The IDC

School (RRIS)
Daniel Rosenberg, in his 3 rd year studying business, came to IDC from
Raleigh, North Carolina. A transfer student, Rosenberg was active with
Hillel on his previous campus, and with AIPAC on a national level. He
even brought his congressperson, Virginia Foxx, to speak on campus about
the US-Israel relationship.
After starting at IDC, Rosenberg chose to become active in Fugee Fridays,
a volunteer humanitarian initiative founded in early 2008 to aid Tel Aviv’s
growing community of African asylum seekers. Two of the organization’s
founders, Steven Fox and Gilli Cherrin, are RRIS alumni. “Fugee Fridays
has given me a unique experience, allowing me to know that I am making a
direct impact on someone’s life,” said Rosenberg, who helps deliver donated
food once a week to families in need.
“I have grown to feel a part of a community of volunteers and enjoy playing
with the children who live in one of the shelters,” he added. “But perhaps
the most important part of Fugee Fridays is the fact that we are sending a
message to these people that we care about them and that we want to help. If
we are able to continue to send a message of human solidarity and caring to
this community, then our impact will last much longer than a basket of food.”
Rubin and Rosenberg are just two of the many RRIS students who have
chosen volunteer work as a way of both giving back to society and becoming
integrated with their new home in Israel. According to Raphael Recanati
International School (RRIS) Director Wendy Keter: “A lot of these students
come to Israel because they also come from a background of tikun olam,
tzedek, etc., and they were used to being activists at home - probably being
activists for Israel. And now they come to Israel and their activism takes on
a new twist. Now they are not just making the case for Israel, but they have
this opportunity while studying, to help make Israel a better place. And part
of the integrating factor is that they get a lot out of it.
RRIS students have a vast range of activities from which to choose; it can
be teaching English to kids in an afterschool program, working at Save a
Child’s Heart or volunteering for Israel’s Magen David Adom (MADA), the
emergency medical services. The options are endless, and allow students to
find their personal ways to contribute. With each activity, they are “taking
what they did in their home countries and giving it new expression,” says
Keter, adding that there are also dozens of RRIS students who perform
army reserve service while they are studying, not to mention hundreds
more who do volunteer work in return for receiving a scholarship, only
to continue their activities even after completing their mandatory hours.
Besides the large number of students going outwards, there are an ever
growing number of RRIS students taking part in campus activities – more
now than ever before, according to RRIS Head Jonathan Davis. From the
“A LOT OF THESE STUDENTS COME TO ISRAEL BECAUSE THEY ALSO COME
FROM A BACKGROUND OF TIKUN OLAM, TZEDEK, ETC., AND THEY WERE
USED TO BEING ACTIVISTS AT HOME - PROBABLY BEING ACTIVISTS FOR
ISRAEL. AND NOW THEY COME TO ISRAEL AND THEIR ACTIVISM TAKES ON
A NEW TWIST. NOW THEY ARE NOT JUST MAKING THE CASE FOR ISRAEL,
BUT THEY HAVE THIS OPPORTUNITY WHILE STUDYING, TO HELP MAKE
ISRAEL A BETTER PLACE” - Wendy Keter, director of the Raphael Recanati International School
Debate Club to the Mincha Club and from the dance company to the choir,
“this year there is a greater participation of RRIS kids in programs that
integrate all students throughout the school,” says Davis.
Signs of this increasing sense of unity among the Israeli and international
students appeared during the Opening Day festivities. First, the concert was
made bilingual to allow the RRIS students to appreciate it. And then at one
point, says Davis, “All the Israeli students gave a standing ovation in honor of
the RRIS kids for coming to Israel to study.”
- Joy Pincus
IDC Winter 2010 > 43