Tagged Shinshinim

Jewish Agency sending teen emissaries back to Israel, and to quarantine

(JTA) — Earlier this week, the Jewish Agency for Israel said it was committed to keeping its emissaries in the United States, even as other groups brought theirs home amid the rising coronavirus crisis. But on Friday morning, with schools and synagogues across the country shuttering in an effort… Read more »

New shinshiniyot bring love of song, theater to Tucson

Tucson host family members greet new shinshiniyot (Israeli teen emissaries) at Tucson International Airport. From left, Joel and Rachel Black, shinshinyot Rotem Rappaport and Ron Benacot, and Marla Handler; front row: Rebecca Black and Amir Eden, director of the Weintraub Israel Center

Recent Israeli high school graduate Ron Benacot’s get-to-know-you video for the Tucson Jewish community is rich with sight gags: see her jump up and down as she plays fetch with her impassive dog, or step up to hefty barbells only to lift the lighter weights they conceal (see www.bit.ly/ronvid).… Read more »

New shinshinim ready to ‘talk tachles’ in adult ed series

Chen Dinatzi and Tamir Shecory are Tucson's latest Israeli teen volunteers. (Courtesy Weintraub Israel Center)

Chen Dinatzi and Tamir Shecory, Tucson’s second cohort of shinshinim (Israeli teen emissaries), will present a series of Israel education events for adults, “Talking Tachles with Chen and Tamir” at community congregations and organizations. Tachles is a slang Hebrew word, derived from Yiddish, that means “to the point” or… Read more »

Israel-Tucson bonds strong

Regarding “New Israeli shinshinim bring youthful energy to Tucson” (AJP 8/11/17),å how lucky we are that Tucson is one of the cities participating in the shinshinim (Israeli teen volunteers) program, the goal of which is to make connections between Israel and worldwide communities. Our first shinshinim, Leah Avuno and… Read more »

New Israeli ‘shinshinim’ bring youthful energy to Tucson

Chen Dinatzi (left) and Tamir Shecory (Courtesy Tamir Shecory)

The Tucson Jewish community’s new shinshinim arrived July 31, and the two teen emissaries from Israel couldn’t be more excited. Chen Dinatzi and Tamir Shecory, both 18, were among 115 Israeli high school graduates, out of more than 2,000 applicants, selected for the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Shinshinim Young… Read more »

Grants from Foundation and Federation connect Tucson to Israel

Members of the student-led ‘Puzzle’ youth program in Kiryat Malachi (Courtesy Jewish Community Foundation of Southern Arizona)

Leah Avuno has spent the last year in Tucson as one of Tucson’s first pair of shinshinim, teen emissaries from Israel. Three years ago, Avuno was a 15-year-old immigrant to Israel from Ethiopia living with her mother, aunt and siblings in Kiryat Malachi, a city known for its diversity.… Read more »

In Focus 5.12.17

Community commemorates Yom HaShoah Some 200 people attended the Jewish community’s 2017 Yom HaShoah commemoration on Sunday, April 23 at Temple Emanu-El. The event, organized by the Jewish History Museum, explored the theme of “Art and Totalitarianism: 80 Years After the ‘Degenerate Art’ Exhibition” and included a Holocaust survivor… Read more »

Shinshinim hosts grateful for opportunity

Seated (L-R): Leah Avuno, Yoni Weiner, Bar Alkaher; standing: Téa, Tamir, Erin, Elana, Joshua, Jackie and Naomi Weiner (Courtesy Naomi Weiner)

If your heart longs to visit Israel, but time doesn’t allow, consider the opportunity to bring a vibrant piece of Israel to your home. The Shinshinim Young Ambassadors Program sends Israeli high school graduates to communities all over the world to work in Jewish educational and cultural institutions (see… Read more »

Israeli teen brings Jewish Ethiopian holiday of Sigd to Tucson

Wearing a traditional Ethiopian dress and shawl, Leah Avuno displays a tunic that would be worn by a Kes, an Ethiopian spiritual leader. Avuno, who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia as a toddler, is spending a year in Tucson as a volunteer. (David J. Del Grande/AJP)

Leah Avuno, one of Tucson’s two Shinshinim (teen ambassadors from Israel) brought more than just her abundant youthful energy when she came to Tucson — she also brought the rich culture of her Ethiopian heritage. This year, the Tucson Jewish community will join Avuno in celebrating the Jewish Ethiopian… Read more »

In focus 8.12.16

Rep. McSally visits Holocaust History Center Jewish History Museum board member Leonard Schultz shows U.S. Rep. Martha McSally photos of his parents-in-law, Rachel and Rachmil Kane, in the Holocaust survivor exhibit at the Holocaust History Center. McSally visited the Holocaust History Center at the Jewish History Museum on July… Read more »

Israeli teen emissaries to be newest link in Tucson-Israel chain

Under the auspices of the Weintraub Israel Center, Leah Avuno and Bar Alkaher, Israeli teen emissaries who will arrive in Tucson in August, hold a Skype conference with local Jewish educators. The teens are known as “Shinshinim,” from the Hebrew letter “shin’’ that starts each word in the program’s Hebrew title, “Shnat Sherut Shlishit” (third year of service). (Courtesy Weintraub Israel Center)

A year of service will soon begin for two Israeli teens and their work will bring them here to Tucson. Leah Genei Avuno, 17, of Kiryat Malachi and Bar Alkaher, 17, of Shimshit will arrive here at the beginning of August and they cannot wait to dig in. They are… Read more »