YCQ Grade 7 Students Selected for Truman Scholar Program; Grade 8 Students Continue Truman Scholar Program Studies

• Prev
• 1 of 3
• Next

 The Yeshiva of Central Queens (YCQ) is proud to announce that four YCQ Grade 7 students (Elianah Aminova, Emily Akbashev, Menashe Basaley, and Michael Zevulun) have been selected to participate in The Tikvah Fund’s Truman Scholar Program. Eight YCQ Grade 8 students (Chani Orenbuch, Rebecca Sisser, Sarah Leah Sullivan, Sophia Fellner-Dublin, Becky Feygin, Eliyahu Yunaev, Julian Schneider, and Max Olsen) are continuing their online Truman Scholar Program studies, now in their second year.

The Truman Scholars Program is an educational initiative of the Tikvah Fund designed for exceptional Grade 7 and 8 students in Orthodox Jewish middle schools that explores the large theme of America and Israel as two exceptional and covenantal nations.

Truman Scholars study online with Tikvah master educators to explore the Hebraic influence on the American experiment, through the careful study of great speeches, stories, court decisions, and excerpted works of political philosophy. Truman Scholars also explore the founding of modern Israel, traced from the biblical and rabbinic sources that sustained Zionist longing in exile, to the modern statesmen, poets, soldiers, and religious leaders who gave birth—and voice—to
modern Israel.

When asked why the Truman Scholarship Program is important to our community, Rabbi Mendel Jacobson, Director of the Truman Scholars Program, remarked, “The Truman Scholars Program–an educational initiative of the Tikvah Fund–is an exclusive educational opportunity for the most talented 7th and 8th graders at twenty-five Orthodox day schools and yeshivas across the United States. Students study American history, Zionism, and much more during their two years in the program. Participating in this program offers your students access to a broader community of exceptional students whom we believe will become future Jewish leaders.”

Rabbi Jacobsen continued, “We hope that Truman students will grow intellectually and in their leadership abilities. We want our students to understand the importance of authentic Jewish engagement with the ideas that shaped Judaism, Israel, and the United States. This knowledge will help them succeed in their studies, their future work, and their character development. By studying both American history and Zionism, students will acquire a deeper appreciation for the shared ideals these two countries embody, and their shared root in Jewish and Biblical themes.”