Embassy Adoption Program 2007
May 22, 2007

The Embassy of Israel hosted its annual celebration for the Embassy Adoption Program on May 21, 2007.

Over the course of the year, students from Stuart-Hobson Middle School in Northeast Washington, DC were "adopted" by the Embassy of Israel.

Students learned about Israel and Jewish culture in their classroom and through various field trips. In lieu of writing traditional letters to the Ambassador, students created a blog to share their thoughts about Israel.

Joining in the ceremony for the second year was the Hebrew Day Institute (HDI) of Silver Spring, MD.

Jordana Luks, Senior Officer for Public Affairs, welcomed the classes to the Embassy and spoke about the friendship between the United States and Israel. Embassy Adoption Program Coordinator Njambi also greeted the students and spoke about the importance of international education and cultural exchange. Without Njambi's hard work throughout the year this program would not have been possible.

Stuart-Hobson teacher Beth Dewhurst and her students prepared a wonderful program in which students performed a play demonstrating what they had learned about Israel, acted out a popular Israeli children's story and sang Israel's national anthem.

Stuart-Hobson students also presented a gift to the Embassy- a beautiful piece of artwork combining different Israeli motifs, including a Star of David.

HDI students taught Hebrew songs to the entire group, and following a short dance lesson, all students performed traditional Israeli dances together.

To conclude the program, students learned about traditional Israeli foods and ate a falafel lunch together.

The Embassy of Israel would like to thank our Washington Performing Arts Society (WPAS) Liaison Elise O'Grady and Gloria Butland for their efforts in this ceremony, and to WPAS for sponsoring the Embassy Adoption Program.