Click here for the Be'eri website (Hebrew)   “Let me illustrate what Be’eri has done to our school: up until this year, our school’s mission statement was applicable to any teenager in the world. It included many good and important values, but absolutely nothing about the unique cultural identity of Jewish-Israeli youth. Today, that identity stands at the heart of our mission. All our executive meetings evolve around the question of Jewish identity. The school is now presented as a Jewish educational establishment.”           - Haya Shoham, Principal of the New High School, Tel Aviv   “I think this is the first time I’ve really opened up to Judaism - and Judaism has opened up to me.”                                           - Maya, 10th grade, Givat Brenner   After a yearlong pilot phase in 11 select schools, Be’eri now works with thousands of students in more than 25 high schools located in five areas across Israel. (Click here for list) The program is poised in the 2010-2011 school year to include 50 schools and regionally based operations that will partner with networks of schools and educational organizations to provide Jewish educational responses suited to the particular needs of local communities.   Context   One of the major paradoxes of Israeli education today is that, rather than cultivate a strong sense of Jewish identity among its youth, the Jewish state’s public education system has actually contributed to the growing alienation from Judaism among young adults. While Orthodox students are educated in religious schools that prioritize Jewish education, non-religious students in the public high school system are provided with an absolute minimum in Jewish studies.   Be’eri, the Shalom Hartman Institute’s response to this troubling phenomenon, pioneers a new national model for Jewish high school education that radically affects all those it touches - students, educators, parents and the community at large - changing the face of Jewish identity in secular Israeli society. Launched in September 2006, Be’eri - Hebrew for “My Well” - transforms secular Israeli high schools into centers of Jewish pluralism. Working with nearly 20 select schools at present, with a strategic plan to reach 25% of Israel’s non-religious high schools in the coming 10 years, Be’eri is turning Jewish studies from a marginal discipline into a cornerstone of secular Israeli education.   Vision   Non-religious Israeli high school students receive an extensive, meaningful and pluralistic Jewish education that empowers their sense of Jewish identity, expands their knowledge of Jewish values and texts, and fosters their commitment to Jewish pluralism.   Mission   To create an Israel-wide network of public non-religious high schools that serve as delivery systems of innovative, comprehensive, formal and informal pluralistic Jewish education for students, parents, educators and the general community.   Methodology   Partnering with Jewish philanthropists from Israel and around the world, the Israeli government and Israeli municipalities, Be’eri serves as a Jewish studies funding, resource, training and support center for non-religious high schools across Israel. Be’eri provides each high school in the program with: Expanded Jewish Studies Funding - a four-fold increase school-wide in Jewish studies classroom hours Comprehensive Jewish Studies Curriculum - Israel’s first comprehensive, holistic Jewish studies curriculum for secondary schools and the individual teaching units to put it into practice Educator Training and Enrichment - training programs that produce an elite cadre of Jewish studies teachers while providing intensive professional enrichment to veteran principals and educators Leadership Programs - the cultivation of a core group of student and parent leaders who actively promote Jewish tradition and values within the school community Community Learning - an intergenerational and informal Beit Midrash program that brings students, teachers and parents together on a regular basis for Jewish study and dialogue Professional Facilitation - the provision to each school of a professional Jewish studies facilitator to guide its transformation  Goals   Short-term (1-3 years): Be’eri will expand to 50 schools in the 2009-2010 school year, develop a process guiding schools’ progress along the program’s trajectory, establish the infrastructure needed to sustain and grow further, expand its base of long-term support, create regional clusters of schools, grow in national and international reputation, and begin to exert influence over Israeli educational policy.   Medium-term (3-5 years): Be’eri will establish a critical mass of 50 partnering schools working in synergy, deliver its services through regional centers, establish a team of educational institutions as partners, and establish the infrastructure needed to sustain and grow further.   Long-term (5-10 years): Be’eri will partner with 100 schools (roughly 25% of Israel’s non-religious high schools) in six regions, forming a nationwide network affecting a powerful influence over Jewish identities and related discourse.   Contact   Be'eri is directed by Daniel Elazar. Schools Tali Beit Hinuch (Jerusalem) Ort Ramot (Jerusalem) Sieff & Marks (Jerusalem) Ironi Bet Modiin Maccabim-Reut Givat Brenner Eshel HaNassi (Beersheva) Makif Aleph (Ashdod) Makif Daled (Ashdod) Makif Gimmel (Ashdod) Nahalat Yehuda (Rishon Lezion) Emek Hefer (Tel Aviv) Ironi Aleph L'Amanuyot (Tel Aviv) Hadash (Tel Aviv) Ironi Heh (Tel Aviv) Ironi Heh (Haifa) Ort Megadim (Carmiel) Tichon Makif Nesher (Nesher) Ort Hatzor Haglilit (Hatzor) Har VaGai (Upper Galilee) Ma'aleh Shaharut Lady Davis Hareali Matos Alliance Ayanot Tichon LeMadaim v'Amanuyot      Map of High Schools participating in Be'eri Program Back to top    Back to top