Youth
What’s to become of Israel Encounter?
More than 100 Grade 11 pupils from Jewish day schools visited Israel in December as part of the annual Israel Experience tour – but this may be their last tour due to lack of funds.
SUZANNE BELLING
During the 10-day trip, the boys’ and girls’ groups criss-crossed the country, travelling from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv and from the Negev to the Golan Heights. Highlights included visits to Israel’s four holy cities: Jerusalem, Hebron, Safed and Tiberias.
Rebecca Sarchi, the principal of Torah Academy Girls’ High School, led the girls’ tour, made up of 56 pupils from Beis Yaakov, Hirsch Lyons, King David, Maharsha, Torah Academy and Yeshiva College girls’ high schools.
The boys came from Hirsch Lyons, Mesivta Shaarei Torah, Torah Academy and Yeshiva Maharsha, and were led by Torah Academy Boys’ High School principal, Rabbi Yossi Chaikin.
Rabbi Chaikin told SA Jewish Report: “It appears that the budget for the annual Israel Encounter has run dry and that this may have been the last such trip.
“I hope that somehow the funds can be found so that future learners can benefit from this unique experience. Encounter offers our youth the opportunity to discover their roots in our land and find out what yeshiva is about.”