December 17, 2009 / 30 Kislev 5770

Approximately 800 high school seniors from dozens of Jewish schools in France are arriving in Israel this week as part of the Jewish Agency’s “High Schoolers  in Blue and White” project.

The teens will be given tours throughout the country, and the opportunity to see firsthand various opportunities for post-high school education in different academic institutions in Israel.  During the visit, the youths’ representatives will present to the Shalit family a special poster expressing solidarity with the captured soldier and his family.

Students disembarking from an Arkia jetliner on December 16, 2009 after landing in Israel, holding a poster in support of Gilad Shalit.  For the first time since the project’s founding in 2003, the students arrived in Israel on three flights flown by the Arkia airline.  Just recently, the Jewish Agency signed an agreement with Arkia and other companies that will bring new immigrants and youths to Israel from France and other countries around the world.