A cohort of nine Jewish communal professional fellows from around the Greater Philadelphia region recently returned from an immersive week-long educational seminar in Israel.
What they came back with was a deeper understanding of Israel’s vitality and complexities surrounding many of the divisive issues following the Oct. 7 massacre. From Feb. 6 - 14, the cohort engaged in a packed agenda, including site visits and meetings with key figures in religious, social and educational spheres.
The trip was part of the Venture Israel Fellowship, a rigorous 13-month program run by the Jewish Learning Venture in partnership with the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. Now in its second year, the program aims to teach Jewish educators in Greater Philadelphia how to create engaging Israel programs for their communities.
"During our trip to Israel, I saw and learned about aspects of Israeli society that I would never have been exposed to,” said Stephen Pashko, a Venture Israel fellow and teacher at Etgar Collaborative.
Unlike the program’s premier visit to Israel in 2023, this year’s experience was marked with ongoing war. In bearing witness to the Oct. 7 atrocities, the cohort visited the Jewish Federation’s Partnership2Gether regions of Sdot Negev and Netivot that border Gaza and are subjected to frequent rocket attacks and constant unrest.
Among the many powerful moments of the trip, participants witnessed the devastation of the Oct. 7 attacks by touring Kibbutz Alumim, which Hamas invaded, as well as the car “graveyard,” which houses the burned and abandoned cars from the Nova music festival massacre.
“As Israel is attacked day-to-day by direct violence and by worldwide misinformation, it is even more important now for local Jewish educators of all levels to gain firsthand experience of the current realities in Israel,” said the Jewish Federation’s Associate Director of Jewish Life Beth Razin. “This experience broadens their abilities to create nuanced programs which better connect the Greater Philadelphia region to Israel.”
Among the skills learned throughout the trip, the fellows also left with two strong messages from Israeli leaders: that the hostages need to be released and that Israel’s existence is at stake.
“What I saw, what I heard from the range of people we met, and how I felt will stay with me for a long time,” Pashko reflected. Now my job is to help the kids in my school understand how we as Diaspora Jews can, and need to, support Israel in meaningful ways."
Back at home, participants will receive one-on-one consultations and partake in seminars, group work, and meetings with prominent leaders about Israeli culture, society, and politics.
"As a Jewish educator, there is so much to wade through when thinking about Israel education right now,” said Dr. Lisa Richman, a Venture Israel fellow and education director of Temple Beth Hillel - Beth El. “To say it is a complex situation is an understatement. There are social, emotional, spiritual and physical components that all must be addressed, and it is up to us, with the support of the Venture Israel Fellowship, to reach our students."
Upon completion of the fellowship, participants will create three public programs around the holidays of Yom Ha’atzmaut, Sukkot, and Tu B’Shevat. Those who complete the program are eligible to receive scholarships for a Master of Arts in Jewish Education at the Hebrew University.
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To learn more about the Venture Israel Fellowship, click here.