Students at Ironi Hey High School in Haifa and at Gann Academy are undeterred by the physical distance between them. At the bi-weekly videoconference meetings, a group of students at each school works together on topics ranging from current events to holiday celebrations to text study. Each year, both communities become more and more aware of how critical it is to talk about life in America and life in Israel. We have been able to offer support and understanding to each other—despite our geographical separation—after 9/11, after Pesach 2002, after the loss of Ironi Hey student Tal Kerman, and during the Iraq war. Although students argue and hold widely differing political opinions, they are always ready to support one another in times of great stress.

The exchange program that brings the Ironi Hey students to Boston each year provides an opportunity for Israeli teenagers to learn about our Jewish community as well as about the modern city of Boston and its rich history as the cradle of American liberty. One of the most successful aspects of each year’s program is the study sessions in our Hebrew classes and at elementary Jewish day schools, Waltham High School and/or Assisted Living Institutions. Students enjoy studying Hebrew poetry, current politics, and biblical texts together and find that our varied backgrounds make for a richer conversation. Of course, for our teenagers the time they spend together at each other’s homes is best of all.

For both Israeli and American students, the opportunity to live in one another’s homes and worlds through videoconference sessions and exchange visits creates lasting bonds. It is a credit to our programming that students see the distance between us as just another wonderful possibility, and it speaks to the success of the program that many Gann graduates spend a “gap year” or an alternative year in Israel.