The Elite Academy Students at New York’s Kennedy Airport before departing for Israel.

September 25, 2008 / 25 Elul 5768

When the Jewish Agency boasts of reaching out to all four corners of the world, it is not mere rhetoric. Twin sisters from the Pacific Ocean island of Guam, an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States, are now participating in the Jewish Agency's Elite Academy program for American Jewish high school students to complete their last three years of high school in Israel.

Lirone and Shiran Veksler joined 58 other American students on the Elite Program. The twin sisters, who are severely hearing impaired, have not let anything stop them from achieving their dream of studying in Israel and learning about what it means to be Jewish.

The Veksler twins from Guam: Shiran (left) and Lirone (right) with their sister, Ortal.

Born to an Israeli father whose import/export business led him to Guam, and an American mother whose father was a doctor on the island, Lirone and Shiran attended public school until the end of ninth grade. According to Elie Klein, the former director of the Elite Academy program who recently made aliyah, the girls' father was pained at the low standard of Guam's schools and the lack of unity, nationalism or connection to their heritage. The family went about finding a program that would best serve the needs of the girls.

"I always ask applicants to send a picture of their family when they apply, as this is very telling," says Elie. "When I saw their picture, I saw a family that was very loving and very caring. I knew that the Elite Academy was right for them."

Elie describes Lirone and Shiran as "very, very intelligent." He interviewed them via Skype so they could read his lips. "If you didn't know that they were hearing impaired it would be almost impossible to tell," says Elie. "They both wear a hearing aid, but you can't see it under their hair, and the intonation in their speech is a bit off, but not noticeably so. They are incredible lip readers and extremely impressive individuals."

The girls grilled Elie on every detail of the program. And when they and their parents were satisfied that this was indeed the best program, they signed on. "The girls wanted to find out what Israel was all about," explains Elie. "They only knew it as an idea from their father's stories."

Through the Elite program, Lirone and Shiran are studying at the Mosenzon Youth Village in central Israel, one of four schools affiliated with the Elite Academy. Like all of the participants they receive full tuition, room and board, and living expenses for all three years that they study in Israel. "This is just the beginning, but they are doing very well," says Elie.

During the first few months of the program, the Elite Academy participants study Hebrew in an intense ulpan, as well as a curriculum parallel to their Israeli peers at the Youth Village. By the end of tenth grade they are able to read, write and converse fluently in Hebrew, and in eleventh grade they are fully integrated into the Israeli classes. All of the participants receive after school tutoring and transitional assistance. They take the Israeli matriculation exams, which are recognized internationally. After graduating, the students have the option of making aliyah and serving in the IDF or studying at university in Israel, or they may choose to return home.

"The Elite Academy students are highly motivated," says Elie. "They want to be part of something larger than themselves; to feel a sense of belonging that many of them do not get in the public schools they attend in the US. For many, like the Vekslers, it is their first trip to Israel."

The Elite Academy is the only three-year, full scholarship program for American high school students in Israel. It is run in cooperation with Israel's Ministry of Education, and is an offshoot of the Jewish Agency's long-standing and very successful Naale program, in which teenagers from the former Soviet Union come to Israel before their parents and complete their high school in Israel. Since the Naale program began, more than 15,000 high school students have completed their studies in Israel. Several years ago, the program was expanded to include students from France, South Africa, and North and South America.