JTA – In an effort to cut costs and streamline operations amid declining enrollment, the Reform movement is transforming its high school program in Israel into a larger, non-denominational program.
Starting this autumn, Union for Reform Judaism’s Heller High program, in which high school students spend a semester studying in Israel, will merge with Alexander Musa High School in Israel.
Heller High would move from Kibbutz Tzuba outside Jerusalem to the MAS campus near Tel Aviv and become a specialized track in the MAS program, whose students would join other MAS participants for secular studies. The Heller students would continue to live together in the dorm, take their Jewish studies classes, and celebrate holidays together.
Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of the URJ, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, “We don’t think there is a Reform Jewish way to teach calculus or a Reform Jewish way to clean dormitories or a Reform Jewish way to cook vegetarian food in the dining hall.” The Jewish way.” , “But the way we teach Jewish history, the history of Israel, the way we engage with our students during the holidays, the way we travel to a country and build an even stronger alliance with the Reform movement there are very committed to it.”
Regarding Muss, Jacobs said, “It was totally clear to him and totally comfortable to him, that we continue this history.”
The decision to merge Heller and Muss, announced last week, is the latest in a series of changes to Reform movement programs serving teens, some of which have reduced the pipeline of high schoolers interested in the movement-driven Israel Semester. In 2018, the movement announced that it would be closing Kutz Camp, which focused on teen leadership, and also announced a shift to broader programs focused on volunteerism and social justice. At the start of the pandemic, it dramatically reduced the workforce for NFTY, the Reform Youth Movement, amid payroll cuts in the Jewish nonprofit world and beyond. Last year, it said it would re-appoint each of the movement’s 19 sectors, but only on a part-time basis. Last week, NFTY announced a listening tour to “guide the direction of the next phase of our movement.”
The merger also comes amid extensive cost-cutting efforts as part of the reform movement. A decade ago, URJ sold half of its New York headquarters, and last year, Hebrew Union College decided to end its rabbinical training program in Cincinnati, where it was founded nearly 150 years ago, because of declining enrollment. Was. According to Forward, in 2020, Jacobs floated the idea of merging part of URJ’s operations with other denominations that are facing similar struggles. For example, both Conservative rabbinical schools in New York and Los Angeles have downsized their campuses or put them up for sale.
“Religious life is changing. The nature of congregation is changing, not only in the Jewish community and not only in the Reform community – on all religious lines,” Jacobs said. “And with those changes sometimes comes new creativity and new perspectives.”
Established in 1961, Heller High enrolls students for one semester in high school, mostly during their sophomore or junior years. According to the program’s website, historically it has had approximately 100 students each year, divided between two semesters. But this year, there were only 58 — 18 in the fall and 40 in the spring.
Mira Schoenberg, who attended Heller High as a junior in late 2022, learned about Heller’s overhaul from a group chat with her classmates on the program. “I’m really sad about it,” she said.
She said, “I would say it’s kind of disappointing that no one else will have the same experience that we did, and we were actually one of the last groups of people to visit Kibbutz Tzuba.” “They’re really missing a specific safe space and a space where we all come from different backgrounds, but share our everyday practices is Reform Judaism.”
Jacobs declined to share specific details about Heller’s budget, but acknowledged that spending cuts were part of what prompted the decision. The merger with Mus, he said, allows Heller to focus on Jewish studies and “our ability to deliver core aspects of the program.”
“It’s going to be cost-effective for both Muss and Heller High because the cost of general studies is a very significant cost,” he said. “And delivering it with excellence is undoubtedly a commitment.”
One group that will likely be hurt by the new partnership is Heller’s faculty, some of whom will no longer have jobs in the fall. Jacobs said that the Heller faculty “are very dear to us” and that talks are ongoing between Muss and Heller High regarding teacher employment. Keeping some faculty for next year is “certainly very possible,” he said.
The program is also in the process of hiring a new director.
“We are hopeful and those details are being worked out because they are important details,” Jacobs said. “These are important people and as many people watch our program, they are very impressed with the quality of our faculty.”
Adding Heller to its campus would not change the direction of Muss, which often shares its space with other high school programs. Students from some American, European and Australian Jewish high schools spend part of their year there.
“Muss and Heller High have a long tradition of connecting teenagers to Judaism and Israel,” said Steve Kutno, principal of Alexander Muss High School in Israel. Said In a statement last Wednesday. “This partnership allows us to amplify the impact we make on students through high-quality accredited curriculum, independent living opportunities and personal relationships that shape lifetime memories.”
Talia Rappaport, who attended both programs and returned from Heller High in May, said she hopes moving Heller to the Mass campus will create a larger community of students. Future Heller students won’t be able to enjoy the intimacy of a kibbutz tzuba, he said, but he’s excited that they’ll be able to live and study with a larger group.
“A lot of times, I looked at the difference and I looked at what was good about each program, I looked at what wasn’t great about each program,” said Rappaport, who lives in North Carolina. “And I think being on the same campus will help them really notice those differences and maybe make both programs better. So I think they can learn from each other.