Israeli Students in the U.S. on Exchange Program

A 16-year-old Israeli youth who spent five weeks in the United States as an exchange student stressed last night that such programs not only allow teenagers to get to know different people and learn about other cultures but also to learn to understand their own culture better.

Yeshayahu Feinsob of Jerusalem said that while living in Atlanta and Los Angeles with American families and attending schools in the two cities, he was asked to describe his life in Israel and by doing so it helped him to understand it more.

Feinsob spoke at a ceremony at the Israel Embassy here marking the fifth year of an exchange program in which high school juniors from Israel and the U.S. spend five weeks in each other’s country. The program is sponsored by the Israel Public Council for the Exchange of Youth and Young Adults, the America-Israel Friendship League and the Council of Great City Schools, an organization made up of the 32 largest school districts in the U.S.

85 U.S. STUDENTS TO GO TO ISRAEL

The 85 Israeli students who just completed their stay in the U.S. in which each of them spent time with families in two cities will meet in New York tomorrow with the 85 American students who are leaving for Israel.

Samuel Husk, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that almost all the American youngsters are not Jewish, many of them are Black and Hispanics. He said they will spend time in five Israeli cities as well as on kibbutzim. He noted that the program was started from a State Department grant but now is funded locally with committees in each city raising the money needed to support the stay of the youths there.

The ceremony last night, hosted by Israeli Consul General Benjamin Abileah, was attended by members of the U.S. Department of Education, Israeli officials, representatives of the organizations sponsoring the program and some families who hosted the Israeli students in the Washington, D.C. area. Education Secretary Terrel Bell was presented by the students with a portfolio of Jerusalem scenes done by 10 Israeli artists. He said both Israel and the U.S. placed a high value on education and such programs “strengthen the ties” between the two countries.

Isaiah Robinson, of the American Israel Friendship League said he believed the students have gained from the “exposure to the diverse culture of the United States.” Arye Haas of the Israel Public Council said that the program fulfills the Biblical tenet that learning builds peace. “If they learn to understand each other today… they will have great peace tomorrow,” he said.