Young Judaea, the Zionist Youth Movement of Hadassah, was founded in the United States in 1909. Today, Young Judaea is one of the largest Zionist youth movements in North America with more than 5,000 members.
The mission of Young Judaea is to build Jewish identity and Zionist commitment in American Jewish youth. Because of its religiously pluralistic and politically non-partisan stance, Young Judaea is open to Jewish youth from across the religious and political spectrums.
Young Judaea offers programming in four areas: Israel programs – ranging from two weeks to 10 months in length - for high school students and young people in college and beyond, summer camps for children from 3rd to 12th grade, local and regional programming throughout the United States and programs for college students and young adults. Over the years, the movement has brought tens of thousands of participants on different educational and volunteer programs in Israel.
Young Judaea cooperatives closely with two sister movements: the Tsofim (Scouts) in Israel, and the Federation of Zionist Youth (FZY) in Great Britain. Together, the three movements form "Atid", an international partnership of pluralistic Zionist youth movements.
As an expression of its Zionist ideology, Young Judaea’s members over the years have founded, populated and strengthened several settlements in Israel. These include Kibbutz Ketura in the south of Israel, Moshav Neve Ilan near Jerusalem, kibbutz Sollelim and Moshav Shorashim in the north. Young Judaea is supportive of its members who choose to make Aliyah on an Individual basis; a substantial number of its Alumni have made Israel their home.
Young Judaea’s key accomplishments over the years include:
- Bringing 18,000 participants to Israel over the last decade, thereby contributing both to Israel’s economy and to the strength of its tourism.
- Strengthening the relationship between American Jews and the State of Israel.
- Participating actively in the struggle to enable Soviet Jews to emigrate to Israel.
- Taking a leadership role in the fight for the return of the Israel Defense Forces’ missing and captured soldiers.
- Engaging actively in recent years, in a series of campaigns to alleviate poverty and help unprivileged communities in Israel, to promote environmental awareness and activism both in Israel and in the United States, to serve as Israel advocates (especially on the college campus), to expose American teens to Israeli culture, and more. Young Judaea members have been deeply involved in local and global campaigns such as those to aid survivors of Hurricane Katrina and to stop the genocide in Darfur.
In Israel, Young Judaea programs include the following:
Year Course: A program of around 500 participants, which includes academic studies, volunteer work and acquiring a deep familiarity with Israel. The program extends for nine months between September and June for graduates of high school.
Within the Year Course framework there are various special tracks, including: Shalem – which is designed for Orthodox students and includes extra studies in traditional texts; Shevet – which is designed for students seeking to enrich their understanding of Jewish spirituality; and Olami – which extends the core Year Course program through visits to Jewish communities around the world, in order to study the roots of zionism and the lost Jewish communities.
Short Term Programs: An array of program offerings from two to six weeks in duration, that expose participants to many facets of Israel through diverse aspects of “educational tourism”. There are program offerings for teenagers from 15-17 years of age, and others for college students and young adults. Programs for college students and older are organized through Young Judaea’s university and young adult branch – Hamagshimim – and are available both in the summer and during the Winter vacation period.
The above programs are operated from Young Judaea’s Israel headquarters, located at Beit Ar-El in the pristene Jerusalem neighbourhood of Baka. Additionally, YJ maintains a satellite office in Bat Yam.
Merkaz Hamagshimim Hadassah: A combination absorption and community center for English speakers up to the age of 35, located in the German Colony neighborhood of Jerusalem. This center offers 26 studio apartments to house actual and potential new immigrants, and boasts a community center which provides important social, educational, cultural and social service programming to its members.
WUJS Israel Hadassah: The WUJS program was created in 1968 in order to create a venue in which college graduates deepen their understanding of Israel, strengthen their Jewish commitment and, often, explore the possibility of Aliyah, in a supportive, community-based setting. WUJS provides the ultimate Israel Experience for young Jewish adults from around the world. Newly based in the simultaneously ancient, historic and modern cities of Jerusalem and Tel-Aviv, WUJS Israel Hadassah provides you with the opportunity to combine study, volunteering and professional internships all within a dynamic, safe environment. Young Judaea is proud to have become the sponsor of the WUJS, which, since its inception, has provided a quality Israel experience for some 8,000 Jewish young people from 50 different countries around the world.
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