British ORT

The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) will provide World ORT with $1 million in the coming year in support of the Heftsiba programme that operates in 15 ORT schools in the CIS and Baltic States.

The decision, which was confirmed to World ORT last week, not only reverses an expected $350,000 budget cut but adds a further $650,000 to its support.

Under the Heftsiba programme, Israel’s Ministry of Education and the Jewish Agency help ORT to provide formal Jewish education in Jewish schools in the former Soviet republics; it is a partnership between local governments, World ORT, the Ministry of Education of Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel and local Jewish communities.

The schools have also been receiving well over $1 million a year from World ORT through Regeneration 2004, the on-going campaign led by ORT America aimed at enlarging the network of ORT schools and centres in the region as well as enhancing existing schools’ IT provision and broadening the range of subjects on offer. Chaired by publisher Milton Gralla, a long time ORT supporter, Regeneration 2004 has been building on the accomplishments of Regeneration 2000, which established ORT’s Jewish schools as a thriving, highly reputed network.

Heftsiba funds meet the cost of Jewish education programmes, including the salaries of Israeli teachers in many of the schools and school buses, meals and financial incentives for local teachers.