World ORT's work in Israel began with training programs for the 90,000 Jews in Europe’s Displaced Persons camps designed to prepare them for life in a new land. Many survivors ended up in Israel where World ORT programs continued in the years after World War II. With refugees arriving from Eastern Europe, they needed skills to make their way in what was to become a Jewish homeland. As the new country grew, training programs were started in a variety of fields, high schools opened and eventually World ORT assisted with opening several colleges. By the late 20th century, Israel was changing and evolving quickly and so World ORT changed and adapted its programs to the country’s needs and to its particular education system.

Today.  World ORT provides high quality education in modern Israel fuelling the nation’s industry and economy. By continuously reviewing and updating its teaching strategies, World ORT ensures that its educational offerings remain up-to-date and relevant, tailored to meet the ongoing and evolving needs of the country and its population. World ORT offers leading science and technology education, providing online courses, values education, social services, computer technology training and an environment of hope for the most at-risk students. In addition, students had opportunities through a range of internships, competitions and international experiences. All of these allow students to compete successfully in the 21st-century job market.  Read more about World ORT projects in Israel

But World ORT provides more than classroom environments and course work. A philosophy of World ORT since its creation has been to provide a nurturing environment, one where marginal students are empowered to achieve as well as learn the importance of giving back to those less fortunate. But students must have their basic needs met first. Students in Israel are required to wear uniform shirts and purchase their own textbooks. Thus, students in the lower socioeconomic level of society may not attend school unless they receive assistance because they cannot afford the required uniforms, textbooks and school supplies. Some students may also receive athletic shoes so they are properly dressed to participate in physical fitness activities. When identified by the school, these students are eligible for ORT America's Students at Risk program, which provides text books, school supplies school uniforms, hot meals, transportation and sports shoes.

Tomorrow.  As a country, Israel has a large concentration of high tech industries and a need for engineers to support its business infrastructure. With Israel’s worldwide ranking in education slowly declining, World ORT began looking at new ways to approach education in Israel during 2006 and prepare a workforce better able to meet the country’s high tech needs. Working in cooperation with Ministry of Education, World ORT launched a number of new programs in Israel at low performing schools in need of the kinds of programs that would benefit from World ORT’s established and customized approach. That program - called Kadima Mada (Hebrew for Science Journey) has gone from success to success, expanding into new schools, new areas and reaching tens of thousands of new students every month.

World ORT Expands Its Smart Class Surge in Israel (August 9, 2010) Thanks to a $2.2 million donation by Canadian philanthropist Seymour Schulich – his second investment in the “Smart Class” technology program in just four months – World ORT is spearheading, through its Kadima Mada project, the introduction of interactive educational technology in Israel’s under-resourced southern communities.

ORT Program Successfully Uses Therapeutic Technology to Treat Ailing Children  (August 4, 2010) World ORT’s Kadima Mada/Kav Or program in Israel is providing digital cameras and computers to hospitalized children to help them articulate their feelings and aid in the mental healing process as well as their physical well-being.

Kadima Mada Students Mark International Science Day (March 16, 2010) As the focal point of their extra-curricular science-oriented activities, Kadima Mada students from across Israel joined with 10,000 others to mark International Science Day, March 14, Albert Einstein’s birthday.

World ORT Invests in Project to Make Israel Smart (Feb 2010) At the forefront of an educational and social revolution in Israel, World ORT, through its Kadima Mada (Science Journey) program, is implementing a three-year, multi-million dollar project to install more than 400 “smart classrooms” in the country’s north, benefiting about 40,000 students every year.

New Opportunities For Women In Tirat HaCarmel (Feb 2010) World ORT's Kadima Mada initiatives are helping women of Tirat HaCarmel who are struggling with economic hardship to gain new marketable skills and find new job opportunities.

Interactive Exhibits Prove Magnetic Attraction For Students: World ORT has initiated a Mobile Science Museum, a series of five interactive exhibitions which will travel between host towns in Israel to entice children to study science.

Kadima Mada (Science Journey)  - A new multi-million dollar multi-year program that delivers science and technology education, computer labs, and teacher empowerment centers to 30 low performing schools in border areas of Israel never before touched by World ORT.

Rosner Science and English Summer School - A project to bring Israeli students to London for two weeks to participate in an intensive English language study program, as well offers social programs, such as visits to London’s science and technology museums. This course prepares students for a further two years of involvement as they will go on to tutor younger students who are struggling with English language.

International Technology Competition - In cooperation with the Weizmann Institute of Science, high school seniors from around the world put their knowledge and imagination to work designing a locking mechanism for a safe that can only be opened by applying a scientific technological principle.

Keren Tendler Fund and Memorial Garden - Created in memory of Keren Tendler, a female flight mechanic who lost her life during the 2006 conflict with Hezbollah, to encourage women to go into the male-dominated field of flight mechanics.

World Hatter Technology Seminar - Scholarships for Israeli teachers to attend the ORT Hatter Technology Seminar held annually in London, which develops professional skills including seminars in bioscience, its applications and curriculum implications, as well as future employment opportunities for students who receive instruction in this subject.

Raya Cowan ORT International Summer School at Weizmann Institute of Science - Enables gifted 11th-grade ORT students from around the globe to attend the Weizmann Institute of Science in the Young@Science Unit at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel for three weeks where they will study intensively with distinguished scientists and be exposed to cutting edge techniques in science and technology research and development. The program includes intensive laboratory work, lectures, tours and social activities.

World ORT Science and Technology Excellence Award - In cooperation with the Weizmann Institute of Science, World ORT established special prizes to acknowledge science and technology achievement among Israel’s high school seniors for a research project. The winning students receive a university scholarship in the fields of science and technology.

D. Dan and Betty Kahn Science Center - Through a generous contribution from D. Dan and Betty Kahn of Michigan, World ORT will renovate the science building of Rodman High School in Kiryat Yam to benefit the 1,000 students of Rodman High School as well as the surrounding community through a series of educational outreach programs. The Technion is a partner in this project providing World ORT with curriculum expertise and training.

Additional programs and projects include:

Holocaust Educational Programs - Holocaust and tolerance educational Internet program under the auspices of the Holocaust Museums in Israel.

Ethiopian National Project - World ORT is working in close partnership with an organization called the Ethiopian National Project and playing a significant role in supporting ongoing activities with Ethiopian immigrants in Israel. For example, World ORT will be sponsoring Ethiopian students in order for them to improve their skills in the science and technology fields specifically to help them improve their career prospects.

Special Commemorative Fund - World ORT established a special memorial fund in honor of three soldiers who were killed during the ambush in June 2006 that ignited the second Lebanese War. The fund is being managed by Tomer Weinberg who heroically survived the ambush and whose friends perished. Tomer is a proud graduate of Kiryat Motzkin and now attends Braude College. The fund will provide for the establishment of science and technology libraries in the cities where the fallen soldiers graduated from their studies.