March 18th, 2007

Shalom alumni and friends,

Ulpan Akiva has great news to share with you. Throughout the years you have been a part of the family of Ulpan Akiva. You have shared with us your joys and suggestions for enhancing your experience at Ulpan Akiva. We are happy to inform you that the Board and staff of Ulpan Akiva are moving forward with plans for a new campus.

As you may have heard we sold two thirds of our land to make our institution free from past debts and to rebuild the Ulpan. Our Planning Committee has developed a completely new land use project to accommodate the reality of today. We intend to provide our students with classrooms and living space that enhance the wonderful learning experiences and provide state of the art teaching facilities. We have chosen a well respected architect with an understanding of the building requirements in the Netanya area and we hope to break ground by the end of this year. The campus will cover approximately 3.2 acres. We envision classrooms and offices in one building, hotel rooms for students and a suite-hotel which will be individually owned units but made available to our students as needed. This later arrangement will give us the opportunity to partially finance the building project.

As we enter this exciting time of transition we are asking our “family” and friends to help us with the immediate crucial needs for the planning and development phase. In order to proceed, we need approximately $180,000 for architect, approval of plans and permits fees. So far we have raised $20,000. This is the first stage of the project for the new campus and there will be a formal building fundraising campaign with many naming opportunities to honor our donors. Any monies raised at this time will be considered as part of that building fund drive.

Donations may be sent through the P.E.F. Israel Endowment Funds Inc. 317 Madison Avenue, Suite 607, New York, NY 10017 for Ulpan Akiva or through our website www.ulpan-akiva.org or by check to Ulpan Akiva.

We will be happy to provide you with any information you desire about the project and our plans for the future of the Ulpan. Please don’t hesitate to contact us with your questions and suggestions.

Esther Perron
Executive Director

Judith Asher M.D.,
Board Member and Chair Long Term Planning and Development Committee