ZFA’s Zionist Seminars – arriving soon at a school near you!
Forty-one Zionist Seminar madrichim are preparing to visit Australia from Israel to present the 2011 Zionist Seminar program…a record number.
Getting ready
The Zionist Seminars started in the early 1980s, and the quality of the camps, which are commonly known by students as “the best camps of all”, has seen the program grow to its current level. With 8 teams servicing 10 schools in NSW, Victoria and Western Australia, 2011 is set to be the biggest year yet! Indeed, Australia hosts the largest and most successful Zionist Seminar program in the world, and our model is currently being considered for other countries.
This year, the ZFA has organised for a record number of young shlichim – 41 in total, to come out. The seminars will be presented at the Jewish Day schools as well as for students from non-Jewish schools through UJEB. This program has become a flagship of the ZFA – providing quality Israel education and inspiration in an interactive, intensive fashion, in collaboration with our most important partners, the schools.
ZFA President, Philip Chester said:”the Zionist Seminar program builds on the excellent work of our schools, creating stimulating and inspiring programs which in turn create students who are connected with Israel and the Jewish community. The ZFA is extremely proud of this long term, ongoing program which has grown in numbers, strength and quality over the years. We are particularly delighted that this year, for the first time, UJEB will be running Zionist Seminars for students who are not at Jewish Day schools – a very important initiative bound to have a huge impact”.
Several of the leaders are returning to Australia for the second, even third times. Miri, a “third timer” and head of the Moriah Team said the following:
“I am going back to Australia because of the small moments. Having a learning session and a kid really interested in a paragraph from the tanach he would never normally open. Running a program about Israel advocacy and having 160 kids spontaneously stand up and sing Hatikva. Knowing that the only distance is a physical one of the huge ocean, but the emotional and spiritual gap is easily filled. Hopefully I won’t come back for the fourth time because it will be the students’ time to come visit us here”
Dov Singer was a Zionist Seminars madrich in Sydney last year, and this year is leading the Perth team. He reflected:
“The Zionist Seminars are an amazing opportunity to bring Israel and Diaspora communities closer together, to strengthen the Jewish and Zionist identity of young Australian Jews and to make connections with chanichim and communities that last many years. We’ve got a great group of dedicated, talented madrichim coming to Perth this year. We are very busy with preparations for the shlichut, and we’re really excited for our arrival at the beginning of August.”
Kol Hakvod ZFA…I don’t think we should hold our breathe waiting for the Academics at Australia’s largest Jewish study center Monash’s ACJC to attend or give any endorsement….