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Oranim Educational Initiatives, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and the Jewish Community High School of Gratz College Introduce "eCamp - Israeli Hi Tech Summer Camp" to the Ambassadors for Partnership Israel Summer Program for Philadelphia a

Posted on: Wednesday, 15 July 2009, 14:00 CDT

ALONEI YITZHAK, Israel and PHILADELPHIA, July 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Oranim Educational Initiatives, one of Israel's leading tour operators since 1986, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia (JFGP) and the Jewish Community High School of Gratz College (JCHS) announced today the addition of eCamp to the Ambassadors for Partnership Israel summer program (Mifgash).

Since 1999, Ambassadors for Partnership has brought together American students from the Philadelphia area with their teen peers from the Partnership 2000 communities of Netivot and Sedot Negev with the hope that participants will develop long lasting friendships as well as a strong bond with the land of Israel. Mifgash traditionally comprises ten days in Philadelphia and a ten day tour of Israel which includes visits to major points of interest in the north and south, such as the Golan Heights and Masada (http://www.jewishadventures.com/jfgp/itinerary.asp). This year, however, for the first time, the participants in the Mifgash program will not only spend all 20 days in Israel, but will also attend eCamp, a two week Israeli Hi Tech summer camp.

"By choosing eCamp, we are giving both the American and Israeli teens a chance to learn more about Israel from a fresh perspective and to enhance their skills in terms of technology and leadership," said Beth Razin, manager of PIE: Philadelphia Israel Experience for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia. "This change generated more interest in the program than ever before. We had twice as many applicants as spots for the program."

Forty girls and boys from Philadelphia, Netivot and Sedot Negev, double the number from last year, will join a total of 120 campers, from 15 different countries including the US (NY, NJ, PA, GA, CT, OH, MA, MD, NC, CA), France, Spain, Italy, Holland, Latvia, and South Africa, for the second session of eCamp, July 27-August 8.

'eCampers' will spend the mornings and early afternoons at eCamp's state of the art laboratories taking three technology workshops selected from a list of 20 exciting choices such as robotics, wireless game controls, digital music, digital comics, video filming/editing and building a PC. They will also have the opportunity to participate in computer games and thrilling competitions. Late afternoon and evenings feature traditional overnight camp activities including field and court sports, swimming, campfires as well as cultural and special events.

"Despite the economic situation, the number of participants registered so far for camp this year has been considerably higher than last year. We believe this has to do with the uniqueness and comprehensiveness of our deliverable. In addition to the daily activities, eCampers have the privilege to tour leading technology companies such as Google and Intel as well as to attend guest presentations at the camp by leaders of Israel's high tech and biomed community. eCampers meet face to face and are encouraged to engage in an open dialogue with entrepreneurs whose inventions are positively impacting daily life and medical practice worldwide," said Dotan Tamir, CEO of eCamp.

Ari Y. Goldberg, Director of the Jewish Community High School of Gratz College (JCHS) in Philadelphia said, "JCHS has a long history of sponsoring Israel travel programs for Philadelphia teenagers. We were thrilled when the opportunity arose to co-sponsor this program as the eCamp component is very unique and unlike almost any other Israel experience available. It is also exciting that the participants will learn about another side of Israel which is not really known to most American teens, namely the fact that Israel is very much at the cutting edge of international hi tech."

About the JFGP

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia is a 106 year-old social services organization providing support, leadership and a variety of services to a Jewish community of 210,000 people. During an annual campaign and other funding activities, more than 30,000 Federation donors provide the organization with more than $28,000,000 a year, some of it earmarked for three operational Centers, including one which supports community Israel activities: The Center for Israel and Overseas (CIO). The CIO's goal is to strengthen ties between local Jews, Israel and Jews worldwide. At the heart of the Center's work is a passionate attachment to Israel. We seek to strengthen these connections through Israel travel, as well as local programming within our community. For more information, http://www.jewishphilly.org/

About JCHS

The Jewish Community High School of Gratz College (JCHS), a pioneer and leader in the field of supplemental Jewish high school education, currently serves nearly one thousand students at 11-branch locations throughout the Delaware Valley and Berks County region. JCHS also comprises the Service Learning & Leadership Institute, a Department of Special Needs Education, the Kenneth Rothbart Distance Learning Program for Teens, and the Satell Teen Fellowship for Leadership and Social Activism. As such, JCHS is the largest and most comprehensive supplementary high school program in the nation. JCHS students feed from over 50 synagogues and as a trans-denominational school, JCHS' students, faculty, and staff come from all walks of Jewish life. JCHS allows students to develop a sense of Jewish identity while increasing feelings of belonging, loyalty and responsibility to the Jewish people so that teens identify with the local and global Jewish community. For more information:

http://www.gratz.edu.jchs

About eCamp and Oranim Educational Initiatives

eCamp, located at the Alonei Yitzhak Youth Village in the countryside near Binyamina, is an international summer technology camp that offers an unrivaled deliverable - a traditional Jewish overnight camp experience, coupled with a state of the art technology education and adventure. eCamp complies with all Israel Ministry of Education standards, and has round-the-clock security. English is the official language of the camp. Counselors are American and Israeli adults with specialties in a variety of technology disciplines. All personnel have experience working with children and young people. The camp is open to those ages 8 to 18; no prior technological knowledge is required. Campers are divided into three age groups: 8 -12 - Kilobyte; 13 -15 - Megabyte; 16 - 18 - Gigabyte. eCampers are housed in comfortable residential conditions, four campers to an air-conditioned room, equipped with washroom and shower facilities. For more information, please visit: http://www.ecamp4u.com.

eCamp is a project of Oranim Educational Initiatives, a leader in exclusive educational programs encouraging ties between Israel and the Diaspora. Programs include: Mifgash, Birthright Israel, Women to Israel, Bar and Bat Mitzvah, Holocaust Studies and eCamp. For more information, please visit: http://www.jewishadventures.com/

SOURCE eCamp

Source: PR Newswire

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