Seven hundred Jewish teens from 32 communities in seven countries gathered in Israel on July 6 to start a three-week seminar as part of the yearlong Diller Teen Fellowship.
The program, which empowers 10th- and 11th-graders to explore their Jewish identities and become active Jewish leaders, includes 350 teens from Israel and 350 teens from communities around the globe.
Those from the Diaspora hail from San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Baltimore, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston and Pittsburgh stateside. Fellows also come from Toronto, Montreal, Melbourne, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Buenos Aires and the United Kingdom.
Each international community has an Israeli partner community, with the two cohorts working together throughout the year. Shortly after arriving, the international teens will join the Israeli participants for joint programming.
The Israel Summer Seminar consists of Tiyul (“Tour”) Week, when the fellows explore Israel; Community Week, when the fellows spend time in their partnership communities; and Congress, when all 700 teens come together for a week of global connection, exploration of Jewish peoplehood and shared community-service projects.
The Diller Teen Fellows program has been cultivating Jewish leaders since 1998. There are more than 7,000 alumni worldwide.
“At a time when our world can feel more divided than ever before, Diller Teen Fellows from across the globe are uniting to build understanding across differences, create connections, and use their leadership actions to help repair the world,” stated Jen Smith, executive director of the Helen Diller Family Foundation Programs.
“Diller serves as a foundational year that can impact the lifetime of a teen, as they explore their Jewish identity and the good they want to do in the world as a leader,” she added. “Their impact as young change-makers reaches across the globe.”
