How can the concept of Jewish peoplehood be incorporated into Israeli youth movement activities? How can lasting connections be made between global Jewish communities and Israelis during kids’ teenage years? These questions and more were ones that were explored at the two-day Hackathon for Israeli youth movement leaders organized by The Jewish Agency’s AmiUnity program in early June.
Moran is the coordinator of the secular Hashomer Hatzair youth movement from Tel Aviv and Yair is the training coordinator of the religious Ariel Youth Movement from Kiryat Arba. They, along with 100 other youth movement coordinators in Israel attended the Hackathon to discuss how they can expose Israeli youth to the experiences of World Jewry and create connections and foster understanding between Israelis and Jews around the world.
“The Hackathon was a very significant and important experience for me,” Moran stated. “We came out with lots of ideas and a program, among other things, to build a helpful framework for new immigrants who come to Israel, to build content for all Jewish sects that will talk about Jewish identity, and more.”
During the Hackathon, each youth movement was tasked with creating a plan for integrating Jewish peoplehood into their activities as well as detailed goals for specific peoplehood projects.
“Globally, being part of Hashomer Hatzair connects you to the Jewish people, it helps preserves your Zionist identity, love of Israel and commitment to Tikkun Olam (repairing the world),” said Moran. “The Hackathon helped us to understand that as a Zionist movement we have a responsibility towards all the boys and girls of the Jewish people.”
“In Ariel, we already have activities in Israel for members of the youth movement and their families that address issues of Jewish communities around the world,” Yair added. “Now, in addition to that, we are planning virtual meetings between Jewish youth in Israel and those abroad, and we will be organizing delegations of teenagers who will come to us from around the world, and send teen delegations from Israel to global communities. The Hackathon gave us a lot of ideas for new projects.”
Both Yair and Moran felt that 100 coordinators from different groups coming together to discuss the big issues was a great first step. Their biggest challenge now will be to figure out how to work together without any youth movement compromising their values. Still, the Hackathon reminded them that no matter where they are on the political map, they are part of the same Jewish People and global Jewish family.
