As the crow flies, the distance between Colorado and Israel is considerable — more than 6,000 miles from Jerusalem to Denver — but there’s nothing like human contact to bridge the distance between the two places.
For the past five years, that human contact has been provided in the form of enthusiastic and outgoing youths from Israel — shinshinim in Hebrew, emissaries in English — who have made Colorado their home for a year.
In many cases, these young ambassadors may be the first Israelis their Colorado counterparts have ever met, and vice versa. The personal contact between them is a powerful way to introduce young people to two very different — but in some ways, not so different — realities.
Part of the JEWISHcolorado’s community shlichah program, under the direction of Osnat Fox, the shinshinim have been supervised since February of this year by Michelle Ruby Schwartz, youth emissary program manager.
The program is sponsored through a partnership with JEWISHcolorado and the Jewish Agency, which runs similar programs in a number of US Jewish communities.
The emissaries are 18 years old, as a rule, and have just completed their high school studies. Their “gap year” between school and service in the Israel Defense Forces is spent in the Denver-Boulder metro area. They live with volunteer host families while here and spend most of their time working in their role as shinshinim.
Until this year, only two emissaries were sent to Colorado annually, but because of the success of the program in the region, that number has been increased to four.
For much of the year, the emissaries’ primary responsibility is to meet with youths from preschool to high school age, Jewish and non-Jewish, in both public and private school environments. Most of the students they encounter are Jewish but a substantial portion are not.
In the metro area, these include students at both public and private high schools, middle schools and elementary schools. Within the Jewish community the list includes Denver Jewish Day School, Denver Academy of Torah, “all the religious schools,” including educational programs at regional synagogues, and a variety of public schools.
Through JEWISHcolorado’s Jewish Student Connection, the emissaries pay visits to Jewish and non-Jewish students at a dozen metro area public high schools. They participate in class activities at these schools with a mission of discussing and answering questions about Israel.
During the summer, the emissaries will do similar work at Jewish camps. They will spend much of this summer at JCC Ranch Camp, Shwayder Camp and Ramah of the Rockies.
In August, when the camps shut down, the emissaries begin to transition to the next group of emissaries who will take their places. They are scheduled to begin their military or national service in Israel this autumn.
The shinshinim participate in a wide variety of Jewish community events in Denver-Boulder, including programs dealing with Israel and the Holocaust, such as the governor’s annual Holocaust commemoration. One of the benefits granted them is to attend AIPAC’s national policy conference in Washington, DC, which they did earlier this year.
“They were blown away by the idea that there’s this huge swelling of American support for their country,” Schwartz says of their AIPAC experience.
The emissaries also participate in programs at area churches, including Faith Bible Chapel.
On their days off — which include Shabbat — the emissaries often go up to the mountains to ski or hike, activities in which they engage very enthusiastically, Schwartz says.
The youthful Israelis apply competitively for these positions through the Jewish Agency.
“They need to be fluent in English and have to meet a lot of other criteria,” Schwartz says, “including people skills and leadership skills they have developed prior to coming to the US. They also need to be strong enough to be away from their families for a year in a foreign country.
“These are motivated, talented, incredible kids who come with a lot of knowledge and a host of community and relationship building skills.
“Our main goal,” Schwartz says, “is to bring Israel to our kids through the eyes of other kids. We know they learn better from their peers and older teens that they respect. When they see an older teen convey what Israel means to them, and see somebody from a different culture, it has a huge impact.”
While many of the local youths who meet and learn from the emissaries — especially those attending Jewish schools — are already fairly knowledgeable about Israel, a good portion of them are not.
“The kids they’re interacting with in the public school setting, and sometimes even in the congregational setting, may or may not have a good background on Israel.”
The emissaries are not public relations specialists, or practitioners of what Israelis like to call “hasbarah,” Schwartz adds.
“I would call it a realistic picture of Israel,” she says, noting that students in both Jewish and non-Jewish environments are free to challenge and even to criticize the policies of the Jewish state, which they sometimes do.
“It’s certainly OK to criticize Israel,” Schwartz says, “but we think it’s very important that they criticize it from a place of knowledge.”
Schwartz describes the overall effectiveness of the shinshinim program as “incredible.”
Measurements for that success include the number of schools, groups and churches requesting visits from the shinshinim, and that number is considerable and growing, Schwartz says.
“The amount of contact that they’re able to have in the community is greater than anything else that I’ve ever seen.”
She estimates that during its five years in Colorado, the shinshinim program has impacted some 2,500 people.
What does their year in Denver do for the emissaries themselves?
“It gives them their first work experience. It’s a quick lesson in relationship building. They are able to go back to Israel and tell their friends and families that there are people in the US who care about Israel and are interested in how they are. They take that message back with them; they learn that Americans care very much about them.”
Schwartz, who says that managing the emissaries is almost like adopting four 18-year-olds, speaks to them “multiple times a day” and regularly receives their feedback.
“They love their work,” she says. “They feel incredibly fortunate to be in this community that has embraced and welcomed them to come in and be part of something. I think the biggest challenge for them is being away from home. For most this is their first experience away from home and living abroad.
“There are definitely some cultural pieces here. Sometimes they say they’re amazed by the way people drive in Denver or the food we eat. The day-to-day things are sometimes a challenge for them.”
Perhaps the greatest indicator of their success is the sheer level of their activity, Schwartz says.
“I think another challenge they face is being able to do everything they want to do in the amount of time they have. They want to meet more groups, go more places, make contact with more people.”
Chris Leppek may be reached at IJNEWS@aol.com.
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