Haifa Heat owner and former NJ resident Jeffrey Rosen, right, with coach Avi Ashkenazi, said he was “delighted to work with MASA and UJC MetroWest to provide young Jewish students and adults the opportunity to intern with our professional basketball team in Israel.”
Photo by Max Kleinman
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May 28, 2009
MASA Israel Journey — a joint project of the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel — will team up with the Maccabi Haifa Heat Professional Basketball Club and United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ to provide Jewish adults 18-30 with a variety of sports-related internships opportunities in Israel.
The initiative, spearheaded by UJC and Maccabi Haifa Heat owner Jeffrey Rosen, offers the opportunity to work in a variety of sports and sports-related fields while providing a connection to Israel.
“Many young adults in our community have come to us seeking information on sports-related internships in Israel, expressing a wish to work with teams like Haifa. The number has only increased in this unstable economic climate,” said UJC MetroWest executive director Max Kleinman. “MASA is a natural partner for us in this endeavor, because it provides our young adults with the full Israel experience as they advance their careers in the sports industry.”
The Heat, which belongs to the Israeli Premier League, and UJC MetroWest have previously worked together. Using sports to enrich the lives of under-served and special needs youth in the Haifa area, they offered Haifa Hoops for Kids (www.ujcnj.org/haifahoops), a network of basketball clinics in Israel and the United States.
“We are delighted to work with MASA and UJC MetroWest to provide young Jewish students and adults the opportunity to intern with our professional basketball team in Israel,” said Rosen, a former New Jersey resident, in a statement. “It has been our goal as an organization to connect the Jewish community with Israel, and our sports internship is a unique platform to achieve that goal.”
Rosen acquired the Heat in 2007. They enjoyed their best season in many years, making it to the league finals before losing to Maccabi Tel Aviv, 85-72, on May 21.
Andrew Wilson, the Heat’s marketing director, told NJ Jewish News in an e-mail that the team is “looking for business-minded candidates and ‘out of the box’ thinkers who have some Hebrew-speaking experience. Since there are many American businesses that are based in Haifa, the program will require interns to assist in the development of corporate sponsor relationships as well as become heavily involved within the local community.”
The Heat will offer a maximum of three internship positions, but opportunities with other Israeli sports venues are also available, according to Ayelet Margolin, a MASA spokesperson. For information, contact her at 212-339-6055 or ayeletmar@masaisrael.org.
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