Braun family gives gift of Israel to EWS faculty, staff

A first-of-its-kind program is sending non-Jewish teachers and staff from Houston�s largest Jewish day school to Israel at no cost to participants.

Jewish faculty who have never been to Israel also will be eligible to participate in The Emery/Weiner School�s new Braun Family Israel Trip.

Funded by a gift from Marian and Gabriel Braun and Taryn and Dan Braun, the program will send its inaugural cohort of 10 teachers and staff to Israel this summer, June 18-28. Subsequent trips, also comprised of 10 participants each, will take place every other summer over the next 10 years, resulting in as many as 50 EWS faculty and staff investing time together in Israel for a dedicated purpose.

�Our goal is to provide a biennial opportunity for Emery/Weiner faculty and staff to experience the State of Israel, firsthand, empowering them to instill love, understanding and appreciation for Israel in the students,� Gabriel Braun told the JHV.

�We want to expose Israel to teachers who theoretically know about Israel, hear about it on the news and have students who travel there, but otherwise haven�t had the opportunity yet to relate to Israel on the personal level,� he said.

According to school leaders, the Braun Family Israel Trip promises to be �transformative.�

�These trips will help our non-Jewish teachers and staff understand how important Israel is to the Jewish people and to the Emery experience,� said Stuart Dow, EWS� head of school. �Hopefully, these trips will kindle in them a connection and relationship with the Jewish state.�

Besides being a program designed for Israel first-timers, the other major criteria for eligibility is that participants need to have worked at EWS for a minimum of five years and are in good standing to continue working at the school, following their trip, Dow noted.

Staff included
One aspect that makes the Braun Family Israel Trip unique, compared to other Israel travel programs, is that EWS� new program truly is designed for both faculty and school staff.

By offering any committed member of staff the opportunity to travel to Israel together, the program underscores EWS� commitments to inclusion and to community building on campus, school leaders and the Braun family agreed.

The program�s inaugural cohort includes the school�s associate director of Admissions and a woman who has worked in EWS� business office for the past decade. Both staff members happen to be Hispanic. Joining them on the trip is the school�s director of Fine Arts, plus a middle school science and robotics teacher, Jared Curtis, who belongs to the Mormon faith.

�When I was invited to participate in this trip, there was absolutely no hesitation on my part � I immediately accepted!� Curtis told the JHV. �Israel is such a large part of the Jewish identity, and many of my students have been there and can speak to their experiences there. I want to be able to participate in these conversations, and to form a greater connection with the young men and women that I teach.�

Enhancing empathy
Curtis anticipates that the trip will enhance his work at the school by enabling him to better connect with his EWS students and colleagues, alike.

�I truly believe that the experiences that I will have this summer will allow me to foster an even stronger connection with my current, future and former students,� he said. �I think that having this stronger connection will make me more empathetic to their feelings, their opinions and their worldviews.

�It will help me prepare them more effectively for their future (and current) experiences of being a Jew in a non-Jewish world,� he added. �I anticipate that this trip will also help me form even stronger bonds with the other staff and faculty members at The Emery/Weiner School, based upon our shared experiences in the Jewish homeland.�

Drawing from past experiences, EWS leaders said they recognize the value and merit to having school educators and staff connect with the Jewish state, firsthand. Thus, EWS long has sought to add an Israel travel program for adults on campus as a complement to the school�s Zionism education and its annual senior trip to Israel, which serves as a capstone for the students� overall Emery experience.

�Sense of being�
Rebecca Starr, EWS� director of Advancement, had the opportunity to visit Israel for the first time a few years ago on a Jewish Federation of Greater Houston mission. Beyond a change in perspective, the trip impacted her �sense of being,� noted Starr, who is not Jewish.

�The experience that unfolded � on a bus, with strangers, in a land where I was not able to recognize any of the various alphabets � struck me at my core,� she told the JHV. �It felt like diving into a pool for the first time and only then realizing I had only been on the edge of the water looking at a reflection.

�Through my trip, my commitment to Israel and to the Jewish people was ignited in a different way,� she said. �My entire career, I have worked in the nonprofit sector. The work has been both challenging and fulfilling. That said, the impact of going to Israel extended my dedication and my reach to the work I do at EWS exponentially and the importance became much more clear.

�The value of the efforts to educate young people and connect them to Israel is vital to the future of the Jewish community,� Starr said. �It has been wonderful to feel like a part of it all. My first trip to Israel made that possible for me.�

For non-Jewish faculty and staff who are committed to the school, but are not connected to that fundamental part of EWS� mission � Israel education � this lack of connection can put them at a disadvantage, according to EWS� head of school.

�If someone has not had the experience of being in Israel, it has the potential of seeming just off or unusual, at the worst, or just sort of irrelevant to them, personally, which is more neutral, but still not ideal,� Dow said. �For Rebecca, who works so hard at raising money for the school, it was so powerful in terms of helping her understand that critical feature of who we are, both as a Jewish community, but also as a Jewish institution as a school, where Israel and Zionism are such paramount parts of what we do.�

�Creating a legacy�
The Braun family established the program in honor of Marian and Gabriel�s grandchildren, Jacob, Ryan, Asher and Aden Braun.

Gabriel is a longtime supporter of EWS, having served as treasurer of the school back in its I. Weiner Middle School days, prior to the establishment of Emery High School.

�I want this program to serve as an example for our grandchildren � I want them to have a legacy and I want them to continue to be involved in the community,� Gabriel said. �I believe in Jewish education and the vital role it plays in connecting Israel with the American Jewish community.�

The Brauns also dedicated the program to Joe Kornfeld �for his ongoing commitment to The Emery/Weiner School, the Jewish community and Israel.� Gabriel said his longtime friend and advisor told him that EWS had been dreaming of sending faculty and staff to Israel. Wanting to give a meaningful gift in support of Jewish and Israel education, Gabriel said he embraced Kornfeld�s suggestion to fund such a trip.

�Joe and his family have been a bright light in my life,� Gabriel said. �This program is dedicated to him.�

Gratitude
Houston has seen the launch of a few Israel travel programs in recent years.

The Barish family endowed a free, biennial trip for high school students at Congregation Emanu El�s Helfman Religious School. The Barishes also have funded community-wide Israel travel experiences for educators through the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston. EWS and Robert M. Beren Academy both send their senior classes to Israel every year.

The Brauns and the Barishes both told the JHV that they hope their philanthropy will inspire others in the community to fund new and innovative Israel-education programs and travel opportunities.

Dow praised the Braun family for giving EWS faculty and staff the opportunity to benefit from having shared experiences with colleagues as they travel the depth and breadth of Israel together for 10 days.

�We are so grateful to the Braun family for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,� Dow said. �Their excitement may only be outstripped by the participants� excitement.

�When we announced the program, there were tears in several participants� eyes when they realized that they were finally getting to go,� he said.

Curtis said he is looking forward to visiting the holy sites of various religions.

�I want to walk where the great men and women of the Bible walked, to see the things that they saw, to try to experience some of the things that they experienced,� the middle school science and robotics teacher said.

�I am also looking forward to learning more of the modern Israeli experience, to get a sense of what makes Israel so special in the hearts and minds of the Jewish community,� Curtis said.

Most programs at EWS are designed for the direct benefit of students, Dow noted, whereas the Braun Family Israel Trip primarily is meant to impact staff.

�Most of what we do, here, of course, is all about the students, and rightfully so,� Dow said. �But, boy, you better take care of the adults, who are charged with inspiring and teaching the kids!

�To be able to give this gift to the adults on our campus, who give so much of themselves to the students, makes this program unique and truly special,� he said.