In the first in a series of visits planned for the coming year, Mandel Foundation (MF) Board members flew to Israel to deepen their knowledge about Mandel Foundation–Israel (MF-I) venues and programs. "The aim of the initiative," says Richard Juran, who organized the visit, "was to afford Board members the opportunity to observe programs, engage key players and appreciate the impact of the Foundation's work in Israel." This was a structured opportunity to learn about the quality of Mandel Foundation endeavors and their contribution to Israeli society and the Jewish world, as it afforded direct, first-hand exposure to the Foundation’s vibrant scope of activity in Israel.

A variety of programs – a common goal
The visit was quite busy, with venues ranging from formal sessions that focused on programs to site visits and discussions with faculty, fellows and graduates.

In Jerusalem, the board members visited MF-I headquarters, and met with MF-I president, Annette Hochstein, and its senior staff. This was followed by a visit to the Israel Museum where they met with the director, James Snyder, and toured the Mandel Wing for Jewish Art and Life, which was reconstructed with the support of the Mandel Brothers. Dr. Tali Gavish, a Mandel graduate, presented the philosophy and method of engagement in the Youth and Education Wing, which she directs, and guided the delegation on a tour of the wing.

At the Mandel Leadership Institute (MLI), the board members participated in weekly “tea time,” with fellows, faculty and staff.  MLI director Dr. Eli Gottlieb and MLI academic director Prof. Mordecai Nisan, presented the mission and distinctive approach of MLI, after which members of the delegation met MLI fellows and engaged them in discussion over lunch. The board members learned about MLI's rationale and how its fellows acquire the skills they need to establish and lead institutions, and to implement creative solutions to the educational and social challenges in Israel and Jewish communities around the world.
 
The board also visited Scholion, the Interdisciplinary Research Center in Jewish Studies, founded at the Hebrew University on Mt. Scopus with support from the Mandel Foundation. Scholion encourages interdisciplinary research that puts Jewish studies at the forefront of scholarly research in Israel and abroad. They also met with Prof. Sarah Stroumsa, rector of the Hebrew University. Later in the day, officers who graduated from the IDF Educational Leadership Development Program talked about the impact of their MLI experience on their leadership roles in the military.

Some 70 miles south of Jerusalem, the board members visited the Mandel Center for Leadership in the Negev (MCLN), where they met with the director Jacob Steinberg and senior staff and graduates. In these meetings, they learned more about the unique social and educational challenges of the Negev, and how MCLN strives to create cadres of professional leaders who can serve as agents of change.

The work of the Mandel Graduate Unit’s (MGU) was the focus of the final day of their visit. Board members met Dr. Pierre Kletz, Vice President of Mandel Foundation–Israel, and Granit Almog Bareket, MGU director, and other staff members who presented the unit’s strategy for providing ongoing support and engagement with graduates. This served as important background for meetings with graduates at the Mandel Leadership Institute and visits to two unique schools founded by Mandel Graduates: the Keshet and Hand-in-Hand schools. Keshet is a school where religious and non-religious pupils study together in the same classes in a pluralistic environment. The school maintains a careful balance between the pupils from each sector and uses special curricula for Jewish studies. Hand-in-Hand pioneered integrated Jewish-Arab education in Israel; they now operate four bilingual schools for Israeli Jews and Arabs. Its aim is to inculcate the ideas of coexistence, multiculturalism, and equality as essential educational values that create a foundation of trust and hope in the pupils, their families, and friends.

The programs come to life
Prof. Sally Wertheim, one of the visiting board members, had this to say at the conclusion of her visit: "Visiting and being there with the staff, fellows and graduates made the programs come to life. Not until I saw Mandel's philosophy in action and heard the participants speak about how they are implementing the Mandel ideas as part of their belief system, did I truly appreciate the scope and impact of the initiatives. From our visit to the Arab-Jewish School to the leadership training program in the Negev, to educational innovation at MLI, to Scholion at Hebrew University, to the appreciation of the art collection and more,  I was able to see across the board that it is indeed 'all about who'."

Many thanks go to the Mandel Foundation and to everyone who is part of MF-I for creating this opportunity for Foundation trustees to observe its work, meet the players and observe the impact of its endeavors in Israel.