Representatives of Herzog College joined 100 Jewish school principals and leaders of Jewish educational organizations at the international Yael Foundation Conference in Cyprus to discuss the future of Jewish education.
The Yael Foundation was founded three years ago by Jewish philanthropists Uri and Yael Poliavich. It currently supports 65 projects involving 10,000 children around the globe in 31 countries throughout Europe, South America, North America, North Africa and Asia-Pacific.
The Foundation’s Director of Education, Eliezer Lesovoy, explained its objectives to strengthen Jewish education. “We aim to improve access to Jewish learning for Jewish children around the world, and also to enable and motivate Jewish educational institutions to strive for academic excellence. While we don’t always know the skills that children will need in 10 years, we work on assembling an innovative toolkit for Jewish educators in a constantly evolving environment. Our vision is to turn the profession of Jewish educator into a prestigious one. While we invest in tools and modern technology for proper education, we also work to ensure that Jewish educators are financially rewarded.”
The four-day Conference in Cyprus addressed the challenges that Jewish educators face in rethinking concepts such as authority, success, and the quality of education. Dr. Tzachi Lev-Ran, Head of the Academy-Field Department at Herzog College gave a lecture on dealing with parents who do not cooperate with teachers, and participated in a panel discussion on dilemmas of identity, communities and Israel-Diaspora relations following the events of October 7.
Amihai Bannett, CEO of Herzog Global met with educators from around the world to hear what educational resources they would like Herzog to provide, and he addressed the Conference about Herzog’s vision of the future for Jewish education. He said: “Strengthening Jewish identity became even more important following the events of October 7. When we woke up on October 8, we realized that teachers around the world would need to prepare for the following day, Monday, when Jewish students would return to classrooms.” He recounted how a former lecturer and psychologist at Herzog College recorded a short video on how to help teachers address the Hamas attacks. The Bible study experts at Herzog published a lesson plan based on a story from the Tanakh about King David’s response to an attack on his kingdom as an example of resilience.
Summarizing the purpose of the Conference, Lesovoy said: “In a world where education is being challenged by innovations such as artificial intelligence, virtual reality, and a multitude of interactive methodologies, teachers need to preserve the most important thing — eternal Jewish values.”
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