Director, Actor of Oscar-Nominated “Footnote” Among Leading Artists of Israeli Cinema to Attend YU’s Ring Family Film Festival

Yeshiva University will present the Ring Family Film Festival from February 14-23, titled “A Lens on Israel: A Society through its Cinema.” The four-part festival will be supplemented by a variety of lectures, workshops and open forums with leading Israeli actors, writers, producers and directors.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dwe7GR9kO4

“The festival will provide students and members of the broader Yeshiva University community intimate insight into the dynamic nature of Israel and its diverse population through cinema,” said Eric Goldman, adjunct associate professor of cinema at Yeshiva University and artistic director and moderator of the festival.

The festival gets underway on February 14 at 7:30 p.m. with the screening of the internationally-acclaimed drama, “Restoration,” from director Joseph Madmony. The film, which was awarded “Best Screenplay” at the Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for 11 Ophir Awards—the highest honor given by the Israeli film industry—is a touching study of a man and his relationship with his son and our attachment to old things and memories. It will be screened at Lamport Auditorium, 2540 Amsterdam Ave. on YU’s Washington Heights Wilf Campus.

The 2008 film, “For My Father,” will be shown on February 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lamport Auditorium. The film, from director Dror Zahavi, is about a Palestinian who finds himself in Tel Aviv for Shabbat with ulterior motives. Both films will be followed by a post-screening discussion with Noemi Schory, renowned Israeli filmmaker, educator and producer for Yad Vashem. Schory will also conduct workshops on campus and will screen her 2010 award-winning film, “A Film Unfinished,” which examines how German cameramen manipulated film images in the Warsaw Ghetto to create Nazi propaganda.

On February 16 at 7:30 p.m., YU will host a special screening of “Footnote” at the Schottenstein Cultural Center, 239 East 34th Street, New York City on YU’s Beren Campus. The film, scheduled for theatrical release in mid-March, explores the lives of father and son Talmudic scholars who find themselves in competition with each other. “Footnote,” winner of “Best Screenplay” at Cannes and “Best Picture” at the Ophir Awards, is nominated for “Best Foreign Language Film” at this year’s Academy Awards. Following the screening, director Joseph Cedar, an observant Jew who won “Best Director” at this year’s Ophir Awards, will take questions from the audience.

The festival concludes with “Three Mothers” on February 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Lamport Auditorium. The 2006 film explores Israel’s history through the lives of three Egyptian-born sisters and is a powerful study of an Egyptian family of prominence that leaves Egypt for Israel in the 1950s. Director Dina Zvi-Riklis will take questions from the audience after the screening.

“We are bringing Israeli film here to introduce our students to the Israel of today,” said Festival Producer Norman Adler, University professor of psychology and special assistant to the provost for cultural affairs.

The Ring Family Film Festival at Yeshiva University is conceived and inspired by Frank Ring, a member of the Yeshiva College Board of Overseers and is supported together with Michael Ring, a member of the Stern College for Women Board of Overseers, who with their wives, Louise and Rochelle, respectively, are YU Guardians, and have been generous supporters of Yeshiva University and other Jewish and Israeli causes.

The festival is free and open to the public but space is limited. To learn more or to reserve tickets visit www.yu.edu/film-festival.

Students on CJF Winter Mission Explore Justice and Social Justice in Israel

Tucked away in an office in South Tel Aviv, a group of unlikely bedfellows engaged in some weighty conversation. Stav Shafir, one of the most prominent leaders of the social protest movement that shook up Israel this past summer and a group of Stern College for Women students of Yeshiva University in New York talked tachlis [substance] about social justice.

YU's Devorah Deutsch, center, with a student from the Reali School on the Tzedek V'Tzedaka mission.

“This wasn’t a protest just about housing – housing was the symbol for all of our social services,” explained the 26-year-old Shafir as she delved into the issues that prompted hundreds of thousands of Israelis of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities to demonstrate for a more just society.

This encounter was just one stop on a multi-tiered, eight-day winter break Israel trip for Yeshiva University undergraduates run by the University’s Center for the Jewish Future. Titled, “Tzedek V’Tzedakah,” the mission of two separate groups of 15 men and 15 women explored concepts of justice and social justice in a modern democratic Jewish State.

Through meetings with everyone from top Israeli rabbis and government officials to prison inmates and social activists, these January missions gave students a chance to examine such charged topics as corporate social responsibility and the challenges Israel faces in enforcing justice while being bound to both Jewish law and democratic Western values.

The Tzedek V’Tzedakah groups did not shy away from controversial issues, either. A special panel of haredi and non-haredi residents of Beit Shemesh was added to the itinerary in the aftermath of the violence there against girls at the hands of extremists. Tzedek V’Tzedakah is sponsored in part by the Jim Joseph Foundation.

“Every year we send hundreds of students on various types of experiential and service learning trips around the world,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, the David Mitzner Dean of Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF). “Our goal is for them to realize how they can be agents of change.” Read full article in eJewishPhilanthropy…

Coach Jonathan Halpert Recruits from Israel as His Way of Thanking Those That Served in the IDF

To the average fan, it is no more than another mediocre basketball game in Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. However, for Dr. Jonathan Halpert it means a whole lot more. For Halpert, the Yeshiva University team he coaches represents not only a private Jewish school from New York, but the entire Jewish people.

Coach Halpert

Halpert is in his 40th season as the basketball coach of the Maccabees, who currently have seven players from across Israel on their roster. Halpert, 67, comes to Israel twice a year to recruit local talent, hoping to find players worthy of representing not only Yeshiva University, but Jews everywhere.

“When Maccabi Tel Aviv plays in the Euroleague they are not only representing Maccabi, they are representing Israel and the Jewish people,” Halpert said during his recent visit to Israel.

“Whether Israelis want it or not, in the eyes of the world Maccabi is representing the Jewish state. When Yeshiva University goes out on court we are ‘the Jewish school.’ We are ‘the Jewish players.’ “There’s an opportunity to represent much more than yourself and the name of the school. For me to be able to represent the Jewish people 25 times a year is an opportunity I couldn’t get any place else. In Israel you can coach different teams and have that opportunity, but in America there is only one place I can do that so that is pretty special.” Read the full article in The Jerusalem Post…

Presidential Elections, Global Justice, National Security and Middle East Conflict: Political Science at Yeshiva University

As the 2012 presidential elections heat up, Yeshiva University’s political science courses are offering students an inside look at the domestic and international issues dominating today’s news cycle.

According to Dr. Joseph Luders, the David and Ruth Gottesman Chair of Political Science at YU, the spring semester is the most heavily enrolled in the department’s history. “These courses are academically demanding, topically relevant,  and engaging because they resonate with student concerns,” he explained. “Students are looking for courses that tackle real-world issues.”

For example, in Dr. James Bourke’s Global Justice and Human Rights class at Stern College for Women, students will immerse themselves in raging debates about hunger, poverty, economic development, gender inequality, human trafficking, lack of education and environmental degradation. They’ll ask what Bourke considers to be the central question posed to ethical citizens of first world countries: Are we obligated to help?

“In-depth discussion of theoretical perspectives and moral philosophy will help students think about these issues in terms of the duties and responsibilities they have as human beings, global citizens and citizens of their own countries, as well as how to relate broad issues of global inequality to their identities in personal and social settings,” said Bourke. Because of the course’s emphasis on women’s rights, it will also count towards a minor in women’s studies.

Dr. Charles Freilich, a former Israel national security adviser, will bring his unique professional experience to the Stern course Arab-Israeli Conflict. That class will examine beleaguered peace negotiations from a policy-making standpoint, putting students in the shoes of real-world leaders as they seek to understand the constraints, demands and positions of key players in the Middle East, both historically and today.

“Having worked with policymakers and the Israeli government for over 20 years, I can bring my understanding of how these things work to the classroom,” said Freilich. “We’re not going to focus on what we think is right so much as what the actual leaders can do given their personal preferences and strategic and political constraints.”

Women and the Law, a new Honors course investigating legal theory and the contemporary American legal system from a feminist perspective, will be taught by Dr. Adina Levine, a Stern and Harvard Law School graduate. “We’ll be looking at the kinds of issues that are especially relevant at a women’s college, like whether separate sex education is constitutional or if it reinforces stereotypes and glass ceilings, and hear the law’s current perspective on domestic violence, discrimination, employment and pregnancy,” said Levine. Her advice to students: “Don’t take what the media tells you or the current state of law, which is constantly changing, for granted. It’s only because of critical thinking that the law changes at all—the status quo is not necessarily the right, best or correct way to be.”

At Yeshiva College, Dr. Ariel Malka’s Psychology of Mass Opinion course offers students an eye-opening glimpse into the psychological processes and characteristics that shape public opinion about political issues, from policy preferences and presidential approval ratings to perceptions of how the economy is doing. Students will study the way genetic makeup, personality, media and socialization influence political views, and will also overview research on political judgment and decision-making processes. A current events component will focus on opinion and election polling surrounding the primaries and the lead-up to the general election.

“There’s this idea of a culture war in much of the rhetoric surrounding American politics, that Americans are bitterly divided on a wide set of hot-button issues, the stereotype of religious gun-toting rednecks versus secular latte-sipping liberal elitists, but it’s more complicated than that,” said Malka. “Understanding this complexity will give students a better sense of how opinions are actually structured in the American electorate and the nature of the current American electoral coalitions.”

Also at Yeshiva College, noted national security policy expert Dr. Evan Resnick will lead a course called Power Threats and National Security. Students will examine grand strategy in the United States throughout the 20th century, focusing especially on the idea of containment during the Cold War, as well as stances taken by world powers throughout history, from the Roman Empire to Renaissance-age Spain and England. They will also study emerging national security strategies proposed by scholars and analysts in the wake of 9/11.

“This is an era where there’s a lot of uncertainty about American grand strategy,” said Resnick. “We’re seeing the beginnings of a serious debate we really haven’t had since the end of the Second World War and these decisions are no longer the preserve of the academic think tanks. These are bread-and-butter issues now.”

Talya Seidman, a political science major at Stern, will be taking Women and Law and either Arab-Israeli Conflict or Dr. Ben Neinass’ Politics of Memory in the spring. “I think it’s important to study these topics today because we live in a time of immediate global connection and social protest,” she said. “The tools to know what’s going on all over the country and world are literally at our fingertips. We, as college-educated, young adults should be able to comprehend the significance of these important current events.”

Partnering with College Students, YU High School for Girls Forms Political Action Committee

As the fall semester began, Yeshiva University High School for Girls (YUHSG) junior Rivka Abbe grew increasingly unsettled by the numerous challenges faced by Israel. In light of the Palestinian Authority’s (PA) bid for statehood at the United Nations, Abbe wanted to mobilize her peers to assist the Jewish State.

Members of YUHSG's Political Action Club, from left: Tamar Berman, Shayna Rabin, Hudy Rosenberg, Dina Muskin, Aliza Arbesfeld, Golda Aharon, Rivka Abbe and Renee Wietschner.

With the help of YU Vice President and Chief of Staff Josh Joseph, and YUHSG Assistant Principal Rabbi Seth Grauer, Abbe got in touch with the Yeshiva University Political Action Committee (YUPAC) and arranged for three representatives from Stern College for Women to offer an informational session on the PA statehood bid a day before it occurred at the UN.

Following the presentation by vice president of YUPAC and AIPAC Campus Liaison Dina Muskin, YUPAC Campus Engagement Coordinator Tamar Schwarzbard and YUHSG alumna and YUPAC core member Miriam Shapiro, Abbe realized that she could advocate for Israel from her home base in Queens.

Along with fellow YUHSG student Coco Fischman, she founded the Central Political Action Club (C-PAC). “We wanted to start something serious here at Central,” said Abbe. “If we can train ourselves while in high school to advocate for Israel, it can lead to a lifetime of support.”

Aided by Muskin, who serves as the AIPAC liaison to C-PAC, the fledgling club plans to create a school publication, serve as the catalyst for school-wide education on Israel and act as the spearhead for lobbying politicians to continue supporting foreign aid grants to Israel.

“After our informational session with the students, they clearly felt the need to get involved,” said Muskin. “They loved the empowering idea that they could influence policy. This club will certainly help further their activism when they make it to a college campus.”

In early November, Abbe and Fischman attended AIPAC’s Schusterman Advocacy Institute High School Summit, a three-day conference for Jewish high school students from public and private schools across the country.

On Nov. 30, they and other members of C-PAC joined more than 200 YU students on a mission to Washington, D.C. to lobby on Israel’s behalf. Partly sponsored by the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) Israel Advocacy Grant Program and the AVI CHAI Foundation, the trip also included meetings with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, with remarks by Jonathan Kessler, director of leadership development at AIPAC and Ester Kurz, an AIPAC lobbyist.

“The main issue we face on YU campuses is that students all love Israel but do not realize that they need to actively support it,” said Muskin. “[Programs such as this lobbying mission] are the perfect vehicles to address this apathy.”

Innovative CJF Programs Will Explore Social Justice and Empowerment-Through-Art

Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future (CJF) will run two innovative winter break Israel missions for 40 select undergraduate students beginning January 15, 2012.

“Tzedek and Tzedaka,” an 8-day experiential education program, will explore the concepts of justice and social justice and consider the responsibility of creating a just society in a modern democratic Jewish State. A service-learning program called “Art at ORT” will run concurrently and will focus on social activism and the empowerment of Israeli teens through art. Both programs are sponsored in part by the Jim Joseph Foundation.

“Following the social justice movements in the U.S. and Israel this past summer, we felt it was necessary to work with these students to clarify the issues and reframe the dialogue with help from Torah sources and experts in the field,” said Rabbi Kenneth Brander, David Mitzner Dean of the CJF. “It is important to us that these future leaders have both a broad world-view and a deep appreciation of how these issues are dealt with through the prism of Jewish thought so they can become effective agents of change in their communities and the world-at-large.”

The “Tzedek and Tzedaka” participants—two separate groups of 15 men and 15 women accompanied by YU scholars in residence Rabbi Hershel Schachter and Rabbi Assaf Bednarsh respectively—will study relevant religious texts and meet with top Israeli rabbinic figures, government officials, prison inmates and administrators, founders of Israeli non-profit organizations and social activists. The groups will learn about society’s responsibility for the rehabilitation of criminals, the challenges of enforcing justice in a society heavily influenced by both Jewish law and democratic Western values, the notion of economic justice, corporate social responsibility, the balance of governmental provision and volunteerism.

The groups will also investigate several hot-buttons issues, including the status of women in Israeli government and law, and the challenge of building a just society when faced with opposition from extremist constituents (both non-Jewish and Jewish) who eschew the founding principals of the State.

An outgrowth of the highly successful Counterpoint Israel summer program, “Art at ORT” will help its participants gain a deeper understanding of the power and social importance of art. The group, comprised of 10 men and women with extensive graphic design, filmmaking and musical skills and experience, will spend most of its time running special workshops designed by renowned American art educator Andrea Rabinovitch for 160 middle school students—teens from low-income neighborhoods in Jerusalem—that will help the students discover their inner talents through creative art.

The program participants will also create original NU Campaign t-shirts to raise awareness of social causes in Israel and learn about social activism through film from award-winning filmmakers at the Ma’aleh film school in Jerusalem.

“Once the participants return to campus, we will spend time helping them understand how to translate their experiences into teaching opportunities at Jewish educational institutions throughout North America. As young Jewish leaders, they must begin to see every experience as an opportunity to teach others and strengthen their local Jewish communities,” added Brander.

In addition to its Israel missions, the CJF will be running four other winter missions concurrently: “Jewish Life Coast to Coast,” an initiative that will analyze how individuals can become active and make a difference in North America’s diverse Jewish communities, operating this year in San Francisco, Oakland, Seattle and Vancouver; “Project Kharkov,” a two-week program aimed at gaining a firsthand understanding of the welfare challenges and identity crises facing Ukrainian Jewry; and humanitarian missions to Mexico and Nicaragua.

Seminar Led by Wurzweiler’s Saul Andron Explores Social and Political Realities of Israeli Life

Ten outstanding social work students from select New York-based graduate programs have arrived in Israel to participate in a unique seminar that will explore the social and political realities of life in Israel. Scheduled to run through January 5, the program will play a significant role in preparing the students for professional practice in the Jewish community.

Wurzweiler's Dr. Saul Andron will help lead the unique seminar.

The seminar also marks a strategic educational alliance of Yeshiva University, the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), Columbia University, NYU and the UJA-Federation, focused on developing the skills of Jewish communal professionals.

Led by Dr. Saul Andron, associate professor and the Hausman Chair in Communal Social Work at YU’s Wurzweiler School of Social Work, and Rebecca Grabiner, director of the JTS Graduate School’s Jewish Professional Leadership Program, the students will visit locations around the country to examine Diaspora-Israel Relations, the Tzedek Hevrati protest movement as well as different models developed in Israel to respond to emergencies and trauma.

“Our goal is to paint the full picture for our students, to expose them to as wide a range of social, cultural and political developments as possible within the time allotted, allowing them to cultivate an understanding of each as individuals, social work and Jewish communal professionals, and caring and committed Jews,” said Andron.

“It is important to us that the students come away from this experience with a deep appreciation of Israel’s religiously and culturally diverse population, the many varied perspectives on Jewish and Israeli identity, and the role for social workers in responding to emerging needs among vulnerable populations. But it is just as important that we help the students develop their own personal connections to the people and State of Israel.”

The program—organized by the Israel Seminars JCC Association— includes students from Wurzweiler, JTS, Columbia University School of Social work and NYU School of Social Work, and is funded by Wurzweiler, JTS and in part by UJA-Federation of NY.

In addition to meeting with a collection of the country’s most notable social work professionals and academic experts, and with the directors of many of the top social welfare organizations, the students will also spend several days with social work students enrolled in Tel Hai College and participate in a special emergency response field exercise.  The group will also have the privilege of meeting with Ralph Goldman, the Joint Distribution Committee’s honorary executive vice president and an icon of Jewish philanthropy and Jewish communal life in Israel.

Senior Advisers to Israeli Parliament Meet with President Joel, Students

Eighteen senior Israeli parliamentary professionals visited Yeshiva University on Thursday, December 15 as part of a special mission co-hosted by the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and Israel’s Ministry of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs.

Senior Knesset advisers met with President Joel, center, and members of YU's administration on Dec. 15.

The delegation met with President Richard M. Joel, the University’s deans and members of the student body, and toured YU’s Wilf Campus.

“There is no university in America more committed to the survival and growth of the State of Israel than YU, and none whose students are more committed to being there, living there, and learning there,” said President Joel.

Delegation participants included the bureau chiefs of the ministers of Education, Diaspora Affairs and Government Services; senior advisors to the ministers of Finance, Internal Security, Justice, and Immigration and Absorption; and senior correspondents from some of Israel’s largest media outlets.

“We place significant emphasis on building bridges that promote greater understanding between North American Jewry and Israelis, and this mission to bring senior Knesset professionals to the United States is an integral part of that work,” said Rebecca Caspi, JFNA’s senior vice president for Israel and Overseas.

“We aim to expose the group to a wide range of Jewish groups, organizations and institutions, and to show them the depth of commitment that so many have to Israel and the Jewish people. Yeshiva University is a prime example of that dedication, and an important partner for Israel now and in the future.”

YUPAC Mission Sends More Than 200 Students to Washington to Lobby for Tougher Iran Sanctions

More than 200 Yeshiva University students participated in a lobbying mission to Washington, DC on November 30, 2011. Organized by the Yeshiva University Political Action Committee (YUPAC) and AIPAC campus liaisons Ethan Wasserman and Dina Muskin, the mission offered students the opportunity to lobby their congressmen and women on issues relating to Israel.

[flickrslideshow acct_name="yeshivauniversity" id="72157628319904895"]

“Without Congress’ support, Israel would be a very different country than we know today,” said Dina Muskin, ’12S.  “The good news is that members of Congress care what we think and as long as we make our voices heard, we have a good chance at seeing our opinions and passions turn into policy. That’s exactly what the lobbying process allows us to do—it gives us, Jewish American college students, the ability to affect change on a global level. That ability cannot be underestimated.”

The mission saw the largest group of YU students in the University’s history, with four packed buses heading south early Wednesday morning. “It’s the largest student lobby mission that AIPAC has ever been a part of,” Muskin said. “This mission gave the YU students a taste of what AIPAC is.”

The day’s programming, organized by YUPAC board members and AIPAC staff, included an array of speakers. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the first Jewish woman to represent the state of Florida and chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, started off the morning emphasizing that Israel must remain a bipartisan issue and that there is an urgent need for young leadership. “I love talking to young people,” said Wasserman Schultz. “I love to interact with young people who are supporters of a strong US-Israel relationship because you represent the future of our community and our country, and we’re counting on you to move America forward.”

Recounting her own rising to the House of Representatives at the age of 26, Wasserman Schultz encouraged students to get involved on campus. “What’s important is that you’re passionate about the issues that are close to your heart,” she said. “Use that passion to stand up for the things that you believe in.” The congresswoman also spoke about the impact that her Jewish heritage has had on her approach to politics, policy and the world. “I bring my love of Israel to work with me every day. Be a voice for Israel, be an advocate, a champion. Whether it’s being a chisel or a sledgehammer, it’s really important that we push hard.”

After a presentation by AIPAC’s Jonathan Kessler and Ester Kurz, students proceeded to Capitol Hill to meet with senators, congressmen and policy advisors, to call attention to pressing matters. “Issues on the table included $3 billion in aid to Israel, tougher Iranian sanctions, and urging our government to not agree to the Palestinian bid for statehood and instead talking directly with Israel,” said Ethan Wasserman ’12YC.

Participants also heard from House Majority Leader Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the highest-ranking Jewish member of Congress in history. “These are momentous times for Israel and certainly for the United States,” he said. “Israel is facing [an enemy that is] absolutely unwilling to accept it as a Jewish state, to accept our respect for human life and decency. Until we get over that, there will be no peace. The problem in the Middle East is not that Israel will not extend a hand in peace. The problem has always been of her neighbors refusing to accept her right to exist.”

Students on both sides of the political spectrum spoke excitedly about their meetings with representatives.  “Our meetings were an effective and timely reminder that the ‘issue’ we’re lobbying for may be overseas, but [that] we cannot risk ‘out of sight, out of mind’ here,” said Leora Niderberg ’12S, president of the Torah Activities Council. “Iran is literally a time bomb that needs to be dealt with immediately and can’t be left on the back burner like so many other forgotten bills.”

“It was very heartening to see so many students acting passionately in defense of Israel,” said Chesky Kopel, ’13YC, editor-in-chief of YU’s Kol Hamevaser. “If we turn our passion toward a peace solution for Israel as well, I believe we can really surprise ourselves.”

Wasserman believes that the students lobbying efforts had an immediate impact. “The day after we all lobbied, the Senate voted by a 100-0 vote to pass the amendment regarding Iran sanctions that we pushed for,” said Wasserman. “It is crucial that we show Congress how important it is to us that they keep voting for pro-Israel legislation. We can make a difference and it is our responsibility to do so. ”

The 2011 YUPAC Lobby Mission was sponsored in part by the following organizations: ICC Israel Advocacy Grant Program, AVI CHAI Foundation, SCWSC, TAC, YSU, YCSA, and SYMS Student Councils.

The author, Avital Chizhik, ’12S, is studying English and journalism as part of the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Yeshiva University. She is currently president of the Israel Club and section editor at The YU Commentator.

YU High Schools Hebrew Language Workshop Pairs Students with Acclaimed Israeli Author

Twelve students from the Yeshiva University high schools—eight from the Yeshiva University High School for Boys/Marsha Stern Talmudical Academy (YUHSB) and four from the Samuel H. Wang Yeshiva University High School for Girls (YUHSG)—are participating in an independent study Hebrew literature course in which they will be mentored by a renowned Israeli author with the goal of developing their Hebrew-language creative writing skills.

Bat Shahar (on-screen) mentors YU High School students during a monthly workshop.

Titled “Meet the Israeli Author,” the course—first implemented last year as a workshop— is the first of its kind in a North American Jewish high school, according to Tova Rosenberg, coordinator of the workshop and director of Hebrew language studies at both YU high schools.

Jerusalem-born Chana Bat Shahar, the author of nine Hebrew titles and recipient of the Prime Minister’s Prize (1994), serves as the students’ mentor—a role she filled last year, as well.

Throughout the year, students will participate in monthly “virtual workshops” with Bat Shahar—conducted entirely in Hebrew— during which they will get to know the author, learn about her methods and receive pointers on how to hone their craft. Between meetings, the students work with their Hebrew teachers to prepare for their monthly sessions.

Yolly Dratch (right) chose to take the course for the second year in a row.

Rosenberg believes that this course provides a multi-faceted experience in which the acquired skills will be widely applicable to other areas of study. “In addition to affording these students the opportunity to meet and interact with a well-known Israeli writer, this unique workshop will help them develop the skills and self-confidence required to write excellent Hebrew stories of their own, and these techniques will be used in their English writing, as well.”

Between video conferencing sessions, the students will correspond and receive additional guidance from Bat Shahar through e-mail.

“I chose to take this class because I wanted to learn more Hebrew and I heard it was unlike any other language class given,” said Yonatan Schwartz, of Teaneck, NJ.

“I think it is incredible that we are able to meet and converse with an established author. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Avi Rabinovitch of Denver, CO.

Liora Haibi (standing) teaches Hebrew at YUHSB between workshops with Bat Shahar.

Yolly Dratch of West Hempstead, NY chose to take the course for the second year in row. “I took this course again because I enjoyed it a lot last year. The feedback I got from my teachers and Chana bat Shachar was extremely helpful and encouraging,” said Dratch. “The most interesting part about this class is how I’m pushed to do my best and beyond.”

Over the course of the year, the students will publish their own Hebrew literature journal with their completed short stories.

“I have to admit that last year, I had doubts about the success of this workshop,” said Bat Shahar. “I thought that the students would not be able to overcome the difficulty of creative writing in a foreign language. But, the students’ Hebrew improved from session to session and their creative writing, as well. They wrote beautiful and interesting stories.”