JUF News Express

As relief efforts continue in Haiti, here in Chicago, JUF along with its Jewish Community Emergency Resiliency Team (JCERT) and Sinai Health System worked with the city, the American Red Cross, United Way and other organizations to provide crisis mental health services and medical care to Haitian evacuees, who briefly used Chicago as a transit point last weekend before continuing to other destinations in the United States.

Meanwhile, Chicago's Jewish community has kept up its generous flow of resources to devastated Haiti by contributing more than $634,000 to the Jewish Federation's Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund in about three weeks.

JUF President Steven B. Nasatir writes in an op-ed in The Chicago Sun-Times that the call to tikkun olam (to repair the world) is one "Jewish Chicagoans answer time and again for people in need, regardless of their religion."

Sinai Health System has been awarded a $1 million McCormick Foundation grant to support construction of a new ambulatory care center, cornerstone of the Sinai Tomorrow project, a multiphase plan to rebuild many of Sinai’s aging buildings.

“We are honored to be able to play a part in the Sinai Tomorrow vision,” said David Hiller, McCormick Foundation president and CEO. “Mount Sinai’s leadership in innovative community-based healthcare provides some realistic hope that we will find sustainable ways to address our country’s healthcare dilemma.”

UIC Professor Isaac Hoffman teaches all fou parts of a Hebrew language sequence that spans two years and covers reading, writing, comprehension, and speaking as well as cultural and historical topics about Israel, reports Fae Rabin for the Chicago Flame, the UIC campus newspaper.

"We have all kinds of students who take Hebrew. We have Jewish students, Israeli natives, non-Jewish students who take it because they are curious, and they want to know more. Some want the ability to read the Bible in the original language, and for some it just fits into their schedule, which is okay, too," Hoffman said.

Just one year after teaching at UIC, Professor Hoffman proposed an idea for a new class to add to the Jewish Department course offerings: "Aspects of Israeli Film," which sheds light on Israeli culture, history, and society - all via film. Since the course opened for registration, it has been filled to capacity with an accompanying waiting list.

Adi Clerman, who now works as an admissions representative at Harrington College of Design in Chicago, was laid off in August 2008. Unable to find a job, she grabbed a five-month internship in Tel Aviv, Israel, at an American marketing firm through MASA Israel's Career Israel program, a partnership with the Israeli government that sends young people to the country for work experiences. It filled a huge gap on her resume.

"When people asked me, 'You got laid off in August 2008, what have you done since then?' I had a really great answer," she said.

The number of people traveling abroad for internships from 2000 through 2008 doubled, from 6,950 to 13,658, based on a survey of about 1,500 educational institutions, according to the Institute of International Education, writes Julie Wernau in The Chicago Tribune.

MASA Israel Journey is a program of the Jewish Agency for Israel and is supported by JUF. To find out more, visit MASA online.

New Orleans will host both the 2010 General Assembly and International Lion of Judah Conference, both of which were originally scheduled to be held in Orlando. The events will also be held earlier, with the GA slated for Nov. 7-9 and the the Lion of Judah confab slated for Nov. 8-10.

"We needed to reevaluate the venue," explained Jerry Silverman, president and CEO of The Jewish Federations of North America. "In reviewing our options, it became clear that New Orleans was a community where we, as a Jewish community and family, could reflect on our collective responsibility and action together."

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Steve Huntley writes that "that phrase "disproportionate response" is being tagged to Israel again -- but this time it's coming from the Jewish state's supporters to describe, with justifiable pride, the remarkable rescue and relief operation Israel had on the ground in Haiti within 48 hours of the island's catastrophic earthquake."

Huntley notes the state-of-the-art Israeli field hospital, the achievements of Israel's medical team, and the millions poured into rescue operations.

District 219's National College Adviser Jerry Pope recently visited Israel to learn more about gap year programs. Pope, who works at Niles North High School, traveled with a group of 25 college counsellors from around the United States through a MASA-Israel Journey study trip.

"There are certain components to [MASA]. Experiential learning, then volunteering and then academics," Pope said.

Many gap year programs involve community service and provide participants with practical experience. Gap year programs in Israel focused on fine arts, culinary arts, research, engineering, science and math. "I think it really allows students to do some kind of sole searching to find out the direction of their life they want to go," Pope said.

In related news, New Trier High School in Wilmetter will hold a gap year fair from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 31, for students and parents. MASA representatives will attend to answer any questions potential participants might have.