JNF Australia Educators Tour 2025/2026
Day 1 – 30 December, 2025
After so much time we are all thrilled to be a part of the first JNF group since 2022!!
We left Tel Aviv and headed toward the open valleys. The sense of growth was all around us. Start-ups alongside agriculture. Education alongside regional leadership. That was evident in Yokneam.
We visited Yokneam School for Innovation and Science. There, we met with an outstanding teaching team and their confident students. A senior student proudly demonstrated his innovative project- a device that tracks eye blinks. Designed with fighter pilots in mind, it allows ground crews to monitor their alertness and automatically activate autopilot if a problem is detected.
Next, we had an inspirational visit to OpenValley at Ashdod, where the CEO Ofir, shared his personal journey. He admitted he hadn’t always been highly motivated at school, but his army experience changed his direction and mindset. Afterwards, he returned to study with renewed purpose.
Ofir message was powerful: ask questions, try, fail, learn and build resilience along the way!
We all enjoyed a lovely tour and lunch at the KKL-JNF Educational Centre in Tzipori. The focus was on working with nature and building around it. We were able to take part in a tree planting ceremony. There were layers of growth. It builds on what came before rather than replacing it.
The KKL – JNF House of Excellence at Migdal Haemek was another place of inspiration. No child is left behind. The highlight was talking to the remarkable students, who were all self-motivated and keen to learn and take risks.
Today, we were reminded that mistakes are part of growth, resilience keeps us moving forward and great questions open doors.
Melanie, Elita, Rachel and Karen
