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Sophomores & Juniors:
Israel Cleveland next
Juniors & Seniors:
Saltzman Youth Panel
A GIFT OF CONFIDENCE
icnext – It’s a New Journey
icnext engages high school students within our Jewish community in learning about and experiencing Israel. Each year, 10-12 graders from different Jewish backgrounds come together. They meet, learn, and talk about Israel. Then they travel to Israel for 10 days in June 2025.
Apply Now
(icnext 13 Registration opens June 9, 2024)
History
The program originally began as Write on For Israel (wofi) (2008–2013) and merged with the Ambassadors for Unity program in 2014 to become icnext. The primary changes to the program in 2014 included the addition of a Mifgash host exchange with Israeli teens from Cleveland’s partnership region of Beit Shean, and opportunities for participants to learn about Israel from Cleveland Shin Shinim.
The New Format
Our Meetings - The icnext experience consists of 7 meetings: one Sunday per month, November through May. Each meeting will last approximately 4 hours. While meetings are generally on Sunday afternoons, the day or time may be changed to take advantage of other opportunities offered in the community. Ample advance notice will be given to all participants prior to any day/time changes.
Our Focus - icnext is built on Six Pillars which guide our meetings and Israel experience:
- Building a Cohort of friends who want to discuss Israel (bringing together teens who share a common interest, and giving them the shared experience of our Israel trip).
- Understanding the geopolitics of the region (learning in our meetings and then, if security permits, visiting the sites in Israel).
- Israel in Social Media (learning how to respond to social media and then posting while in Israel. Building relationships with Israeli teens by meeting with Shin Shinim and Teen Shinim both in the U.S. and while in Israel).
- Discovering the joys of Israel (learning with Israeli artists in the US and going to a concert in Israel)
- Developing tools for personal reflections (practicing during our meetings, and journaling during the Israel experience).
The Israel Mission 2025 - June 8-19,2025
This affordable 10-day trip will explore Israel from Jerusalem’s cobblestone streets to Tel Aviv's cutting-edge graffiti. Participants will gain deeper knowledge about Israel-related issues while creating lasting memories.
- Travel with this year’s Cleveland Shin Shinim – and meet teens from Beit Shean.
- Program cost is $2200 per student, including flights, hotel, all meals, experiences in Israel and Cleveland. The overall icnext experience costs approximately $9000 per student. We’re eager to offer this highly subsidized educational experience for your teenager made possible by the Jewish Federation of Cleveland's Campaign for Jewish Needs.
- Financial aid is available.
- Participants may extend their stay in Israel to connect with family or additional Israel trips.
icnext 13 Pre-Trip Mission Dates
- 11.10.2024
- 12.08.2024
- 01.12.2025
- 02.02.2025
- 03.09.2025
- 04.06.2025
- 05.04.2025
Apply Now
(icnext 13 Registration opens June 9, 2024)
The Breakdown
High School Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors
$2,200 (financial aid is available)
Commit to attend 7 Meetings – one Sunday per month in the first year, travel to Israel for a 10-day summer experience, and lead a second year project for your community.
Saltzman Youth Panel
This program educates students within our Jewish community about the philanthropic process and responding to Jewish and general community needs. Each year, a new Saltzman Youth Panel is comprised of 40 area high school juniors and seniors from different Jewish backgrounds. They are selected through rabbi, religious school director, youth group advisor nominations and at-large applications. Together, they make decisions about allocating up to $45,000 to worthy organizations – 85% of which is awarded to programs serving the Jewish community. Through this process they learn about community decision-making, leadership, and most importantly, tzedakah.
Please read our Saltzman Youth Panel FAQs to learn important details about the Saltzman Youth Panel experience.
In 1998, Shirley Saltzman and her family established the Maurice Saltzman Youth Grant Program. To perpetuate the goals of the late Maurice Saltzman, a past president of the Jewish Federation, students annually learn about philanthropy and allocate funds for Jewish and general community needs. Saltzman grew up at the Jewish Orphan Home, now Bellefaire Jewish Children's Bureau, and became a generous philanthropist and community leader who cared deeply about educating the next generation of community leadership.
The Breakdown
High School Juniors & Seniors
No cost
Selection to the Saltzman Youth Panel is highly competitive, and participation, while very rewarding, involves a commitment to be present. Members of the Saltzman Youth Panel are expected to make their participation on the panel a priority, both for their own experience and for that of fellow panelists. Participants are expected to make a donation to the 2025 Campaign for Jewish Needs.
