Welcome to the July/August/September issue of  ‘What’s New on ORTnet’. 

Welcome to the July/August/September issue of the ORTnet Bulletin where we inform you on the latest updates to the World ORT website.  This is normally is a bi-monthly newsletter, but due to the quiet summer, this edition will cover a three month period.

ORTnet

We have kept you up-to-date with our main events over the summer through the Newspoint section on our home page.  This section highlights the latest World ORT news.  Currently our focus is on the opening of the school year in Israel, by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, at one of our schools, ORT Ronson in Ashkelon  Click here to go directly to the story - http://www.ort.org/asp/article.asp?ID=207

We are also in the process of updating the Missions and Projects information on the website.  We have added an interesting article on the visit to Israel by ORT students from Cuba – the first such group to receive permission from the Cuban authorities to visit Israel. At the end of October we will bring you details of the World ORT mission to Bulgaria and the opening of the Lauder ORT High School in Sofia. We will also bring you updated information on our ongoing projectsI in Argentina, Israel and the CIS and Baltic States.

Learning about the Holocaust through Art – Phase II

World ORT and Beit Lohamei Haghettaot (the Ghetto Fighters' House Museum) in Israel have created a very successful programme Learning About the Holocaust through Art Phase II.  The website (http://art.holocaust-education.net/) which was launched two years ago, is available in two languages, English and Hebrew. 

This year World ORT launched Phase II of the programme, where we have been working towards making available 100 additional artworks and to have the whole programme complete in four languages, English, Hebrew, Spanish and Russian.

Phase II of the project development is complete and you are currently able to view all the additions LIVE online. The additional artworks originate from the collection of artists exhibited in Phase I of the project.   With these additional artworks Learning about the Holocaust through Art will become one of the most extensive online Holocaust artwork collections, and an important resource for Holocaust education, documentation and research and is possibly the only multilingual online resource of its kind.

Once the website has been finalised, World ORT will launch it officially.

World ORT Times

The World ORT Times brings you the latest updates on ORT programmes and events throughout the world. The autumn edition of the World ORT Times will be published to coincide with Rosh Hashanah. 

Among the regular features are “ORT around the World”, a brief tour of people and events in ORT’s world wide network, and “From the Archive” which in this edition marks 30 years since the Yom Kippur War, with a spotlight on the important contribution made at the time by the students of ORT Lod. Plus “ORT International Cooperation Update" with details of ORT assistance for agricultural programmes in Chad, health programmes in Montenegro and retraining for residents of the blighted Chernobyl area of Ukraine.

And as always, you can read it first on ORTnet at http://www.ort.org/.  

Yizkor

The Yizkor website (http://yizkor.ort.org) continues to be one of the web’s most popular sites for those looking to find out more about Jewish customs of remembrance.  Our site is listed among the first two or three results on the main search engines, when searching for Yizkor. 

The site includes the texts of the memorial prayers in Hebrew and English as well as  powerful and evocative recitations of the prayers especially recorded for ORT by internationally renowned Chazan Chaim Adler.

In addition to its rich store of information, the Yizkor website allows people to create on line memorials to perpetuate the memory of departed relatives, and to register to receive an annual reminder before each Yahrzeit (anniversary of the death).  Almost 1000 memorials and requests for reminders have been registered since the launch of the website and a number of messages of appreciation have been received from grateful users.

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Life in the Shadow of Terror

Life in the Shadow of Terror is an artwork competition initiated and sponsored by Sir Jack Lyons. Implemented throughout ORT Israel schools, students were invited to send drawings and pictures engaging in the issue of terror and its impact on life in Israel.

The competition was inaugurated during the 2002-2003 school year, and the panel of judges received entries from some 320 students aged 13-18. Using their creativity the students have tried to express their most personal feelings relating to the current situation in Israel. The children exhibit their hopes for peace in the future, but at the same time provide an insight into their fear while living in a climate of terrorism. The judges, professionals from the worlds of art and education, selected the best works, and prizes were awarded for outstanding submissions.

The competitive aspect of the project, however, is only minor. The key aim of Life in the Shadow of Terror is to encourage the students of ORT Israel to express their anxieties, fears and emotions after three years of continuous violence and terror, in a positive and constructive way, turning feelings of anger, grief and frustration into a sense of accomplishment, creativity and togetherness.

Such was the standard of the entries, that ORT published a full colour brochure with a large selection of the works, and a presentation pack of thirty A3 colour prints which were sent to ORT’s offices around the world as well as to many US Federations.

World ORT received funding from Sir Jack and Lady Lyons to create a website, where 30 carefully chosen entries will be exhibited. This site will be part of the World ORT website, www.ort.org, and will allow viewers all over the world a valuable glimpse into the reality of life in Israel.

It is hoped that the site will serve as a channel for donations towards trauma counselling and enhanced security at ORT Schools.

When the site goes live it will be highlighted on the front page of ORTnet, so please do come and visit.

As always, we appreciate your thoughts and feedback.  If there is anything you would like featured on ORTnet or any comments you would like to make, then please contact us at help.desk@ort.org