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JULY 2003


High School Students Bridge
United States-Israel Relationships

by Rob Luchow

United States and Israel relations may appear linked only by an older generation of politicians. However, one organization understands that the future stability of this relationship relies on its youth.

The American Israel Friendship League (AIFL), a non-profit, non-sectarian organization, provides an opportunity for students from both countries to meet across the world and discuss political and social issues. Since its inception in 1977, the US-Israel High School Youth Ambassadors Student Exchange Program has brought together over 4,000 students of diverse religions, ethnic groups and socio-economic statuses from the two nations.

“The overall objective of the program is to teach character development, tolerance and appreciation for diversity,” said William Behrer III, Director of Special Projects for the AIFL and a coordinator for the exchange program. The exchange program began with the idea of bringing students together, coordinated by the New York City Board of Education and the Ministry of Education in Israel. In conjunction with the AIFL, the pilot program sent 30 New York students to Israel for five weeks. In its most recent exchange in November, the exchange sent 120 students from cities including Dallas, Tucson, Omaha, and San Francisco and more than 25 New York students to Israel.

Known as youth ambassadors, the students spend approximately two weeks in each other’s countries, living and interacting with a host family thereby gaining greater knowledge and cultural understanding. The exchange also enables “ambassadors” to give classroom presentations on US-Israel relationships in public schools.

“It is important to provide opportunities for young people to understand what they read,” said Dr. Charlotte K. Frank, Vice President of the AIFL, chair of the Partners for Global Education Committee and Senior VP at McGraw-Hill. “There’s a different reality when students from different countries meet each other.”

Besides the difference in nationality, both the AIFL and the exchange program stress the inclusiveness of the program. Many of the U.S. youth ambassadors are non-Jewish and come from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds; the Israeli youth ambassadors include Druses and Arabs. Ilana Artman, Executive VP of AIFL said that the program “targets students who represent the total population of each country.”

With success for over 25 years, the program looks to expand even further. One addition has been the “virtual exchange” program where students from both countries meet in Washington D.C and New York. They attend workshops on leadership, terrorism, foreign policy, and conflict which are taught through seminars and site visits. Outreach is planned to more U.S. and Israeli cities and to attract an even more diverse population of students.

“This program has given me insight and understanding towards the people, religions, attitudes and culture of Israel,” said John Sechrist a 1993 youth ambassador from Norfolk, VA. “I believe that no textbook, no matter how well written, could replace the experience I have gained in Israel as a youth ambassador.”#

For information on AIFL and the exchange program, go to www.aifl.org.

 

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