KKL-JNF Education Chief Details Funding for Youth Centers and Diaspora Education

KKL-JNF’s education and community division is spending more than NIS 60 million on opportunities for young people and more than NIS 100 million on work with Jewish communities abroad, division head Sar-Shalom Gerbi said in an interview published November 5. He described the division as having the organization’s largest divisional budget. The interview did not specify the fiscal period covered by those figures. Gerbi said five excellence centers operate in Beit She’an, Nof HaGalil, Migdal HaEmek, Acre and Kiryat Malakhi. He described a center model with a dedicated building costing about NIS 20 million and an operating budget of roughly NIS 2 million a year. The centers offer afternoon academic support, science and technology learning, interpersonal skills and guidance toward service and employment. “Every boy and girl deserves a real opportunity,” Gerbi said. The overseas work includes leadership training, educational tools against incitement and efforts to delegitimize Israel, and seminars that bring hundreds of teachers and Jewish community leaders to Israel each year. Within Israel, the division also supports youth movements, youth organizations and preparatory programs. Gerbi emphasized connections between religious and secular Israelis, respect for Jewish tradition and keeping party politics out of education. The interview appeared ahead of an international education conference scheduled for November 9–10 at Jerusalem’s Binyanei Ha’uma convention center. Gerbi outlined existing activities and spending; he did not announce a new budget approval.