Participating countries
The NAALE program has been operating in the CIS since 1992. About 9500 young people, aged 15-16, have arrived in Israel since. This program is run in all the republics of the CIS except Uzbekistan. Most participants come from Russia and Ukraine.
General information
* The Jewish Agency in the CIS is in charge of implementing the following stages: locate candidates, advertising, marketing, candidate registration, preliminary training, evaluation together with the parents, and flying the successful candidates to Israel.
Presentations — NAALE supports the Jewish Agency´s presentation efforts by sending delegations every year from November to February. These include one administrative staff member and two principals, drawn from schools that work with NAALE students. The main goal of these delegations is to arrange for meetings between parents (both of potential students and actual participants in the program) and those in charge of their children and their education in Israel.
Candidate selection: NAALE staff are in charge of selecting candidates, training teams, designing and implementing selection, obtaining confirmations and overseeing the candidates actual enrolment and settling-in at the institutions they have been assigned to. Selection teams are sent to the CIS three times every year - in February, April and June. These teams include psychologists and teachers who speak the relevant language and have been especially trained for this mission. Each team stays about two weeks in the field and evaluates some 150 candidates and their parents. The selecting process includes a set of written tests. Both the parents and their children are interviewed by the psychologists. The written tests are both cognitive and psychological. The cognitive tests evaluate their knowledge of English and Mathematics, and of Hebrew if they know any. The psychological tests evaluate candidates´ maturity and their ability to cope successfully with separation from their home and birth country, migration, integration into a boarding school, living within an educational group in an environment with a clear framework of behavior standards, and whether they possess the intellectual and learning abilities necessary to pass Israeli bagruiot over three years.
The results are sent back to the field about two months after each stage. The Jewish Agency makes preparations to process the successful candidates (additional training, applying for passports and necessary visas).
Getting to Israel: In early September the candidates come to Israel from their various places in the CIS. They come to a special center, purpose built by NAALE, and move to their assigned institutions on the same day.
The students are assigned to the various institutions according to their parents´ requests and their test results. About 65% go to kibbutz- and state-run boarding schools; the rest are admitted at state-religious and Orthodox institutions.
Eastern Europe
The NAALE program has been gradually extended to Eastern Europe over the last three years. So far, there are few interested candidates; 17 students have arrived from Hungary.
During the next school year, 14 students will arive from Hungary, the Czech Repuplic and Rumania. They will study at the "Mosenzon" school in Hod Hasharon, in a class made up of students from different countries.
Mr. Eli Toren is the coordinator of NAALE activities for the CIS and Eastern Europe.
NAALE in Latin America
In October 1998, NAALE decided to extend its program to the Western Hemisphere — especially, Latin America.
Since the AMIA (the main Jewish organization in Argentina) building was blown up in Buenos Aires, life for the Jewish community has been marked by increasing economic hardship and unemployment.
Two Israeli delegations went to Argentina, one sent by the Education Ministry and the other by the Jewish Agency. Both decided that the NAALE program was not viable in Argentina; among the reasons they gave was the mindset of local Jewish families. NAALE, however, insisted in putting together a pilot plan for 20 young people. Work started in 1999 advertising the plan and locating interested students. The first class of 48 students from Argentine arrived in Israel in February 2000. They were divided into two groups. And the dream started to come true...
In Latin America the program is called ZOHAR. Students from South America start classes in Israel in January, right after having finished their 10th grade studies in December in their original countries. The Israeli segment of the program lasts two and a half years, of which the first semester is basically dedicated to learning Hebrew, Mathematics and English. After this period the students enroll in ordinary schools, where they take most subjects with regular Israeli students. They take special classes for olim in those compulsory bagrut subjects for which special olim-oriented programs exist.
Students from Central America start classes like all other NAALE participants, in September, and continue for three years.
So far, 4 NAALE classes from Latin America are studying in Israel: one is at the Mevoot Eron school, one at the Shaar Hanegev regional school (Kibbutz Or Haner), and two are at the Gilboa school. All in all, these include about 100 Spanish-speaking students.
The program has been implemented in the following countries: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico. A group from Brazil - the first ever - is scheduled for this year.
Silvina Wexler is the psychologist in charge of the Spanish-speaking staff and students. Walter Polischuk is the educational supervisor of all four groups.
Lalo Salpoy is in charge of the Latin America project.
General information
* The Jewish Agency in the CIS is in charge of implementing the following stages: locate candidates, advertising, marketing, candidate registration, preliminary training, evaluation together with the parents, and flying the successful candidates to Israel.
Presentations — NAALE supports the Jewish Agency´s presentation efforts by sending delegations every year from November to February. These include one administrative staff member and two principals, drawn from schools that work with NAALE students. The main goal of these delegations is to arrange for meetings between parents (both of potential students and actual participants in the program) and those in charge of their children and their education in Israel.
Candidate selection: NAALE staff are in charge of selecting candidates, training teams, designing and implementing selection, obtaining confirmations and overseeing the candidates actual enrolment and settling-in at the institutions they have been assigned to. Selection teams are sent to the CIS three times every year - in February, April and June. These teams include psychologists and teachers who speak the relevant language and have been especially trained for this mission. Each team stays about two weeks in the field and evaluates some 150 candidates and their parents. The selecting process includes a set of written tests. Both the parents and their children are interviewed by the psychologists. The written tests are both cognitive and psychological. The cognitive tests evaluate their knowledge of English and Mathematics, and of Hebrew if they know any. The psychological tests evaluate candidates´ maturity and their ability to cope successfully with separation from their home and birth country, migration, integration into a boarding school, living within an educational group in an environment with a clear framework of behavior standards, and whether they possess the intellectual and learning abilities necessary to pass Israeli bagruiot over three years.
The results are sent back to the field about two months after each stage. The Jewish Agency makes preparations to process the successful candidates (additional training, applying for passports and necessary visas).
Getting to Israel: In early September the candidates come to Israel from their various places in the CIS. They come to a special center, purpose built by NAALE, and move to their assigned institutions on the same day.
The students are assigned to the various institutions according to their parents´ requests and their test results. About 65% go to kibbutz- and state-run boarding schools; the rest are admitted at state-religious and Orthodox institutions.
Eastern Europe
The NAALE program has been gradually extended to Eastern Europe over the last three years. So far, there are few interested candidates; 17 students have arrived from Hungary.
During the next school year, 14 students will arive from Hungary, the Czech Repuplic and Rumania. They will study at the "Mosenzon" school in Hod Hasharon, in a class made up of students from different countries.
Mr. Eli Toren is the coordinator of NAALE activities for the CIS and Eastern Europe.
NAALE in Latin America
In October 1998, NAALE decided to extend its program to the Western Hemisphere — especially, Latin America.
Since the AMIA (the main Jewish organization in Argentina) building was blown up in Buenos Aires, life for the Jewish community has been marked by increasing economic hardship and unemployment.
Two Israeli delegations went to Argentina, one sent by the Education Ministry and the other by the Jewish Agency. Both decided that the NAALE program was not viable in Argentina; among the reasons they gave was the mindset of local Jewish families. NAALE, however, insisted in putting together a pilot plan for 20 young people. Work started in 1999 advertising the plan and locating interested students. The first class of 48 students from Argentine arrived in Israel in February 2000. They were divided into two groups. And the dream started to come true...
In Latin America the program is called ZOHAR. Students from South America start classes in Israel in January, right after having finished their 10th grade studies in December in their original countries. The Israeli segment of the program lasts two and a half years, of which the first semester is basically dedicated to learning Hebrew, Mathematics and English. After this period the students enroll in ordinary schools, where they take most subjects with regular Israeli students. They take special classes for olim in those compulsory bagrut subjects for which special olim-oriented programs exist.
Students from Central America start classes like all other NAALE participants, in September, and continue for three years.
So far, 4 NAALE classes from Latin America are studying in Israel: one is at the Mevoot Eron school, one at the Shaar Hanegev regional school (Kibbutz Or Haner), and two are at the Gilboa school. All in all, these include about 100 Spanish-speaking students.
The program has been implemented in the following countries: Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, and Mexico. A group from Brazil - the first ever - is scheduled for this year.
Silvina Wexler is the psychologist in charge of the Spanish-speaking staff and students. Walter Polischuk is the educational supervisor of all four groups.
Lalo Salpoy is in charge of the Latin America project.
