December 2008

Shalom from Shorashim

Posted Tue, 12/09/2008 - 19:26 by Adam Stewart

It's been a long time since many of you have heard from us.

We hope to change that with the launch of our newsletter, and also hope that you will be interested to hear all of the new and exciting ways that Shorashim continues to make Israel and Israelis a part of the lives of high school students and young adults.

Of course, the Shorashim/CCP High School Program (you may have known it as CCP, Shoresh, or Shorashim - it's all the same great program where Americans and Israelis travel together) is still the heart and soul of what we do. Last summer, two groups - over 50 high school students - traveled together to Poland, and then met 30 Israelis for the summer of their lives! This summer was marked by the inclusion of Israeli participants from the area of Sderot, who over the past year have had to endure relentless rocket attacks.

Many alumni do not know that Shorashim is also one of the largest providers for the Taglit-Birthright Israel experience - a free trip for Jewish 18 - 26 year olds who have never been to Israel on a peer program. This past year alone, Shorashim has brought over 1500 young adults on their first trip to Israel.

Americans Travel with Israelis from Sderot

Posted Tue, 12/09/2008 - 18:24 by Gabe Axler

Fifty Americans from Chicago and beyond joined the Shorashim/CCP High School program in it's 24th year! They were joined in Israel by thirty Israelis for the trip of a lifetime. 

Shorashim/CCP Summer 2008As usual, the American participants - still with visions of the Majdanek - exited customs at Ben Gurion Airport into a sea of Israelis, dancing and singing and making them feel at home. The scene was simply amazing. This year - as in every year - the groups were joined by Israeli participants from Chicago's Partnership 2000 Region: Kiryat Gat - Lachish - Shafir and from the neighborhoods and high schools in Jerusalem that have traditionally been feeders to the program.

But unlike past years, this summer's group was joined by  participants from the towns and villages around Sderot. With generous support from our board, alumni, and friends, we were able to offer scholarships to eight high schools students who would have otherwise had to endure another summer of relentless rocket attacks from Gaza. While - for obvious reasons - they were not able to host American participants for a Shabbat, they were able to share their stories and themselves, while they participated in a summer of fun.  It is an experience that the participants - American and Israeli - will never forget.

Club Israel Envisions Israel in 60 More Years

Posted Tue, 12/09/2008 - 17:15 by Miriam Brosseau

Shorashim launched Club Israel in 2004 in order to help bring high school students all over Chicago the very best in Israel educational and cultural programming; since then, thousands of students have benefited from this enterprise. Today, Club Israel is taking on new and innovative projects including high school excursion days, two year-long fellowships, a new website, and programs for public school Hebrew classes such as "Israel 2068,” which looked at the future of the Jewish state through the eyes of four writers and statesmen.

Etgar Keret, Israeli Author In September, Shorashim’s Club Israel visited several schools in Chicago (Niles North High School, Deerfield High School, New Trier High School, Evanston High School) offering a glimpse into the future of the Jewish state in honor of Israel’s sixtieth birthday.

Israel 2068 is a program based on TIME Magazine’s feature, Israel in 2068.  The premise of the feature was to ask twelve prominent writers, statesmen, and thinkers the following: Israel has existed for sixty years so far…how do you feel it will respond to the challenges and opportunities of the next sixty? Club Israel selected four of the twelve responses -  Israeli writer Etgar Keret, Talmudic scholar Adin Steinsaltz, former U.S. national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, and Holocaust survivor/writer/humanitarian Elie Wiesel. 

'Gearing Up' for the 10th Year of Taglit-Birthright Israel

Posted Tue, 12/09/2008 - 16:08 by Sharna Marcus

Taking 1,500 Taglit-Birthright Israel participants to Israel every year requires great staff, both Israeli and American. Every Israeli guide holds a coveted “Moreh Derech” license, the highest touring certification offered in Israel. Shorashim has also invested considerable resources to hire and train staff from the United States to ensure the highest quality individuals staffing trips and educating the 40 Americans per bus who are experiencing Israel for the first time with six to ten of their Israeli peers.

To staff a Taglit-Birthright Israel trip, Shorashim requires madrichim to have had significant experience in Israel. Our U.S. staff includes many Shorashim alumni, and alumni from study abroad programs at the University of Tel Aviv and Hebrew University, former Otzma participants, and some who have staffed other high school, college and mission programs.

Why I Give Back to Shorashim

Posted Tue, 12/09/2008 - 15:10 by Josh Cohen

Josh Cohen 88 and Anne Lanski at the Alumni Reunion It wasn’t long ago that I re-connected with Shorashim, almost 20 years after my “Shoresh” trip to Israel and Poland. I was amazed to learn of all the things that they were doing - from Taglit-Birthright Israel to Club Israel, and of course, the summer program. I couldn’t believe it: Anne and Yossi were still there and the program had sent thousands of kids to Israel. They had a high school program reaching out to thousands more, ran an Israeli-American summer camp, and had launched many other successful projects and programs.

I felt pretty guilty. After all this non-profit organization had given me, and was now doing for thousands of others, it had not once called upon me for help. I started wondering if other alumni felt the same way and were interested in getting involved and reconnected, so I helped put together the reunion last Spring. Many of us were so fortunate to experience Shorashim or CCP because we had parents who understood the impact this program would have, and also could afford to send us.