Rabbis For Human Rights - North America

Student Program in Israel

“Ben Zoma said: Who is he that is wise? He who learns from every man, as it is said: From all have I gained understanding." (Pirkei Avot 4:1)

Rabbinical Students for Human Rights: Year in Israel Program

Rabbis for Human Rights-North America, together with Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel, have launched an interdenominational Judaism and human rights education program for North American rabbinical students, cantorial students and others studying in Israel during the 2011/2012 academic year. The program is an opportunity for talented students spending the academic year in Israel to learn about human rights in Israel and the Palestinian Territories and to take action on human rights issues. 

 

Stay Informed

Join the Rabbinical Students for Human Rights: Year in Israel mailing list.

For information about volunteer leadership opportunities for North American students in Israel during the 2011/2012 academic year, please contact Marisa Elana James, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America's Rabbinical Student Fellow in Israel at mjames@rhr-na.org.

 

Join Us in Israel during the 2011/2012 Academic Year

Students (as well as students' spouses and partners) are encouraged to participate in individual trips and learning opportunities or as many of the events as they can.  All events and trips are free!

 

Upcoming Events

Sunday, May 20, 7:00 pm: Creative Writing Workshop with Author Joan Leegant

Learn how you can integrate creative writing and personal narratives based on your experiences in Israel into your rabbinate with author Joan Leegant. Joan Leegant is a former attorney and author of Wherever You Go (published July 2010) and An Hour in Paradise (winner of the PEN/New England Book Award, the Wallant Award for Jewish Fiction, and Finalist for the National Jewish Book Award). She taught at Harvard University for eight years and since 2007, she has lived half the year in Tel Aviv, where she is the visiting writer at Bar-Ilan University and lectures for the U.S. State Department.

• Location: The Conservative Yeshiva, located at the Fuchsberg Center, 8 Agron Street, off of Keren HaYesod/King George in Jerusalem.
• Dinner will be provided.
• RSVP by May 17 to Marisa Elana James, our Rabbinical Student Fellow in Israel, at mjames@rhr-na.org.

 

 

 

Past Events

 

Monday, October 24, 7:30 pm: Introductory Information Session

Meet the leadership of Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel while getting to know fellow seminary students. Learn about the mission and work of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America and Rabbis for Human Rights in Israel and how you can get involved in our organizations through the Rabbinical Students for Human Rights: Year in Israel Program, additional one-off or weekly volunteer opportunities and RHR in Israel’s weekly Human Rights Yeshiva Program (taught in Hebrew). A brief orientation about participating in the olive harvest will be provided at the end of the information session.

 
Monday, November 7, 7:30 pm: Shiyur on “The Rabbi as a Moral Leader” with Rabbi Jill Jacobs, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights-North America

Learn about slavery and human trafficking, torture and Islamophobia in the United States from human rights and rabbinic perspectives. A brief orientation about participating in the olive harvest will be provided at the end of the shiyur.

 

Friday, November 11: Harvest Olives and Bear Witnesses

Accompany, assist and bear witness to Palestinian farmers who face harassment and violence by Israeli settlers and security forces in the West Bank.

 

Friday, December 16: Tour East Jerusalem

Join Rabbis for Human Rights for a tour combining Jewish sources and human rights issues in East Jerusalem.  Learn about the Separation Barrier, home demolitions, and the struggle for control over Jerusalem, including visits to current "hot spots" such as Silwan and Sheikh Jarrah.  The program will include text study, and meetings with Palestinian residents and leaders of the efforts to wage a non-violent struggle for justice together with Israelis.

 

Friday, January 20: Visit Rabbis for Human Rights' Economic Justice Program in Hadera with Rabbi Idit Lev

In the past few years, Israel has flirted with U.S.-style economic reform, including the "Wisconsin" welfare-to-work program, and increasing restrictions on the right for dignified existence for low income workers and unemployed. Rabbi Idit Lev, Economic/Social Justice Director at Rabbis for Human Rights, will lead a text study and then introduce the group to low-income Israeli and Palestinian women who worked together to successfully fought powerful lobbyists to dismantle anti-poor social policies.

 

Friday February 17: Tour Hebron with Breaking the Silence and Project Hayei Sarah

Have an unmediated encounter with the reality of military occupation on a tour led by a former combatant who served in Hebron and will share his experiences to help illustrate the Israeli government's policies enacted by the IDF. Project Hayei Sarah members will lead a Judaic text study that will provide a rabbinic lens for the experience.

 

Monday, March 12: Shiyur on "Masekhet Zechuyot HaAdam based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights" with Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Rabbis for Human Rights-North America's Director of North American Programs

Participate in a text study of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights accompanied by relevant Jewish sources. Learn more about RHR-NA’s North American Programs on torture and indefinite detention, slavery and human trafficking, and Islamophobia.

 

Friday, March 30: Visit the Unrecognized Bedouin Village of Al Arakib and the Government Township of Tel Sheva

See firsthand the effects of the repeated demolition of the unrecognized Bedouin village of Al Arakib. Learn about government plans to force tens of thousands of other Bedouin citizens from dozens of other villages off their land. Hear how RHR and RHR-NA are mobilizing activists and Bedouin community members on the ground in pursuit of justice for these unrecognized villages. In Tel Sheva, meet young Bedouin women change-makers who are participants in Citizens for Equality, an academic program for Bedouin and Jewish women in the Negev offered by RHR and Sapir College. The students involved with Citizens for Equality learn about gender, human rights and development and engage in service-learning projects.

 

Monday, April 30, 7:30-9:30 pm: A Jewish text study on Masekhet Atzmaut, based on Israel's Declaration of Independence with Rabbi Nava Hefetz

In honor of Yom Ha'Atzmaut, participate in a Jewish text study of Masechet Atzmaut, based on Israel's Declaration of Independence led by Rabbi Nava Hefetz, Rabbis for Human Rights' Director of Education.