BECAUSE OF YOU…
Israel is transforming the face of agricultural education and building tomorrow’s leaders. Adam V’Adama, “Man and the Land” in English, is a network of agricultural high schools for Israeli students, throughout the country. Adam V’Adama falls under the auspices of HaShomer HaChadash, a Jewish National Fund-USA affiliate, which believes that this agricultural mission is essential to the success of Israel.
With 251 students in residential programs in four locations: Tabor in the Galilee; the Golan; Nitzamin – a kibbutz in southern Israel; and in the Arava Desert, Adam V’Adama is handily accomplishing their mission of transforming the face of agricultural education and building tomorrow’s leaders by connecting them to the land. JNF-USA partnered with HaShomer HaChadash to build the school in the Arava.
The schools work to raise a generation of students imbued with values, such as responsibility, perseverance, excellence, and leadership. Students at Adam V’Adama wake at 5 am, and get on buses at 5:30 am, willingly leaving their cell phones behind, to work on farms picking dates, tomatoes, grapes, and other produce. The farmers who host the young student workers pay for their greatly appreciated labor and the money goes toward the schools’ expenses. Students feel a high level of commitment to the farmers they work with. They learn about the implementation of technology in agriculture and can work in research labs.
The students work in the field in the morning and attend four hours of rigorous academic classes in the afternoon and are fully prepared for matriculation exams. In the evening, they have enrichment programs, such as arts and crafts, cooking, woodworking and communal learning around a bonfire about Israeli society, philosophy, and more. Sports, trips and hikes are part of the school experience.
The grades in each school are comprised of outstanding students who are really interested in doing this type of work and is well balanced between males and females (55% female), religious and secular students, and those from cities, towns, and kibbutzim. Many of the students who attend the schools have stated that although there was nothing wrong with their high schools, they were looking for something more meaningful and different and “don’t want to waste time inside four walls…” The students live at their schools Sunday through Thursday and typically go home for Shabbat.
Although the founders of Adam V’Adama (two friends who met in the IDF, one of whom grew up on a Kibbutz and both of whom worked in education) started with the idea of raising a generation of farmers (and they would be “happy” if the students go into farming), have a greater mission. It is to is to have teens disconnect from their screens and reconnect to the land. They want students to gain a deep understanding of the importance of the land, sustainability, food security and self-sufficiency while also developing a strong work ethic, a sense of responsibility and the ability to persevere in challenging circumstances. The students gain a sense of fulfillment, meaning and purpose. This makes them people of action and deeds, who are concerned with doing good for their fellow men and humankind.
The class sizes have been limited by the physical sizes of the schools and a goal is to be able to expand the schools. Since October 7, the number of applications has gone up by 25%, and, unfortunately, all qualified candidates cannot be admitted. Plans are in the works to open another school in the fall and the goal is to have these schools throughout the country. Schools situated by the borders help provide an additional level of security.
In these challenging times, the Adam V’Adama students’ education and experience is more critical than ever. When the war broke out, students from the schools from the Golan were evacuated to the Tabor school, while those from Nitzamin went to the Arava school. This gave them stability with their known educational environments. The students realized that the way they had been educated and the values they’d internalized made them better prepared to lend a hand to the country. They visited the sick and the bereaved, helped displaced families move and replaced farmers who had left the country.
Although the first graduating class was only in 2017, many alumni, who were not called up to the reserves, reached out to their high schools to see where they could help and filled in for missing staff serving as guides, mentors and leaders for different projects and missions. Clearly, the sense of responsibility transcended graduation.
“The Alumni’s first address for dealing with moments of crisis and lending a hand and helping will always be their alma mater,” said Leah Benscher of HaShomer HaChadash. She describes the students past and present as Melach Haaertz – the Salt of the Earth.
Adam V’Adama is raising the next generation of leaders in Israel, people concerned with progress and making the world a better place and JNF-USA is proud to be a part of their success and growth.
To hear more updates on Adam V’Adama and our other Partners in Israel, please tune into JNF-USA’s Weekly Briefings on Wednesdays at 12:00 pm ET /9:00 am PT for updates from Israel, and our plans for rebuilding: https://jnf.zoom.us/j/92168860129. Also now streaming on IZZY TV under the series title, “Focus on Israel."
Written by Lynette Feit Buzen, Vice Chair - Women for Israel Newsletter, Chair Long Island Regional Board