GOALS:

Traveling Israel has two major goals: first, to encourage collaboration between Jewish Organizations in order to maximize use of resources.  We  do  that  by  integrating  the Autistic  children  of  Magshimim,  a  school  which  is  under  the  auspices  of  the  Youth Village, with the rest of our students, coming from various backgrounds: religious and secular,  sabras  and  new  immigrants  from  France  and  the  former  Soviet  Union.  All experience Israel  and  its  heritage  by  traveling  together.  Second,  Traveling  Israel nurtures  and  advances  Jewish  values,  as  Social  Justice  and  Tikkun  Olam  by strengthening the sense of belonging to the Jewish People, the historical land and the State  of  Israel,  while  encouraging  the  students  to  be  active  members  of  the community.  The new  immigrants  receive  the  same  opportunities  for  travel  and education as the Israeli born youngsters.

NEED:

There is a clear need for this project for the students of the Village. The majority of our students are new immigrants, making Aliya alone, without their families. Coming from the Russian Federation, most of them are not connected to their Jewish roots and identity and to  the  State  of  Israel.  In  order  to  instill  them  with  these  values,  the students must travel the land and get acquainted with the historical and biblical places which are so important to the Jewish people in Israel.

OBJECTIVES:

The objectives of this project are threefold:

• To clarify and strengthen the personal Jewish and Israeli identity.
• To increase the feeling of belonging and responsibility to the Jewish people, the land and the state of Israel.
• To encourage the students to be a part of a larger Jewish community.

The cost of one 5-day educational trip for 120 students is $30,000. The need is  to  have  several  trips  in  order  to achieve  the  goals  and  objectives  of  the Traveling Israel Program.