Decades later, Alexander Muss High School in Israel still influences my life in huge ways

The author at Ben Gurion airport years ago.

By Kim Cook Beame 

I attended AMHSI in January 1985 -- 35 years ago this month! I can't believe it was so long ago, because the memories are still so vivid. 

I remember sitting in the hallway of my dorm, Wohl, on that first night. We were all tired and cranky and in shock by the amount of homework we were given right away. But that first night drew us together and we became an instant family -- helping each other, crying with each other, and laughing and sharing all night long. I still say, without a doubt, that my session at HSI was THE BEST time of my entire life! I have been to Israel 15 times, but no trip was as influential, life-changing, academic, or comfortable as my time there with HSI. That's when Israel truly became my home.

The power of experiential education in Israel: 'Involve me and I’ll learn'

By Amanda Feder

From a young age, I knew I wanted to become a teacher. I have a passion for learning and long to see and know as much as possible. As a student, I learned best when I was involved in the lessons: The more engaged and hands-on the experience, the better the chances of retaining what was being taught. 

When I became a teacher, I carried that mentality with me into my classroom, and I aim to make learning as experiential as possible for my students.

Growing up, I attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, Maryland, and Israel was a core component of my daily life. Whether it was studying the Torah, listening to Israeli folk music, or learning about the country's vibrant history, my love for Israel has always been with me. 

I visited Israel a few times throughout elementary and high school, and with each visit I saw firsthand what I was taught in school -- Israel became my classroom.

It wasn't until I was finishing high school that I experienced Israel in a way that would completely transform my life. At my school, seniors graduate in February and spend what would typically be the last semester of high school living in Israel. My class attended Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI-JNF), and it showed me what an entire school built on experiential learning looked like.

I'm proud to mentor the next generation of leaders to stand tall for Israel

By Laura Salzer

Life has an interesting way of showing us what we find important. Little did I know my son's decision to move to Israel, volunteer in the Israel Defense Forces, and become an Israeli citizen in 2014 would have such a drastic impact on my own life.

Lauren Salzer

Until that point, I thought I knew a lot about Israel. I was taught about the country in religious school and visited and read about Israel over the years. Then, I joined Jewish National Fund, and my eyes were opened to all the innovative projects the organization spearheads for all Israelis. 

I learned about the real Israel, the people, the land, the history, and our future. For me, being a part of JNF has felt like working toward a master’s degree in Israel studies: It's such a transformative and fulfilling learning experience -- one I feel compelled to tell others about and encourage to take on themselves.

I am a strong advocate for education. It is vital to know our collective history so that in the future we can continue to protect and develop the land of Israel. As a member of JNF's Women for Israel, I am able to support, educate, and mentor the next generation about the importance of Zionism and Israel.

The unforgettable night in Israel I prayed with every Jew in the world

The author (third from left) and his classmates from AMHSI at the Kotel.

This summer, Mason Solomon of Weston, Florida, attended Alexander Muss High School in Israel, a study-abroad program that turns Israel into a classroom. Here are his reflections on a life-changing Shabbat the students spent in Jerusalem.

On our overnight in Jerusalem, we got to experience the beauty of Shabbat in the holiest place on Earth for the Jewish people. That night was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. We started off on a long walk in the sunset to the Kotel. The streets of Jerusalem Shel Zahav, the city of gold, shimmered brightly. The roofs of the old stone buildings reflected the light of the desert sun onto the people walking in the street. It was a beautiful walk through the quiet streets of Jerusalem. We had seen those streets before so vibrant and busy, but now they were completely closed down for Shabbat.

We arrived at the wall to see masses of people in white clothes and black hats all coming together to celebrate. We walked down the stairs that connect the Old City to the wall and joined the hundreds of people there to celebrate Shabbat. Right away, my friends and I jumped right in. We went straight to the wall and got through masses of men with long beards and huge hats. It was surreal how they were all praying so deeply and intently. We found a space on the wall and we took a moment to pray and take in this Shabbat at such a holy place. I pushed my head up against the wall and held my hands flat against it. As I began to pray, I noticed each crevice in the wall. I felt myself connecting to the wall as I had a long, meaningful moment that felt like an eternity.

Book preview: 'Becoming Israeli,' 40 personal tales of making aliyah

Akiva Gersh, center, a teacher at JNF partner Alexander Muss High School in Israel. Photo cred: Joey Rushfield

Beloved AMHSI teacher Akiva Gersh has just released a new book, "Becoming Israeli: The Hysterical, Inspiring and Challenging Sides of Making Aliyah." Here, he shares his story and an excerpt from the book, which is now available on Amazon.

By Akiva Gersh

As a kid growing up in New York, Israel was really far away. As in off the map. Not only because Israel was in the Middle East and I was in America; it was far away in heart and mind as well. I paid no attention to Israel and the people around me never spoke about it. I can only recall obscure memories of Israel from my childhood, like images of Israeli soldiers flashing across the screen during the 6 o'clock news or my Hebrew school’s honorable, but unsuccessful, attempt to get us students to like falafel. 

Fast forward many years. I'm fresh out of college and come to Israel with a backpack on my back after having traveled through West Africa for two months. My arrival in Israel was the climax of a three-year journey searching for more spirituality and deeper meaning. I had already begun to discover new and inspiring sides of Judaism that were previously unknown to me but I knew Israel held important answers to many of my still-lingering questions. My plan was to find those answers and then return to America to continue the rest of my life.

But something happened. Immediately I felt something in Israel that I never felt anywhere in the world at any point in my life. 

I felt a deep sense of being home.

At a high school like no other, Israel is the classroom for six weeks

Summer session students at AMHSI-JNF listen to instructor Danny Stein on a Tel Avi beach. 

By Mara Fahl

Their bus pulls up next to the park that hugs the Tel Aviv shoreline and the high-schoolers stream off and run straight for the playground. But rather than climb the structures and play on the swings, they scramble through their backpacks for their notebooks. The energy and excitement at being outside seems normal for a group of teens, but these students are part of an experience that is anything but typical.

They have had the worldly experience of traveling to an archeological dig at Tel Gezer, where they explored ancient Canaanite society; to Masada, where they learned of the Israelites' triumphs and downfalls; to the Galilee, where they encountered crusader sites alongside Israel’s natural beauty; and to too many more places to name. These students have elected to spend their summer at Jewish National Fund's Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI-JNF) and they're studying history intensively while earning high school and even college credit.

1,000 strong in Israel: 'I wish it would never end,' teens say of four-month AMHSI adventure

This winter alone, the JNF hosted over 1,000 young people in Israel -- through programs such as Alternative Break, JNFuture Volunteer Vacation, Alexander Muss High School in Israel, JNF on Campus' Caravan for Democracy, and Taglit-Birthright Israel-Shorashim. We will be profiling some of the trips, and you can see more directly through the eyes of the participants by searching the #PoweredByJNF hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

By Maayan Jaffe-Hoffman

Sydney Weinger

"History became so real," said 17-year-old Sydney Weinger of Nashville as she boarded a bus to Ben Gurion International Airport last week after spending four months in Israel at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel. 

Weinger's friend and fellow program participant, Anna Koren, expressed similar sentiments. "Being able to learn about Israel, not from a book, but from actually being able to go and experience and see the sights -- I wish it would have been longer," she said.

AMHSI-JNF is an academic and experiential program for high school students. Founded in 1972, the program is now funded and operated by Jewish National Fund. It offers formal classroom study and experience-based learning, enhancing students' intellectual understanding of history and their emotional connection to their identity. 

1,000 strong in Israel: U.S. college kids spend winter break volunteering in the desert

This winter alone, the JNF hosted over 1,000 young people in Israel -- through programs such as Alternative Break, JNFuture Volunteer Vacation, Alexander Muss High School in Israel, JNF on Campus' Caravan for Democracy, and Taglit-Birthright Israel-Shorashim. We will be profiling some of the trips, and you can see more directly through the eyes of the participants by searching the #PoweredByJNF hashtag on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.


By Megan E. Turner

When you were in college, what did you do with that magical, month-long break between semesters? Did you backpack through Europe? Travel home to be with your family? Sit around in pajamas and take the idea of couch potato to a whole new level? While many of us can intimately relate to these scenarios, to a group of Zionist college kids, these options simply weren't fulfilling enough.

Seventy-five students from college campuses across the United States chose to do something more with their free time during this winter break by traveling to Israel and volunteering with a range of unique projects across the country’s south through Jewish National Fund's Alternative Winter Break program. 

Students arrived for seven intense days of community building and volunteer work in places like Halutza, a thriving Negev community focused on settling and farming the desert; Wadi Attir, a model for building sustainable desert communities in partnership with the Negev's Bedouin population; and Earth's Promise, an urban organic farm located in Be'er Sheva, the booming capital of the Negev.

All of these projects are part of JNF's Blueprint Negev initiative, which aims to develop the Negev region and bring new populations to settle the peripheral areas of Israel.

Stint at Israel war memorial inspires Philly resident's aliyah and IDF dreams

Emanuel Goss and Yoel Rosby at Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. 

It was love at first sight. Emanuel Goss had never been to Israel before, but after spending a semester there in the 11th grade, he knew he wanted to make aliyah. Now that the 26-year-old former Philadelphia resident has realized his dream, he is at work on another one: He wants to become a paratrooper in the Israel Defense Forces.  

Student's revelation atop Masada: 'In that moment I knew why I was Jewish'

AMHSI student Ivy Bernstein on top of Masada. 

Ivy Bernstein, a current student at Alexander Muss High School in Israel, shares her reflections on climbing Masada with her classmates.

Waking up at 4:15 a.m. is never ideal, especially when breakfast consists of plastic-wrapped hard-boiled eggs, and you know an hour of intense cardio lies ahead. Despite these obvious discomforts, adrenaline poured through my veins on the morning of September 18, when I knew I would be climbing Masada. Our whole grade chanted together and played games to pass the time as we hiked, but soon enough the steps became closer together, and speaking became too difficult. 

The winding, daunting snake path slithered up the mountain, and I placed one foot in front of the other, my heart racing and my sweat dripping. 

The sun rose with us.

U.S. teen finds new purpose 6,000 miles from home: 'I plan to make aliyah one day'

Noelle Chin-Vance says her six weeks studying in Israel changed her. "I am no longer afraid to walk into the world
and be myself," she says.  

Noelle Chin-Vance reflects below on the life-changing experience that was her time at Alexander Muss High School in Israel. Read on to find out how this American teen connected to her roots during her six weeks at the study-abroad program for high-schoolers. .

At a Save A Child's Heart Event. 

Every life is filled with unique events and experiences that shape each individual. Those who are lucky can identify a defining experience that had the most impact. I count myself among the lucky ones. Though I literally started life in a box in Dianbai, China, way back in 1998, there is at least one event that defined me even more. 

There were certainly a lot of important moments along the way, like when I was adopted in May of 2000, at the age of 2, by my loving parents. I met many influential people throughout my educational adventures at Assurant Satellite Learning Center, Arvida Middle School, and finally at Terra Environmental Research Institute. I had many formative experiences during my summers at Camp Ramah Darom in Clayton, Georgia. All of these experiences helped make me who I am today. 

But one life-changing experience stands out above all the rest. It began when I stepped onto a plane to Israel to join the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program.

U.S. high school students run Tel Aviv race, discover their Jewish selves

AMHSI students gather for a photo after the Tel Aviv Night Run.

By Jennifer Tzivia MacLeod

Hannah and Beatrice have travelled a long way from Boston to run through the normally crowded streets of Tel Aviv in the city’s seventh annual Tel Aviv Night Race. In the minutes before the race, they're dancing and screaming, along with a crowd of school friends and 20,000 others participants.

Beatrice Fellman and Hannah Avery Peck, 16 and 17 years old (pictured right) are in Israel for a semester at Alexander Muss High School in Israel, which offers its students high school credits along with a taste of "authentic Israeli life," according to Mordechai Cohen, AMHSI's head of school. 

This was the school's third year bringing students to participate in the Tel Aviv Night Run, which this year started at 8 p.m. on a Tuesday night in late October. As motorists across the city honked, cyclists swore and buses swerved around complicated detours leading up to the race, some 20,000 participants armed themselves against the night with glow sticks, brightly colored racing vests, and the roaring, pulsing beat of dance music.

Alexander Muss students find unlikely link at Jerusalem Matisyahu concert

Alexander Muss High School in Israel (AMHSI) is a program built on exploration and discovery. Students are inspired to live outside their books and encounter new ideas. On October 10, a group of 16- and 17-year-olds encountered authentic Israeli culture at a concert, although it was performed by an American artist. Matisyahu rocked Jerusalem that evening, but for the nearly two dozen AMHSI students, he rocked their hearts.

Matisyahu is an alum of the AMHSI program, a fact the students learned about days before the concert. For them, that connection made the artist's music more meaningful.

"This feels very cool. It's like I'm a part of something bigger," said Solomon Friedman, 16, speaking about his excitement at hearing Matisyahu in Jerusalem. "It really shows me that this path I am on, the path of learning at AMHSI, is one that can lead to success. It is very exciting and inspiring."

"I know Matisyahu's music," said Nathan Pitock, 17. "But I don’t know it that well. And it's something else to hear it in Israel, where Matisyahu got his start." 

Couple's generous bequest continues to impact JNF programs

Dr. Galli S. Ascher spent much of her life devoted to helping others as a medical doctor in the field of pathology with a specialty in hematology and cancers of the blood. When she passed away in February 2014 in Long Beach, Calif., she left a legacy of altruism that will continue through a generous bequest of over $4 million to JNF from the estate of Dr. Ascher and her late husband Lionel F. Ascher.

"The Aschers were big supporters of Israel," recalled Alan B. Unterman, a close family friend and trustee of the Ascher Family Trust. Unterman knew Galli since he was a young boy; his father, David Unterman, worked alongside her in the pathology department of the Veterans Administration Hospital in Long Beach for many years, where she held the position of chief pathologist.

"I grew up knowing the Aschers," he said. "They were present at my bris, bar mitzvah, Passover seders, and other celebrations. I remember them to be an eccentric couple. Galli was extremely opinionated, while Lionel was more bookish. They were always on the hunt for new and different things."

Judaism lost and found: One 'loud and proud' student's story

Current Alexander Muss High School in Israel student Hannah Brier (pictured above) shares some very personal thoughts from campus in Hod HaSharon.

It’s hard being the only practicing Jew in a school of 1,200. It’s hard missing school dances and sports games and rehearsals because they are always scheduled on Jewish holidays. It's hard spending every day with people who just don’t understand your religion isn't a joke.

I lost my Judaism. 

Walking down the hallway sophomore year I could see diversity almost everywhere: different skin colors, different ages, different personalities, and a few different religions. Why in such a diverse place is it so hard for people to understand my religion and me?

As I was Skyping with my friends back home, someone asked if I felt "more Jewish now that I'm in Israel." I laughed. That's it. I just laughed and continued on to a new topic. That was the wrong response. 

Modern miracle #PoweredByJNF: Instant cheer for beleaguered IDF soldiers

Israeli soldiers say thank you to Muss students. 

During Operation Protective Edge this summer, students of Alexander Muss High School in Israel, an international study-abroad program for high schoolers, raised almost $2,000 overnight in a charity drive to purchase food and supplies for IDF soldiers serving in Gaza. Help more teens strengthen their Jewish identities at Alexander Muss High School in Israel. 

More modern miracles #PoweredByJNF

What do Facebook exec Sheryl Sandberg and singer Matisyahu have in common?

Sheryl Sandberg

Chances are you know Sheryl Sandberg as chief operating officer of Facebook and author of the much-talked-about best-seller "Lean In: Woman, Work, and the Will to Lead." But did you know she attended Alexander Muss High School in Israel? 

And she's far from the only big-name alum of the JNF-supported international study-abroad program for high schoolers.