About us
Shavei Israel (www.shavei.org) reaches out and assists "lost Jews"
seeking to return to the Jewish people. These include the Bnei Menashe
of India, the Bnei Anousim of Spain, Portugal & South America, the
"Hidden Jews" of Poland and others.
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Please support Shavei Israel
We need your help to continue with our mission. You can volunteer or make a donation by following this link. We are an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
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 This Rosh Hashana, you can bring life to a place of death
Sixty-five years after the
Holocaust, growing numbers of young people across Poland have begun to uncover
their families' most closely guarded of secrets: their clandestine Jewish
roots.
From
Warsaw to Lodz, Krakow to Gdansk - the heritage that Adolf Hitler and his
henchmen sought to eradicate is flowering anew. Growing numbers of Poland's
"Hidden Jews" and their descendants are seeking to rejoin the Jewish
people.
For 22 year-old Jacek in Krakow, it was a
dusty document in an archive that revealed his identity. For 35 year-old Magda
in Lodz, it was the whispered confession of an ailing grandmother.
But Poland's "Hidden Jews" need
your help. We owe it to them and their ancestors to reach out and help them to
return.
With its team of emissaries and
in-depth programming throughout Poland, Shavei
Israel does just that - welcoming these youth and enabling them to learn
more about the richness of their Jewish heritage.
So as Rosh Hashanah arrives and we welcome
the New Year, please support our outreach efforts and help Poland's young Jews
to be signed and sealed in the Book of Life. You can also visit our
Facebook
Causes page for the
"Hidden Jews" of Poland.
The Holocaust devastated Polish
Jewry. We cannot erase the horrors of the past. But we most certainly can erect
a brighter future. |
Young Polish Jews touring the ancient port at Caesarea
 | Highlights from Shavei Israel's 2010
seminar for the "Hidden Jews" of Poland
22 young people from Poland participated in Shavei Israel's fourth annual summer seminar which just concluded in Jerusalem.
Attendees
toured the country, visiting Zichron Yaakov, Caesarea, the Golan Heights and the Jordan Valley; attended classes and lectures on Hebrew, Jewish
history, tradition, culture and identity; and met with a variety of Israeli
personalities and dignitaries including the Polish ambassador to Israel.
One participant decided to stay in Israel and several more plan to return soon. The seminar culminated in a particularly
moving way when Baruch Frank proposed to Gosia Golec in front of the entire group!
Here are a few highlights from the trip in pictures:
Young Polish Jews at the Western Wall  |
Polish "Hidden Jews" studying in Jerusalem  |
Young Jews from Poland exploring the tunnels under Jerusalem  |
We have even more pictures here and here on our Facebook site.
Plus a YouTube video with a slide show of highlights from the trip.
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 A sweet New Year from Shavei Israel
Shavei Israel wishes all its friends and supporters a sweet - and meaningful - New Year.
On the eve of Rosh Hashana, we want to express our deep appreciation for your ongoing participation in our mission to help "lost" and "hidden" Jewish communities from around the world - Spain, India, Poland, China and beyond - to return to Judaism and re-claim their Jewish roots.
This past year has been
filled with activity - from our sponsorship of trips to Israel for
Polish "Hidden Jews," to seminars in India for the Bnei Menashe community, to the
aliyah of a group of young Jewish men from China - and much more. In the coming
year, we will continue to build Jewish identity and love for Israel in all the
communities we serve.
Stay tuned for more details in this newsletter, on our website, and on Facebook.
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Merav Segal teaching in Manipur, India  | Shavei Israel sponsors seminar for Bnei Menashe women in India
Shavei Israel's annual Hebrew language seminar for Bnei Menashe women took place last month in the Indian city of Churachandpur, Manipur. This two-week
seminar followed the successful completion of a similar three-week seminar in the
Mizoram region in which 30 young Bnei Menashe women took part.
Merav Segal, from the Department of Israeli Education and who serves as
a school advisor to the Bnei Menashe community in Kiryat Arba, flew to India to
teach the seminars. This was her third trip sponsored by Shavei Israel.
The Bnei Menashe women studied Hebrew with the goal of being able to teach fellow
community members. All of the participants already have basic
Hebrew writing and speaking skills. A total of 45 students will complete this
year's seminars.
To get a glimpse of the seminar, see the pictures we've posted on our Facebook fan page.
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This month in social media
Here's some of what we posted on the Shavei Israel Facebook fan page this month:- Our seminar for the "Hidden Jews" of Poland received wide coverage in the press, including Israel National News, Ynet, Voz iz Neias and Haaretz.
- Asian Jewish Life published an article written by Shavei Israel Chairman Michael Freund about the Bnei Menashe.
- The Forward took a look at the 7 young Jewish men Shavei Israel helped bring to Israel from Kaifeng, China.
- Michael Freund asked "Will Bill Clinton's grandchildren be Jewish" in a provocative article appearing in The Jerusalem Post.
- Several articles in Makor Rishon, Ynet and Israel National News profiled Shavei Israel's new emissary to Portugal, Rabbi Elisha Salas.
- We also took a look at the history of the Jewish communities of Vilna and Shanghai.
If you're not following us on Facebook yet, what are you waiting for? Click here to get started.
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