FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Rabbi Eric Lankin
Chief, Institutional Advancement and Education, JNF
212-879-9305 ext. 264
elankin@jnf.org
Marni Mandell
CEO, AMIIE
800-327-5980
mmandell@amiie.org
Alexander Muss Institute and Jewish National Fund
Promote Israel Education Together in New Alliance
August 31, 2006 -- New York, NY -- To capitalize on their respective strengths and on new synergies created by working together, Jewish National Fund (JNF) and The Alexander Muss Institute for Israel Education (AMIIE) are pleased to announce a new alliance.
Long recognized as the leader in academic high school education in Israel for American students, AMIIE, also known by its flagship program, The Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI), will maintain its own corporate governance structure. JNF will assume responsibility for most of AMIIE’s marketing and technology functions and its operations will be supervised by JNF as part of its education efforts.
AMIIE’s national office will now be located in JNF’s New York headquarters and will be run by a new Chief Executive Officer, Marni Mandell, who joins AMIIE after four very successful years as director for Otzma, a year-long post college program in Israel.
“The alliance with AMIIE dovetails perfectly with the mission of JNF’s Israel Advocacy and Education Department,” said JNF’s Chief Executive Officer Executive Russell F. Robinson. “We have created the mechanism to fulfill the mandated task set forth by the World Zionist Organization ‘to provide Zionist education in the Diaspora.’ Our work that begins on the elementary school level and continues all the way up to the university level brings greater understanding and pride to every Jew for the miraculous achievements of the people and State of Israel and its supporters around the world. Working more closely with AMIIE will allow us to further our fulfillment of that vital task.”
“The future for AMIIE is exciting, both from the perspective of its potential growth and the educational value it imparts to its students,” said AMIIE Board Chair Bob Werner.
AMIIE’s unique approach to education—characterized by classroom education for high school and college credit combined with tiyulim, trips, to historic sites in Israel—will remain based in Hod Hasharon, Israel under long-time executive director Chaim Fischgrund.
Also joining this new alliance is IsraelExperts, a leading provider of informal education tours and other services to many different groups including Taglit birthright Israel. Using a team of in-house educators, tour operators, as well as marketing and IT professionals, IsraelExperts brings an added dimension of the latest high tech approaches to marketing and recruitment.
Joe Perlov, IsraelExperts CEO, is also excited about working with AMIIE and JNF. “Many of us know and have personally experienced the transformative power of an Israel experience in our own lives,” he said. “It can make all the difference in strengthening and deepening the connection of our students to their faith, to their history, to the Jewish people and to the State of Israel.”
AMIIE, JNF and Israel Experts will join forces to expand and enhance the core program, High School in Israel, and the uniquely designed programs offered to day schools partners. New programs are also planned for the future for other target groups, making the three organizations a one-stop shop for many teen and adult education trips. Discussions are also underway for as many as four new AMIIE campuses in Israel, to accommodate a total of 5,000 students each year, starting with a new campus in the Negev as part of JNF’s Blueprint Negev, its campaign to develop the Negev Desert for an additional 250,000 - 500,000 people.
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Jewish National Fund is a non-profit organization founded in 1901 to serve as caretaker of the land of Israel, on behalf of its owners—Jewish people everywhere. Over the past century, JNF has planted over 240 million trees, built over 180 reservoirs and dams, developed over 250,000 acres of land, created more than 1,000 parks, provided the infrastructure for 1,000 communities and educated students around the world about Israel and the environment. Today, JNF is putting its century of experience to work with the Blueprint Negev initiative, supporting Israel’s newest generation of pioneers in developing the Negev Desert, Israel’s last frontier. For more information on JNF or to plant trees in Israel, call 1-800-542-TREE (8733) or visit www.jnf.org. To contact your local office, please call 888-JNF-0099 or visit http://www.jnf.org/
The Alexander Muss Institute for Israel Education offers students an extraordinary academic experience combined with trips to historic sites in Israel. Since its founding in 1972 by Rabbi Morris Kipper and the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, more than 18,000 teens from across the country have strengthened their ties to Israel through classroom courses for which school credit is given (including up to six college credits). Many of these students have enterered the most prestigious universities, and have become some of the most successful businessmen in America. Students visit all parts of the country for first-hand experiences and learning, helping to create a lifelong love and attachment to the Jewish homeland. Public high school students attend one of five, eight week sessions during the year, called the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI). Special adult programs are available to interested groups. For information, visit http://www.amiie.org/ or call 800-327-5980.
IsraelExperts Initiatives in Education, Ltd, an Israel- based educational tour operator specializing in educational programs. IsraelExperts is at the center of educational endeavors in Israel and in Jewish communities in the Diaspora. The company facilitates educational program development, multi-cultural encounters, and the building of informal educational encounters for partnered communities. IsraelExperts designs and implements innovative activities and programs with a hands-on approach. For information, visit http://www.israelexperts.com/ or call 800-218-9851.
