Yistach Savransky, 17, is a typical teenager who enjoys hanging out with friends and helping others; he is also visiting America for the first time.
“I am loving my visit. America is just so wonderful. The minute we stepped out of the airplane, it was like we stepped into an American movie,” said Savransky, who is from Beit Shean, Israel.
Savransky and 18 other Jewish teens from Israel are in Cleveland until Sunday to participate in community service projects and develop leadership skills with 20 peers from the Cleveland area during the 11-day event.
The Diller Teen Fellows North American Seminar is part of a year-long cultural exchange program for Jewish teens in North America and Israel. The program aims to inspire and empower Jewish teens to be active, effective leaders with a strong Jewish identity, a sense of belonging and service to their communit, and a responsibility to make the world a better place, officials said.
Endowed by the Helen Diller Family Foundation and the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, the 2011 International Diller Teen Fellows North American Seminar is now under way in Cleveland and seven other cities across the U.S. and Canada. The seminar is one of the most prestigious international Jewish teen programs in the world.
Shay Wizell, 16, also of Beit Shean, said the biggest differences between her community in Israel and the Cleveland area are the structure of the houses, the weather (it changes fast here) and what people talk about.
“We focus on people and relationships; Americans focus more on things (food, clothes, cars) in their conversations,” she said.
The program was originated by San Francisco Bay Area philanthropist Helen Diller in 1997 and since its inception has grown to include partner communities in North America, each of which is paired with an Israeli sister community. Cleveland’s sister community is Beit Shean.
“Two times a year, there is a leadership program where Cleveland-area Jewish teens travel to Beit Shean and families host the teens, and then teens from Beit Shean travel to Cleveland and live with host families here,” said Cleveland Diller Teen Fellows North American coordinator Sonia Yungster.
“During this visit, the teens are involved in all kinds of projects, workshops and activities designed to build leadership skills and empower Cleveland’s next generation of Jewish leaders. This is an exciting and intense exchange that will leave an indelible mark on our community and on these amazing young teens,” she said.
The teens are volunteering at homeless shelters, soup kitchens, special schools and other community service organizations.
Savransky and Wizell both said they were affected positively by participating in the various community service activities during their stay in Cleveland.
“I had the chance to spend time with little children in a homeless shelter’s nursery room, while their parents were getting some things they needed,” Wizell said. “I was moved, playing with those kids.”
Savransky was affected emotionally while spending time in a school for developmentally delayed children.
“We played and had fun with the autistic kids; it was so nice to see they were being cared for,” he said.
To enroll or learn more about the Cleveland Diller Teen Fellows program, call Yungster (216-464-4050). For more information about the Diller Teen Fellows Program, check online (http://www.jewishfed.org/diller) or call 415-512-6432.
Local News
Related Photos
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Shay Wizell and Yiftach Savransky, Israeli members of the Diller/AFU Program, stand in front of the Jewish Federation of Cleveland�s Mandel Building.
Discussion
Exchange program fosters Jewish identity and service
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