I can genuinely say that I would not be where I am today without Jeff and his program. When I first joined the program, I honestly did not know what I was getting myself into. I had just come to Israel for the first time, I had no real Jewish educational background, and I was not even sure what to make of Judaism in my life. Although I had so much fun and learned a lot through the trips, shabbat dinners, and learning programs that Jeff arranged with other Jewish students, what made the biggest impression on me was JeffÛªs heart and his actions, and that of the madrichot of the program. IÛªve made such a special connection with the madricha of the program and we still keep in touch to this day! My connection to Hashem, Eretz Yisrael, and Am Yisrael was cultivated and has grown by seeing that of JeffÛªs. His determination to spread the light of Judaism through the generations inspired me to gradually enrich my own life with Judaism and Torah after experiencing what it meant to live a Torah led life. I did not walk into any of this expecting to want to come back to Israel every year and become a shomer mitzvot person. This program was my stepping stone and itÛªs with this program and Jeff that IÛªve had some of my best memories in Israel. Once you make a connection with Jeff, heÛªs always there.
Brandeis – BGU 2013
17
Jun
Jun
George Deek is an Arab-Israeli diplomat. In 2018, Deek was appointed Israeli ambassador to Azerbaijan. He is the first Israeli Arab Christian to become an ambassador. Deek grew up in an Eastern Orthodox Christian family in the Ajami neighborhood of Jaffa, in a building where the other tenants included Muslims, Catholics, Jews and a Catholic priest of Jewish ancestry.[2][3] His father, who worked as a tax advisor,[3] was one of the leaders of the Christian community in Jaffa who served as chairman of the Orthodox Association, and was considered a well-known and popular figure in the city until in 2015 a square was inaugurated in his memory in Jaffa in the presence of Mayor Ron Huldai.[4] According to Deek, his grandparents fled to Lebanon for safety when the 1947–1949 Palestine war, having been told that the Jews would slaughter them if they remained in their homes, but expecting to return home once Arab armies defeated the Jews.[3] According to Deek, when the war ended, his grandparents felt that they had been “deceived”, and decided to return illegally to their home in Jaffa rather than remaining in Lebanon as refugees. Since reentering the country was illegal, Deek’s grandfather, an electrician, was arrested and jailed.
