Celebrate Israel brought 2300 members of the Boston Jewish-Israeli-American community together at the Flynn Cruiseport.
At Celebrate Israel we enjoyed the vibrancy of Hebrew and Israeli culture through music and dance, arts and crafts, education, innovation, food and entertainment for all ages.
We are so proud of our volunteer-led activities. Everything we do is powered our 260 wonderful volunteers.
Last year, we thanked our volunteers at a special Shavuot-inspired Shishi Israeli dinner.
Our activism work continues to grow. The Boston Media Room, a collaboration with CJP and IDC Herzliya, is our flagship program and is committed to combatting BDS and anti-Semitism in our community.
The purpose of the Boston Media Room is to mobilize activists to become effective advocates for Israel at their workplaces, schools, on social media and on college campuses.
The Media Room’s 20 teen ambassadors and 6 mentors led 11 Facebook campaigns reaching 132,000 people, ran 25 workshops training over 400 community members and uploaded 120 missions to the ACT IL app all in support of Israel.
IAC Boston launched its first ever Monthly Giving Campaign and within 8 weeks we reached our goal to fund the training of 80 young leaders to become activists for Israel.
IAC Boston organized a panel conversation for over 150 Newton parents to discuss the issues around anti-Israel bias in the Middle East curriculum at the high schools. The IAC, ADL, CAMERA and JCRC all participated in the panel.
Following the panel and after learning about a few disturbing incidents affecting Israeli American students, the IAC formed a partnership with the Newton Public School Administration to work together to ensure that the Newton schools are a safe space for our teens.
In a step to build trust and open channels of communication, IAC Boston and the Newton Public Schools held two productive and positive meetings with the faculty and staff of both high schools. These meetings were attended by 40 Newton parents.
The Eitanim program empowers our teens to cultivate a mindset of entrepreneurship, innovation, critical thinking and problem solving under the guidance of community volunteer mentors.
In 2018, 55 teens participated in the Eitanim program for High School and Middle School.
Gvanim, an IAC leadership program for Hebrew speakers is designed to give tools to build community, enhance the identity of the next generation and connect to the Jewish American community through volunteer-led initiatives. Last year marked the 5th cohort to join the program.
IAC Mishelanu provides a home for Israeli-American students to become a living bridge between Israel and the campus communities. In 2018, we worked with 8 Fellows and hosted 17 group meetings and campus wide events that engaged with hundreds of students.
IAC Young Professionals aims to create a fun forum for the 21-35 age group who are seeking to create meaningful connections with Israel and each other through cultural, educational & social gatherings. In 2018, over 300 young professional participated in various meet-ups.
For the younger students, Noar Tzair Bamerkaz features fun activities targeting Israeli-American and Jewish-American youth (grades 6-10). In 2018, we hosted 5 events with a total of 150 participants. Noar Tzair was initiated and led by 3 Gvanim alumnae volunteers.
In the aftermath of the Pittsburgh attack, our Noar Tzair Teens created a beautiful "Tree of Life" Mosaic with the help of one of our volunteers.
Shishi Israeli combines Jewish traditions and Israeli culture. With the help of a dedicated group of volunteers, IAC Boston held 18 Shishi Israeli events during 2018 with nearly 2,000 participants.
At Shishi Israeli we enjoy reciting Kiddush, eating a delicious pot-luck meal and singing and dancing to Israeli music together.
Every year we toast Rosh Hashana at Merkaz IAC with our community members and volunteers.
...including the traditional apples, honey and desserts.
The Mimouna Celebration at Merkaz IAC was enjoyed by 220 participants, and put together by two amazing volunteers.
IAC volunteer led events unite us as a community and enable the doing of good deeds, including our annual fall leaf raking activity for elderly.
Our annual Good Deeds Day visit to the Golda Meir House with our volunteers and childrens' Israeli folk dancing group.
Lomdim Torah B'Yachad meets up once a week at Merkaz IAC to read and discuss the weekly Torah portion. This project is led entirely by volunteers and Gvanim alumnae.
Throughout the year we hosted a series of conversations with high profile speakers which were attended by 420 people.
Nadav Tamir, Former Consul General of Israel to New England and currently Director of International Affairs at the Peres Center for Peace.
Former MK Dr Rachel Adato who initiated and passed the "Photoshop Law" in Israel.
A partnership with JINSA & FIDF brought retired Generals Colonel Marc Warren and General Michael Tucker to IAC for a fascinating talk about the strategic importance of the US-Israel relationship.
Avram Infeld discussing his "5 Legged Table" - a metaphor describing what it takes to build a strong and stable Jewish identity.
Dr. Miriam Adelson visited us prior to the IAC National Conference.
Community Wide Events - Hebrew Book Fair at the Merkaz attended by 200 community members which was initiated and led by IAC volunteers.
A childrens' performance in Hebrew (Achbar Ha'ir Achbar Hakfar) delighted 200 children in our community.
Our Annual Purim Party - a uniquely Israeli-Jewish-American fundraiser -- attracted 300 people to Royale Boston for a lively and fun 70s-theme Purim party and helped raise funds necessary to fund all of our programming.
Thank you to the 100 Bostonians that were part of our delegation to the IAC National Conference in South Florida in December 2018.
