Bringing Israel to San Diego: The ‘Magic’ of Hosting a Young Emissary

By Jacob Kamaras

LA JOLLA, California — On August 29, Jane Fantel of Carmel Valley posted a heartfelt message on Facebook to mark one year since an “amazing young woman came into my life” — referring to Klil Amar, The Jewish Agency for Israel’s ShinShinit (service year emissary) at the KAVOD Charter School, Congregation Beth Am, and Camp Mountain Chai.

Amar, 19, lived with Fantel and her daughter of the same age, Hannah, during her year of building connections to Israel in the San Diego Jewish community. She departs as what Jane Fantel describes as a lifelong daughter as well as a sister to Hannah and Jane’s son, Bob, 30.

Yet for Fantel, the experience began with a number of questions.

“I had no idea what to expect before Klil arrived,” she wrote on Facebook. “How would she fit in? Would she like me, would she like my family? Would she feel comfortable in my home…her home for the next 12 months? How would she and my kids get along…especially Hannah, as they are both the same age? So many questions swirling in my head. In the end, it was like magic.”

Fantel added, “I am the luckiest person I know, having had this brilliant and kind young woman in my care for the past year.”

The “magic” is actually the result of Fantel’s own initiative. In a follow-up interview with the San Diego Jewish World, the now-retired former Director of Israel and Overseas for the Jewish Federation of San Diego County explained that she learned of the ShinShinim program at a conference in Toronto and told herself, “I am bringing this program to San Diego. And I did.”

“I was convinced that this was what our community needed, to bring Israel here to San Diego, to do it through young emissaries who were going to spread the story of their love and passion for Israel to as many Jewish institutions in San Diego as possible,” Fantel said.

Fantel spearheaded fundraising efforts for the ShinShinim program, which was not included in the federation’s budget. And so, since 2018, San Diego has welcomed 13 ShinShinim to its Jewish community in partnership with The Jewish Agency.

The ShinShinim program offers Israeli high school graduates an opportunity to delay mandatory service in the Israel Defense Forces and serve Diaspora communities, while enabling communities to meet these young Israeli ambassadors who perform meaningful service in the realm of Israel education prior to entering the army.

According to Fantel, San Diego’s ShinShinim program started with two emissaries during its first year, followed by three during the second year — although two of them needed to return to Israel early due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Amar’s ShinShinim cohort this past year featured four emissaries, the same number as the new cohort for 2021-2022. The past two cohorts have included multiple ShinShinim from Sha’ar Hanegev, San Diego’s partnership region in The Jewish Agency’s Partnership2Gether program, which connects Israeli cities and regions with Jewish communities worldwide.

In addition to their service at Jewish communal institutions, another layer of the ShinShinim program is the young emissaries’ host families.

“The idea is that the ShinShinim will understand what American Jewry is like and share their experiences when they return to Israel. They gain an understanding of the psyche of the American Jewish community, which is different,” Fantel said. “Meanwhile, for the American family, it’s a chance to get to know a real Israeli.”

Even though she brought the ShinShinim program to San Diego, Fantel said she still “had no idea really what it was going to be like to host somebody.” But the family and the emissary connected through experiences such as spending Shabbat together — when Bob, who does not live at home, would join them.

During the last two weeks of her service in San Diego, Klil Amar was joined by her mother, Ofra.

“They went up to Los Angeles for a weekend, with Hannah, and then the two of them headed out to Las Vegas for a few days,” Fantel recounted on Facebook. “All in all, ima (mother) and daughter, reunited, had a great time.”

Describing her bond with Hannah, Amar noted in a post on the federation’s website that they are the same age and “love to hang out together. We enjoy cooking and eating together and sharing lots of stories.”

The greatest part of being a ShinShinit, she said, was “connection with the community, especially with the kids! I feel a lot of personal satisfaction sharing more about Israel and helping kids learn Hebrew.”

“Israel is my home, my family, my tradition,” Amar added. “Without Israel I wouldn’t be who I am today. From the holidays and the holiness to the good people who live there, I love and appreciate Israel no matter what.”

Fantel praised San Diego’s Jewish community for understanding “the benefit of having this program in the community as a way to really build up our connection to Israel.”

“I’m grateful to The Jewish Agency for creating this program to begin with, and to our federation and our community for embracing it,” she said. “I just feel blessed.”

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Jacob Kamaras is Managing Editor of the San Diego Jewish World.