The Past: We are a mere three years away from marking the 100th Anniversary of AMIT, formerly American Mizrachi Women. In 1927, a young woman named Bessie Gottsfeld came from America to Israel with a suitcase of cash and purchased an undeveloped tract of land near what is today’s thriving city of Ra’anana. To date, this tract of land known as AMIT Kfar Batya is the hub of a nationwide network of schools that currently educates 40,000 students in 96 schools located in 32 cities across Israel. Throughout the country, schools vie for the privilege of being selected to become part of AMIT’s network of excellence.
The Present: In 2014, AMIT developed a 21st-century teaching methodology called Gogya which is used throughout its schools. This holistic approach includes academic excellence, values, socialization, emotional development and exposure to the real world while preparing students for tomorrow’s economic, technological and societal shifts. Since its implementation throughout the AMIT network, Gogya has met with great success in upending traditional learning methods so that students become more engaged and responsible for their education, and classrooms become spaces of inspiration.
The Future: AMIT has currently undertaken a 15-year commitment and $70 million investment into creating a new AMIT Kfar Batya Campus that will include AMIT Gogya’s new headquarters. Anticipated for completion in 2025, this new campus, on the expanded site of the original Kfar Batya in Ra’anana, will serve as an incubator for the development and implementation model of the Gogya academic frameworks and will train thousands of teachers from within and outside the AMIT network. The facility will focus on academic excellence and be grounded in AMIT’s Torah values, with the singular goal of leveling the playing field for all Israeli children, regardless of socioeconomic background, disability or personal challenges.
The new campus will feature: The Evan and Layla Green Family Foundation Gogya Building and Program, the Educators’ Innovation Center, AMIT Headquarters, Community Athletic Complex, The Gwen Straus Junior and Senior High School for Boys, Elementary School, Welcome Center, Memorial Park for Fallen Soldiers and Outdoor Amphitheater.
To help launch this elaborate undertaking, AMIT is sponsoring an exclusive event on Tuesday evening, November 22, at Sony Hall in New York City. “An Evening With Maestro Itzhak Perlman” will feature the reigning virtuoso of the violin in an intimate performance. Accompanied by pianist Rohan De Silva, Perlman will capture highlights of his career, share his remarkable artistry and convey his irrepressible joy for making music. AMIT President Audrey Axelrod Trachtman said, “We are honored to host Itzhak Perlman at this transformative moment in AMIT’s history. His unwavering commitment to Israel and to mentoring young people speaks to what AMIT is all about.”
The event will be co-chaired by AMIT Board Members Shari and Jacob M. Safra and Joyce and Daniel Straus. It will recognize the magnificent commitment of donors Layla and Evan Green and Ellen and Stanley Wasserman.There will also be a tribute to Marguerite Werrin, z’l, a dedicated AMIT Board Member who recently passed away. The event is complimentary for AMIT Ambassador Club, Presidents Circle and Chai Society supporters. The program will include a preview of the AMIT Kfar Batya Campus and the unveiling of the AMIT Kfar Batya time capsule.
Current AMIT National President Audrey Axelrod Trachtman grew up in a family in which both her mother and grandmother were active in their AMIT chapters. Trachman earned an MBA from the Wharton School and spent over 25 years working in international strategy and management. On a life-changing finance trip to Israel with AMIT’s senior management, she quickly realized that AMIT’s values meshed with her own. She and her husband, Chaim, have always supported both Israel and Jewish educational causes. In AMIT she found one charity that addressed both causes seamlessly and with great passion and thought. In joining AMIT, Trachtman brought her experience working in different cultures, which enabled her to connect with a very broad swath of supporters using her business skills and expertise.
When asked to comment about AMIT and the exciting and challenging Kfar Batya Campus Project, Trachtman shared: “AMIT is nearly 100 years old and we have never been as strong, impactful and effective as we are right now. AMIT is a unique address where students from different religious, socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds grow individually and together—respecting and valuing each others’ differences—a trait all too lacking in today’s world.
“At AMIT, we are not afraid of evolution. We continually seek out, experiment and evaluate how best to level the playing field for all of Israel’s children. As AMIT’s 24th president, I am thrilled that the long dreamed of Kfar Batya Campus will soon become a reality. We see it as a giant step in transforming Israel as a ‘Startup Nation’ into an ‘Education Nation.’ Entering my final year as president, it is my greatest honor to lead this incredible organization together with our thousands of supporters across Israel and the United States into ‘What’s Next?’”
For more information about this event and on becoming an AMIT supporter, please visit www.amitchildren.org/Perlman
By Pearl Markovitz
