The President of the country, Yitzhak Herzog, hosted today (Tuesday) at the President's House in Jerusalem the participants of the leadership program of the "Journey" organization, founded by the Jewish Agency and the Government of Israel.
The participants presented a variety of initiatives to promote the Jewish communities in the Diaspora, to strengthen ties with the State of Israel and to fight anti-Semitism.
As part of the program, about 100 young Jewish men and women aged 21-30 were selected from 11 countries around the world, who are expected to take part in key positions in the Jewish communities in their countries of origin at the end of their volunteering period in Israel.
Herzog with the CEO of Argon Masa, Ofer Gutman and Chairman of the Board of Masa, Josh Schwartz, photo: Argano Masa
During the leadership program, the young men and women acquire practical tools from the world of leadership using a method developed at the Harvard Business School - which sees leadership as behavior in which anyone can act anywhere and at any time.
These young women and men are expected to integrate into key and leadership positions in the Jewish communities in the following countries: USA, Canada, Argentina, England, Russia, Ukraine, Belgium, Germany, Romania, South Africa and Turkey.
State President Yitzhak Herzog was interested in the diverse stories of the young leaders, addressed them and said: "You are the future leaders of the Jewish people. I implore you to be more involved, more curious, in the great story of what it is to be Jewish. We are a small nation, 15 million people in a sea of 8 billion people in the world. We have an amazing story to tell, a great history, and a bright future. This is an experience that will accompany you for a lifetime. I meet with people who had the same experience 20, 30, or 40 years ago and have since changed the world and positioned Israel as a first country ".
The youth of the program of organizing a trip to the president's house,
The president hosts the program's young people,
One of the participants in the leadership program who presented her work to the president of the country, is 22-year-old Lyric Crane from Seattle, USA, who promoted a regulation at the university where she studied, requiring all teaching staff and students to go through a workshop against anti-Semitism and learn about the Holocaust as a mandatory condition. Crane herself experienced anti-Semitism after she was fired From her job only because she is Jewish, and had to move from the school she attended as a child, after swastikas were sprayed at her and she even received threats on her life. Today, Krain teaches English as a volunteer at a school in Jerusalem as part of the "Teachers' Journey" program and works to promote the program to eradicate anti-Semitism on US campuses.
Crane told "Israel Hayom" that: "It is very important that students and also the teaching staff on campuses in the USA learn about the Holocaust and anti-Semitism, so that we can bring about change.
I believe that through education it is possible to change the perception and attitude of students in the USA in everything related to Jews and the State of Israel.
I have suffered from anti-Semitism all my life and I have a desire to make an impact so that things look different and present Israel and Judaism in a real way and come out against anti-Semitism."
Herzog and the next generation of Jewish community leaders,
Ofer Gutman, CEO of Masa Organization, concluded: "This is a team of 100 female and young leaders, who will become ambassadors of Israel in the Diaspora.
They were carefully selected based on their activity in the Jewish communities, on global social issues, their personal abilities and their desire to lead change.
All this, at the same time as their participation in the various travel programs for volunteering, internships and training.
We thank the President of the State for his activities to cultivate the future generation of the Jewish world and for his consistent support for the activities of the Masa organization."
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