Honored for strong ties with Israel

The Jewish Community Center of the Greater Five Towns, along with the Brandeis School in Lawrence, the Hebrew Academy of the Five Towns & Rockaway (HAFTR) in Cedarhurst and several other Long Island-based Jewish organizations were recently recognized by the UJA Federation of New York for promoting strong bonds with Israel among school children and their families.

  The Long Island-Jerusalem Project was a cultural and educational exchange program that developed relationships with two different Jewish communities around the world. The project taught the students and their families that despite cultural barriers, Jews around the world share the same values and goals.

“The major accomplishment of the Long Island-Jerusalem Project was connecting international Jewish communities through school, JCC and family-centered programs,” said Rina Shkolnik, executive director of the JCC of the Greater Five Towns. “To that end we created a most successful partnership and established a feeling of unity and oneness among the participants from both countries.”

  The UJA Federation of New York in collaboration with the Jewish Agency for Israel began funding the program in 2002 as Jewish community centers from both Long Island and French Hill, Jerusalem met and agreed to sharing school curriculums and hosting visits between the two partner communities periodically.

Families, students and teachers from both areas got the chance to meet and interact with one another to gain a better understanding of important global issues that face Jewish people today. The project also helped create several international friendships.