Pupils at a variety of Jewish schools across the UK recorded videos and wrote letters for Holocaust survivors as part of JNF UK’s current Rosh Hashana appeal. The shana tova greetings highlighted a key message of the appeal – that technology can make a huge difference to those suffering from loneliness.

The messages are being shared digitally by Project Connected, one of several different organisations that JNF UK is supporting this year. Project Connected partners Israeli school children with lonely survivors; as well as providing companionship, the volunteers also show the survivors how they can use computers to connect to the rest of the world.

JNF’s appeal is raising money to purchase new computers so that more survivors can benefit from modern technology.

Several schools participated in the Rosh Hashanah appeal, with hundreds of pupils writing shana tova letters wishing the recipients a sweet and happy New Year. The authors included the youngest pupils from Brodetsky School, Leeds, who also made greeting cards. The letters have been scanned by JNF UK and emailed to survivors in Israel.

Shana tova video messages to the survivors were recorded by pupils at Mathilda Marks-Kennedy School, Nancy Reuben School and the Independent Jewish Day School, who also filmed a video of their Year Six class singing Achat Sha’alti, with the lyrics taken from Psalm 27.

All the schools involved are partners of JNF’s £1.2m grant campaign to boost Israel education programmes in Jewish schools across the UK.

Yonatan Galon, CEO commented:

“It’s been very heart-warming to witness the enthusiasm of some of the youngest members of the global Jewish family sending shana tova greetings to some of the oldest.”