MARCH 6, 2024
DATELINE – To help educators plan for the future of Jewish education, Prizmah: Center for Jewish Day Schools led a group of Israel educators from across North America on a mission to Israel to ask the question: What has changed - and what hasn’t changed - since October 7 that impacts Israel education in Jewish day schools? Through this experience, participants were able to bear witness to the events and aftermath that started the Israel-Hamas war and spend time connecting with educators from Israeli schools, journalists, and high-level thinkers as they discussed the shifting landscape of the future of Israel education.
This mission was offered by Prizmah in collaboration with The Jewish Education Project, the iCenter, and the Jewish Agency, with support from the Jim Jospeh Foundation.
Marc Wolf, Chief Program and Strategy Officer at Prizmah, said of the mission: “We were all grateful for this opportunity to bring colleagues together who think deeply about Israel education in our schools. We heard inspirational and heartbreaking stories, we were moved by both the people and places we encountered, and now we look forward to how this experience can make Israel education even more meaningful in Jewish day schools across North America."
Participants were exposed to educational frameworks and potential partners in Israel whose work can impact Jewish and Israel education in North America. The educators processed these experiences with peers and colleagues, beginning important conversations about transformative Israel education.
The Prizmah Israel Educators Mission, was just one of 13 Mishlachot Areyvut (meaning a “Delegation of Responsibility”) trips occurring this spring. These trips all composed of groups of educations and leaders from different Jewish organizations aimed to provide dedicated time and space for over 300 educators to learn and contemplate the future of Israel education and Zionism in Jewish day schools.
