220 youth, members of the Argentinean PAKMA (Maccabi International Association of Community Centers) were hosted in Raanana and attended seminars as part of the Israel and the Diaspora Project.  The project is operated by the Informal Education Administration’s Supplementary Education Division, acting as a bridge between Israel and associations in the Jewish communities around the world.

PAKMA includes 40 clubs across Argentina, with approximately 50,000 Jewish members.  For years, hundreds of young counselors, graduates of PAKMA’s counselors’ school come to Israel for training in January.

During the recent visit, the youth volunteered at different centers in Raanana, including the Shikma Program, Beit Issie Shapira, Kfar Nachman, the Senior Citizen Daycare Center, and Beit Hayotzer Artists’ House and were given practical experience in quality activities and volunteering on behalf of the community.  The youth also attended seminars on a number of fields:  music, dance, arts, sports, and early childhood that were offered at the art center, the center for young music, the new community center and Eshkol Hapayis.  At the end of the day, there was a special panel that included new immigrants from South America currently living in Raanana. 

When the counselors return to Argentina, they will pass on the values they absorbed while in Israel in a variety of quality educational programs that are designed to increase involvement and a love of Israel.

Mayor Nahum Hofree:  “I am happy that Raanana works to bring the Diaspora youth closer to Israel.  Their visit to Raanana is very important in encouraging and expanding the relationship of the Diaspora youth to Israel and to Jewish society.”

Deputy Mayor Aryeh Friedman (director of the informal education administration.  “The youth undergo one of the most significant experiences of their lives in Israel, and they become faithful ambassadors of the State of Israel.”

In the photo:  Argentinean youth on their visit to Raanana.  Photo courtesy of the Raanana Municipality.