Close to 10,000 children are enrolled in 44 Jewish schools throughout the former Soviet Union under the auspices of the Jewish Agency's Heftziba network. These schools provide children with their first exposure to Hebrew, Jewish history and tradition.  This past year, hundreds of Heftziba school students throughout the FSU participated in a multi-faceted study of Israel’s history and a celebration of its independence through the generous support of the AVI CHAI Foundation.  The most diligent students were rewarded this summer with an invitation to participate in a seminar in Israel.

Jerusalem area academic educational leaders led the project over the course of the 2006-7 school year, with key components shared on a specially designed website (www.1948.ru).  Local school leaders in Kiev and Moscow guided the project and worked closely with school shlichim and teachers across the FSU.

The competition (for youth in grades 7-11) focused on enlisting students in planning Israel Independence Day events in their schools.  The agenda included quizzes and presentations to bring Israel’s heritage to life. Among the themes were symbols of Israel, stories of Zionist leaders, the history of Jerusalem and its liberation, and reflections on those themes in Israeli literature and poetry.  The students also learned about the refuseniks of the USSR, a chapter in their own national history that many discovered for the first time.

The young winners represented the full spectrum of Heftziba schools across the FSU, from a wide range of religious streams and movements such as Chabad and Ort, all of whom were united together through Israel. The invitation to participate in the seminar in Israel enabled them to deepen the ties nurtured over the course of the school year. Highlights included an encounter with prominent refusenik Joseph Bigun and visits to historical sites they had known only from books and electronic media. When the Heftziba students returned to school this fall, they shared their experience and brought Israel to life for their classmates and communities.