Director of Israel programs welcomed at the Mandell JCC

The Mandell JCC is excited to welcome Raz Newman, Israel native, as the new director of Israel Programs, announced David Jacobs, executive director at the Mandell JCC. Over the next two years, Newman will be working to enhance the connection between the Greater Hartford community and Israel.

 

Recognizing that the Greater Hartford community was in need of strategic, focused Israel programming that would expand the educational and communal connections between the Greater Hartford Jewish community and Israel, the Mandell JCC sought to engage a JCC professional through the Jewish Agency/Jewish Community Center Association of North America (JCCA) Young Shaliach Program.

 

"The Mandell JCC and the JCCA are actively working to create a vibrant relationship with Israel, because it connects us to Jewish history, tradition and identity. Israel is one of the epicenters of Jewish culture and creativity," Jacobs said. "Bringing Raz to our community will help to expand our community's organizational and individual relationships with Israel. Raz will focus on working with teens, adults and Israelis in the community through programs, events, activities, and connections. He brings knowledge of our Jewish heritage, the Jewish people and Israel – and he is already proving to be a very special addition to our community."

 

Originally from Rishon Le'tzion, Israel, a city near Tel Aviv, Raz served in the Israel Defense Forces in Oketz, an elite combat unit, and was selected by the Jewish Agency for Israel to be in their Leadership Division. Newman was a member of the Hamahanot-Haolim youth movement and was a counselor for two years. During the summer of 2012, he was the Film Specialist at Camp Ramah Darom in Atlanta, GA.

 

For more information on Israel Programs at the Mandell JCC, contact Raz Newman, 860-231-6333, rnewman@mandelljcc.org, or the Member Services Center, 860-236-4571, or visit www.mandelljcc.org.

 

The Mandell Jewish Community Center, Zachs Campus, 335 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, was founded in 1915 and is supported by funds raised by the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, is a recipient of funding from the Jewish Community Foundation of Greater Hartford, and a member of the JCC Association of North America.