AMHSI - Alexander Muss High School in Israel

Where the land of Israel becomes a living classroom. An international, pluralist, college-prep, high school study-abroad program. Since 1972, over 23,000 alumni. A unique academic and fun adventure. www.amhsi.org

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For full video, go to http://tiny.cc/mussdonut

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AMHSI Adult Journey

We have initiated a new service geared to parents who are coming to visit their children on our program here in Israel; it is a 2 day educational trip with one day going to the north and the other heading south, giving our parents a taste of what their children experience.

“I joined yesterday’s trip to the north led by David Mitchell, Dean of Education, and Mordechai Cohen, Head of School, and it was wonderful,” said Leor Sinai, AMHSI Co-Executive Director. “I can’t begin to tell you how much our students’ parents appreciated the service we provided. Not only did they get to see an Israel they haven’t before, but they actually learned and experienced AMHSI – allowing them to better understand how transformative our program is, how much effort is put into organizing our program, and how inspiring our educators are.” 

Here’s a short video clip of the parents singing HaTikva at the Akko prison:

Yishar Ko’ach to David and Mordechai for leading our trip and effectively conveying the message of AMHSI-JNF.

Our upcoming AMHSI-JNF Adult Journey to Israel is on May 1-12, 2016.  Click here for more information, consider joining this adult journey through Israel, and please share the link with your friends and colleagues.  

 Wishing us all a wonderful year ahead, Moadim L’Simcha!

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Three AMHSI Proposals Accepted by Boruchin Fund

The initial cohort of Schwartz Hammer AMHSI Impact Fellows from Arizona

AMHSI is delighted to announce that all three submitted proposals have been accepted for matching funding by the Boruchin Israel Education Advocacy Center to assist the school in furthering its mission of creating a transformative experience for teens though study abroad programs in Israel.

The three proposals submitted by AMHSI included funding for a national Impact Fund and individual Impact Fellowships, a national general scholarship fund, as well as an administrators and educators institute.  AMHSI will be repsonsible for finding matching funding for each grant.

The proposed projects are not independent of one another; they are strategically aligned to create a continuum for increased recruitment to the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, impact on US-based college campuses, and investing in the future leaders of American Jewry.  

It is the belief of AMHSI that every high school student should be able to have an academic experience in Israel. AMHSI takes students on a journey to explore their heritage and roots, establishing a lasting and meaningful relationship with the land of Israel and the Jewish people and enabling them to enter college campuses as leaders with powerful and confident Jewish vioces. The greater the number of students AMHSI is able to bring to Israel, the greater the ability the program has for making a dramatic impact on US Jewry and Israel.

This lasting impact is the basis for AMHSI’s newest initative - the Impact Fund, a nationwide network of fellowships created by AMHSI - JNF to identify outstanding high school students and provide them with a transformative Israel experience and ongoing framework for leadership development. Fellows return home prepared to invest in their communities as the rising leaders of tomorrow’s Jewish future. 

Presently, two existing AMHSI Fellowships in Atlanta and Arizona form the foundation of the Impact Fund.  This proposal would establish a General Impact Fund that would enable every gifted student to have the capacity to make a tremendous impact as tomorrow’s Jewish leadership, as well as assist in the formation of a new fellowship in Boston.

Additionally, many American administrators and educators are both unfamiliar with Israel and the AMHSI program, remaining skeptical that students can have a superior academic experience at AMHSI. The establishment of the Administrators and Educators Institute would be a key component towards increasing recruitment amongst public and private schools nationwide by welcoming them into our community. 

Exposing these professionals to the AMHSI campus, programs and staff in Israel will set the stage for their recognition of AMHSI’s academic standards, accreditation by the Middle States Association, and increased understanding of the benefit a high school student receives by acquiring a global studies experience.

Finally, the creation of a national general scholarship fund could help to ease the financial burden some students and their families face when attending an Israel program.  

While students can presently benefit from needs-based assistance through AMHSI and Jewish organizations in their home communities, this fund would greatly expand AMHSI’s ability to ensure that every Jewish high school student is able to have a phenomenal Israel experience. The establishment of this fund would play a meaningful role in expanding AMHSI’s outreach and impact capabilities. 

AMHSI seeks to increase visibility and recruitment, academic credibility and relationships with high schools administrators, affordability to exceptional students in need, and investing in leadership.  All three of these recommended programs are pillars in AMHSI campaign for growth and greater impact.

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Mordechai Cohen Begins Tenure as New Head of School

Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) is delighted to announce that Mordechai Cohen, a renowned educator at the school, has begun his tenure as head of school as of August 20.

"I am humbled by this appointment at the premier international semester abroad program in Israel for high school students.  This is a dream position for any Jewish instructor who is passionate about enabling the next generation to take pride in their Jewish identity and strengthen their connection to the land of Israel," said Cohen.

Rabbi Leor Sinai, AMHSI Co-CEO said, "Mordechai's wealth of experience and knowledge of Israel and Jewish Studies make him a key player at AMHSI.  We view his appointment to Head of School as a commitment to providing the best overall academic and immersive Israel experience for Jewish high school students anywhere."  

In October 2013, AMHSI partnered with Jewish National Fund (JNF-USA) to continue both organizations' mission to ensure Jewish continuity and strengthen the relationship between Jewish teenagers and the land of Israel.

Joseph Wolfson, Jewish National Fund’s assistant first vice president and president of the board of directors of AMHSI remarked, “After a careful and thorough search we were excited to offer the position to Mordechai and to have him accept it.  His background, experience, and dedication convinced us that he was the right person for this very important role and we are looking forward to working with him to continue the school’s growth.”

A member of faculty since 2013, Cohen has taught the AMHSI’s core curriculum program, Israel Studies, which explores Israel and 4,000 years of Jewish history, and utilizes the land of Israel as a living classroom.  Students get to climb the Roman fortress of Masada, explore the  Crusader castle of Belvoir, walk the ancient streets of Jerusalem, all the while learning and better understanding the rich history  of the region.

Prior to coming to AMHSI Cohen served in leadership positions at the To Build & To Be Built program in Israel (Livnot U'Lehibanot)  and the Danilack Middle School of Associated Hebrew Schools in Toronto.  He has also worked as an experienced teacher and tour educator at schools and organizations including New Jewish Community High School in Los Angeles and the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem.    

Cohen made Aliya to Israel in 1999.  He holds a BA in International Relations from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles and has studied at several yeshivas in Israel including the Pardes Institute and Bat Ayin Yeshiva.  He has also completed post-graduate study in American Jewish Identity, Philosophy, and Practice of Jewish Education at Hebrew University's Melton Center in Jerusalem.

Alexander Muss High School in Israel has educated more than 2,500 students over the past two years from across the world including North America, Australia, Turkey, Austria, Panama, and hosted students from eleven different countries. Students engage in intensive study of Israel and Jewish history, while surrounded by Israeli society and culture on AMHSI's beautiful, green Hod HaSharon campus.

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Leading The Way for High School Academic Abroad Programs in Israel

Over the past forty three years, Alexander Muss High School in Israel has been the leading high school academic abroad program in Israel. Twenty four thousand alumni have passed through our doors, the vast majority of whom consider our program the most transformative educational experience of their lifetime.

Since our merger with JNF-USA nearly two years ago, the school has been able to reflect and review our program to consider our strengths as well as our are areas of improvement.  As a result, AMHSI is preparing to invest in significant upgrades to specific areas to ensure that AMHSI remains the best choice for a quality Israel experience.

This past spring, AMHSI turned to Kenneth Stein, Emory Professor of Middle Eastern History, Political Science and Israel Studies and President of the Center for Israel Education (CIE), to initiate a review of the AMHSI core curriculum with a focus on redesigning how modern Israel is taught.

Following three introductory sessions, Prof. Stein is prepared to design a proposal for AMHSI to introduce or augment the following areas:

Zionism’s mulitiple origins

The up-building of the state

Lobbying for the Jewish state cause

Diplomatic quest for recognition

Unfolding of the Arab-Israeli conflict’s evolution and in the 1970s the negotiating process

Segments on Israel’s relationships with its neighbors and international community (particularly the US)

The proposed curriculum will be supplemented with a unique booklet of sources, readings and additional material that will focus on the above areas.

In addition, Prof. Stein will be leading two Israel enrichment workshops with our educators on the selected topics, which will be held in early 2016.  Prof. Stein has also suggested turning previously unseen archives sources about the JNF’s role in Jewish nation building into a reader that would be unique to JNF and AMHSI. 

The school’s goal is to introduce the updated curriculum by the Spring of 2016.

In addition to assessing the core curriculum, AMHSI recognizes the need to review the school’s general studies department to best accomodate today’s high school students.

The proposed changes will create permanent departmental heads for each subject area who will be able to better work with our partners and our students to ensure that each student is receiving the best instruction possible. Additionally, AMHSI is planning on offering ongoing training in AP courses to ensure that the AP curriculum taught by teachers is current with what is taught in prestigious US schools.

AMHSI is dedicated to ensuring that the general studies department reflects the intensive, academic nature of our program.

Lastly, as part of our upcoming accreditation through the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools in 2018, AMHSI has chosen four areas for improvement:

Better incorporating the instruction of Hebrew into the core curriculum and creating assessment tools to measure achievement

Developing a measurement system to assess the impact of the AMHSI program in fostering deep and lasting connections to the Jewish people and Israel

Increasing student enrollment, primarily of our AMHSI sessions

Creating professional development opportunities for our educators, administration and marketing

By continuing to raise our standards, AMHSI is ensuring that every student will have a phenomenal Israel experience both inside and outside of the classroom.

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AMHSI Fall Semester Updates

This fall, AMHSI is operating at full capacity with four different groups on campus in each of our dorms!  

We are excited to welcome Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy of Philadelphia, Gann Academy of Boston, American Hebrew Academy of Greensboro and the AMHSI Fall Semester!

Meet our Barrack students below:

Meet our Fall Semester students:

Meet our Gann Academy students:

Our AHA group will arrive on September 9!  We are looking forward to meeting them.

Check out a few photos from the session thus far!

Gann students arriving to Israel!

Gann students at Tel Gezer 

Barrack students at work in core class!

Reuven’s Barrack class on their first tiyyul to Tel Gezer

Barrack students at Mt. Gilboa

Fall Semester students meet Moshiko’s - our favorite smoothie stand!

Fall Semester students make topographical maps of Israel out of natural materials after learning about the country’s geographic regions!

Fall Semester students on tiyyul to Gilboa!

New head of school, Mordechai Cohen, welcoming Fall Semester students!

Insert Gann Photos

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We’re Growing!  New Renovations at the AMHSI Campus

A semester abroad. It has that exotic ring to it, doesn't it? New friends made on foreign soil, unique experiences to take back home, and the opportunity to learn both within and outside of the classroom in the land of Israel.

As our students grow and develop, so should we, as well. At AMHSI, we are renovating our buildings and dormitories to better accommodate the needs of our students as well as our day school and community partners.

Menashe Mor, Manager of Operations, ensured that “offices for staff members and classrooms for students will be renovated and ready for use by the time students arrive for this upcoming semester,” and indeed, they have!

Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy students enjoy an oneg Shabbat in core teacher, Reuven Spero’s new classroom!

Our staff is ready to welcome the New Year with a new office layout including larger windows, a new floor, a fresh coat of paint and new furniture, while our fall student groups are enjoying the recently renovated Rapaport and Friedman dormitories – the only two dorms that had not been updated in recent years.

We are also in the process of upgrading teachers and students' use of technology in the classroom Starting this session, every AMHSI students will be able to fully utilize Google Docs and Google Classroom for their general studies classes.  Teachers have received training and students are already using it to easily access their homework, review materials, homework help resources, and quizzes/tests.

Google Classroom will allow each student to pull up documents directly to their laptop or iPad, as well as to turn in their homework directly to their teacher via Google Docs.  Teachers can also provide grades faster and edit assignments on the go.

The new office of the Head of School

As Orit Rome, Co-CEO, mentioned, “The new upgrades have been both a surprise to staff members and new students…no doubt upgrading both the work environment for our team and learning atmosphere for our students.”

The renovations that have occurred this past summer are only the beginning of a new plan to expand and update the AMHSI campus.  Over the next year, the school will be adding two additional dorms, a new entrance, pathways and landscaping, outdoor classrooms and a central quad area.  With our numbers growing, we are excited and ready for this next step as the semester abroad program in Israel for high school students worldwide!

The new AMHSI lobby

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Abraham Family Return to AMHSI Campus Where Parents, Sherri and Lior, First Met

From left to right: Meital, Lior, Sherri and Ilanit

After more than thirty years, the Abraham family returned to the AMHSI campus to revisit the place where they first met.

The family, current Baltimore residents, were in Israel for a family vacation with their parents and daughters, Meital and Ilanit, during the time of their visit.

Sherri grew up in Florida and attended Alexander Muss High School in Israel during the May/June quin in 1986.  Her teacher was Dov and she lived in the Wohl dorm, which looked a little different back then!

Sherri and daughters, Ilanit and Meital, take a selfie in Sherri’s old bedroom

Sherri’s husband, Lior, was born in Israel and lived there as a child until moving to Canada.  He returned to Israel in high school and ended up studying and living at the youth village at Mosenson High School, which shares a campus with AMHSI.

One night, Sherri returned back to campus and ran into Lior.  The pair ended up sitting and talking together the whole night in the Wohl dorm moadon!

Then and now, Sherri and Lior, in front of Wohl, where they first met

Thus began an on and off again long distance relationship that also involved a few moves between Israel and the US between the two of them!

Mazal tov to both Lior and Sherri on such a wonderful story!  We are so happy to have been part of it!

The family holding up AMHSI shirts in the office building

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Brett Ratner, Hollywood Producer and AMHSI Alum, Returns Home to the AMHSI Campus

Brett Ratner, middle, and AMHSI staff and madrichim

"AMHSI was the best school experience of my entire life!"  This was one of the first sentences uttered by Brett Ratner as he stepped out of his Mercedes into the hot, summer sun at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) campus this past Thursday.

This week, for the first time in over 30 years, the American filmmaker and producer returned to Israel in order to join Mariah Carey at her concert in Rishon LeTzion, Israel.  

Ratner's first visit to Israel was as a sixteen-year-old high school graduate spending the summer with his Florida peers in 1986 at AMHSI, an accredited academic study abroad program for students from North America and around the world, to explore Israel and 4,000 years of Jewish history, while continuing with regular high school studies.

Despite the heat and the construction dust that followed him around campus, Ratner couldn't keep a smile off his face as toured the school.  He pointed out the Friedman dorm, where he lived and slept for eight weeks as a student on the program.  

Ratner remembers being at AMHSI, "as if thirty years ago was yesterday."  He joked about the thin mattresses, lack of air conditioning and pre-arranged weekly phone calls full of static that students could expect at the time as opposed to renovated dorms, heat and air conditioning units and campus-wide wifi that students can expect today.

Brett and Mordechai Cohen, AMHSI Head of School, in the synagogue

While the campus may have changed since Ratner was here - the administration and classroom buildings are undergoing renovations in preparation for a full-scale campus remodeling, which will include two new dorms, a new school entrance, and additional landscaping – the content and values of the program are still the same.

The trips that Ratner remembers, glancing at the pictures on the walls of the Wohl dorm common room, are the same trips that AMHSI students go on today.  It is astounding to realize that the AMHSI program of over thirty years ago is the same phenomenal program that exists today.

Ratner is just one of many alumni who returned to the AMHSI campus this summer.  Whether it's been six months or thirty years, students overwhelmingly come back to campus when they visit Israel.  According to these graduates, it is the connection that students forge with the land of Israel and their heritage as a result of the program that has made AMHSI one of the most transformational educational experiences.  

Incoming Head of School, Mordechai Cohen, who accompanied Ratner on his tour, furthered this sentiment by saying, "It is an honor to have a former student return to our campus and to witness the strong and deep-rooted relationship that has been maintained over all these years because of the AMHSI program."

The campus, which is just twenty minutes from Tel Aviv, allows for an immersive Israel experience through informal encounters with Israelis, exposing students to the local culture, language, and environment, as well as providing them with a place to call home.

And indeed, one of Ratner's favorite AMHSI stories was heading to Tel Aviv on the weekends to stay at the Hilton hotel and experience the best of Israeli urban life. 

While with Ratner it can be easy to forget that he is a celebrity and not just another graduate, the busy world of Tel Aviv and Hollywood didn't stay away too long.  "I'll be just a few more minutes," said Ratner to someone on the phone.  It turned out that his next stop was the mother of Israeli model, Bar Refaeli!

Brett checking out the vending machines at his old haunt, Ofer’s

Still, some things will always remain the same.  With the start of the fall session still a week away, Ratner was left to pine for falafel stuffed in pita bread from then, on-campus kiosk, Shlomo's.   Current students still love the Israeli fast food joint despite changing its name to Ofer's!

Brett, in AMHSI shirt, and AMHSI staff

About Alexander Muss High School in Israel

Since 1972 – 24,000 alumni later – AMHSI has been pioneering the academic and experiential study of Israel and Jewish history at the high school level.  Students are inspired to live outside their books, encounter new ideas and challenge themselves to find their own link within the chain of Jewish continuity. AMHSI's unique pedagogical approach fuses formal classroom study and experience-based learning, enhancing students’ intellectual understanding of history and emotional connection to identity.  Our bold vision of transforming tomorrow’s generation today encourages students to return to their home communities prepared to give back and inspired to become the rising generation of Jewish leadership.  

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What is Leadership?  AMHSI Alum and JNFuture Member, Max Wolk Shares his Thoughts

By Max Wolk

Max Wolk is an active member of JNFuture located in Denver, Colorado.  He is currently the JNFuture Colorado Vice-Chair, an Alexander Muss High School in Israel Alum, the Alexander Muss High School in Israel Mountain States Chair, and attended the JNFuture Leadership Mission trip in the summer of 2015.

“I have always felt the connection to Israel and the need to serve my local and international community by leveraging my passion, commitment and intellect.  I have been searching for the right outlet and opportunity to fulfill my purpose in life – to make this world a better place for generations to come. 

Since haivng received this outlet in the Jewish National Fund, I have been fortunate to have great mentors, leaders and further opportunities like the Jewish National Fund Leadership Mission (JLIM), where my experience in Israel gave me fresh perspective and a new vision of how I can be a leader in my community. This poem reflects my commitment, aspirations and passion for the actions I must take to be the leader I know I am capable of being and impact the world as I have always known I am capable of doing.”

Leadership is…

Commitment, Perseverance, Flexibility, Foresight, Ingenuity, Compassion, Bravery, Humility, Confidence, Sacrifice, Communication, Love, Faith, Intuition, Guidance, Cultivation, and Inspiration.

Leadership is all the things you believe, it’s all the things you regret.  It’s frustrating, and a continued struggle; it’s both a fascination, as well as a failure.  It’s the lessons you teach and the lessons you learn.

Leadership is Herzl, Ben-Gurion, it’s Begin and Rabin, Peres and Netanyahu, or just Michael Levin.

Leadership is Basel, It’s Kibbutz Degania, It’s Tel Aviv, It’s Akko, Ammunition Hill, and the Central Arava.

Leadership is 1897, 1901, 1948, 1967, and 2015.

Leadership is YOUR past, and Our Future.

Leadership is bending down to touch the earth and willing life to come from it, willing water to flow, then sharing this with your friends and rivals.

Leadership is the stubborn confidence to finish and follow through.

Leadership is the humility to learn, listen, and love.

Leadership is Bravery, and the will to do what is right, even if it’s wrong.

Leadership is Faith, not religious, but faith in yourself and those around you.

Leadership is not right in front of you, rather it’s 10k miles away and 10 years down the road.

Leadership is inspiration, ingenuity, and compassion.

Leaders Inspire, Inquire, and Sacrifice.

Real Leadership is recognizing what needs to be done, then taking a giant leap past that to inspire others to accomplish feats that you had only dreamt of…it’s Collaboration and perseverance.

Leadership is never ME

Leadership is always US

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AMHSI Alum, Summer 2014, Elijah Wieberdink, Shared his AMHSI Experience in a College Application Essay

By Eli Wieberdink

Walking off the plane with newly made friends from the flight over the Atlantic, I expected a fun, stress-free study abroad program in Israel. Everything seemed great from the other students to the teachers. All we knew was that this summer was supposed to be the summer of a lifetime where we would develop life lasting relationships and learn all about our Judaic ancestry. We never could have expected to end up right in the center of a violent Middle East conflict.

As I stood in the shower rinsing my hair off, I heard the scream of another siren, indicating a missile was headed our way. All that went through my mind was the fact that I had 90 seconds to get to the bomb shelter and no time at all to get dry and into normal clothes. I quick grabbed my towel, threw on my tank, and made a dash for the shelter where I knew the entire campus would be gathered. As I walked into the shelter with a towel around my waist and a wet tank on, all I could think of was the fact that I was basically nude in front of my entire program. As we waited in the shelter, I thought about how my horrible experience is an obstacle that some Israelis face everyday with no escape. I began to be thankful for my 90 seconds and reflected on the fact that some people barely have 15 seconds to get to safety or may not have a shelter at all.

For 6 weeks, I was always on edge wondering when the next siren might go off and where I would be. “Would I be on the bus?” or “Would it wake me in the middle of the night?” I could never be fully comfortable because in the back of my mind I always knew that at any moment I may have to be on my feet looking for the nearest shelter. Even though I was scared I always knew that there were soldiers entering Gaza who were suffering much worse conditions, who didn’t have shelter to run to and many who were losing their lives.  

We visited Mount Herzl, the cemetery in Jerusalem where many war victims who had lost their lives were buried. I watched hundreds of Israelis gather around recently buried soldiers who had died just a day before defending their homeland. These were the soldiers that were entering Gaza and losing their lives to protect me and my friends as we study in a country coming under attack. I mourned with them the death of these soldiers who weren’t much older than me. I sat there looking at the graves of these young men and women covered in fresh dirt and thousands of flowers making it vividly clear how short life can really be. I saw their pictures lying there on their graves along with mountains of flowers brought by strangers who knew that these people had put their lives on the line for their protection. As I glanced over with tears in my eyes, I noticed that I was not the only one who felt a connection to these men and women but everyone surrounding me had too.  

Israel had become my home and my peers around me, my family. I learned the true meaning of commitment and how lucky I was to be living in a country where I don’t have to get up every day knowing that I would one day be defending my country’s existence. After a constant 4 weeks of staying alert and prepared, I understood the true meaning of gratitude towards these men and women who put their lives on the line. They showed me how life is short and nothing can be taken for granted no matter how small or big it may be.  

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8 of the 9 AMHSI alumni attending the SWU MZ Teen Internship Conference

AMHSI is excited to share that out of over 350 applicants, nine AMHSI alumni were chosen as Stand With Us MZ Teens Interns!

Below is a list of our graduates who were chosen as MZ teens:

The MZ Teens program is a high school leadership program that prepares students for the challenges they may face regarding Israel in college and in their communities. Students participate in a year long program that includes 2 national conferences, ongoing educational online workshops, and they receive guidance and funding to run programming in their high schools and youth groups. Students are encouraged to participate in positive campaigns that inspire their peers and educate people about Israel.

Last week, our nine AMHSI alumni joined 66 others at their initial conference in Los Angeles.

We are immensely proud of our graduates and look forward to seeing the positive change that they can create in their home communities regarding Israel and the Jewish world!

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Winner of the AMHSI summer photo contest is...

this amazing shot by Hayley Sharkey! Congratulations! 

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JNFuture Leadership Mission visits AMHSI

Last week the JNFuture Leadership Institute Mission (JLIM) came to AMHSI for a visit. They attended a lecture by one of AMHSI’s renowned Israel Studies educators, Yossi Katz, who recounted the story of Michael Levin, a Philadelphia-born AMHSI alumnus, who was killed in the Second Lebanon war after making aliyah and joining the IDF.

His story is commemorated in Katz’s book A Voice Called: Stories of Jewish Heroism. Following the lecture, the mission participants went on a tour of AMHSI’s campus in Hod HaSharon.

JLIM is the inaugural JNF leadership mission for young philanthropists committed to becoming “change agents” for JNF and Israel. The mission of JLIM is to establish a young society of proven, high impact Jewish leaders who are willing to commit their time, leadership, talent and resources to strengthen JNF and Israel, and connect to the land and people of Israel.

For more information about JLIM and other JNF missions, please click

here

.

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Farewell to AMHSI summer students

It was an emotional evening for all of us at AMHSI. The students had their final evening on campus and got the chance to present their end-of-session skits and videos, which we will be posting shortly. For now here’s a taste of the amazing bitter-sweet evening.

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Renovations! Bring on the wrecking ball...

Well, not quite. But take a look at the “before” or rather in-the-middle shots of the AMHSI office building adjacent to the synagogue. 

Photos of the new and improved office building are coming soon!

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Molly Feldman, Spring Semester 2014, Catches Up with AMHSI

Molly Feldman is from New Hampshire and attended the Spring Semester Session in 2014 at the Eshel HaNasi Negev campus. This fall, she will be attending the Rochester Institute of Technology to study computer science.

Please share a little bit about yourself.

I was born in Ohio and moved to Londonderry, NH when I was two. I went to Londonderry High School (I’m graduating June 12!) and I will be going to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) this fall. I attended the Prozdor Hebrew High School in Newton, MA from 8th grade until 11th and I have been a chapter or regional general board member of NERUSY since 9th grade.

If your AMHSI friends could visit you for a day in your hometown, where would you take them?  

I would just have them hang out at my house because I have a pool and we could grill!

Do you know what you are planning on studying at RIT?

I am majoring in Computer Science. I’m not sure what I want to do with it exactly, but I’d like to do a lot of traveling.

What's your favorite non-school activity?

USY (the Conservative movement's youth group) has been a huge part of my life, and this year especially, I got much closer to a lot of my friends.

Who was your core teacher on AMHSI?

My core teacher was Aubrey. For one of our tiyulim, we visited a Crusader’s castle. We had a really funny activity he led to learn about the different defenses that surround the castle to protect it from invaders. I remember laughing the whole way through.

Did you visit Israel prior to attending AMHSI?

In 9th grade, I visited Israel for 10 days with Prozdor. We have a sister school, the Reali school in Haifa, and we were boarded with kids that went to the school. We traveled and learned about Israel alongside the Israeli students. As soon as I got home, I knew I had to get back to Israel as soon as possible. I plan on participating in Birthright, hopefully this coming winter break, then extending my stay to visit friends that are doing a gap year next school year.

Did you have a #MussMoment or a time where the AMHSI experience clicked for you?

My roommates and I had a dance party in our room one night, and I couldn’t imagine ever having to leave them!