Israel and International Partnerships Blog

The Israel and International Partnerships Department develops networks in and among Boston, Haifa, Israel and Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine to build community, pursue social justice, and support Israel. With our Ukrainian partners, we coordinate the Dnepropetrovsk Kehillah Project, contributing to the renewal of Jewish communal life in the Former Soviet Union. With our partners in Haifa, we oversee Shiluvim, CJP's project to empower Ethiopian Israelis, and faciliate our Learning Exchange, which brings together socially responsible leaders from Boston and Haifa for mutual learning and relationship building. We are also building a network of support and engagement with Israel, including study tours to Israel for Boston-area professionals.   

The Israel and International Partnerships blog offers up-to-date posts from staff, leaders, and volunteers reflecting on their experiences and their passion for their work. If you've participated in any of our activities, we encourage you to add your voice to our blog- please be in touch with Hilary Stiss (617) 457-8670 about submitting a post.   

Dayenu: Reflections on Israel and Homelessness in Haifa
Posted on
February 10, 2012 by Joe Funn

Reflections on Israel and Homelessness in Haifa


Israeli TV Personality and Gay Activist Visits Boston
Posted on
November 14, 2011 by Hilary Stiss

Dorie Clark's blog post on the Assi Azar Event


Jews, Judaism and Israel: A Teachers Guide
Posted on
November 2, 2011 by Hilary Stiss

Blog post on teachers conference in New Hampshire


The Pillars of Sustainbility
Posted on
October 31, 2011 by Montira Pongsiri, Participant on the JCRC 2011 Environmental Study Tour to Israel

Montira Pongsiri's post for the Israel and International Partnerships Blog


Yom Kippur in Dnepropetrovsk
Posted on
October 3, 2011 by Arthur Waldston

In 2007, Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki, Chief Rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk, invited us, along with Bob and Doris Gordon, to attend a meeting of the Dnepropetrovsk Community Fund in Jerusalem and then to fly to Dnepropetrovsk for Yom Kippur Services at the Golden Rose Synagogue.


A Life Changing Week
Posted on
September 22, 2011 by Eric Kaye

As much as I thought I would leave Ukraine without a life-changing experience—that I might miss an opportunity to connect with the community at a special level and that getting my khaki shorts covered with rust-colored paint was all that I would take home—I can, in fact, say that it was truly a life-changing week. I can't put into words all the emotions I feel when I say that I felt at home in Dnepropetrovsk.


JCPA Highlights JCRC's Environmental Study Tour
Posted on
September 14, 2011 by Hilary Stiss

JCPA Connects article features Boston program


Shiluvim's New Employment Initiative!
Posted on
September 13, 2011 by Ethiopian Jewry Committee

JCRC is excited to announce Shiluvim’s new Business Entrepreneurship and Employer Partnership (BEEP) Initiative. Supported by a generous individual Boston donor, the program is a collaboration of Shiluvim, MATI Haifa, and JCRC’s Ethiopian Jewry Committee. This innovative program will build workforce development programs and spark entrepreneurship in the Ethiopian Israeli community of Haifa. Implementation of this three-year plan begins this fall.


Geriatrics Course in Dnepropetrovsk
Posted on
September 12, 2011 by Dnepropetrovsk Kehillah Project

This past May, the JCRC, in partnership with the Dnepropetrovsk Medical Academy and the Dnepropetrovsk Jewish Community, organized a 2 day post graduate course on Geriatric Medicine. Dr. Lew Lipsitz, Chief of Gerontology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and a longtime partner of the Kehillah project (he and his wife Louise spent three months there in 2005), chaired the course. He was joined by two other distinguished Boston physicians: Dr. Eran Metzger, Associate Director of Geropsychiatry at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center, and Dr. Hillel Rosen, Clinical Director of Bone and Mineral Metabolism in the Department of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at BIDMC.


Enligsh Language and World Jewry
Posted on
September 12, 2011 by Judah Khaykin

For three weeks early this summer, I led a delegation from JCRC to help run the second annual English language immersion camp in Dnepropetrovsk Ukraine. I was joined by seven Jewish college students from the Boston area and by Anlee Schaye, a master teacher of English as a second language.