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Humans of Heller High: What nine teens learned on an immersive program in Israel
This article was produced as part of JTA’s Teen Journalism Fellowship, a program that works with teens across the world to report on issues that impact their lives.
(JTA) — After nearly two years of hybrid learning at school, some students couldn’t wait to get back in the classroom full-time. For some teens that meant flying thousands of miles to attend the immersive program at Heller High School in Israel in the Fall of 2022.
This fall, 18 students left home to experience life as students in Israel. Living together, taking classes as a group, and going on field trips with each other, students have to learn how to experience life on their own away from home in addition to a general studies class load that includes Jewish history and Hebrew.
Heller was created to give “Reform youth an opportunity to strengthen through learning and experience, their connection to Judaism, the Jewish people, and the Jewish state,” said David Solomon, associate principal. The curriculum focuses on field trips and immersion learning. Heller High takes place in Israel. The fall semester lasts from August through December and the spring semester lasts from January through May. Students that are Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors can attend Heller and can stay from a semester up to a year.
In this photo gallery, students talk about their experiences and struggles with the program along with how they are coping with the changes around them.
Changing it up
Flora Pelton, left, 15, 10th grade, from Falls Church, Virginia. (Courtesy of Flora Pelton)
“Before this semester, everything in my life was very familiar; I had lived in the same house, gone to the same schools, and been a member of the same congregation my whole life. Israel was a way for me to get new experiences outside of a small-town American lifestyle. I have become friends with so many new people from different places around the world. I enjoy being able to go to school but still go on so many trips and adventures. I learned how to be independent, take care of myself, and get to know people I have never met before. We were all kind of thrown into this experience and so we had to learn how to do all of these things on our own. It has opened my mind to knowing that I will have to do things like this in the future. It has moved me because I know that I can do so much more than I thought I could. Being in Israel will change who I am now because I have learned to be more aware of others. We have to be with each other at all times and so respecting and learning others’ needs is super important. For example, if my roommate wants to go to bed, I have to be quiet or find somewhere else. I have enjoyed swimming in Sachne [a nature spot in the lower Galilee] the most. It was during a full day field trip and we got to swim as it is the last time we can swim until summer. We all jumped in and were terrified of the fish in the water. The experiences have brought me closer to everyone around me.” — Flora Pelton
Connected
Eitan Hefer, 15, 10th grade, in Hudsonville, Michigan. (Courtesy of Eitan Heffer)
“I love being able to have fun with Jews my age. I am able to surround myself with people that have similar interests and ideas as me. I feel more connected and comfortable with these people than with most of my friends at home because you are with the people here all day, everyday. I will be a lot more mature and be able to focus and do my homework without being asked [when I return home]. I will also be able to advocate for myself a lot more. I have a lot more fun here versus school at home because I can have more one-on-one with my roommates. Being in Heller High has taught me to manage my time and know when I need to focus on myself versus the people around me. This experience has changed my outlook on life because it has taught me to make the most of each moment. ” — Eitan Hefer
New View
Lena Schapiro, 16, 11th grade, from Rancho Cucamonga, California. (Zoe Klevens)
“I heard about Heller High from a friend. My parents thought it would be a great opportunity, and we didn’t know anyone that had studied abroad as a high school student. I decided to do it because, at home, I wasn’t feeling very Jewish. My school has no Jews. I was looking for a connection to other Jews and my Jewish identity in Israel. I expected to observe Judaism more often here and it is true compared to my life at home. An experience I’ll remember most was we went into the caves at Bar Kochva and sang the Shema and extended every word. It was so spiritual, and it felt so good at that moment. It felt like I was ascending with the echoing voices. We were all in harmony both out loud, but also in our souls. This experience has given me a whole new mindset about the world. I feel more responsibility through community service, engaging with Israelis that I have never met, and being away from home. Now that I have been able to surround myself with other Jews, I can feel confident in my Jewish identity when returning home. It opened my eyes, like when we learned to clean out plates with dirt. It opened my mind up to the fact that you can clean something dirty with something even dirtier. It was something I would never have believed worked, but although it seems absurd, it was so effective. It’s taking something you’d never believed and turned it into something so easy. I can apply this to my Jewish life at home by trying new things that might seem weird to others.” — Lena Schapiro
Reminded of home
Adina Golbus, 17, 11th grade, from San Rafael, California. (Zoe Klevens)
“Raticus is this toy rat; he’s not quite a stuffed animal, but he looks realistic and special to me. It was this joke between my friends and me back home, and I ended up bringing it with me. I created this Instagram account called raticus.inisrael. On my first day in the airport, I knew these kids in the airport were going to think I was the weirdest person in the world or have similar humor. It made my heart happy when everyone thought it was super funny. Now wherever we go, I try to bring Raticus to all the significant places we go. He has become a mascot for our group. He has become a special thing. I share them with my parents. Masada was a challenging mountain to climb, and having Raticus there made it easier, knowing I could take him to the top and get sunset pictures. He helped to change the mood.” — Adina Golbus
Together
Sylvia Kassoff, 16, 11th grade, from Jackson, Mississippi. (Zoe Klevens)
“After going to Israel with NFTY this summer, I knew I wanted to return. I was unhappy with my home school because I felt as though I wasn’t getting a very good education. My friend from home had told me that ‘being around other Jewish people was good for me.’ That really stuck with me and made me want to come to Israel again. The cultural shift from Jackson, Mississippi to Israel is definitely large. At home, there is a lot of Southern hospitality where everyone is kind to everyone. Here, people are kind, but it is definitely different because people display their kindness differently. A lot of the time people don’t really smile on the street that much, but many give to charity and in general people are a lot more willing to be socially active here versus at home.
“My happiest moment here was when we went to the Mediterranean sea and hung out on a rock. It was directly after we finished Yam le Yam (Sea to Sea) where we hiked from the Kinneret to the Mediterranean sea. Everyone was exhausted and we got to unwind and be together. I realized that these are the people I am going to be spending four months of my life with and I really appreciated that. While the school day is a lot longer, the breaks in between learning are helpful. The content is much more interesting and easier to follow. I have learned that I want to find a community and find people that make me feel comfortable. In Israel, I have made my own community of so many other Jewish teens. I am a little worried to go back to Jackson because I know it will be a huge adjustment. I have to go back to school less than a week after I get home from Israel. I think once I get back I will notice a big difference between my friends and me. I am excited to see what the world has to offer when I arrive back home.” — Sylvia Kassoff
Full of possibilities
Anna von Thomsen, bottom left, 16, 11th grade, from Schwerin, Germany. (Courtesy of Anna von Thomsen)
“The bus ride from the airport to Heller High felt like it was so full of possibilities. I didn’t know anyone and was like this is the start. The class sizes are either one-on-one or much smaller than my class sizes at home. It’s different from having a teacher that cares about what I learn. Since I am not American, I have had difficulty socially adapting, but I am working on that. The cultural difference between German and American teens makes it difficult. Trends and humor are both incredibly different. Sarcasm is more subtle in the United States and I have found that a lot of American trends reach Germany a lot later. Germans are generally a lot more blunt whereas Americans tend to dance around subjects. I have adapted by letting my peers shape me and teach me what they find funny. I haven’t stopped believing what I believed before I came here, but I have definitely catered to other people.” — Anna von Thomsen
Connected
Kami Rosenblatt, 16, 11th grade, from Danville, California. (Zoe Klevens)
“The best advice I was given before coming here is that nothing is permanent. I’m trying to make the most of it and live in the moment. I was expecting to be homesick, [but] I was shocked at how comfortable I was by day two. I’ve never been happier. We never really know how our day is going to turn out. It can go from being an 11-hour school day to having some of my favorite memories during or right after school. I also love Israeli dancing. When I am dancing, I feel energized and a kind of kehila (community) that you can not feel anywhere else. During Simchat Torah, we unraveled the Torah and saw the whole thing. We celebrated and danced around it with people we never met before; that was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. At home, I only go to school from 8:30 a.m. until 1pm. Here, we go to school from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m. It’s draining and long. However, learning Hebrew and the Jewish history class about Israel, the land, the people, the culture, and then just Judaism – the classes are so important to be learning here. It’s immersing us into the culture even more, and it’s the kind of education I would never receive in my life again. My greatest challenge has been learning to adapt to not enough sleep and going all day long without any breaks or stops. I’ve learned not to care about the things I used to care about. I am a lot less uptight.” — Kami Rosenblatt
Tradition
Talia Rapaport, top, 17, 12th grade, from Raleigh, North Carolina. (Courtesy of Talia Rapaport)
“Last year, I attended Alexander Muss High School for a semester. My dad and all of his family had done it. I realized how much Israel means to me and knew I wanted to return to my senior year. I wanted to learn more about the history of Israel, so I could go back and share it with my community. My happiest moment at Heller High was when we made it to the top of Masada and hung an Israel flag together. It was blowing in the wind, and I felt like we had all made it. When we screamed into the mountains ‘Am Yisrael Chai,’ and it screamed back at us, it showed all of the generations and what we are continuing. This gave me a sense of Israeli pride and what we get to be a part of daily. Living on my own here has made me a lot more independent. It is great college prep. I’ve had to start making my own life decisions like choosing when to do my homework or when I want to eat out versus staying in. It is now up to me how I want to practice Shabbat. In Israel, I am trying to stay off my phone on shabbat. At home, I attend Orthodox school; I learn all the religious aspects of being Jewish, the Talmud and Chumash [the Hebrew Bible], and not the history. The hardest thing for me has been learning about reform Judaism; it’s been eye-opening. It has given me a new perspective on what the prayers mean to different people. I learned so many different tunes and melodies to songs along with saying things in English instead of Hebrew. It gives everyone the ability to learn what we are praying about.I never had any background in that. But, I’ve adapted to it and overtime I started doing the reform prayers, instead of how I learned. Everyone has done a good job of including me in services.” — Talia Rapaport
Learning balance
Noa Maccabee, left, 14, 10th grade, from Hood River, Oregon. (Courtesy of Noa Macabee)
“I grew up in a non-Jewish community and struggled with my Jewish identity. Growing up in a small community with no Jews, I didn’t really know how to be Jewish. Being Jewish to me before didn’t really mean anything, but now I know more about the world and the people around me. I have learned more about my religion and others. Now, being Jewish means being me and not having to hide it. I was looking to explore Israeli culture and thought Heller High would help me. I’ve learned to enjoy every moment and take school more seriously. Hiking Sea to Sea with some of my closest friends and being outdoors was amazing. It pushed us because we were tired and exhausted, but we kept going. We discovered a stream after hiking six miles. We were all super hot and sweaty and arrived in this secluded area for lunch. My friend Kami and I decided to go for a brief swim. At that moment, I realized how close I was to nature, and the deep connection I have made with friends is the strongest I have ever had. Being here has taken time to get used to. Balancing school, friends, and living with people all the time – the social aspect can be difficult because of lack of alone time. It was surprising how short of a time this place took to feel like home. This experience has made me a more open person. I have a much better understanding of how the world functions and lives because I have the ability to see how Jews live when they are surrounded by thousands of other Jews.” — Noa Maccabee
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A second rabbinic letter, arguing against Jewish rejections of Mamdani, enters the NYC mayor’s race
A second rabbinic letter about the New York City mayor’s race repudiating the first has drawn hundreds of signatures in the day since its launch.
Titled “Jews for a Shared Future,” the new letter rejects the argument that the frontrunner in the race is unacceptable because of his opposition to Israel and contends that Jews should see their safety in New York City and beyond as entwined with that of others.
“In response to Jewish concerns about the New York mayoral race, we recognize that candidate Zohran Mamdani’s support for Palestinian self-determination stems not from hate, but from his deep moral convictions,” the letter says. “Even though there are areas where we may disagree, we affirm that only genuine solidarity and relationship-building can create lasting security. That work has sustained us for generations wherever Jews have lived, and remains our only path forward.”
It also responds to attacks on Mamdani’s Muslim identity, saying, “Jewish safety cannot be built on Muslim vulnerability, nor can we combat hate against our community while turning away from hate against our neighbors.”
In the day since its launch, the letter has been signed by 740 Jews. Of them, 230 are rabbis, 40 located in or near New York City.
Some of the signatories have previously offered their public support for Mamdani, including Sharon Kleinbaum, who spoke at his rally in Queens on Sunday, but others have not. Although some do not work in traditional pulpits, many others do. Some are well known for their own anti-Zionist activism that puts their outlook on Israel in line with Mamdani’s, but others openly identify as Zionists.
In a sign of how complex the current political discourse is for politically liberal Jews, at least one retired rabbi signed both the “Shared Future” letter and the broadside it follows.
The first letter, denouncing Mamdani and the “normalization of anti-Zionism,” began circulating a week ago and has now topped 1,150 signatures, with hundreds of signatories in New York City. It has roiled Jewish communities across the country as congregants look for their rabbis on the list.
The new letter was written by Rabbi Shoshana Leis, a graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College who helms Pleasantville Community Synagogue in New York City’s northern suburbs. In a post on Facebook, she said she had begun drafting the letter on Sunday after observing the “painful divisiveness” that the first letter was creating and that she had “struggled” to formulate a response that would not run the risk of “further reinforcing the divisions.”
A breakthrough came, she said, after consulting with other rabbis and drawing on the work of Israeli and Palestinian shared-society activist organizations.
“What happens in NYC often resonates throughout the country. While I do not endorse any candidates and do not have a vote in the NYC election, I do endorse a particular way for Jews to show up in America,” she wrote. “Our safety is interconnected with the safety of our neighbors, and the path to friendship is through the difficult but rewarding work of building relationships, one at a time, even across significant and vital differences.”
The dueling letters underscore a pitched divide around politics in the pulpit, exacerbated this year by the Trump administration’s decision to stop enforcing a rule that barred clergy from making political endorsements. Some rabbis have said that they have refrained from signing letters related to the New York City election, even when they may agree with the contents, because they see such direct political advocacy as inappropriate and divisive.
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Alabama man arrested for allegedly planning attacks on synagogues
(JTA) — An Alabama man was arrested this week for allegedly planning attacks on synagogues in Alabama and surrounding states as well as public figures.
Jeremy Wayne Shoemaker, 33, of Needham, Alabama, was arrested on Monday after the FBI and local agencies were alerted of “credible threats of violence” he made to local synagogues, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office announced in a post on Facebook.
During his arrest, law enforcement also seized “weapons, more than a suitcase full of ammo, body armor and other items related to the plans of violence” in Shoemaker’s possession, the office said.
Following an investigation, the Clark County Sheriff’s office said they believed Shoemaker had “intentions of not being taken alive” and potentially planned to attack “public figures” as well.
While the sheriff’s office said that federal charges were “likely,” Shoemaker was locally charged during his arrest with resisting arrest and certain persons forbidden to possess a firearm. It was not clear if prosecutors were seeking hate crime charges.
The Birmingham Jewish Federation appeared to call attention to Shoemaker’s arrest in a post on Facebook, writing that there was “no credible threat to our community at this time.”
“We are deeply grateful that swift and coordinated action by the FBI, state investigators and local law enforcement prevented what could have been a devastating act of violence,” the post read. “This incident is a sobering reminder that threats motivated by antisemitism and hate persist.”
In 2023, at least five Jewish congregations in Alabama received emailed bomb threats. In 2024, the state saw 67 antisemitic incidents overall, including four incidents where Jewish institutions were targeted, according to the Anti-Defamation League’s annual antisemitism audit.
Shoemaker is being held on $150,000 cash bond and is due to appear in court on Nov. 7.
The post Alabama man arrested for allegedly planning attacks on synagogues appeared first on The Forward.
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Proposal to elevate Netanyahu’s son shatters fragile concord at World Zionist Congress
JERUSALEM — An early sign of moderation and compromise among the delegates here this week for the 39th World Zionist Congress appeared to shatter late Wednesday amid revelations that supporters of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to install his son Yair in a key leadership role.
The drama is roiling the high-stakes gathering that is often described as the “parliament of the Jewish people,” taking place against the backdrop of heightened antisemitism around the world and war in the region.
Delegates from more than 40 nations have converged in Jerusalem, with the U.S. delegation the largest in the congress’ history: 155 delegates and about 100 alternates, representing 22 states and a wide age range (18-87), including 75 rabbis of various streams.
The congress, which opened Tuesday, is expected to determine the allocation of more than $1 billion annually toward Zionist institutions, appoint the leadership for the movement, and set the tone for Israel-Diaspora relations.
In his opening remarks, Israeli President Isaac Herzog underscored the enduring purpose of Zionism in an era of rising antisemitism.
“Those who once called us ‘Yids’ or ‘kikes’ now call us ‘Zios’… These ‘Zios’ are us,” he said. He invoked the founding vision of Theodor Herzl for a pluralistic Zionist movement that gathers multiple voices under one roof.
Yet beneath that message of unity, fissures have been visible, perhaps most notably in the absence of Netanyahu, marking the first time since Israel’s founding that a sitting premier has skipped the gathering.
Senior delegates said his absence reflected friction inside World Likud and his long-running dispute with its chair U.N. envoy Danny Danon, with whom he has sparred over internal appointments, as well as concern he would face a hostile reception from delegates.
Kenneth Bob, newly elected chairman of the World Labor Zionist Alliance, said that given that “half the congress are not fans,” Netanyahu’s decision to skip the convening was unsurprising.
“He’s afraid of the response he’d get from the delegates. He knows he’ll be greeted rudely,” he said.
But Netanyahu’s presence is still being felt. As delegates deliberate policy and funding, the congress is also navigating intense power-sharing negotiations. A deal reportedly struck between center-left and center-right Zionist blocs to rotate leadership of major institutions was thrown into jeopardy after word emerged that Yair Netanyahu — son of the prime minister — would take a senior role at the WZO. That revelation sparked the collapse of the agreement and forced the extension of the congress by two weeks.
Yair Netanyahu is a divisive figure in Israel. Unlike many other Israelis his age, 34, he spent the war living in Miami and did not serve in the reserves during the war in Gaza. He is known for his social media posts backing his father’s politics and advancing far-right conspiracy theories.
Yair Netanyahu with his father, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the prime minister’s residence in Jerusalem, Jan. 23, 2020. (Alexei NikolskyTASS via Getty Images)
The deal that collapsed was notable for excluding only a single party from power-sharing: Otzma Yehudit, run by the far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir, currently Israel’s national security minister. The congress is the first to include delegations representing extremist parties.
The deal was also notable because it would have installed Doron Perez as the World Zionist Organization’s next chair. Perez’s son Daniel was murdered on Oct. 7 and his body was held hostage in Gaza until earlier this month.
Herbert Block, executive director of the American Zionist Movement, which represents U.S. Jewry at the congress, said the days of coalition bargaining had exposed familiar frictions among religious, right-wing, and liberal Zionist factions over control of budgets, appointments, and ideological priorities within the national institutions. Referring to the negotiations process, he quipped that it recalled the adage about how “laws are like sausages.”
“Enjoy the end product but not how they’re made. You don’t want to see them shechting the cow in the slaughterhouse,” he said, using the Hebrew term for ritual slaughter.
Block added that he hoped the final agreement would lead to “more involvement of the Diaspora communities” and “a greater voice for Diaspora Jewry” in the WZO and the national institutions.
This year’s elections brought a surge of ultra-Orthodox representation: Eretz HaKodesh captured 19 seats, giving it leverage in committee appointments and budgets. The growing presence of haredi parties — many of whose members historically rejected the Zionist label — has upended the traditional ideological balance.
Bob said the development is “frustrating because they have not identified as Zionist,” adding that while inclusion was welcome, “it has to be with the right intentions.” He cited alleged irregularities in delegate elections as “really shocking.” (Voters had to certify themselves as Zionists to cast ballots.)
Tensions deepened Wednesday ahead of planned protests over Israel’s forthcoming draft of haredi Orthodox men into the military, which prompted the congress to reschedule some sessions.
Many delegates spoke of a movement in flux.
“The Congress has become more like Knesset-style arm-wrestling — who’s bigger, who writes the narrative, who gets another seat,” said Gusti Yehoshua-Braverman, a senior executive at the World Zionist Organization. “We need a new charter for Zionism that restores a shared sense of purpose and updates our values for the realities of today’s Jewish world.”
Beneath the jousting, delegates were voting on a set of resolutions, some with practical consequences and others whose impact is symbolic. One such resolution calls for an official state inquiry into Oct. 7, a move supported by a majority of Israelis that Netanyahu has rebuffed. Another that passed, following a reportedly heated debate, bars the World Zionist Organization from using its funds to support Jewish settlement in Gaza.
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