Israel at the Movies: AZM's New Film Guide

AZM's Film Guide

In addition to being fun to watch as entertainment, Israeli films can be powerful lenses through which to examine Israeli society. Whether you are looking to teach about Israel or learn more about it yourself, this guide will enable you to delve deeply into the important themes underlying Israeli society at your synagogue, community center, class, film group, Israel club or just with a group of friends. In addition to providing the relevant cinematographic and historical background crucial for a full appreciation of these movies, this guide enables active, critical thinking through thought-provoking activities and questions for discussion. This guide covers four major themes in Israeli society: Outsiders and Integration into Israeli Society, Jewish-Arab Relations, The Role of Religion, and Interpersonal Relationships in Israeli Society, with two movies featured under each theme.

• Purchase or download the guide
• Learn about the films and themes covered in the guide
• View other AZM educational programs

AZM Purim Connection 2008

Bring a Smile to a Child's Face - Build a Bridge to an IDF Soldier

Sderot children, Torani Madai Elementary School

Israelis are looking for some good news, particularly those under rocket attack. Just a little bit of good news will go a long way toward dispelling the despair that fills many lives in Sderot and across the Jewish homeland. Okay, here is some good news: Purim is coming and it is a Jewish Leap Year. In addition to losing one's senses totally, Purim is a time when we can reach across oceans and touch hearts, literally as well as metaphorically, with the warmth of Zionism.

In past years, AZM has brought traditional mishloach manot baskets to: members of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), victims of terror, children in Sderot living under constant rocket barrage and children in northern Israel whose lives were torn apart in the war of 2006. All of them and so many others are still in need of the reassurance those small "baskets of goodies" bring.

Venus tank company, recipients of AZM baskets last Purim

Using local Israeli products, American members of Zionist youth movements and groups and students on MASA programs in Israel work on the preparation and distribution of the mishloach manot. Friends are made, lives are affected and Israel benefits.

Please take a minute and donate to our Purim Connection 2008!

$18 brings a smile to a child's face
$54 builds a bridge to an IDF soldier.

To help us bring Purim joy to the maximum number of children and soldiers, please respond before March 7, 2008.

• Donate Purim baskets to Israeli children and IDF soldiers
• Read more about the AZM Purim Connection 2008
• View photos from AZM's 2007 Purim Connection

Helyn B. Reich Scholarships Awarded

Scholarship Opportunities Extended to OTZMA Participants

Recipients of the Helyn B. Reich Scholarship, Spring 2008.

Five outstanding candidates were selected to receive AZM Helyn B. Reich Scholarships for study in Israel in the spring of 2008. Three of these recipients – Lee’at Bachar, Bill Glucroft and Sophia Krentzman – will spend the semester at the University of Haifa. Marla Schuchman and Adam Molner will participate in the post-college Israel Experience program, with internships in marketing/advertising and journalism, respectively.

These young adults distinguished themselves through passionate commitment to Israel on their campuses, in their communities, and in their careers. Marla works as the Israel Travel Specialist for the Reform Movement, a partnership position between ARZA and the Israel Ministry of Tourism; Bill advocates a pro-Israel voice in his hometown newspaper, college publication, and web-based media.

Beginning this spring, OTZMA will join the Israel Experience and WUJS-Arad as post-graduate programs whose participants will be eligible to apply to the Helyn B. Reich Scholarship. OTZMA, a service-based leadership development program, provides young adults with the opportunity to work and learn in tracks such as immigrant absorption, areas of urban renewal, and social service.

The deadline to apply for a Helyn B. Reich Scholarship for study in the fall semester of 2008 or year abroad will be June 1, 2008.

• Download applications for the AZM Helyn B. Reich Scholarship
• Read a press release about the scholarship
• Read updates from the 2007 scholarship recipients

Eugenia Manwelyan, Vice-President of AZM, speaks at FutureTense

FutureTense Launched with AZM Co-sponsorship

FutureTense, sponsored by AZM and PresenTense, is a collective exploration of the cutting edge, a regular round table bringing together Jewish innovators from different fields to talk about what's next – and what will disrupt the way things have "been done." Inspired by Business 2.0's Disruptor's Round Table, which brought together leading technologists and thinkers from different media, FutureTense features leading Jewish pioneers in a moderated discussion to share best practices and build a better understanding of what is to come, and what can be done about it.

The first of these monthly events, which occurred on February 3, focused on Social Justice, featuring panel speakers Eugenia Manwelyan of Hashomer Hatzair, who also serves as an AZM vice-president; Melissa Weintraub of Encounters, Mik Moore of Jewish Funds for Justice; Rebecca Stone from the American Jewish World Service; and Eli Winkelman, Challah for Hunger and Hazon. The next panel will take place on March 2 and focus on Arts & Technology.

AZM Supports Creative Zionism

Ariel Beery, co-founder of AZM's Blogs of Zion and publisher of PresenTense Magazine, was selected as a finalist in the competition to be named Brandeis University's Charles R. Bronfman Visiting Chair in Jewish Communal Innovation. The idea Ariel entered into the competition was the Creative Zionist network which AZM actively supports. We congratulate Ariel and wish him success when he presents his idea on February 24 at Brandeis.

Participants on an ImpactAliyah pilot trip to Israel sponsored in part by AZM

Mobilizing the Creative Zionist network, the PresenTense Institute for Creative Zionism (PICZ), sponsored in part by AZM and the WZO and co-founded by Ariel Beery and Aharon Horwitz, serves as a platform for Jewish creativity. Many projects launched from PICZ are seeing success less than half a year after the first PICZ session, including ImpactAliyah.

ImpactAliyah (Avi Bass and Jason Lustig): ImpactAliyah founders PICZ fellows and Brandeis seniors Avi Bass and Jason Lustig energize students and supporters around a vision of empowered Aliyah. The first student Aliyah pilot trip landed over 20 Boston-based students in a trip to Israel funded in part by AZM. These nextgen "chalutzim" heard from young Israeli startup and social justice leaders in Tel Aviv and traveled the country to understand how they can become agents of positive change in Israeli society, the global Jewish community, and the world.

• Visit the AZM Creative Zionism Website
• Learn about more PICZ projects
• Visit the PICZ website
• Visit the ImpactAliyah website

AZM Co-sponsors YZL

YZL: It's a Shore Thing, USD Hagshama's annual Young Zionist Leadership Conference, took place January 25-27 in Miami. Student leaders from across America gathered to learn how they can make an impact on their community through discovering and connecting to Israeli social activism, daring to debate controversial issues in Israel, and strengthening personal connections to Zionism.

YZL is co-sponsored by AZM.

• View more photos from YZL