The Jewish National Fund (JNF) has allocated $100 million to new Boruchin Israel Education Advocacy Center to focus on Zionist and Israel educational programming. These resources will go towards advocating for Israel, Israel education in the Diaspora and countering the BDS movement, while strengthening Americans’ connection to Israel. The Center was created as a result of a gift from John and Dora Boruchin from San Bernardino, Calif. John Boruchin passed away in 2013 and left his estate of over $60 million to the JNF.

More than 15 years ago, the Boruchins started an initiative for Zionist education in close collaboration with the JNF.

“The Boruchins wanted JNF to undertake bold initiatives connecting Jewish youth to Zionism and advocating for the Jewish state. The Boruchin Israel Education Advocacy Center is their living legacy and their gift comes at a critical period in history as Israel and world Jewry face serious challenges with rising anti-Israel sentiment and anti-Semitism. This center is needed now more than ever,” Mike Lederman, chairman of the JNF Boruchin Israel Education Advocacy Center wrote in a press release.

The rest of the funds were individually raised by the JNF.

The programs run by this center are separated into school programs, college programs, young adult programs, and Israel education and advocacy.

The school programs include Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) among others. Last year, I had the opportunity to go on my senior trip from the San Diego Jewish Academy with teachers from AMHSI that taught us about Israel and Jewish history through our experiences there. Instead of sitting in a classroom and reading about Jewish history from the text, we would visit the places where the different historical events took place and learned the history in a more personal manner . Other programs under this section include Blue Box Bob activities (for students pre-K through fourth grade to learn from specialized educational material), My Israel Trees, and Tu BiShvat Across America.

The college programs include Alternative Break in Israel, Birthright, Campus Fellows, Caravan for Democracy Student Leadership Trip to Israel, Faculty Fellowship Summer Institute in Israel, and Positively Israel.

Programs under the young adult section are JNFuture, JNFuture Leadership Institute, and JNFuture Volunteer Vacation.

The three Israel education and advocacy programs are Hugey Sayarut/ Green Horizons, which provided 20,000 Israeli children and teens with informal educational programming over the past thirty years; Israel Fire Scouts, which introduces Israeli 10th graders to the Israel Fire Scouts, providing them with required training, important responsibilities, equipment, and educational trips throughout Israel, and the Speakers Bureau, which brings a variety of speakers to American communities on a range of topics.

The range of programs allows people of all ages to learn about Israel and advocate for Israel in different ways that interest them most. Personally, as a college student, I am looking to partake in these programs as well to raise the pro-Israel presence on campus.

For further information about the JNF Boruchin Israel Education Advocacy Center and to request a partnership opportunity, visit jnf.org or contact JNF at boruchin@jnf.org.