By Ellen Schur Brown, Editor, Family Section, Cleveland Jewish News
It was a first trip to America for Or Valinaamat of Beit She’an, Israel, and Shaker Heights did not disappoint. “Wow, it’s just like in the movies,” Or, 17, said on the drive home. In December, Or hosted my 16-year-old daughter Bess Brown when she visited Israel, and now our family got to return the hospitality.
Multiply that exchange with Or times 19 other kids, and you’ve got the Diller Teen Fellows/Ambassadors For Unity yearlong teen leadership program, sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland’s department of international operations and administered on the Cleveland side by @Akiva.