noted that "people often talk about teenagers as leaders in the making but Nick is already a leader among his peers. His incredible maturity, professionalism and passion for BBYO - and the Jewish community - shines through in everything he does."

BBYO has 250 UK members and 36,000 worldwide.

Outside edge at BBYO

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:10:59 +0100

For new B'nai B'rith Youth Organisation mazkira (national director) Hannah Minsky, the job is her first experience of BBYO.

The 21-year-old Birmingham University graduate went on Israel tour with RSY and had never attended a BBYO event until this summer. She was offered the post after no one with BBYO connections expressed interest.

However, what she lacks in experience of the movement, she makes up for in leadership background. She has been involved in Young Limmud, led a Maccabi summer camp and for years has helped with youth events in her Southgate and District Reform congregation. At university, she campaigned for Israel in the guild of students and went on a leadership trip to Israel.

She has spent the summer shadowing the previous leadership at BBYO, which has eight UK and Ireland chapters and runs camps and seminars.

"I've had a big crash course in BBYO," she said. "I'm different to most and it is a challenge, but coming from the outside means I can bring in new things."

Among her aims are strengthening the work of the regional chapters and building on provisions for sixth-formers with a separate programme at winter camp.

She will be supported in her work by BBYO's national executive, comprised of sixth-form members and movement worker Elliya Betito, who is serving BBYO during her gap year.

One sip and they were gone from BBYO tour

Jessica Elgot — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 12:19:01 +0100

Three BBYO boys have been sent home from their Israel tour after a parent allowed them sips of his beer.

Ian Kersen said his son Gil sipped his beer on the "family night" in Jerusalem at the end of the tour, as did his son's friends Daniel Levene and Ben Fink, despite warnings that drinking alcohol would mean an early flight home.

BBYO director Howard Shooter said: "BBYO has a strict policy on drinking alcohol. Parents and participants sign a contract prior to going on Israel tour acknowledging that if their children drink alcohol during the programme, they will be sent off the programme.

"We always regret having to send participants off the programme. This was a decision made by the UJIA, Israel Experience and BBYO together."

UJIA said that out of nearly 1,900 teenagers, seven had been sent home this summer, five for drinking and two for disruptive behaviour.

Mr Kersen said: "Daniel and Gil are at Immanuel College together and go to BBYO at Pinner Synagogue. They were really involved. They loved it. Now they have been totally excluded."

His son Gil said: "We were pulled away from our friends without warning, and we never got to say goodbye."

Mr Kersen said: "This incident has left my family with such a foul aftertaste. The policy is ludicrous over something so small."

"The boys did take sips from my glass, and they were only small sips, in Daniel's case I believe only one sip. These are good kids. If they had been sneaking around with bottles of vodka, I would have totally supported them being sent home. But when he took a few sips of my beer, the thought never entered my mind."

His son Gil said: "We were pulled away from our friends without any warning, and we never got to say goodbye."

His friend Daniel said: "I had one small sip of beer and Gil's parents reassured us it would be fine, and when our madrich mentioned it to us, we stopped drinking immediately."

"During the tour, participants were reminded of BBYO's policy on alcohol. Three participants were sent off the tour 72 hours early after drinking alcohol in a public place. We always regret having to send participants off the programme. This was a decision made by the UJIA, Israel Experience and BBYO together."

Mr Kersen said: "This incident has left my family with such a foul aftertaste. The policy is ludicrous over something so small."

The tour leaders in charge of the groups have a huge responsibility on their shoulders and must be supported in making these decisions."‬

BBYO said participants had been constantly informed of the "You try, you fly" policy forbidding alcohol on tour. Instances of expulsion are rare but not unheard of, with one or two participants being sent home every couple of years.

But Mr Levene said he believed the policy had blown out of proportion.

During the tour, participants were reminded of BBYO's policy on alcohol. Three participants were sent off the tour 72 hours early after drinking alcohol in a public place.

A spokesman said: "In this instance the entire group had been given a warning the week prior to the incident where it was made abundantly clear that any participant drinking alcohol would be sent home."

*We have been asked to make it clear that the Daniel Levene referred to in this story is not Daniel Arnie Levene of Immanuel College's Sixth Form, who lives in Arkley, Barnet, but it is in fact Daniel Levene who is in Year Eleven at the school.

Israel gap year could boost university application

Jennifer Lipman — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 10:24:23 +0100

Participants on gap year schemes in Israel could find that their time abroad helps them win a university place.

Students can boost their Ucas tariff points by 70 points – equivalent to an A grade at AS Level – by earning a Certificate of Personal Effectiveness (Cope).

The qualification focuses on personal skills including teamwork, volunteering and learning a foreign language, all of which form part of the gap year schemes of Jewish youth movements.

Candidates are required to submit a project documenting their efforts and are assessed by the Asdan awarding body on six skills.

At present the number of gap year companies offering participants the chance to work on a Cope certificate is limited.

However Barbara Benson, head of curriculum development for Asdan, said there was no reason that Jewish organisations could not apply.

"We look at skills rather than the vehicle for them so theoretically everything could fit in," she said.

"The full qualification requires 150 hours of activity, during which young people develop skills to a really high level."

Movement workers would need to complete training to qualify, but could feasibly offer the Cope course to participants on gap years from September 2012.

The qualification could even be achieved on a shorter gap year programme, such as the UJIA's new five-month pre-university "Israel Journey,"

Students would typically only achieve the points after they sent off university applications, but Ms Benson said the qualification would be treated like an A level and form part of a conditional offer.

Candidates applying for deferred entry could also inform admissions departments that they were planning to work towards a Cope certificate.

"The idea that it is a simple option is completely false," added Ms Benson. "Things like teaching English abroad or studying Hebrew are all fantastically good for developing skills."

With applications for Jewish gap year programmes down by almost a half this year as students attempt to avoid paying annual fees of up to £9,000, it could be just the boost movements need.

Francesca Wolfe, national director of the Federation of Zionist Youth, said she thought the qualification was a great idea. "We will certainly look into it," she said. "It sounds great. Our programmes are already at that standard."

FZY's year programmes are run jointly with US youth movement Young Judea and participants already earn college credits on the course. "This is a way for the Brits to have the same opportunity," she said.

"We offer all of those things and people wouldn't have to go for that reason, but it's a fantastic that they could.

"It's about time gap years were recognised by academic institutions – if young people want to go and help others and benefit themselves then universities should recognise it."

Another movement, the Zionist Socialist organisation Habonim Dror, is not taking a group to Israel this year because of the fees hike.

"Something like this would be great," said national director Georgie Davis, who added that she would like to find out more.

"This could also make a big difference to parents. Youth movements tell parents the good things participants can get from gap years in Israel and this confirms that it is worthwhile."

Israel Tour 2011

Jennifer Lipman — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 10:43:38 +0100

Photos from this year's Israel summer programmes for British teenagers.

New pictures will be added throughout the summer - send your snaps to jenniferlipman@thejc.com

See more photos on the UJIA website.

This one time, at summer camp...

Jennifer Lipman — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 17:44:58 +0100

It's that time of year again - the time when thousands of British children and teenagers set off for Jewish summer camps, programmes and tours.

But whether it's a tent in a muddy field, a room at a disused boarding school or a hostel somewhere far flung and exotic, it's probably made it into a Hollywood version already.

All our yesterdays: BBYO back in the day

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 09:49:34 +0000

All these images were taken from our 169 year archive. To access the JC archive subscribe here

More All our yesterdays here

On this day: the JC in history here