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Rabbi Schwarz on...
For our Alumni

"PANIM exposes Jewish teens to the best of American and Jewish values while encouraging them to make a difference in the world through political and communal activism." 
- Senators Carl Levin (D-MI)
and Arlen Specter (R-PA)

WELCOME FROM RABBI SIDNEY SCHWARZ & JERRY HERMAN

With so much currently at stake in America and across the globe, it is no surprise that the inspiring, values-oriented and hopeful message of PANIM is more popular than ever. In fact, the 2007-08 program year was the 9th consecutive year during which more than 1,000 Jewish high school students have participated in one of our two flagship programs, Panim el Panim or the Jewish Civics Initiative. In these classes and seminars, students' eyes are opened to the relationship between political activism and civic engagement and Jewish texts and values.

By the time participants visit the offices of their members of congress and senators at the end of each Panim el Panim seminar, they are excited and well equipped to share their newfound passion for the most pressing public policy issues facing our nation and our world. If you were to sit in on one of these meetings, you would see that the Jewish community of tomorrow is in good hands.

Building on what we know best, in the summer of 2003 PANIM launched an advanced seminar for Jewish teens in Jewish leadership and values. Summer JAM (Judaism, Activism and Mitzvah Work) offers motivated and empowered Jewish high school students the opportunity to explore in depth the connection between Judaism, community service, and issue advocacy while spending three weeks in the heart of the nation's capital. In summer 2007, we launched PanimWorks, a twelve-day community service and cultural exchange program in the Four Corners region of the American southwest. On PanimWorks, students live and work in a Navajo community, forming meaningful ties to their hosts and gaining insight into their own Jewish identities.

PANIM seeks to inspire every individual who participates in one of our programs to pursue their own vision of a better world-by working in homeless shelters and food pantries, by lobbying for policies that support Israel in her quest for peace, by advocating for a more compassionate and just society, by raising ecological consciousness. In this way, we believe we are doing our part to ensure that the Jewish youth of today will bring the legacy of the Biblical Prophets into the world that they will soon inherit.

We invite you to explore our website. If you're a Jewish teen, we hope you'll find a program that sparks your interest. As for our adult visitors, we're pretty sure you'll be impressed with the breadth and depth of our work on behalf of the American Jewish community. If you have teenage children, maybe you'll want to encourage them to consider coming on one of our Panim el Panim seminars or participating in one of our summer programs.

Alternatively, perhaps you will be inspired to bring one of our programs or educators to your community. Or perhaps you will choose to become part of our growing family of contributors helping to transform the Jewish community, one neshama (soul) at a time. In any event, welcome to PANIM, and thanks for visiting.