Write On For Israel
Writing On For Israel (WOFI) is a zionist organization whose objective is to train American-Jewish High School students for two years to improve their Israel-advocacy effectiveness by improving their writing, journalism and communications skills. The program includes the following areas:
- The History of Israel
- Modern Jewish History
- Facts and Myths of the Current Conflict
- Recognizing and Countering Press Bias
- Meeting the Challenges on College Campuses
The WOFI students are prepared to engage in serious Israel-advocacy at their eventual universities and to join student newspapers. One can track the early WOFI graduates and determine that in fact most of them join the university newspapers.
Contents
About WOFI
From the WOFI website program description:
Write On For Israel is an intensive and exciting two-year program that trains a select group of high school students to become advocates for Israel through journalism. A project of the New York Jewish Week newspaper, Write On For Israel teaches students about Israel, Zionism and the Arab-Israeli conflict and empowers them to become effective advocates through writing, broadcasting and public speaking. Sessions focus on Jewish and Israel history and the facts and myths of the current conflict, as well as confronting press bias and making Israel's case to the media. The seminars are taught by top educators and professional journalists and feature appearances by Israeli officials, IDF officers, college students, PR executives and other top professionals.
Participants will be trained in:
- Journalistic writing
- Media relations
- Public speaking
When and Where Will the Program Take Place?
The seminars will be held on seven Sundays between November and June at the Kraft Jewish Center at Columbia University, culminating in a 10-day, free trip to Israel in early July, 2006.
From the Avi Chai description:
Write On For Israel This program, initiated by Gary Rosenblatt, publisher of the New York Jewish Week, trains high school students in their junior and then senior years to become advocates for Israel on college campuses. The curriculum involves (1) seven Sundays of seminars during the first year on Jewish and Israeli history, the facts and myths of the current conflict, confronting press bias and making Israel's case to the media; (2) a ten-day Israel mission in June; and (3) a choice of tracks for hands-on field work activities during the students' senior year.
The New York program will begin its fifth cohort in fall 2006. The impact of the program can already be seen through the efforts of the first graduates of the program, who are now active Israel advocates on campus.
Building on the success of the NY program, AVI CHAI and the Jewish Week have taken the franchise model to Chicago, where the program has been coordinated as a joint venture of the JUF News, the Chicago Community Foundation for Jewish Education and the Associated Talmud Torahs. The Chicago program will begin its third cohort in fall 2006.
Principals
- Linda Scherzer – Program Director
- Gary Rosenblatt – Founding Editor
- Yotav Eliach – Core Educator
WOFI Student Graduates
| WOFI Students by cohort | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2002-2003 | 2003-2004 | 2004-2005 |
| Arielle Anhalt | Sally Abadi | Daina Anhalt |
| Maxim Astashinsky | Rachel Bayefsky-Anand | Nina Anziska |
| Bella Ballas | Emily A. Belfer | Amanda Baskind |
| Leonid Begun | Aryeh Bernstein | Oren Benzaquen |
| Erica Belkin | Ben Decker | Jennifer Fishkin |
| James Bennet | Charles Harris | Adam Gindea |
| Nava Billet | Sippy Laster | Maya Glickman |
| Sara Bressler | Daniel Lubelskir | Jacob Greenberg |
| Boaz Cohen | Ora Z. Novick | Ari Heistein |
| Alan Feder | Amanda Pariser | Elah Lanis |
| Samantha Goldman | Yonatan Schenker | Eric Lemor |
| Daniel Goldmintz | Adeena Schlussel | Francesca Levine |
| Deena Greenberg | Emily Steinberger | Jeremy Miles |
| Chaim Gruschko | David Valiyev | Westleigh Nirenberg |
| Noam Harary | Jessica Weiner | Eitan Rapps |
| Melissa Hauptman | Avigayil Ribner | |
| Rachel Klapper | Sam Safdieh | |
| Noach Lerman | Anna Sce' | |
| Elissa Lerner | Yedidya Schwartz | |
| Daniel Loewenstein | Ido Shargal | |
| Abigail Marcus | Lexi Shechtel | |
| Shifra Mincer | Aviya Slutzky | |
| Whitney Mosery | Zahava Stadler | |
| Aryeh Roskies | Orah Weiss | |
| Zachary Saltzman | ||
| Tamar Schimel | ||
| Danielle Slutzky | ||
| Jonathan D. Stettin | ||
| Rob Weisenfeld | ||
Affiliations
- The Jewish Week (the largest Jewish newspaper in the US)
- Avi Chai Foundation
Contact
- Website: www.writeonforisrael.org
