The National Center of French-Speaking Students in Israel

The National Center of French-Speaking Students in Israel (CNEF, from the French Centre National de Etudiants Francophones en Israël; Hebrew: מגשימי תקוותנו, "Those Who Fulfill Our Hopes") is a non-profit association based in Jerusalem that works for the absorption of immigrant students from French-speaking countries. It was founded in 1987 by a group of graduates of the Tikvatenu youth movement — the youth movement of the Consistoire — who had made aliyah to Israel and wanted to continue their volunteer activity by helping immigrant students, most of whom arrived alone, integrate into Israeli higher-education institutions. The founders believed that successful absorption in the first years is the key to a newcomer's sense of belonging to the country, and therefore focused on students in particular, given the high value placed on academic success in France. In its early years the organization operated on a relatively small scale, supporting students mainly on campuses in Jerusalem and at Bar-Ilan University. Over the years it broadened its activity to additional young French-speaking audiences. Today it serves more than a thousand young people in various institutions in Israel, and its activity has expanded into other areas of immigrant absorption. Its office is located on the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall near Zion Square in Jerusalem and is open to the public. CNEF's work is carried out on two main tracks: guidance for young people before aliyah, and support for students and young people in their first years in the country. The campus activity takes place mainly in Jerusalem, the central region, Ariel and the north, and is based on a volunteer student staff including five regional coordinators and about thirty counselors (madrikhim) spread around the country. All activities are built on volunteer teams who made aliyah in recent years. The organization also runs an information center that provides advice and guidance to about 500 young people a year — both new immigrants and participants in various programs staying in Israel (boarding schools, the Jewish Agency's Masa project and others) — through personal meetings and phone calls in Israel and via its website and email service abroad. It sends information teams to fairs in Israel and overseas aimed at audiences interested in aliyah. Beyond counseling, CNEF organizes seminars, national and regional Shabbatot, lectures on Israeli society and current affairs at campuses in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, and social activities around holidays and special events. Among its flagship events are the opening conference of the academic year, with an information fair on aliyah and absorption and a performance by a well-known Israeli artist, and Independence Day activities including a mass prayer at the Western Wall followed by a large group hike. It also runs volunteering and community-contribution activities, such as packing food for needy families, lighting Hanukkah candles with Holocaust survivors and hospital visits. Since 2009 it has maintained an organized volunteer team of students who served in the IDF to support lone soldiers, and it has opened scholarships with other bodies to assist students in financial difficulty. In 2010 it campaigned, together with other organizations, in Knesset committee meetings to ease the psychometric entrance exam for immigrants, resulting in an added test date in foreign languages and a reduction in the number of questions without cutting exam time.

CNEF was founded in 1987 by a group of graduates of the Tikvatenu youth movement — the youth movement of the Consistoire — who had made aliyah to Israel and sought to continue their volunteer activity by assisting immigrant students, most of whom arrived alone, in their absorption into Israeli higher-education institutions. The founders acted on the belief that successful absorption during the first years in the country is the key to a newcomer's sense of belonging and loyalty to the state. They focused on the student population in particular because of the great importance attributed in France to success in academic studies, which effectively serves as a "reality test" for the immigrant's integration — especially in the eyes of parents, who in many cases were reluctant or even opposed to their children's aliyah. In its early years the organization operated on a relatively limited scale, providing support to students mainly on campuses in Jerusalem and at Bar-Ilan University. Over the years it expanded its activity and reached out to additional young French-speaking target audiences. Today it handles more than a thousand young people in various institutions in the country, and its activity has been broadened into additional areas of immigrant absorption. Its office is located on the Ben Yehuda pedestrian mall near Zion Square in Jerusalem and is open to the public. The organization's activity is conducted on two planes. The first is guidance for young people before aliyah. The second is support for students and young people in their first years in the country; the main campus activity takes place in the Jerusalem, central, Ariel and northern regions, and is based on a volunteer student staff including five regional coordinators and about thirty counselors spread around the country. All of the organization's activities are based on volunteer teams who made aliyah in recent years. CNEF's guidance and counseling work includes an information center that provides advice and orientation to about 500 young people a year — both new immigrants and participants in various programs staying in Israel (boarding schools, the Jewish Agency's Masa project and others). The service is provided in Israel through personal meetings and telephone calls, and abroad through a website and email service. The center answers questions that arise from the decision to make aliyah through integration into various institutions. The organization also sends information teams to fairs in Israel and abroad aimed at different audiences interested in aliyah, with emphasis on the specific field in which they are interested. As part of its activity, the organization holds Shabbatot for young people in various places in the country, alongside regional Shabbatot in a smaller forum. These Shabbatot enable encounters between younger and older students and thereby help the young people integrate into the country. The national Shabbat program has a fixed order, including a walking tour in the area where the Shabbat is held on Friday, and during Shabbat a selected issue on current topics is discussed through debates and outside lecturers. The organization holds social activities for students around the country, the most prominent of which take place around holidays and special events. Among the main activities are the opening conference of the academic year — a festive, well-attended conference for all young French people staying in the country, featuring an information fair about aliyah and absorption, and at the end of the evening a different famous Israeli artist performs each year — and the marking of Independence Day, with a mass prayer at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on the eve of Independence Day followed immediately by a large group hike including overnight stay and a walking route. The activities are intended to fill the void created in the family cell of the young people, especially around holidays. The organization attaches great importance to students seeing these moments as their new home in Israel. The organization holds lectures on various topics on campuses around the country, in order to expand knowledge on issues related to the country and Israeli society. The lectures take place in three main centers: Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa, varying according to demand and the type of population. From time to time, volunteer activities are organized in the various activity areas, such as packing food for needy families, lighting Hanukkah candles with Holocaust survivors, visiting hospitals and more. Special emphasis is placed on this type of activity because it allows the immigrant to feel capable of maintaining a relationship of giving with the Israeli community rather than one of dependence, as is often the case in their routine. Over the years CNEF has also supported lone soldiers, and in 2009 an organized volunteer team was established, composed of students who had served in the IDF, with the aim of supporting them. The team works intensively, visiting soldiers' ceremonies, maintaining continuous contact with them, and helping them cope with the military system, housing arrangements and more. In cooperation with other bodies, the organization opened assistance for students in financial difficulty through scholarships. In 2010, following the difficulties faced by immigrants in the psychometric exam, CNEF, together with other bodies, embarked on a campaign of committee meetings vis-à-vis the Knesset aimed at changing the format of the exam in foreign languages. Among the main claims raised before MK Zevulun Orlev were that the exam score among immigrants (except English speakers) is 10%–20% lower than the Israeli average; that there is a distortion in the translation of French matriculation scores into Israeli ones, since Israeli higher-education institutions weigh the French score "dry" rather than relatively as in France, so that an immigrant whose matriculation average is considered good in France receives a low score in the Israeli assessment and finds many doors closed, preferring to study in France; that the Hebrew exam is held five times a year while most foreign-language exams are held only once a year, and that the number of questions in the translated questionnaire is greater than in Hebrew and the translation of a text may be longer than the Hebrew, yet the time limit remains unchanged; and that preparation for the exam in foreign languages is not as professional as preparation for Hebrew exams due to low demand and lack of competition. These data increased the fear of making aliyah and prevented many young people from immigrating. After meetings and discussions in the Knesset, three significant decisions were made: adding a date for the exam in foreign languages; reducing the number of questions in the exam without cutting exam time; and today a larger number of simulations in foreign languages is published on the website of the National Institute for Testing and Evaluation to ease the way for immigrants. CNEF's supporters and related bodies include the Rashi Foundation, the Jewish Agency, the Ministry of Absorption, the Administration for Immigrant Students in the Ministry of Absorption, the FSJU French Foundation, AMI, the Jerusalem Municipality and the Haifa Municipality.

• 2022

  CNEF holds its "Zehut" ceremony, granting identity documents to 35 new young female olim in partnership with the Jewish Agency's Global Center and the Ministry of the Interior.

• 2021

  CNEF hosts a Hanukkah gathering at its premises with more than twenty students, soldiers and national-service girls, including a guided tour of the Western Wall tunnels.

• 2016

  Aliyah Day is instituted in Israel; CNEF's team visits the Knesset for a meeting of organizations for French-speaking olim initiated by Yomtob Kalfon.

• 2010

  CNEF campaigns in Knesset committee meetings to ease the psychometric exam for immigrants, leading to an added foreign-language test date and fewer questions without cutting exam time.

• 2009

  An organized volunteer team of students who served in the IDF is established to support lone soldiers.

• 1987

  CNEF is founded by graduates of the Tikvatenu youth movement to help French-speaking immigrant students integrate into Israeli higher education.

A volunteer-based, non-profit home for French-speaking young immigrants and students in Israel, focused on absorption, guidance and community.

• Information and orientation center

  Provides advice and guidance to about 500 young people a year, in Israel through personal meetings and phone calls and abroad via website and email.

• Campus activities and counseling

  Volunteer student staff including five regional coordinators and about thirty counselors active on campuses in Jerusalem, the central region, Ariel and the north.

• National and regional Shabbatot

  Shabbat gatherings with a fixed program including a Friday walking tour and Shabbat discussions on current issues with outside lecturers.

• Lectures on Israeli society

  Lectures held in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Haifa to expand knowledge on issues related to the country and Israeli society.

• Holiday and social events

  Opening conference of the academic year, Independence Day prayer and hike, Lag BaOmer evening and other events.

• Volunteering and community contribution

  Activities such as packing food for needy families, lighting Hanukkah candles with Holocaust survivors and hospital visits.

• Support for lone soldiers

  A volunteer team of former IDF students visits soldiers' ceremonies, maintains contact and helps with military system and housing arrangements.

• Scholarships

  Assistance for students in financial difficulty, opened in cooperation with other bodies.

1. 1CNEF קנף - Le CNEF, la maison des jeunes olim francophonescnef.org
2. 2A propos du CNEF - CNEF קנףcnef.org
3. 3The National Center of French-Speaking Students in Israelwikidata.org
4. 4מגשימי תקוותנוhe.wikipedia.org