Lou and Sylvia Vogel
Lou and Sylvia Vogel

Longtime loyal supporters Lou and Sylvia Vogel recently announced a gift to support scholarships for the Shluchei Tzibur Program at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Created ten years ago in response to the growing insularity and poverty of the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi) community in Israel, the ‘Shluchei Tzibur’ (Public Envoys) is a two-year program for mid-career community leaders. It is designed mostly for graduate students and currently has 135 participants.

“I have become much more aware of the very religious community as my son became fully religious himself,” said Sylvia Vogel, who adds she found it very eye-opening and troubling to see how many in this community had limited employment opportunities or formal educations. “Any program that would help to keep them religious but also to integrate a bit more with the rest of the community was a worthwhile program for us.”

The mission of the program is to:

  • Teach the academic and professional know-how needed to develop and lead community initiatives that will advance the wellbeing of the ultra-Orthodox community as a whole and lead it to greater self-sufficiency;
  • Offer the tools and skills necessary to enable them to serve as effective change agents;
  • Acquaint participants with the philosophical and cultural heritage, as well as the public and civic institutions, of the larger Israeli society.
Professor Mona Khoury-Kassbari, new Vice President of Strategy and Diversity at HU
Professor Mona Khoury-Kassbari

Professor Mona Khoury-Kassbari, Vice President of Strategy and Diversity at HU, asserts the program is committed to the community’s careful integration into Israeli society while preserving community character and principles.

“The University should reflect Israeli society. This process can only go hand-in-hand with a deep understanding of the various population groups,” said Professor Khoury-Kassbari. “I have no interest in making Haredi students secular – rather, I want to see them using the knowledge and skills that we give them here to advance the  communities in which they live. If we succeed in this mission, it will benefit Israeli society as a whole.”

QUICK FACTS

  • Israel’s ultra-Orthodox population is extremely under-represented in higher education as well as in employment.
  • Some 480 ultra-Orthodox students are currently studying in the full range of the University’s faculties and programs. About 40% of these are doing their first degree and the rest are doing graduate studies.

For more information on how to support the program, please contact Debbie Dankoff at ddankoff@cfhu.org or 514-932-2133.