Eighty Israeli high school students from the 11th and 12th grades arrived here several days ago to participate in a good-will mission to American youth the Consulate General of Israel in New York reported. This is the sixth annual mission of its kind. The main purpose of the mission is to provide large numbers of American youth with the opportunity to meet Israelis of their own age and to hear about Israel and its youth directly.
The selection of the 80 participants from among the 500 recommended candidates was made by special committees before whom each candidate appeared. The group comprises an equal number of boys and girls. A little more than half live in urban areas; nearly a third in agricultural settlements and the remainder in immigrant and development towns. For many of the students it is their first trip beyond the borders of Israel, while a few had been abroad for periods of up to a year.
The mission will visit more than 150 communities all over the U.S. The nation-wide coordination and execution of the project is handled by the Consulate General of Israel in New York, in cooperation with Consulates General of Israel in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco and Los Angeles, each responsible for supervising activities within their areas of jurisdiction. The Riverdale Jewish Community hosted the group over the weekend.
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