March of the Living MASSACHUSETTS Chapter
c/o Irv Kempner, 100 Pond Street, Sharon, MA 02067
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Mass. March of the Living Names Group Leader for 2017 Teen Trip to Poland, Israel
Aaron Kischel Brings 50+ Years of Youth Education Experience
BOSTON, MASS. (Issued Fall 2016) — Aaron L. Kischel, an award-winning community leader who has devoted his life to Jewish education and youth activities, has been named Group Leader for the Massachusetts contingent of the 2017 March of the Living (MOTL) that will take area teens next Spring on a memorable journey to Poland And Israel. (Visit https://motl-wordpress.wmkwso.easypanel.host/) The 2017 MOTL teen trip, which will involve some 10,000 teens from around the world, is set for April 19 – May 3.
The announcement was made by Irv Kempner of Sharon, Massachusetts MOTL Chairman, who hopes to recruit at least 20 Bay State 17 – 18 year-olds for the pilgrimage. MOTL, launched in 1988, has as its primary goal to teach lessons of the Holocaust through an emotional experience outside of school, and inspire participants to become knowledgeable, active leaders of the Jewish community. Groups are accompanied by local guides, historians and survivors.
The trip coincides with Holocaust Remembrance Day — with tours of Nazi concentration camps and former shtetls in Poland, followed the next week marking Israel Memorial Day and Israel Independence Day in Israel – with trips to Masada, ancient Jerusalem, modern Tel Aviv and more.
Kempner, the son of Holocaust survivors, has participated in several teen and adult MOTL trips. He said about Kischel, “As a former Director at United Synagogue Youth (USY), and as former Assistant Director for the USY Pilgrimage program where he developed engaging and memorable 7-week heritage missions that brought 800 teens to Israel, Aaron is uniquely qualified for this assignment.” Kischel served as a leader of the 2014 Southern Region MOTL trip when he accompanied 60 Florida teens.
On his appointment, Kischel said, “In my five decades in Jewish education, I have not seen a program better designed to solidify teen attachment to their history and heritage. Through MOTL, participants gain a deeper understanding of the need to ensure a strong Israel, to see what the young State of Israel has created from the desert, out of the ashes of the Holocaust. With so much misinformation and anti-Israel propaganda on college campuses today, this firsthand experience has an emotional effect that lasts a lifetime and builds leaders for the next generation.”
Among Kischel’s other activities, he serves on the Board of the Synagogue Council of Mass.; a founder of the Jewish Youth Directors Association and a past President; Member, North American Association of Executive Directors; the Commission on Learning — Combined Jewish Philanthropies, and CJP’s Boston-Haifa Connection. Also, he was a Coordinator for United Synagogues Hazak trips to Israel, and is Chair of Temple Israel’s Israel Affairs Committee. He was honored in 2012 by United Synagogue for lifetime achievements. Kischel is a former religious school teacher and congregational youth director.
For information about MOTL 2017 applications and scholarships, contact Aaron Kischel at [email protected], (781) 799-4765. To make a tax-deductible donation to provide scholarships, contact Irv Kempner: [email protected] / (617) 285-8620. Donations of $1,000 will be matched dollar for dollar by the Kempner Foundation. Tax-deductible donations may be made online: https://motl-wordpress.wmkwso.easypanel.host/. – By Stanley Hurwitz / [email protected]
