Vered Israel Cultural & Educational Program
The Vered families have established a special program to foster Israeli culture in Ottawa. The Vered Israel Cultural & Educational program presents concerts, lectures, and exhibitions in association with the Embassy of Israel, as well as other organizations.
Contact: Ella Dagan 613-798-9818 x243 edagan@jccottawa.com
Upcoming Programs
“What Did They Just Say?” Hebrew Listening Challenge
Train your ears with rapid-fire Israeli speech, overlapping dialogue, and authentic accents.
Free. Advanced registration required. To register, email edagan@jccottawa.com.
July 9 ➜ 10:30 am
“Checkout” aka Kupa Rashit
Supermarket Chaos: Fast Hebrew & Funny Moments
Learn everyday Israeli Hebrew through hilarious customer interactions, arguments, and misunderstandings at the supermarket checkout line.
Focus on real spoken Hebrew, sarcasm, and casual expressions used by workers and customers in chaotic everyday situations.
Practice quick responses, complaints, small talk, and humor through roleplay inspired by scenes from the show – conversational Hebrew without feeling like a grammar lesson.
August 11 ➜ 10:30 am
Shtisel
Slower Hebrew, Deep Conversations
Explore the understated humor and awkward social moments that make the dialogue feel authentic.
Build listening confidence through emotional family conversations and slower-paced dialogue rich in everyday vocabulary.
Explore Israeli culture, relationships, and traditions while practicing discussion-based Hebrew in a relaxed format.
Learn how Israelis express love, frustration, humor, and silence through subtle dialogue and meaningful scenes.
A Journey Through Israel Live on Zoom
Guided virtual tours with real-time Q&A
In these exciting virtual tours, the Jewish National Fund (JNF) Israel takes you through a side of Israel you’ve never seen before. A licensed tour guide leads this tour through locations in Israel, along with more off-the-beaten-path ones, too. This virtual tour takes place live on Zoom, so you can ask your tour guide questions as you go along.
Free. Email edagan@jccottawa.com to receive links.
July 15 ➜ 3 pm
Haifa: Vision & Reality
This virtual tour explores Haifa through the lens of Theodor Herzl’s 1902 novel Old-New Land, where he envisioned a futuristic, utopian society characterized by technological innovation, coexistence, and beauty. Participants examine how Herzl’s ideals, which favored urban development, reflect modern Haifa’s diverse, cosmopolitan reality.
Key Highlights of the Vision and Reality Tour (click to expand)
Urban Life and Innovation: The tour showcases Herzl’s vision of a modern, technologically advanced urban landscape, often realized today through Haifa’s role as a major R&D hub for companies like Google, Intel, and Qualcomm.
Coexistence and Culture: Highlights how Herzl’s vision of a pluralistic society is manifested in Haifa’s reputation as a city where multiple faiths and cultures, including Jewish and Arab, coexist, notably exemplified in the Beit Hagefen Arab-Jewish Culture Center.
Beauty and Architecture: Connects the planned, scenic, and aesthetic urban spaces described in Altneuland to actual locations, including the Bahá’í Gardens and Mount Carmel.
The New Society: Reflects on Herzl’s dream of a functioning, prosperous, and peaceful society, noting the ongoing realization of these ideals in contemporary Israel.
August 13 ➜ 3pm
Man, Nature, and the Environment in the Negev – An interactive virtual tour at the Ben-Gurion Desert House in Sde Boker.
See the desert home of Israel’s first prime minister, David Ben-Gurion, and his wife, Paula.
Tour the Paula and David Ben-Gurion Desert home in Sde Boker, a national heritage site. Visiting their Desert Home illustrates who Ben-Gurion was, not only as a leader and public figure, but also as a person in the privacy of his own home, wearing his pajamas and reading the newspaper.
HaKibbutz
Meet, play and grow in Hebrew.
The first social enterprise in Ottawa for Hebrew-speaking children in which they will develop values-based leadership skills, create meaningful social connections, and of course have fun, all in Hebrew.
Register
For more information contact Marina mkornblum@jccottawa.com
To apply for financial assistance click here.
Hebrew Books
The Vered Israel Cultural Program offers a collection of books in Hebrew, in addition to children’s books available at the Greenberg Families Library. To view the collection, please contact edagan@jccottawa.com.
Audio/ebooks are accessible through the Libby app.
Israeli House
Israeli House was founded by the Vered Israel Cultural & Educational Program in conjunction with the Embassy of Israel to provide Israelis and all Hebrew speaking members of the community a social and cultural outlet whereby participants can sing Hebrew songs, watch Hebrew Films, listen to Hebrew guest speakers and celebrate Jewish holidays in a Hebrew environment.
Israeli house is a great place to meet other Israelis and chat in Hebrew. Our Chanukah, Purim and Tu B’av parties are full of Israeli music and flavor. We have all the information about Israeli performers coming to Ottawa and Montreal. Join us and the 300+ Ottawa families already involved in Israeli House.
Information about events and a schedule of Israeli House meetings and celebrations are distributed via e-mail to all members. Membership is free.
