Vanguard

Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: News

On April 7, four young Israelis held an informative forum at the University of South Alabama's Library Auditorium. The purpose of the forum was to educate people about life as a Jewish Israeli.
Four Shaliachs, all in their early 20s, hosted the forum.
A Shaliach is an Israeli cultural emissary sent to different areas around the world to educate people about Judaism and Israel. The emissaries are trained and sponsored by the Jewish Agency for Israel, which is a non-governmental institution.
Jewish Federations around the world welcome these emissaries for the purpose of educating the Jewish community and strengthening their ties with Israel. Although the emissaries' work is concentrated within the Jewish communities, they also work outside of these communities with non-Jewish citizens.
Itai Rosenfeld is 22 years old and has been in Mobile, Ala., for seven months. The emissaries usually stay in an area for two years, educating the people about Judaism and the Jewish state of Israel.
"My main goal as a Shaliach is to spread knowledge and love for Israel and promote a better understanding of the complex situation over there," Rosenfeld said.
Einav Avidan is 24 years old and has been in New Orleans, La., for 18 months. Avidan's family moved to Shoham, Israel from Morocco.
Michal Elboim is 23 years old and has been in Pensacola, Fla., for seven months. Elboim was born in Hod Hasharon, Israel. Her grandparents moved to Tel Aviv from Poland, Russia, Iran and Afghanistan.

Shimon Smith is in his 20s also and has been living in Montgomery, Ala., for one year and seven months. Smith was actually born in the states but moved to Israel when he was six. Smith will return to Israel at the end of May to attend music school.

Each of the emissaries showed a PowerPoint presentation about their lives. Following the individual presentations and a q-and-a session with the audience, a startling video was shown about the brutal Arab-Israeli wars that have been going on for decades. The video blatantly stated "the Middle East War is about the destruction of Israel and the Jews."

The Israeli nation will celebrate its 60th birthday this year. The socialist-welfare state is a melting pot of different cultures, including Muslims and Christians. All Israeli citizens are required to serve in the military upon reaching age 18.

Men are required to serve three years, and women must serve for two years. Israelis are very proud of their service in the military and feel it is their duty to serve their country.

After military service, young Israelis often choose to travel to other parts of the world. Serving as a cultural emissary is one way of fulfilling those dreams to travel, while simultaneously working to promote their faith.

The forum proved to be highly informative about Israeli life, and the audience was very responsive in asking questions of the four hosts. Their knowledge and experiences provided a great deal of insight into the highly misunderstood world of Israel.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools