Jewish National Fund-USA Brings Students Home From Israel

Jewish National Fund-USA Brings Students Home From Israel

Jewish National Fund-USA charters El Al Boeing 787 Dreamliner to fly 282 students studying at Alexander Muss High School in Israel back to the U.S.

New York, NY – March 17, 2020: As Israel strengthened measures to curb the spread of COVID-19 and as uncertainty around the availability of international flights grow last week, Jewish National Fund-USA immediately released $500,000 from the organization’s endowment to charter an EL AL Boeing 787 Dreamliner to bring 282 American students, including students from Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School in Rockville, MD, studying at Jewish National Fund-USA’s Alexander Muss High School (AMHSI-JNF / High School in Israel) in Hod HaSharon, Israel, in addition to students from other programs and regions in the U.S.

On the evening of March 15, High School in Israel staff joined students and escorted them by bus to Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport, where chaperones accompanied students through passport control and to the plane. Once on the plane, students were accompanied by EL AL staff members. Students were greeted on arrival at JFK by Jewish National Fund-USA and High School in Israel professionals, in addition to many of the students’ parents.

The El Al flight departed on Sunday, March 15, at 11:00 pm (Israel time) and arrived into JFK’s Terminal 4 on March 16 at 5:33 am U.S. ET.

“With every challenge there are opportunities,” said AMHSI-JNF President, Ron Werner. “I am inspired by the words of High School in Israel’s Co-CEO Rabbi Leor Sinai, who shared with me that it is certainly a time for cheshbon nefesh, self-reflection, as we take stock of our past and prepare for our future. Despite the current challenges, we remind ourselves that the hundreds of students we are bringing back to the U.S. will have had the most transformative experience of their lives in Israel as they join 32,000 alumni who have experienced the same ‘Muss magic’ since 1972.”

Jewish National Fund-USA is the leading philanthropic organization for Israel that supports critical environmental and nation-building activities in Israel’s north and south. Through its One Billion Dollar Roadmap for the Next Decade, Jewish National Fund-USA is developing new communities in the Galilee and Negev, connecting the next generation to Israel, and creating infrastructure for ecology, special needs, and heritage preservation.

Alexander Muss High School in Israel looks forward to welcoming students back for the 2020 Summer Session. Prospective students and parents who are interested in learning more about AMHSI-JNF or Roots Israel (a three week service learning program) can visit www.AMHSI.org or contact Israel Programs Admissions Director for the Mid-Atlantic, Rafi Glazer, at rglazer@jnf.org or 202.750.3217 x480.

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Media inquiries: Daniel Peri, Jewish National Fund-USA Senior Communications Manager. E: dperi@jnf.org. P: 212.879.9305 x227