On Sunday, January 18, 2009, 35 students from five universities embarked on a ten day journey to Israel with the Center for the Jewish Future's Israel Winter Mission, "Project Connect." Divided into two groups, the participants learned about the Ethiopian and Former Soviet Union communities.
The Observer: Can you tell us a little about your background? How you ended up in Israel? Jameel: I guess my background is that of your average Yeshiva College student: grew up in a Modern Orthodox community, attended YC, spent two years learning in Yeshiva in Israel and didn't want to leave.
In mid-2008 two websites opened to help English-speaking friends of new olim, immigrants to Israel, get the perfect gifts delivered directly to their Israeli home: hopeiget.com and onlyweddinglists.com. "HopeIGet (HIG) is the first Israeli online gift registry portal focused exclusively on the needs of the English-speaking gift giving market," advertises the website.