That afternoon, we visited an Ulpan - one of 33 centers nationwide whose purpose is to help young immigrants to Israel integrate into society. For the nominal fee of 1400 shekels (~$400 U.S.), they are housed and fed for 5 months, during which they study Hebrew five hours a day, five days a week. They also build relationships with other young immigrants from all over the world. We met five of the students currently at Ulpon Etzion - Max from Westchester County in NY, Fernanda from Brazil, Aurelie from Paris, France, Izel from Istanbul, Turkey and Talia from the Ukraine. These young people without exception felt that Israel is their home in a way that they didn't connect with their country of birth, and were looking forward to their new lives in Israel.
I thought the concept of the Ulpan - helping those who come from other native countries and cultures to immigrate and enter into their society of choice was fascinating. Imagine what a boon it would be if were able to figure a way out to do something similar in the U.S.? Then the people arriving would bring not only their own language and culture, but would become invested in the "American Culture and Way" in their first months here. How much more valuable they would be in the workforce to start out with a minimum of two languages and relationships built across cultural lines... Obviously, this is a much more manageable proposition with a nation the size of Rhode Island, but it's still a great idea.
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