Moishe House Opens in Beer-Sheva
Moishe House Opens in Beer-Sheva
July 28, 2016
Negev Development & Community Programs, Press Releases
Moishe House, in collaboration with Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), opened Moishe House Beer-Sheva, its third house in Israel, earlier this month.
Moishe House Beer-Sheva’s four dynamic residents – all between the ages of 23 and 27, and three of whom are students at BGU – are creating a grassroots community for their friends, neighbors and students. The residents will host at least 60 programs, which will ultimately reach 300 unique participants, over the course of their first year.
Moishe House Beer-Sheva residents
Known for their community activism, with more than 50 percent of BGU’s undergraduate students volunteering in the community, BGU students saw the need for authentic communal content tailored to millennials. Through the support of American Associates, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Americans for Ben-Gurion University), Moishe House Beer-Sheva will provide accessible, home-based programs that engage Jewish young adults in a way that feels natural and relevant.
The connection between Moishe House and Americans for Ben-Gurion University was made through a mutual board member, Jaynie Schultz, of Dallas, Texas. “I feel so privileged to be involved with two outstanding organizations. The opportunity presented by this joint initiative will make the outcome exponential,” says Schultz, who has been a supporter of Moishe House since its inception. A graduate of Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s Zin Fellows Leadership Program, she joined Americans for Ben-Gurion University’s board of directors in October 2015.
Americans for Ben-Gurion University President Lloyd Goldman presents residents of Moishe House Beer-Sheva with a copy of “The Community Table,” a cookbook written by his sister
Following the Moishe House model, the residents of Moishe House Beer-Sheva will open their home five to six times each month for their community, and, in return, will receive a partial rent stipend and a programming budget, along with training and staff support.
“My hope is that our Moishe House will be a home for everybody that comes to visit us in our community whether you are from Israel or abroad,” says Moishe House resident Tal Megera. “I want our home to be a welcoming place that can show young people cool and new sides of Judaism.”
Lloyd Goldman, president of Americans for Ben-Gurion University, is also a long-time supporter of Moishe House. He recently visited Beer-Sheva House and presented the residents with a cookbook written by his sister, Katja Goldman. In addition to the generous support of the Joyce and Irving Goldman Family Foundation, one cookbook has been given to every Moishe House.
Alejandro Okret, Moishe House’s chief global officer, adds, “We want to continue saying ‘yes’ to helping meet the demand for peer-led, home-based programming for young adults and their Jewish communities in the state of Israel. We look forward to helping support the creation of new houses in locations outside of North America for the foreseeable future.”
Learn more about Moishe House Beer-Sheva >>
ABOUT AMERICANS FOR BEN-GURION UNIVERSITY
By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.
About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.
We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.
BGU at a glance:
20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.
For all press inquiries, please contact:
James Fattal, J Cubed Communications
516.289.1496
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