OTS Amiel BaKehila won a tender from Israel’s Ministry of Diaspora Affairs to operate this unique program, geared toward empowering Jewish communities around the world through Jewish education, Israel engagement and Jewish Arts and Culture.
In the program’s first year of operation, dynamic three-person delegations were sent seven times a year to 25 small and mid-sized communities across the world – six in North America; seven in Europe and 12 in Latin America. After 50 delegations with more than 130 delegates, more than 1025 activities and more than 32,000 participants, the program was declared a success and the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs more than doubled the communities, placing an additional 43 small to mid-sized communities on the OTS Amiel BaKehila roster.
In addition, the Jewish Agency (which was awarded a number of European communities in the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs’ opening tender) recently reached out to OTS Amiel BaKehila to take responsibility for operating their communities – such that OTS is now the sole organization handling the entire initiative.
Each OTS Amiel BaKehila delegation consists of an educator, an Israel engager and an artist whose mission is to unite, excite and connect the community members to their local community and to the State of Israel.
Delegation members are fluent in the language and culture of the community, so that they understand the community members and the community members understand them. In this way they are able to reach individuals and touch their hearts through a variety of experiences, bringing the beauty and power of Judaism, Israel, Torah and Jewish culture to Jews everywhere.
This Ministry of Diaspora Affairs initiative is important and visionary; OTS was chosen to implement it because of our decades-long impact upon the Jewish world through educational and emissarial programs which have engaged and inspired hundreds of thousands to explore, cherish and connect to their Jewish roots and heritage. The OTS Amiel BaKehila program represents yet another extension of that vision of global responsibility to the world Jewish community.
