The Jewish Agency

The Jewish Agency is an international Jewish institution that operates worldwide, offering public services to all Jews in the areas of Aliya, Jewish education and culture. The Jewish Agency provides an effective environment in which Jews from all over the world may interact, cooperate on shared projects and initiatives, exchange experiences and influence one another. The focal center of the Agency's work is in Israel, thus the Jewish Agency plays a key role in maintaining links between Jewish institutions and Jewish individuals in the Diaspora with the Jewish State.

The major goals of the Jewish Agency today are Aliya, deepening Jewish identity in the Diaspora and strengthening ties with the State of Israel. As a result of its activities the Agency plays a role in reinforcing Jewish solidarity and unity throughout the world. The Jewish Agency's main offices are located in Jerusalem, with representatives in hundreds of locations in Israel and in more than sixty countries around the world.

The Department of Jewish-Zionist Education

The purpose of the Department of Jewish-Zionist Education of the Jewish Agency is to intensify the distinctive, multi-dimensional importance of 'Israel' amongst the coming generation of Jews by expanding the connection between individuals, the Jewish nation and their Jewish origins. The concept 'Israel' suggests that Israel is the spiritual and emotional core of Judaism; the focal axis of the Zionist vision; the Jewish homeland; the modern independent nation; the renewed creative center for Jewish culture and the Hebrew language; and the source of collective memory shared by the Jewish people throughout the world.

The Department of Jewish-Zionist Education concentrates on the following arenas of activity: The Jewish experience of Israel; training educational personnel to work in the Diaspora; constructing an educational-technological bridge between Israel and the Diaspora; and developing educational operations within communities.

The Research and Development Unit

The Research and Development Unit of the Department of Jewish-Zionist Education explores issues of theoretical and practical importance in order to enrich Jewish education with a particular focus on the connection between I sraeli and Diaspora Jewry. The Unit conducts research in order to evaluate the work of the Department and suggests creative solutions to problems faced by Jewish educators throughout the world.