Volunteers for Israel, a New York-based organization that sponsors working visits to Israel, announced plans Wednesday to “demonstrate American Jewry’s solidarity with Israel” by flying 450 volunteers there.
Passengers on the El Al Israel Airlines “Unity Flight” March 14 will spend two weeks working alongside Israelis in agricultural, hospital and warehouse jobs. Volunteers for Israel is subsidizing the program, which will cost participants $275 for the flight, room and board.
“We shouldn’t have to wait for wars before we give Israel our support,” explained Sampson Giat, organization president.
Founded in 1982 in response to Israel’s domestic manpower needs during the Labanon war, Volunteers for Israel has since won the Chairman of the Knesset Prize for its contributions to immigration and immigrant absorption.
The organization worldwide has sent more than 13,000 volunteers to Israel, more than 7,000 of them from the United States, according to Giat. For more information, call (212) 608-4848.
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