Thank You Shelley - תודה רבה

Shelley - all of us at Young Judaea - staff, volunteers and Judaeans past, present and future thank you for 5 wonderful years of leadership, guidance and friendship. You have our deepest thanks and our best wishes as finish your term as Young Judaea division coordinator, your involvement with Hadassah and as a member of the Founding Board of Young Judaea. Todah Rabah! As much as we will miss Shelley Sherman, we welcome Roni Schwartz as our new coordinator - you have some big shoes to fill.   

 More than 200 participate in Celebrate Israel Parade 

Thank you to the more than 200 Young Judaeans, volunteers and alumni who participated in the 2011 Celebrate Israel Parade in New York City.  This year's parade was the most exciting in years- and the first time that it was broadcast live on television! Marching down Fifth Avenue, the Young Judaea showed their love of Israel and ruach from mid-town all the way uptown.  

The Celebrate Israel Parade (formerly Salute to Israel Parade) is the largest event in the world celebrating the anniversary of Israel's Independence, now in its 63^rd year. We were joined by tens of thousands of participants stepping off on Fifth Avenue, cheered on by more than one million spectators. Parade spectators watched a sea of blue and white, kachol v'lavan, as community leaders, American and Israeli dignitaries, celebrities, floats and marching bands came together with spirit, joy, and enthusiasm. Take a look at all the photos here! Special thanks to incoming National President of Hadassah Marcie Natan, Ellen Hershkin, Rory Vinokor (our courageous YJ Lion!), Lee Pinchuk, and our fearless YJ staff Rachel Comstock and Nicole Rand.  If you would like more information of the Celebrate Israel Parade, feel free to contact Rachel at rcomstock@youngjudaea.org

WUJS Alumni gather in New York City 

On May 25, more than 50 WUJS alumni from the last four decades met at the law offices of Herrick Feinstein on Park Avenue where they were hosted by Richard Bass (WUJS alumnus 1977) for a delightful evening of personal reunions and reconnecting with the WUJS program. 

As well as the cocktail reception and time to socialize, the alumni also heard personal accounts of their WUJS experiences from Richard Bass (1977) and Jake Shillman (2010) with particular focus on how their WUJS experience impacted their lives. Read more about the reunion here.

Young Judaea Alumni in the News

Young Judaea Alumni are newsmakers and newsbreakers...

Lisa Samick (CYJ Tx '78-'88, CYJ Tx Staff '96, '99, TY Staff '99, '04) is the Director of Early Childhood Education at the Brooklyn Heights Synagogue. She also is pursuing her PhD in Jewish Early Childhood Education at New York University. Read her inspiring ideas for Shavout here.

Betsy Gold (TY '75-'77, YC '78-'79) and a member of the Founding Board of Young Judaea spoke about the changes in our movement to the press. Read her thoughts and opinions here.  

Robyn Polansky (YC '95-'96) was honored as one of the New York Jewish News' "36 Under 36 2011: The New Re-engineers". Learn about Robyn and the work she has been doing. 

איפו אנחנו   ? Where are we   

Gedalia Mazal (Gary Meisels)- Spring '74 WUJS  wrote:I live in Beer-Sheva, and have worked at Ben Gurion University since 1975 -almost 36 years! Before moving to Beer-Sheva, I lived in Yamit for seven years and commuted to BGU every day! Our family has grown and I am the proud grandfather of 3 grandsons from a son, and can't wait to meet my daughter's first child, who will soon make an appearance. 

Roni Schwartz ( TY '62 ) lives in Brooklyn with her husband, Michael. At the July Hadassah board meeting Roni will be become the new Hadassah Coordinator of Young Judaea. It's a big task, but one we know that Roni, as a Judaean herself, the parent of Judaeans and a dedicated volunteer is uniquely qualified to take on. If you would like to contact Roni you can reach her at rschwartz@youngjudaea.org 

Happy Birthday Claire -

Young Judaea wishes Claire Marwick of Chevy Chase, MD a very happy 90^th birthday! Claire, a Young Judaean from the 1930's has continued her involvement with the Movement for the last nine decades. As a supporter of Young Judaea, a tireless advocate and a living archive, she is a resource we can't imagine doing without.

While no one can tell what the next 90 years will hold, we do know that Claire's passion and verve will serve her and our Movement well. Mazal Tov Claire!

יום הולדת סמח

Welcome Back Year Course '10-'11
The Alumni Relations department of Young Judaea welcomes you, our newest alumni - the more than 210 recent Year Course grads! We hope that you will be active in all of our Young Judaea Alumni activities. 

We know that you will all go on to do wonderful things and that your experiences on Year Course will be with them always. Please let us know what you are doing and where you are going. We always want to know. Drop us a line at alumni@youngjudaea.org 

Young Judaea Sends more than 140 High Schoolers to Israel

More than 140 Israel Summer programs participants left the New York area for the summer of their lives in Israel on June 29. The looks of excitement and anticipation on the faces of all the Judeans getting on the planes was enough to make everyone in the airport jealous of the experience these young people were about to have.

The YJ Machon and YJ Discovery programs give high school students a chance to explore Israel, make new friends - and revive old friendships, practice their Hebrew skills and have a summer they will never forget.

Find out more about the 60th summer of YJ Israel programs here