by Amalya Brownstein Young Emmissary Coordinator, Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven

It is with great pleasure that I introduce Tal Azizi (right) and Li-on Avraham (left), our newest Young Emmissaries from Israel. To those unfamiliar with the program, this is a ten-month-long volunteer service experience that is jointly sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater New Haven, the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) and the Southern New England Consortium of Jewish Federations (SNEC). The Young Emmissaries are Israeli high school graduates who choose to defer their army service to serve as young ambassadors for Israel. The program aims to strengthen the ties to Israel by building personal connections between Jewish American and Israeli communities. The emmissaries work as Israeli specialists, leading a variety of activities with spirit and creativity. They work with a wide variety of organizations and a diverse array of community members of all ages. 

Li-on lives with her mom in Barak, a moshav in northern Israel near Afula. Her majors in high school were psychology, sociology and theater. She likes to read a lot and explore nature. In her free time, you can find her hanging out with friends and her little cousins. Last summer, Li-on was a counselor for a month at the JCC of Greater New Haven summer camp.

Tal lives in Rishon Letzion with his parents, twin sister and younger brother. His major subjects in high school were biology and chemistry, which he chose because he wants to understand the environment better. Tal and his family like to travel the world. In his spare time, he loves to listen to music, play guitar and read. He also likes to spend time with friends.

Both Tal and Li-on have experience in leadership through their school, youth movement, and other programs. They look forward to spreading their love of Israel around our community.

As we wish success to the wonderful Ziv Peleg and Noa Saitowitz, our departing Young Emmissaries, we look forward to welcoming our new Young Emmissaries into our community. Li-on and Tal will be hosted by local families from the Greater New Haven area. If you are interested in hosting, please contact Amalya at amalyab@ jccnh.org.

Please help us in extending a warm welcome to our new emmissaries who will be arriving on August 28!