After months of planning, research, hiring staff, meeting with educators, therapists, students, parents and heads of schools, fundraising and tackling the logistics of putting together a state of the art communications network, the Eye Squad will go live this week!

With our confidential, independent 24 hour hotline, the Eye Squad will start answering the needs of post high school North Americans and other Anglos spending a year in Israel. As you will read through this update, we are trying as best we can to let everyone know that we are here to help. Parents are also welcome to contact the Eye Squad (see "Reaching the Eye Squad" below).

I look forward to sharing with you our successes and challenges as the weeks and months go by. Allow me to thank you for your interest in the Eye Squad and your desire to assist us in making a difference in the lives of the 7,000 North Americans in Israel for the year.

Sincerely yours,

Aaron S. Tirschwell
Founder and Director

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Similar to a speed dial number on your phone, Israel’s phone company has, over the past few years, introduced the Mispar Kochavit – a four digit version of a phone number preceded by the star key (*) to make it easier for people to remember an important number.

The Mispar Kochavit for the Eye Squad is *9111 and can be dialed from any phone throughout Israel, 24/7 (on Shabbat if it is an emergency).

Parents and others in the United States and Canada can reach the Eye Squad in Israel beginning February 8 by dialing toll free 866-550-4EYE.

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In order to get the message out that the Eye Squad is (as our byline states) here to listen, here to respond, and here for you, we are taking significant steps to be “out there”, three of which include:

a) Posters advertising the Eye Squad will be hung on billboards all over Jerusalem and on school info boards, a sample of which can be seen by clicking here.

b) On Saturday night, March 1, the Eye Squad will take over the Jerusalem branch of Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf and offer each student who registers a free gourmet coffee drink and a chance to win some great prizes. The staff of the Eye Squad will be making the rounds, introducing themselves and handing out magnets, pens and other giveaways with the Eye Squad information.

c) Meeting with One Year Program Administrators and Staff – We have started “making the rounds” to the various programs that cater to Diaspora post high school teens in order to make them aware of our presence and gain their feedback on how we proceed.

Multiple campaigns (both conventional and out of the box) to get the word out are taking place concurrently. I look forward to sharing them with you over the course of the next few weeks.

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It gives me great pleasure to introduce to you the dedicated team running the Eye Squad:

Aaron S. Tirschwell – Founder and Director
Aaron’s work with Jewish teens and post-high school students has spanned the globe, including North America, Australia, Russia, Eastern Europe, Turkey, and Israel. As the former Director of Youth and Outreach Services at Yeshiva University's Max Stern Division of Communal Services, and through previous positions in the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, Lincoln Square Synagogue, UJA Federation and the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation, Tirschwell has counseled thousands of high school and post-high school students throughout the world.

A graduate of Yeshiva College, Tirschwell received rabbinic ordination from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He also earned a graduate degree, Master of Public Administration, from New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service.

Aside from his role as Founder and Director of the Eye Squad, Aaron also serves as the Director of Israel Operations for the National Council of Young Israel. He lives in Efrat, Israel with his wife Marci and three children. aaron@eyesquad.org

Adina Bloomberg – Program Coordinator; Squad Member
Adina Bloomberg has been involved in informal education for over a decade, mostly through NCSY, where she served in many professional capacities from 1995 through 2006.

Adina taught at the Margolin Hebrew Academy in Memphis, TN, catering to the individual needs of students and employing creative teaching techniques. Following her aliya in 2006, Adina was a full-time madricha at Machon Maayan, a one-year program for girls in Beit Shemesh. Her work with students added to her experience with adolescents from diverse backgrounds and prepared her for working with the Eye Squad. Adina’s love for teens allows her to relate to them and help them deal with issues that they may be experiencing.

Bloomberg has a B.A. from Stern College for Women and is currently pursuing an M.A. in Expressive Arts Therapy at Lesley University in Netanya. adina@eyesquad.org

Jason Demant – Squad Member
Jason Demant is a dynamic teacher, mentor, rabbi and counselor to teenagers and young adults both in Israel and his native England. He has served as a high school teacher and held the position of Communal Director at the Woodside Park Synagogue in London and taught Jewish Studies at Kisharon, a school specializing in educating children with special needs.

Since his teenage years, Jason has been actively involved in informal education for various youth movements as well serving as a counselor on several teen trips to Israel. He has training in counseling and whilst at Woodside Park Synagogue and as a teacher in Israel and England, has enjoyed being a mentor and guide for the young adults in his care.

Jason received rabbinic ordination at Yeshivat Hamivtar, in Efrat, Israel and holds a bachelors degree in Jewish History from University College, London. At present, he is also carrying out research towards a doctorate on the educational philosophy of Rabbi Yitzhak Hutner. jason@eyesquad.org

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One of the crucial aspects of starting any hotline is knowing how to listen and how to respond. To that end, Eye Squad members attend regularly scheduled training modules delivered by experts familiar with the gamut of issues that are presented by callers.

Dr. Norman Blumenthal, Director of CHAI – Chizuk, Healing and Intervention – of Chai Lifeline, spoke with Squad Members about setting boundaries with teens. “Knowing when and how to let go is as important as knowing when to get involved and at what level” he pointed out.

Squad Members also attended the recent Nefesh Israel conference for Orthodox Mental Health Professionals.

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The Eye Squad has benefitted greatly from individuals who have shared the vision of making it a reality. It is because of them that the Eye Squad has been transformed from an idea written out on a restaurant napkin to a live, bona fide tool that our children can use while living a world away from home.

That being said, we are still in need of funding for the remainder of this year and for the planning and execution of next year's activities. Any size donation is appreciated, and you can feel free to contact us regarding funding opportunities and questions about how donations are spent.

Donations to the Eye Squad can always be made online – by clicking here. Donations to the Eye Squad are considered tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law in the United States and Israel. In the USA (501 (c)3) Tax ID #03-0381957 (Young Israel Programs - CYIR). In Israel (Article 46) Tax ID #580162691 (Council of Young Israel Rabbis).

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The following people have graciously agreed to serve as the initial members of the Eye Squad Advisory Committee. While the responsibilities committee members take on are limited (as not to overburden anyone), they nevertheless play a crucial role in the direction, scope and future of the Eye Squad.

Zev S. Berman, Chairman, Berman Consulting Group, Jamaica Estates, NY; Jerusalem, Israel
Hershel Billet, Rabbi, Young Israel of Woodmere, NY
Norman Blumenthal, PhD, Cedarhurst, NY; Director, Project Chai (Chizuk, Healing and Intervention), Chai Lifeline
Shmuley Boteach, Rabbi, author, therapist and television/radio show host
Aliza Frohlich, PhD, Director, Yeshiva Therapists Network; Director of Guidance – Middle School, Yavneh Academy, Paramus, NJ
Daniel Jacobson, Rabbi, Psy.D.; Director of Student Services, Yeshivat Shvilei HaTorah, Jerusalem Israel; private practice, Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, Israel; co-author, "Flipping Out - Myth or Fact: The Impact of the 'Year in Israel'"
Dassi Jacobson, PhD; Psychologist, private practice, Jerusalem and Gush Etzion, Israel
Robert Levinson, Chief Financial Officer, Coventry Real Estate Advisors, NY
Shlomo Z. Mostofsky, Esq., President, National Council of Young Israel
Steven Pruzansky, Rabbi, Congregation Bnai Yeshurun, Teaneck, NJ
Jerrold Rapaport, Senior Counsel, Israeli Operations, IDT Corporation, Jerusalem, Israel
Daniel Rosen, Rabbi; Director of General Studies, Frisch School, Paramus, NJ
Daniel Rotenberg, CEO, Beach Hill Capital, Miami Beach, FL
Sarah Schwartz, Former Guidance Coordinator, Yeshivah of Flatbush Joel Braverman High School, Brooklyn, NY; Jerusalem, Israel
Aaron S. Tirschwell, Founder and Director, The Eye Squad – Jerusalem, Israel

Expanding the size of the Advisory Committee is important for the growth of the Eye Squad. Please contact me with your suggestions: aaron@eyesquad.org