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Shnat

This year in Jerusalem

By AJN STAFF February 17, 2022, 12:30 pm Edit
Some of Bnei Akiva's 62 shnatties at Ben Gurion airport.
Some of Bnei Akiva's 62 shnatties at Ben Gurion airport.

The pandemic may have dealt a blow to gap year schemes in Israel in 2020 and 2021, but Shnat has bounced back in 2022, with more than 230 school leavers heading to the Holy Land in the past few weeks. Indeed, some of the 19 Aussie youth movement programs are hosting their largest number of participants ever.

As well as the easing of COVID restrictions and opening of borders, numbers have been boosted by the Zionist Federation of Australia’s (ZFA) recently launched Israel-Go program, which has seen almost 200 young adults supported by grants of $5000 or more. Hailing “the strong connection young Jewish Australians feel to Israel,” ZFA CEO Ginette Searle noted, “The desire to spend a significant amount of time living in Israel where they will learn about the country and have a greater understanding of its history and culture is evident.”

Reflecting on the grants, she added, “Our deepest gratitude goes to UIA-Keren Hayesod and a number of private philanthropists for making this possible.”

Meanwhile, looking to the future, Masa coordinator Josh Jones said, “The strong numbers across the board on gap year programs are proven to be beneficial for the community.

“Many of the fellows will return home inspired from their Masa experience in Israel and will likely join community organisations to lead the community into the future.”

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