1,000s of yeshiva students, Masa participants set to enter Israel

Despite the difficulties and worries raised by the coronavirus, the government decided to permit the entry of 21,000 foreign nationals, to study in universities, yeshivas, and participate in Masa.

By JEREMY SHARON
Two hikers carry an Israeli flag near Castel as part of the Masa 70 trek (photo credit: TOMER BEN-AVI)
Two hikers carry an Israeli flag near Castel as part of the Masa 70 trek
(photo credit: TOMER BEN-AVI)
Over the coming days and weeks, Israel will witness an influx of thousands of young Jews from around the Diaspora who will come here to study, work and volunteer in the Jewish state.
Despite the difficulties and worries raised by the global coronavirus pandemic, the government decided to permit the entry of 21,000 foreign nationals to study in universities, yeshivot and schools, and participants in programs of Masa and other organizations.
According to Masa CEO Ofer Gutman, some 4,000 Masa participants will arrive throughout August and September, and the organization expects up to 6,000 to arrive by the end of December.
Permission was also granted for 12,000 foreign yeshiva and seminary students to enter the country, along with 2,000 university students.
There was significant opposition within the government to the entry of so many foreign nationals, including large numbers from the US, to Israel during the global health crisis, but the imposition of strict regulations for program participants, and threats of tough sanctions against those breaking them by coronavirus commissioner Prof. Ronni Gamzu, ultimately paved the way for their arrival.
SPEAKING TO The Jerusalem Post, Gutman said that since Masa participants have continued to come to Israel throughout the ongoing pandemic, the organization is well placed to handle the influx of new arrivals and accommodate them appropriately during the mandatory 14-day quarantine period.
The organization has also appointed a coronavirus coordinator for every program to ensure compliance with government regulations.
Gutman said that although he could not guarantee that the experience on Masa this year will be the same as other years, because the COVID-19 pandemic has forced so many aspects of life to change, he said that participants would nevertheless have a rich and meaningful time in the Jewish state.
“Participants will live like locals, they will be able to form a strong relationship with Israel, and will see the strength of this society,” said Gutman.
He argued that it is also critical for Israel to allow Masa and educational programs to go ahead for Diaspora Jews, saying it is of strategic importance “to connect young Jews around the world to Israel,” and said that participation in Masa programs generates a stronger sense of Jewish identity, a stronger relationship to Israel, and greater involvement in Jewish communal life.

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He also noted that despite all the crises and problems that Israel has faced throughout its history, there was never a time it closed its doors to Jews in the Diaspora, and that there was no reason this should not continue to be the case.
ALONG WITH Masa participants, yeshiva and seminary students will be arriving en masse this week and next for the beginning of the Elul term ahead of the High Holy Days in another month.
Among the 12,000 students will be those attending ultra-Orthodox and Modern Orthodox, or religious-Zionist, institutions.
Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut, for example will welcome 52 students for their first year of study and another 40 for a second year, with a large consignment arriving on Thursday.
Har Etzion’s director of overseas programs, Eli Weber, said the yeshiva and its staff have had to work hard to ensure that its courses for overseas students could go ahead, dealing with the government’s bureaucracy and vacillations on the issue of entry for foreign students.
Indeed, in one incident, several yeshiva students were stuck in limbo at Ben-Gurion Airport after their entry permit into the country was revoked while they were at 30,000 feet in the air during the transatlantic flight from New York to Tel Aviv.
Weber said that thanks to Har Etzion’s large campus, finding space to quarantine the new arrivals had not been too difficult, and that students had been accommodated with sufficient space and access to cordoned-off outdoor areas, and provided with Wi-Fi, activities, online study sessions and exercise programs to keep them busy.
The capsule system within which students will have to study is “restrictive,” said Weber, but said that the experience of those who remained following the outbreak of the pandemic had actually been one of greater togetherness and sense of mission.
Changes were made for this year, including ensuring that the yeshiva is always open for the Jewish holidays and every Shabbat, to guarantee that students have a safe place to be in.
Trips and excursions will still be conducted, but the logistics will be more difficult, and might need to be done at odd hours of the day or night and in multiple groups, to ensure compliance with coronavirus regulations.
Students will be allowed out of yeshiva, but the exact terms of where they can and cannot go have not yet been determined, and will likely change as government regulations change in relation to the general public health situation.
Rabbi Reuven Taragin, coordinator of the overseas program for Yeshivat Hakotel in the Old City of Jerusalem, has faced similar challenges.
Hakotel will welcome approximately 100 overseas students, half for their first year and the rest for their second year and beyond.
Taragin said that the priority is to ensure that all yeshiva students remain safe and do not face the need to go into quarantine at any stage. The yeshiva is prohibiting students from going to synagogue outside of its own campus, visiting shops or restaurants, or using public transport.
But despite all the restrictions on students and the possible risks, Taragin said it was imperative for the government to allow such programs to continue.
“If the State of Israel sees itself as the center and spiritual core of Jewish people, then it has to play this role,” said Taragin. “The state has always brought Jews here. We have to minimize the risk; quarantine is important; but if the skies are open and tourists are coming, then all the more so priority should be given to students who want to strengthen their Jewish identity.”


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