United Synagogue Youth

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United Synagogue Youth is the youth movement of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism or USCJ.

United Synagogue Youth, more commonly known as USY, is a youth group with members from the United States and Canada dedicated to creating a fun, educational environment where Jewish teenagers can connect in hopes of meeting other Jewish teens in a comfortable atmosphere, combating assimilation, supporting Israel and giving and performing charity. The organization is open to all Jewish teenagers. While synagogue membership is not a requirement, most affiliate with the Conservative movement.

Contents 1 The goals of USY 2 International USY regions 3 Specialty Clubs 3.1 Abraham Joshua Heschel Honor Society 3.2 HeChalutzim 3.3 613 Mitzvah Corps 4 Summer trips 4.1 Israel Pilgrimage 4.1.1 Israel Adventure 4.1.2 Eastern Europe/Israel Pilgrimage 4.1.3 Spain/Israel Pilgrimage 4.1.4 Israel Pilgrimage/Poland Seminar 4.1.5 Etgar! Outdoor Adventure: Israel 4.1.6 USY Northern Exposure 4.2 USY on Wheels 4.3 Outdoor Adventure: Pacific Northwest 4.4 Summer in the City 5 School year programs 5.1 USY International Convention 5.2 USY High 5.3 Nativ 6 International Leadership 7 Notes 8 See also 9 External links

[edit] The goals of USY

The general aim of the United Synagogue Youth program is to bring about a meaningful and fully reciprocal encounter of Judaism, the Jewish people, and the synagogue on one side, and the Jewish teenager on the other. As a result of this encounter, the Jewish teenager will, firstly, demonstrate and experience how the Jewish way of living, through study, action and fellowship, leads to personal fulfillment and growth while meeting his spiritual and social needs, and secondly, make a significant contribution to his synagogue, community, society and the Jewish people.

[edit] International USY regions

USY is divided into 17 regions extending throughout the United States and Canada. The regions (ordered as on www.usy.org) are divided as follows:

Name of region	Details of name	Areas covered	Regional President	Website
CRUSY	Central Region USY	Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia	Adam Berman	www.crusy.org
CHUSY	Chicagoland USY	Greater Chicago, Milwaukee, Madison	Jeremy Siegel	www.chusy.org
Hanefesh USY	Hebrew: הנפש, "the soul"	Connecticut and Western Massachusetts	Adina Rosen	www.hanefesh.org
ECRUSY	Eastern Canadian Region USY	Ontario, Quebec	Julie Zucker	www.ecrusy.org
EPA USY	Eastern Pennsylvania USY	Eastern and Northern Pennsylvania from Harrisburg to Scranton	Nomi Ehrich	www.epausy.org
Far West USY	Contains Hawaii, the westernmost state.	Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii, Utah	Adam Weiner	www.fwusy.net
METNY USY	Metropolitan New York USY	Greater New York City and Long Island	Jordan Soffer	www.metnyusy.org
Emtza USY	Hebrew: אמצע, "middle"	Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Western Wisconsin, Manitoba	Jonah Newman	www.emtza.org
NERUSY	New England Region USY	Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island, Connecticut	Sam Worth	www.nerusy.org
Hagalil USY	Hebrew: הגליל, "the Galilee" (a region of the North District of Israel)	Northern and Central New Jersey	Jason Steinberg	www.hagalilusy.com
New Frontier USY	?	Northern California, Reno, Nevada	Avi Brotslaw	www.newfrontierusy.org
Pinwheel USY	Pacific Northwest USY	Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Alberta	David French	www.uscj.org/pacnw/usy
Hagesher USY	Hebrew: הגשר, "the bridge"	Delaware Valley, Greater Philadelphia	Eric Schorr	www.hagesher.org
Seaboard USY	"the area bordering the sea; a coastline"[1]	Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Northeastern North Carolina	George "Dickey" Stone	www.seaboardusy.org
Hanegev USY	Hebrew: הנגב, "the Negev" (a region of the South District of Israel)	Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Southern North Carolina, South Carolina	Sara Edelman	www.hanegevusy.org
SWUSY	Southwest USY	Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana	Aaron Jacobs	www.swusy.org
Tzafon USY	Hebrew: צפון, "north"	Upstate New York, Western Massachusetts, Southwestern Vermont	Rachel Naparstek	www.tzafon.org

[edit] Specialty Clubs

USY provides its members with optional membership to any or all of its three specialty clubs. Admission to such clubs requires either a small monetary payment to the USY international office, or fulfilment of various standards. Each club represents a specific quality of USY; respectively, in the order below, religious education, Israel awareness, and social action.

[edit] Abraham Joshua Heschel Honor Society

The Heschel Honor Society is a club for USY members of secular and religious academic excellence. The club is named after Abraham Joshua Heschel. The Heschel Honor society holds a convention in March each year for a group of about 75 involved members.

[edit] HeChalutzim

HeChalutzim is a club for USY members interested in Israel Affairs and Religious Zionism. Members of HeChalutzim often attend unique regional weekends for the club, or enjoy special programming at regional conventions and International Convention. In addition, every year one HeChalutzim member from each region goes to Israel with the HeChalutzim Israel Seminar, and returns to the regions to advocate for and encourage others to visit Israel.

[edit] 613 Mitzvah Corps

The 613 Mitzvah Corps is the Social Action club for USY memberships interested in the ideals of social action and the Tikun Olam program. It deals with helping out the Jewish and general communities.

[edit] Summer trips

USY runs a large number of summer trips and programs through the "USY: Great Escape" initiative.

[edit] Israel Pilgrimage

USY sends hundreds of teens to Israel each summer. Trips vary in locations, programming, and mood, but every trip stays in or visits at least the following locations: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Eilat, kibbutz Sa'ad, Masada, the Dead Sea, and Rosh HaNikra. Security is provided by Israeli staffers with military experience and the Jewish Agency.

[edit] Israel Adventure

Israel Adventure is a four-week, Israel-only trip which consists of three weeks touring around Israel and one week spent in a mock army training called Gadna.

[edit] Eastern Europe/Israel Pilgrimage

Eastern Europe Israel Pilgrimage consists of exploring the history and cultures of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary for two weeks and spending the remaining four weeks touring Israel.

[edit] Spain/Israel Pilgrimage

Spain/Israel Pilgrimage consists of one week touring prominent historical locations in Spain and Portugal and then five weeks touring Israel.

[edit] Israel Pilgrimage/Poland Seminar

Israel Pilgrimage/Poland Seminar consists of nine days spent touring prominent Jewish locations, former Jewish communities, and concentration camps in Poland before spending five weeks touring Israel. Past groups have visited Sobibor, Majdanek, Auschwitz, Birkenau, Treblinka, Warsaw, Cracow, Lublin, Kielce, and many others.

[edit] Etgar! Outdoor Adventure: Israel

Etgar! Outdoor Adventure: Israel is a five-week program that goes beyond the souvenir stands to discover the Israeli side of Israel, combining volunteer work with challenging nature hikes in the Galilee, Golan Heights, and the Negev.

[edit] USY Northern Exposure

USY Northern Exposure is open only to those who went on an organized teen tour of Israel in summer 2006, and wish to spend 16 days touring and volunteering in Northern Israel.

[edit] USY on Wheels

USY on Wheels is a six and half-week bus tour across the United States and Canada, which visits different Jewish communities and tourist attractions across America, including the Grand Canyon, Disneyland, and many others. In addition to several buses simply touring, there is one Mission Mitzvah bus, which focuses on community service projects and social action. Wheels East, a four-week East Coast trip for entering 9th graders, was added in Summer 2007.

[edit] Outdoor Adventure: Pacific Northwest

Outdoor Adventure Pacific Northwest is a four-week program which takes place in Washington. Participants spend their time hiking, sea-kayaking, and coming together to form a tight-knit group. One week of the program is spent hiking near Mount Rainier, one is spent hiking in Olympic National Park, and one week is spent sea-kayaking in the Puget Sound. Time is also spent near Mount Saint Helens.

[edit] Summer in the City

Summer in the City is a co-ed, four week pre-college program that takes place in New York City. Participants take a class at Barnard College in the morning and a class at the Jewish Theological Seminary in the afternoon. In the evenings and on weekends, the group goes out to see the various sights and activities New York has to offer, including a New York Yankees game, a Broadway show, museums, and other social attractions. There is also some community service once a week.

[edit] School year programs

[edit] USY International Convention

International Convention, also referred to as IC, is a yearly gathering of over 1200 USYers from across North America in a different city each year. They gather for study sessions, specialty club meetings, Summer Program reunions (see above) and socializing. The new officers of United Synagogue Youth are also elected at this time. The convention takes place in December, and the next convention will be held in Anaheim, CA.

Recent International Conventions have been held in:
1992 - Baltimore, MD
1993 - Los Angeles, CA
1994 - East Brunswick, NJ
1995 - Toronto, ON, Canada
1997 - Philadelphia, PA
1998 - Chicago, IL
1999 - San Jose, CA
2000 - Boston, MA
2001 - Washington, D.C.
2002 - Orlando, FL
2003 - Toronto, ON, Canada
2004 - Chicago, IL
2005 - Philadelphia, PA
2006 - Boston, MA

[edit] USY High

USY High is an eight-week program in which high schoolers live at the Goldstein Youth Village in Jerusalem, studying and exploring Israel. In the campus classroom, participants are introduced chronologically to each historical period. Campus class time is interspersed with time experiencing the "classroom without walls" - the Land of Israel. Participants learn in an ancient cave, a mountain fortress, an army bunker, riding on a camel, or at the beach.

[edit] Nativ

Nativ is a 9-month program in Israel for recent high school graduates. Paticipants go on trips around Israel, attend leadership seminars and study at either Hebrew University or the Conservative Yeshiva (aligned with the Masorti movement in Israel). Participants also choose between living on a kibbutz (specifically, Kibbutz Sa'ad) or living and volunteering in a developing community.

[edit] International Leadership

There are six officers on the International Executive Board (IEB). These USYers are responsible for the executive leadership of the organization. They are elected to one year terms at the yearly International Convention. The 2007 Leadership is as follows:^[1]

• President: Aaron Jacobs
• Israel Affairs Vice President: Harris Eppsteiner
• Religion/Education Vice President: Sam Kerbel
• Social Action/Tikun Olam Vice President: Rachel Levenson
• Membership/Kadima¹ Vice President: Julie Zucker
• Communications Vice President: Greg Abdallah

¹Kadima (translated literally as "forward") is the middle school age affiliate of USY and USCJ. ^[2]

These positions are mirrored in Regional and Chapter Executive Boards when possible.

The USY office in New York, NY is home to the professional leadership of USY which collaborates with the above USY officers. They have greater responsibilities in summer programs, Nativ and long-term planning. Jules Gutin is currently the International Director of USY.^[3]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ http://www.usy.org/yourusy/directory/ieb.asp
2. ^ http://www.usy.org/kadima
3. ^ http://www.usy.org/yourusy/directory/istaff.asp

[edit] See also

• Judaism
• Conservative Judaism
• United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ)
• KOACH, the college outreach arm of USCJ
• Zionism
• National Federation of Temple Youth, the youth group of Reform Judaism
• National Conference of Synagogue Youth, the youth group of Orthodox Judaism

[edit] External links

• United Synagogue Youth (USY)
• Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel
• USY Summer Programs
• The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USY's parent organization)