This semester, the participants in the MASA-affiliated WUJS Institute in Arad represent communities of 13 countries.  They spend seven months in Israel on one of three tracks: the Main Program, the Arts Program, or the Peace and Social Justice Program.  (See: www.WUJS-Arad.org) The first half of the program is academic, including: Jewish Studies, Zionism, Israeli Society and a Hebrew Ulpan, while 50% of the time is dedicated to in-depth field research, overnight trips, four-day seminars off-campus, and allowing time for local adopting families. For the second half of the program, participants intern in diverse settings, furthering their personal professional development.  Volunteerism is a central pillar of the entire program.  These components are characteristic of the quality of MASA-affiliated programs. MASA acknowledges a new volunteer initiative launched by WUJS this semester:  teaching English to Bedouin children in the nearby village of Kaseifa.

Following a comment to Friedman by a Bedouin friend on the need for improving English studies in the village, the project was promptly launched.  Lagging far behind their Jewish counterparts, a major gap between Jewish and Bedouin Israelis is perpetuated as they compete to enter the academic world and the job market.  WUJS Institute - Peace and Social Justice interns serve not only as volunteer English tutors, but in this context, make their own mark upon a trend towards social change. High school students work in small groups with WUJS volunteers to improve English reading and writing skills, as well as conversational skills.  

Alon Friedman, WUJS Institute director, reports that eight of the young adults currently participating in the Peace and Social Justice track – from the U.S., Canada, Australia, and even Venezuela are piloting this new volunteer project.  According to Friedman, the eight interns volunteer once a week, four on Sundays and four on Wednesdays. 

The volunteers design lesson plans using games, songs and poetry.  Whether it is Nikita from Turkmenistan or a young American lawyer, this is a unique volunteer experience.  Jared coaches baseball in Arad, but also visits Kaseifa every week.  Another volunteer explains that they plan lessons in cooperation with the teachers. 

Rachel Bressler, after completing her B.A. in History and Hebrew language & literature from Brandeis University, spent a year teaching 4^th grade at a Jewish school in Manhattan, while studying for her M.A. at Fordham University.  Amidst her studies, she decided to attend the WUJS Institute.  Rachel brings professional teaching experience with her to the volunteer experience.  She tries to make the English lessons for 10^th grade students relevant to their social studies curriculum while preparing them for the Bagrut (government administered high school matriculation exams) required for admission to higher education programs.  Opinion paper writing is the focus of her weekly sessions.  However, Rachel is not naïve about the impact: "I would love to think I'm helping to bridge the gap, but I am far too realistic.  There is no way I could bring these Bedouin students up to the level of the Israeli kids I teach in Arad – and I do see some progress resulting from our volunteering." To illustrate the point, Rachel explained that she reviews Chekhov in English with students in Arad, while the conversational level of the Bedouin tenth graders can be summarized by: "I live in ____.  I have ____ brothers."

Rachel is certain that the 4-15 10^th graders who participate in her English lessons look forward to the "foreigners" coming to Kaseifa and enjoy the attention, but would probably prefer to be doing something else after school!   For the WUJS Institute volunteers, this is a volunteer experience welcomed in Kaseifa, and a tangible component of the Peace and Social Justice track of the WUJS Institute in Arad.