In an enormous effort to engage young people with Israel, Jewish National Fund has sent over 120 young adults between the ages of 18-30 to Israel in just the past week on two extraordinary and very different types of travel programs.
Just over 100 participants are volunteering in the southern half of the country through the JNF’s Alternative Break (AB) program. These participants are from young Jewish communities across the country. Many of them have participated in a JNF Taglit-Birthright trip, others have been on teen tours or family trips but all have decided to return to Israel to give back. The Alternative Winter Break Program is focused on projects in the south, including weeding and planting at agricultural farms in the Negev and painting and cleaning up at an Ethiopian Absorption Center.
In addition to the AB program, Jewish National Fund has also sent 25 non-Jewish students to Israel on the Caravan for Democracy Mission. The CFD participants went through a rigorous selection and interview process before being selected for the mission. The 25 selected participants are the best and brightest from across the country. They are all leaders on their campuses and will use this program in Israel to learn about the country and bring information back to their home and campus communities.
You can follow the activities of participants who are blogging daily from both programs here, at jewishnationalfund.blogspot.com, and twitter hashtags #JNFcaravan #JNFawb
