Last year, approximately 100 Wexner alumni from across Israel and the United States gathered in Princeton for the Wexner Summit, Stronger Together: [Re] Imagining the Israel-North American Jewish Community Relationship. Participants from Israel and North America formed working groups, and our group, “Connecting in Jerusalem,” set out to find connection points for people in Israel and in North America to engage with (and in) Jerusalem. We decided to do this by building on existing programs and events (such as the Meetchabrim program, The Jerusalem Marathon and others) and providing opportunities for North Americans and Israelis to have meaningful interactions.
In this context, we are excited to share with you our latest effort, as we believe that it can be of great service to many of you. We will be helping to raise awareness and appreciation of the work of Jerusalem’s civil society working together towards a multifaceted, diverse and tolerant city. The goal is to provide relevant multimedia resources that offer content about Jerusalem’s diversity, significance and multiplicity of expressions — to Jewish Community Centers, Federations, Schools, Synagogues, Jewish organizations, Inter-faith groups and other interested parties.
The resources will be uploaded onto a web-based platform which you can then download locally and print or use digitally, as you prefer. The resources will include digital exhibitions and displays. Webinars, videos and educational resources will be available in March of 2017. We will also be running a series of day trips in Jerusalem that will highlight the complexities, challenges, benefits and opportunities that diversity presents in an urban setting (dates will be advertised shortly but if you are planning on being in Israel in the coming months, please reach out!).
Should you be interested in learning more, please contact Ruthie Saragosti ruthsaragosti@gmail.com.
Ruthie Saragosti, WIF Alum (Class 26) is an advisor to Rashut Harabim, a coalition of 31 organizations in Jerusalem dedicated to advancing religious pluralism, diversity and Jewish renewal in Israel. Previously, Ruthie served as VP International Development and Strategic Planning for Yedidim in Israel. Before making aliya in 2002, she was the Executive Director of the Bronfman Israel Experience Center in Montreal and served as the Director of Birthright Israel, the March of the Living, the Jewish Camp Council and the Bnai Brith Youth Organization. Ruthie earned her Bachelor of Social Work from McGill University, was an IJE Fellow at Brandeis University and earned an MA in Jewish Education from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
