Sapir College Hillel Breathes New Life into Old Books at Community Bookstore
Take one underused café, add thousands of unwanted books and a group of Hillel students with the passion to make a difference. This is the setting for the story of Café Yael Sefarim (Café Yael Books), the latest tzedek project at Sapir College Hillel in Sderot, Israel.
Through this initiative, Sapir Hillel transformed a café into a bustling and socially-responsible "third space," open to the entire Sderot community.
(read more)
Hillels around the Globe Make a Difference on the "Day of Good Deeds"
What do an Israeli ambassador, Ukraine’s Minister of Culture and the mother of a sick child have in common? All recently attended events organized by Hillels around the world as part of the international Day of Good Deeds. (read more)
Hillel Accreditation Team Travels to Latin America
From March 14-18, a team of Hillel professionals, lay leaders and students visited Hillel Uruguay to examine its operation and to consider whether to confer accreditation – Hillel’s “hecksher” on local operations that meet its Standards of Excellence. The experience proved revealing for local staff and board. (read more)
Hillels in Minsk and Buenos Aires Honored for Meaningful Jewish Experiences On February 3, Hillel recognized two Hillels outside of North America for their ongoing and meaningful work with students in their region. As part of the 2010 Vision and Values Awards, Hillel in Minsk, Belarus was awarded the Joseph Meyerhoff Award for Meaningful Jewish Experience for its "Seminar on Wheels" initiative, in which students travel around Belarus on an immersive experience incorporating elements of Tzedek, Jewish learning and community-building. Hillel Argentina received an honorable mention for its work with study abroad students in Buenos Aires as part of the
Global Campus Initiative. (
read more)
Hillel Students Celebrate Purim around the World With a dramatic villain, delectable treats, and a mandate for revelry, Purim has long been a favorite holiday of the young adult Jewish community. This year was no different and Hillels around the world found creative ways to let loose. (
read more)
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LATIN AMERICA
• Nearly 250 students from 19 different American universities spent time with their Latin American peers this spring on Hillel’s Alternative Spring Breaks. Watch news coverage of an ASB in Rio (in Portuguese).
• Over 100 local and American students gathered in Buenos Aires this March for havdalah and a barbeque to mark the opening of the new semester, organized by Hillel’s Global Campus Initiative.
•Hillels in Montevideo, Buenos Aires and Rio hosted a mission of Hillel’s International Board of Directors in March. The delegation spent time with local staff and community leaders, and joined Alternative Spring Break groups in hands-on service work.
ISRAEL
• 350 students attended the March opening of Haifa Hillel’s new home at Haifa University which featured a concert by Israeli musician Kobi Oz and a follow up discussion on how art and music can effect social change.
• In February Hillel at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya launched a mentorship component of its Cardozo-Kagan leadership development program, providing participants with meetings with community leaders for skill-building and discussions.
• Hillel Israel hosted a January gathering of 30 alumni from Hillel in the former Soviet Union who have moved to Israel. The group is planning future activities and ways to support new arrivals from the FSU to Israel.
AUSTRALIA
• 26 students kicked off the new cycle of TAP - The Advocacy Project. This cohort will undertake an intense, year-long training to build leadership and advocacy skills.
• Engagement interns organized a discussion with international scholar Tamar Bilu, who spoke about her experience with Machsom Watch, a human rights organization in Israel.
• Hillel Australia launched a new career networking initiative for undergraduates, matching students in commerce and law with young professionals in the field. |
FORMER SOVIET UNION
• In March, seven Stanford University Hillel students joined seven of their peers from Kiev Hillel for a week-long joint advocacy mission in Ukraine organized by Hillel and NCSJ.
• In January, Elena Krulevich was appointed Moscow Hillel Director and Yulia Tuchinskaya was appointed Director of Hillel in Kishinev, Moldova.
• 11 students from UMBC Hillel visited Odessa from March 15-22 as part of an ongoing Baltimore/Odessa sister city exchange. Read blog >
• Over 100 students from Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova gathered in March for the first session of the 2010 Metzuda leadership development program. Metzuda is a joint project of JDC and Hillel.
• St.Petersburg Hillel students visited a local pediatric hospital this February, playing with young patients and decorating the hospital’s walls with cheerful murals.
UNITED KINGDOM
• UJS/Hillel and Jewish Journeys have created a European summer backpacking adventure, based around a “Da Vinci Code-type” mystery with a Jewish twist. Read more >
• UJS/Hillel placed nearly 20 American study-abroad students with families for Passover seders in London. They also provided haggadot, matzah and seder plate essentials to a group of American students hosting their own seder in South Kensington.
• Nearly 200 students from across the country gathered for UJS’s National Friday Night Dinner on March 19. Israeli Ambassador Ron Prosor was the honored guest at the event.
• UJS held their annual Student Awards Ceremony on March 21, awarding six awards in areas such as social action, Israel advocacy and Jewish education. The ceremony was hosted by British comedian Adam Bloom. |
Bea Mandel, Chair of Hillel's International Board of Directors, reflects on her experience visiting the Hillels of Latin American in March 2010.
Klal yisrael, indeed. Less than two weeks ago today, Leonard and I, along with Edith Everett, Lynne Harrison, Jim and Rosalie Shane, and Diane and Howard Wohl returned from Latin America, where the second accreditation of a non-North American Hillel was carried out in Montevideo, Uruguay. The vibrancy and engagement and learning we saw there was the same as we see at our best US-based Hillels. The former President of Uruguay sang his praises for the work of Hillel in this thriving city at a dinner held in our honor during our visit.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, a four piece combo, including bongo drums, welcomed the Shabbat for us with a Kabbalat service, with an infectious joyousness. The service was followed by a Shabbat dinner at one of the Hillel houses in the city, where Tzedek students from University of Texas-Austin and University of Miami joined us. They’re two of the nineteen schools which will do Tzedek programs in Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Rio in a five-week period. The Israeli ambassador to Argentina spoke to us of the work and importance of Hillel the following evening at the home of a member of the group which had made possible the newest (now five!) Hillel in the city. The next day I was able to present the US ambassador to Argentina a book produced by the community, published in celebration of its 65th anniversary in the city.
Rio was also visited, and the story there is the same.
We returned home in time for Pesach. This year our thoughts of fleeing from slavery will be enhanced by the stories of those who fled from a different kind of slavery to build new lives after World War II in a far distant land with a southern beat.
Students from Vanderbilt University Hillel paint a mural at a community center in Buenos Aires. The Vanderbilt group was one of 19 American Hillel groups in Latin America for Alternative Spring Breaks this year.
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WHAT'S YOUR GLOBAL IQ?Q: How many total hours of service will Hillel's Alternative Spring Break groups visiting Latin America log this spring? A: a) 2000 b) 4000 c) 6000 d) 8000 See Answer - Bottom of Page |
Hillel's International Division
Hillel in Vancouver
Hillel of Greater Toronto
Hillel of Montreal
Hillel Calgary
Hillel in Argentina
Hillel Rio
Hillel Uruguay
Hillel in Israel
Hillel in Russia
Hillel in the United Kingdom
Hillel in Australia
Hillel in CASE
ANSWER: c) 6000! The nearly 250 participants from 19 American schools will each spend between 20-25 hours of their time in Latin America doing hands-on service work organized by Latin American Hillels.