Bursting at the Seams

Tnuat Aliyah's ranks expand daily as more and more young Jews flock to its programs.

Careen around the city in an ambulance on your way to give first aid to victims of a car crash. -- Magen David Adom Ambulance Volunteers

Work as an intern with respected professionals in your chosen field, be it business, hi-tech or psychology. -- Professional Internships

Spend four months in intensive, disciplined training honing your outdoor survival skills. -- Marva / Navigation and Campcraft

The Immigration and Absorption Department's Tnuat Aliyah truly offers young Jews from around the world exciting challenges and creative opportunities to experience an Israel hidden from the eyes of the tourist. And each of the programs is regularly re-evaluated and upgraded to appeal to a larger target population and to serve program returnees.

How does Vicki Angel, Director of Tnuat Aliyah, account for the steep rise in the number of program participants this year?

"On the one hand the security situation has improved. On the other hand, the visceral reactions provoked by the initial, awful period of the intifada remained, leaving many young Jews with an urge to do something productive in Israel. Our hands-on programs cater to that drive. While printed material and well-informed shlichim are essential for promotion, I would venture to say that our program graduates do most of our hard sell. That means that we may expect a corollary rise in applicants next year."

Professional Internships

Vered Layish, Coordinator of the Professional Internship Program explains that "long-term programs are key to the process of aliyah-in-stages. Our interns come for an average of three months. They are students or college graduates, and find work at a variety of commercial, public and voluntary institutions here." For the close to 300 expected participants this year, the internship program transforms the vague possibilities of Israel into concrete options. "About ten percent of our interns make aliyah, and all of those who go back return with a revitalized commitment to the Jewish people."

Dr. Boaz Ganor (ctr) of the IDC Terrorism Resesarch Center with 8 of his interns. Dr. Ganor, who won Tnuat Aliyah's Employer of the Year award, has employed dozens of interns and hired many as permanent employees.

A recent internship in the Department of Justice on comparative legislation with "totally amazing people," was an introduction to Israeli law that Renee Komesaroff from Melbourne will never forget. Returning to Australia to finish her degree, she made aliyah in July, speedily passing her qualifying exams and beginning a clerkship in a Ramat Gan firm specializing in commercial law.

Recent intern Renee (l) with a friend.

Renee grew up in the Bnei Akiva youth movement, and Israel was always in the cards for her. Her internship in the Ministry clinched the direction of her future.

Vered continues, " We are always on the lookout for more employers who can appeal to a wider range of professions. This year, we developed two new tracks: with Ilan, the Israel Foundation for Handicapped Children where we have already placed physical and occupational therapists, psychologists and social workers as interns; and with the Israel Hotels Association, where a chef, an audio-visual technician, a computer programmer and multi-lingual receptionists have interned. We expect more placements in our upcoming groups.

Magen David Adom Ambulance Volunteer Program

With a growth rate of over 50 percent this past year, Yael Quinn-Holzberg, Coordinator of the Yochai Porat Magen David Adom Overseas Volunteer Program can barely keep up with the workload. One of the new tracks in the program soon provided a response to both returning volunteers and to Yael. Last spring, we created a course for the training of a select group of returning volunteers as first-aid course instructors and counselors. They helped me tremendously this past summer when they worked with our new volunteers, who, just in July, numbered 95.

Two MDA volunteers on duty.

"Some of our graduates joke, 'Once infected with the MDA virus, it is invariably chronic.' I began volunteering myself in 1994, and I can really understand their passion. We are initiating an advanced course for which we have already registered two sessions of returning participants. It covers topics such as defibrillation, IV administration, delivering babies and complications during birth.

Spanish and French-language programs have also opened this year attracting many medical students. "Our next project is to integrate an ulpan into the program to allow those with little or no Hebrew to join the program ." With enthusiastic graduates returning to college campus to spread the word and the new tracks opening up, it looks like Yael will have even more work on her hands.