The participants came from diverse educational backgrounds – kindergarten teachers, teachers for various subjects, elementary and high school teachers and school headmasters – and were divided into six groups according to geographical regions: Canada, the United States, South Africa, Latin America, Russian speakers and Eastern Europe. This year, 14 teachers from Ukraine and two teachers from Thessaloniki, Greece also participated.
During those eight days in Israel, the educators toured KKL-JNF sites as well as heritage and archaeology sites throughout Israel, engaged in learning about Israel, ecology and sustainability, and met educators from other communities. Alongside the experience in the field, there was an emphasis upon providing tools that enabled the participants to deepen the connection with Israel within the communities and schools to which they would return.
Shlomo Ben Haim, Manager of the Diaspora Zionist Identity Empowerment Department in the KKL-JNF Education and Community Division, noted that the purpose of the seminar was to strengthen the educators' connection to Israel and KKL-JNF activity, and to provide them with educational tools for integrating Zionist and environmental content into their educational work in their communities.
During the seminar, the encounters between educators from various countries, the mutual learning and the cooperative ties forged between them were also emphasized. Some of the participants are not Jewish, and the direct encounter with the Zionist story, the history and the environmental work of KKL-JNF gives them a deeper and more complex introduction with the People of Israel.
Educators who participated in the seminar described a significant and enriching experience. Allegra, a teacher from Thessaloniki, said that the seminar gave her experiences and new tools that she wishes to convey to her students, and noted the changes and renewal she saw in Israel. Natalia Androshenko from Ukraine emphasized the contribution of the KKL-JNF learning materials to her educational work and the deep connection to the Jewish and Zionist identity that was forged as part of the seminar.
Source Credit: The news report is based upon a report from Channel 7 news (in cooperation with KKL-JNF), which was published on July 13, 2023, and updated on July 19, 2023, as well as the English version on the KKL-JNF: “Article courtesy of Channel 7”.