LOS ANGELES, June 13 CA-Holy-Land-Project
LOS ANGELES, June 13 /PRNewswire/ -- In 2003, The Jewish Federation of
Greater Los Angeles and the Archdiocese of Los Angeles collaborated to launch
a groundbreaking program: the Holy Land Democracy Project. The goal of this
educational initiative is to prepare Catholic teachers in the Los Angeles
parochial high school system to teach a unit about modern Israel. The teachers
participate in a 12-day educational seminar, travel to Israel, study the
country and then return to teach the weeklong course to their students. Each
year, the program culminates in a creative contest in which students submit
essays, poems or artistic works based on what they learned.
The program is now in its fifth year and, by all standards, has been a
phenomenal success for both communities. From its start in five schools,
reaching 500 students, the program has grown to include 30 schools, and has
reached more than 7,000 Catholic students. The program has fostered closer
relations between the Catholic and Jewish communities in Los Angeles, as the
Federation and Archdiocese has worked together each year on the curriculum.
Participants in the program support this. Father Jerry Horan, former
superintendent of Catholic Schools in Orange County, said, "I think this is a
very important program for Catholic-Jewish Relations." Marc Nuno, a teacher at
St. Monica Catholic High School in Santa Monica, said, "This is an amazing
opportunity. I teach religion and minister at the school. The Holyland is so
powerful in so many ways. I also like the academic aspect to the trip; I will
be able to bring a lot back to my students."
Recently, the program received a substantial grant from the Winnick Family
Foundation, which was founded by international financier and philanthropist
Gary Winnick. The grant will provide for tremendous additional growth of the
program. There are 60 schools in L.A. and another 60 throughout the state, all
of which the project would ultimately like to cover. The ultimate goal is to
teach 10,000 Catholic school students per year in California.
"Gary Winnick's commitment to the Holy Land Democracy Project will help
the Federation to grow the relationship we have been building between the
Jewish and Catholic communities," said Federation President John Fishel. "It
will also enable us to greatly expand the educational opportunities available
to the Catholic school teachers we work with, and in turn, their students.
This is in perfect keeping with Gary Winnick's longstanding support of
education in Los Angeles."
The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles -- L.A.'s largest Jewish
nonprofit -- identifies and funds social service, educational and humanitarian
needs locally, in Israel and around the world. Through a network of agencies
and programs, the Federation helps alleviate Jewish poverty, provide emergency
relief, ensure a Jewish future and support the greater Los Angeles community.
SOURCE The Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles
