When he first became involved with ORT Israel as a student in 1960, Zvi Peleg could never have imagined that four decades later ORT would still be instrumental in his education. But, says the newly appointed director general of ORT Israel, with ORT’s enormous network of schools and teachers, there’s always something new to discover.

“Back in 1960, it was uncommon for a religious student to attend an ORT school,” says Peleg patting his kippa. “But my father, whose family survived the Holocaust, felt it was critical to be educated in a skill. And he was right; it was a good education for me—and I’m still involved.” Peleg puts his entire being into a network of schools that educates nearly 100,000 students a year.

Case in point: Peleg designed the Sunflowers Project, which pairs ORT Israel high school students with hospitalized children receiving cancer treatment. Removed from friends and the normal, day-to-day activities of children, young patients can easily lose hope. Utilizing the technology taught to them by ORT, students visit the children in their hospital rooms to provide them with a variety of computer-based skills and activities, whether that’s using the Internet for research or to reach out.

“I feel it is important to the soul to give back,” he says. “I want to be a part of it. And today, there are 700 student-volunteers in this project, from Beersheva in the south to Afula in the north.”

For Peleg, a heartwarming program creates a well-rounded student, which has some major implications for the future. Read on.

What makes ORT Israel so different from other educational approaches or networks?
When I began in my position, I had to meet with more than 50 mayors throughout Israel. That’s exactly what they asked: What makes ORT Israel unique? And the answer involves values. Most educators speak of academic achievement: awards, grades, the bagrut. Of course, academic achievement is important to ORT Israel as well, but values are also critical. We educate our students to be involved in the community, to help one another, to be human beings.

How?
We’re in the process of starting a youth movement, where the young people of ORT Israel can harness their power to make some truly positive change. It’s not ideological, and it’s not political. It’s about giving back. For example, we will “adopt” primary schools in order to help the students advance. Often parents can’t afford tutors; our students will help them with their homework. We will build computer centers in the primary schools and our ORT students will help teach the students how to use them. We’ll bring these primary school students to our schools to see our labs, to experience science and technology up close.

It’s about volunteering in the academic sense?
Yes, and outside the educational field, as well. When we built Israel in 1949 and the 50s, our young people were instrumental—think of the youth brigade. We would like to see our high school students serve as security guards once a month for the kindergartens and primary schools, where parents want protection. I’ve met with the police and I’ve met with the army, and they will help train our students, who will work in 18 different towns in Israel.

It sounds like ORT Israel students will be adopting the students of tomorrow. So who adopts them?
They, too, will have mentors. Every school in ORT will be adopted by a high-tech industry. Technology changes rapidly and the Ministry of Education can’t keep up. If we want to be academic leaders, we need to constantly evolve our curriculum. I went to top companies and asked them to support us, and they asked how much money it would cost. I told them that I just want their brains. Send top-level engineers from their Research and Development Departments to lecture on recent developments. On holidays, take our top students to those companies and let them learn and work. I asked the army to participate the same way, as well as colleges and universities, which would adopt schools. We’re working hard to develop the relationship with the municipalities. It’s not about money, it’s about quality.