Thinking of Israel – Thinking of Home – Coming Into the Light of Aliyah

News

Cheshvan 9, 5773, 25/10/12 12:06

Hundreds Gather in NYC to “Think Israel”

Hundreds attend unqiue conference addressing Israel and Aliyah related topics – jobs, high education, army service, Masa programs and more.

Yoni Kempinski

A special ‘Think Israel’ conference organized by Nefesh B’Nefesh and The Jewish Agency for Israel, took place at the UJA-Federation of New York in Manhattan this week. The conference, geared for Jewish students and young professionals, focused on careers and life in Israel, and featured various workshops addressing Jobs in Israel, Higher Education, Building your Community, Social Justice, Israel Engagement and more.

The event also included an Israel Fair where people considering Aliyah were able to meet with potential employers as well as a special workshop for physicians.

The ‘Think Israel’ conference drew hundreds of attendees and incorporated various breakout sessions covering a wide array of Aliyah and Israel-related topics, including breaking into the Israeli job market, higher education and social action in Israel, army service in Israel, and exploring the Jewish Agency’s Masa programs.

A special Tweetup focusing on “Challenges in Online Israel Advocacy” was held during the conference, featuring a lineup of popular Jewish social media personalities, including Lisa Alcalay Klug, award-winning journalist, author of Cool Jew and Hot Mamalah; Bethany Shondark, Social Media Associate at Commentary Magazine; Josh Yuter, Rabbi of the Stanton St. Shul, Top 10 Jewish influencer and award winning blogger; Seth Mandel, Assistant Editor at Commentary Magazine and Laura Ben-David, Social Media Coordinator of Nefesh B’Nefesh.

In addition to the sessions, a special webinar was broadcast from the event focusing on Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Go North program, as part of the Negev & Galil Development Project that the organization conducts in cooperation with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL) to encourage Olim to move to Israel’s periphery.

Photos: Shahar Azran, courtesy of Nefesh B’Nefesh