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SECuRING ThE JEWISh FuTuRE IN GREECE: JEWISh AGENCy PROGRAMS
In addition to providing the
emergency financial assistance noted above, The Jewish Agency operates many of its own flagship programs in Greece. In Greece, as around the world, The Jewish Agency raises enthusiasm for Jewish identity and for Israel through a variety of educational programs and Israel Experiences.
Community Shlichah
Analia Latarowski has been serving as
the community shlichah to Athens since December of 2013. She implements cultural and educational programs that make Israel come alive and place Israel and Jewish connections as a top priority. She has upgraded the community’s activities for
teens aged 13-18, creating more age-specific groups and turning their activities into a
more formal Youth Movement. She also has been training several 15- and 16-year-olds to become counselors; they are now planning summer activities for the Athens summer camp. Analia works closely with Greece’s Jewish schools, Masa Israel Journey, and the local university Jewish students’ group (which runs two events per month, attracting 30-50 Jewish college students). She also facilitates the aliyah of Greek olim and is helping to push forward the plans for the new School Twinning program soon to begin.
Camp Shlichim
The Jewish Agency sends motivated, enthusiastic young Israelis to the Jewish camp in Salonika to serve as camp counselors and Israeli role models. The Jewish Agency covers the full cost of their shlichut, which lasts
for three weeks. All four of the shlichim are seasoned camping professionals who formerly served in North American camps, and therefore already have an awareness of the Jewish educational needs of campers outside Israel. The same counselors from summer 2013 are returning for summer 2014.
Cha’il Israel Education Abroad
Cha’il is a joint Diaspora Jewish education initiative of The Jewish Agency and the Government of Israel, with a focus on populations and countries that are in economic distress or show low levels of Jewish identity. Cha’il provides Jewish- Zionist educational programs in the schools; professional development for teachers of Hebrew and Jewish-Zionist studies, including seminars in Israel; financial support and scholarships for growing and strengthening Israel-based curricula in Jewish schools; and educational trips to Israel for students.
It is through Cha’il that The Jewish Agency and its partners provided the Athens Jewish Community School with funds for Hebrew and Jewish History faculty salaries, scholarships for the students, and a 12-day educational trip to Israel for the 6th graders in 2012.
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