At the recent Jewish Student Union of St. Louis (JSU) Gala, over 250 people gathered to pay tribute to Galia and Milton Movitz, Melanie and Dan Winograd and Sean Rochester for their dedication and commitment in inspiring Jewish youth to strengthen their Jewish identity and connection to Israel. Part of the evening was the dedication and naming of JSU’s internationally recognized Israel education and advocacy program, the Senator John Danforth Israel Scholars program by the Movitzes.  

The Israel Scholars program was created for teenagers looking to develop their understanding of Israel from a historical, modern, and political perspective. The 13-session series offers students a multimodal approach to learning, utilizing engaging speakers from leading Israel advocacy and education organizations around the country, as well as community leaders. The curriculum is designed to engender a greater understanding of Israeli current affairs and ethical issues through lively, challenging and interactive programming.

The Movitzes are well known in the St. Louis Jewish community for their dedication to building a strong and vibrant Jewish future. They have been consistent supporters of formal Jewish educational programs like day schools as well as informal educational venues, and have served as volunteers as well as in leadership roles, spearheading a variety of Jewish efforts. Milton Movitz is also past president of the Jewish Light Board of Trustees.

“As a result of their generosity, the program will now be named the Galia and Milton Movitz Senator John Danforth Israel Scholars program, or the Movitz-Danforth Israel Scholars program for short,” JSU Board Chair Dr. Michael Rauchman.

“Our youth must acquire the knowledge and ability to respond to the challenges facing our people and our nation, with our neighbors in the Middle East and with the world at large.” Movitz said in explaining their passion for the Israel Scholars program.  

In three semesters, the Danforth Israel Scholars Program has graduated 87 Israel Scholars. Thirty-seven have participated on AIPAC’s Policy Conference in Washington, D.C., while others have become student interns for Israel advocacy organizations such as StandWithUS, CAMERA and others. Many have become leaders on their college campuses in the battle against the BDS and delegitimization movements. Last summer, JSU partnered with Jerusalem U, a leader in Israel education and advocacy to further enhance the curriculum and make the curriculum available internationally. 

“As an Israeli Sabra, it gave us great honor to be associated with and support a program that focuses on the study of the history of the land and State of Israel and have our name alongside a good friend of our people with Senator John Danforth,” said Galia Movitz.

“The special gift of the Galia and Milton will enable JSU to not only continue this important and extremely successful program, but will enable us to take it to the next level,” said JSU of St. Louis Director Rabbi Mike Rovinsky.   

For more information on the Movitz-Danforth Israel Scholars Program, visit jsustl.org, call 314-696-0578 or email [email protected].