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Renaissance And Renewal Alliance

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Pursuing a renaissance of Jewish life, translating national vision into local action

The Renaissance and Renewal Alliance brings together a broad array of religious, educational, and communal organizations to strengthen Jewish identity and involvement. The Alliance is the federation system's central connection with other sectors of the Jewish community, uniting disparate organizations with similar missions to share ideas and maximize resources.

Talented Jewish minds all over North America recently have focused on two initiatives that play a critical role in creating lifelong Jewish commitment: adult learning and day school education.

This past summer, many North American parents were reluctant to allow their carefree and vocal Zionist teens to venture beyond the borders of their own continent. UJC's Renaissance and Renewal Alliance turned this regrettable circumstance into a valuable Jewish learning opportunity.
     During the first week of August, Navah Kogen, Matthew Reber, and Adam Roe (from left to right) were among 85 North American and Israeli teen leaders from diverse denominations and Zionist youth groups who made their way to camp Tel Yehuda Bet, the national center for the Young Judaea youth movement in Barryville, New York. "Israel in Our Lives," a five-day intensive advocacy/learning seminar funded by the Renaissance and Renewal Alliance, the North American Alliance for Jewish Youth, and the Jewish Agency for Israel, provided a safe space for Jewish teens to engage in dialogue and raise questions about Israel. The campers attended exhaustive workshops conducted by top Jewish experts on Zionism, Israel, and the current conflict in the Middle East

The Alliance, recognizing the primacy of these two issues, convened the major players this year.

"Day schools and adult Jewish learning are central components of UJC's Jewish renewal work," said Dr. Beryl Geber, chair of the UJC Jewish Renaissance and Renewal Pillar.

"By working with other national and local organizations, we help translate national visions into local action, concretizing our commitment to the idea of life-long Jewish learning."

In partnership with the Community Foundation for Jewish Education of Metropolitan Chicago and the Alliance for Adult Jewish Learning, the Alliance gathered over 80 directors, coordinators, teachers, and supporters of adult Jewish learning programs for a three-day meeting in June, one of the first large scale meetings of its kind.

The Alliance's Continental Council for Jewish Day School Education held its second meeting this June to discuss issues critical to day school education, including some of the most pressing ones—salaries and professional recruitment, development, and retention. Lay and professional leaders from national day school associations, religious movements, central agencies for Jewish education, federations, foundations, and other national Jewish organizations met for joint planning, advocacy, and information sharing. The action plans they crafted are already being put into practice this fall.

Participants in Renaissance and Renewal initiatives have found that engaging with other points of view is a powerful way to strengthen Jewish identity and involvement.

Annual Report table of contents:

Mobilizing Our Jewish Values | Annual Campaign | 9/11 Fund | Israel Emergency Campaign  Missions | Israel Overseas: Argentina | Planned Giving and Endowments | Renaissance and Renewal Alliance | Human Services And Social Policy | FedWeb |  How UJC Works