Young adults from Washington, D.C., and Beit Shemesh-Adulam meet in the Ambassadors for Unity program (photo by Miriam Sushman)

15 members of the Habonim-Dror, Young Judaea and Bnei Akiva youth movements in the Washington DC area interacted with their cohorts in Beit Shemesh-Adulam around the subject of tolerance. They visited the Israeli region in April and attended a joint seminar examining relations between religiously observant and non-observant Jews, relations between Jews and minorities, and relations between members of Israel's various social strata. The high schoolers also got an in-depth look at the Beit Shemesh-Adulam communities, including home hospitality over Shabbat.

The Israeli youth will pay a reciprocal visit to Washington during Sukkot, will learn about DC's Jewish organizations and will get a close taste of pluralism within the branches of Judaism in North America.

The program aims to develop a cadre of young leaders who will promote tolerance in Washington and Beit Shemesh-Adulam, against the backdrop of increasing polarization among Jews in both Israel and the Diaspora.