The 13 for 13 Bar Mitzvah Project challenges those
who are celebrating their Bar or Bat Mitzvah in the UK, to get creative
and help a pupil at Boys Town Jerusalem celebrate his Bar Mitzvah.

Unfortunately, due to difficult family circumstances and poverty, many Boys Town Jerusalem pupils are unable to properly celebrate their Bar Mitzvah, something many of us take for granted. However, you can help change this by raising money towards a new pair of shoes and clothes, a Tallit & Tefillin, or a modest party at this special time in their lives.

Let me tell you a bit more about Boys Town Jerusalem:

When did the school open? The school opened in 1948, the same year as the State of Israel was established.

How many pupils are there at Boys Town Jerusalem? 950 pupils, aged 12-20, attend Boys Town Jerusalem. Since it opened, more than 7,000 boys have graduated from the school.

Where is Boys Town Jerusalem? The school is situated in Bayit Vegan, a neighbourhood in southwest Jerusalem near Mount Herzl.

Where do the pupils come from? When it first opened, most pupils came from post-Holocaust Europe and North Africa, but over the years pupils have come from 45 different countries, many from Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. Currently, most are born in Israel, but some pupils studying and living at Boys Town Jerusalem are from France and the Former Soviet Union, particularly Ukraine.

What makes Boys Town Jerusalem unique? Boys Town Jerusalem provides a very high level of secular and Jewish education, focussed on technology as well as great pastoral care.

No other school in Jerusalem offers 3 freshly-prepared meals a day, a full-time professional social care team, the option of living on campus, as well as many extracurricular activities including Robotics, Thai Boxing and Dog Training. Boys Town Jerusalem is one of the only educational institutions in Israel that accepts students solely on the basis of their potential, regardless of their economic situation or ability to pay.

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