United Synagogue Youth

United Synagogue Youth
Abbreviation	USY
Formation	1951[citation needed]
Type	Youth Organization
Purpose/focus	Religious
Headquarters	New York, NY 10017
Location	820 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Region served	North America[citation needed]
Membership	15,000[citation needed]
Director	Rabbi Dave Levy[citation needed]
Main organ	International Executive Board, International General Board
Parent organization	United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ)
Affiliations	Conservative Judaism
Website	http://usy.org/

Old USY logo

United Synagogue Youth (USY) is the youth movement of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. USY operates in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Uganda. The goal of the movement is to bring Jewish teenagers closer to Judaism and Israel through learning and social interaction. The organization was founded in 1951, under the auspices of the Youth Commission of what was then the United Synagogue of America.^{[citation needed]}

Summer programs

USY runs summer programs across the United States and in Europe with all European trips going to Israel.

High school programs

USY High is an eight-week program in which high schoolers (juniors and seniors) live at the Israel Goldstein Youth Village in Jerusalem, studying and exploring Israel. In the campus classroom, participants are introduced chronologically to each historical period. Campus class time is interspersed with time experiencing the "classroom without walls" - the Land of Israel. Participants learn in an ancient cave, a mountain fortress, an army bunker, riding on a camel, or at the beach. It is the sister program of Tichon Ramah Yerushalaim (TRY), which is done by Ramah. TRY is seventeen weeks long and is for sophomores and juniors.

USY International Convention

USY holds an annual convention during the winter school vacation season. The Convention includes regional delegations totaling approximately 800 teenagers ages 15 –18, plus an additional 150 staff members. The location changes from year to year, covering several regions of North America over a period of a few years.

This year’s International Convention will take place in New Orleans, December 22–26, 2013. During the week of the Convention, the teenagers (or as they are affectionately known "the USYers") participate in community service, educational, leadership, religious, cultural and social pro- gramming. The teenagers involved in our programs are fun to work with, and have a superb track record! The USY International Convention is an incredibly powerful program, having an extraordinary impact on its participants. It is a program piece of which our International organization and our parent organization are particularly proud.

This year's Co-Chairs (2013) for International Convention are Gaby Roth of the Hagalil Region (Northern New Jersey), and Jake Wassermann of EPA(Eastern PA Region).

Please visit www.usy.org/ic for more information about the extraordinary International Convention

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Abraham Joshua Heschel Honor Society

The Heschel Honor Society is a club for USY members of secular and religious academic excellence. The club is named after Abraham Joshua Heschel. Members meet during regional conventions to discuss topics that Heschel wrote about. The Heschel Honor society holds an annual convention in March. The 2012 Heschel Kinnus will be held in Washington DC.

Hechalutzim

Hechalutzim is a club for USY members interested in Israel affairs and Religious Zionism. Members of Hechalutzim convene for regional weekends and special programs. In addition, a delegate from each region is sent to Israel with the Hechalutzim Israel Seminar.

Regions

Name of region	Details of name	Areas covered
CHUSY	Chicagoland USY	Northern Illinois, Milwaukee, Madison
CRUSY	Central Region USY	Ohio, Western Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, West Virginia
ECRUSY	Eastern Canadian Region USY	Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut
Emtza USY	Hebrew: אמצע, "middle"	Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Western Wisconsin, Manitoba
EPA USY	Eastern Pennsylvania USY	Eastern and Northern Pennsylvania from Harrisburg to Scranton
Far West USY		Southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Hawaii, Utah
Hagalil USY	Hebrew: הגליל, "the Galilee"	Northern and Central New Jersey
Hagesher USY	Hebrew: הגשר, "The bridge"	Philadelphia area, Main Line, Brynmawr, South Jersey.
Hanefesh USY	Hebrew: הנפש, "the soul"	Connecticut and Western Massachusetts
Hanegev USY	Hebrew: הנגב, "the Negev"	Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Tennessee, Southern North Carolina, South Carolina, and Puerto Rico, too.
METNY USY	Metropolitan New York USY	Greater New York City and Long Island
NERUSY	New England Region USY	Eastern Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island
New Frontier USY		Northern California, Reno, Nevada
Pinwheel USY	Pacific Northwest USY	Oregon, Washington, Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, Yukon, British Columbia, Alberta
Seaboard USY		Maryland, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Northeastern North Carolina
SWUSY	Southwest USY	Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mexico
Tzafon USY	Hebrew: צפון, "North"	Upstate New York, Western Massachusetts, Southwestern Vermont

In Pop Culture

In the fictional blog A Day in the life of the Mac-Attack written by BlogSpot User The Jewish Blogger, the protagonists are all involved in fictional West Coast USY.

See also

• Judaism
• Conservative Judaism
• KOACH, the college outreach arm of USCJ
• Zionism
• North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), the youth group of Reform Judaism
• National Conference of Synagogue Youth (NCSY), the youth group of Orthodox Judaism

External links

• United Synagogue Youth (USY)
• Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel
• The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USY's parent organization)
• Project Reconnect The Alumni Association of USY and all other Conservative Movement Programs
• A Day in the Life of the Mac-Attack A fictional blog about USYers