Four delegations of Israelis come to celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut

GREATER METROWEST will celebrate Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) with concerts, parties, and guests from Israel. 

A number of Israeli delegations visit Greater MetroWest at various times throughout the spring. They come for different reasons and are hosted by different sponsors, but they all learn about Jewish life in America by spending time in area synagogues, agencies, and schools. 

This year, however, Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest’s Global Connections department has arranged for four of these groups to come at the same time — during the week of Yom Ha’Atzmaut — to help the community celebrate Israel-style. 

“We wanted to create a real feeling of Israel spirit this year,” said Global Connections Program Coordinator Justine Reuben. “What better way to do that than by inviting Israelis to join the celebration.”

Get New Jersey Jewish News's Newsletter by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up

More than 80 Israelis from our partner communities, many of them teens, will be here to participate in the Greater MetroWest Yom Hazikaron Commemoration at the JCC MetroWest in West Orange on April 30 and in the celebratory events throughout the week.

The visiting delegations include 22 students from MetroWest High School in Ra’anana, hosted by Congregation Ohr Shalom in Summit; 21 teens from the South Israel partner communities of Ofakim and Arad who are participating in the Gesher Teen program, hosted by their GMW counterparts; 20 members of the Peoplehood Project, adults from the South Israel partnerships who just hosted their GMW counterparts in January; and 20 students from Neshama Yetera, a high school group from Merchavim hosted by Golda Och Academy in West Orange.

The community is welcome to join federation and its Israeli guests at any of the free Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’Atzmaut events; some require advanced registration. For a complete list of events and details, visit jfedgmw.org/celebrate-israel.