Issue 01 · July 2026 · Launch Issue
A Note from CEO, Dov Ben-Shimon
Friends,
Welcome to the first issue of WORLD repORT. It has been a busy couple of months, so here’s the catch-up: a new board, thanks to the leaders who came before them, our Vilnius gathering, and graduation season.
This is our new home for the stories of our global network, 80,000+ students and 200,000+ beneficiaries strong, across more than 30+ countries. We’re glad you’re here.
Dov Ben-Shimon
CEO, World ORT
FEATURED STORY
An all-girl robotics team from Dimona takes the world stage
PowerPuff Team #900, a group of 9th-grade girls from World ORT Kadima Mada in Dimona, took first place for Innovation at the FIRST LEGO League international competition, beating more than 100 teams from around the world.
Dimona is a small desert city that has historically been underserved, and thanks to a partnership between World ORT Kadima Mada and the local municipality, roughly one in four children there now take part in robotics programs from kindergarten through high school.
Before the competition, the team was welcomed by the Springfield Jewish community, a reminder of just how far this network reaches. As one mentor put it, these girls are proof that talent is everywhere, even when opportunity isn’t.
SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT
135 graduates, against very real odds
At World ORT Kadima Mada’s Kfar Silver Youth Village, just eight miles from Gaza, 135 students crossed the stage this graduation season. This is a cohort that survived the pandemic, then October 7 and the attacks that followed.
As Kfar Silver CEO Amos Gofer told the students that night, “You became the great light that broke through the cracks.” A celebration years in the making, and every one of them earned it.
FUNDRAISING FOCUS
Kyiv hit twice in a week, as a young student fights to recover
For the second time in a week, Kyiv was hit by a major missile and drone attack, killing at least 12 people and injuring 46, including five children. Everyone connected to ORT in Kyiv is safe. Weeks earlier, a 10-year-old student at ORT-Aleph Lyceum in Zaporizhzhia was seriously injured when a missile struck the grocery store where he was standing. He has undergone three surgeries so far, with more expected, and World ORT has been standing with his family every step of the way.
The school in Zaporizhzhia sits less than 20 miles from the front line, and students have been rotating through lessons in an underground shelter since the invasion began. Even so, ORT schools across Ukraine have stayed open, and enrollment at ORT School #141 in Kyiv is holding steady against a national decline, made possible by more than $5.5 million raised for the Ukraine emergency campaign since 2022. World ORT projects a need of $3 million more through 2027 to keep shelters, security, and psychological support in place.
TRAVEL OPPORTUNITY
May 16–19, 2027
Join Us in Mexico City
Our next global gathering lands in Mexico City, and it will be bigger than ever, with all new content and activities. So there’s a reason to come whoever you are and however you’re connected to World ORT.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A New Chapter in Leadership
At our Vilnius gathering, Jon Levine was formally recognized as Board Chair of a unified World ORT. Working in close partnership with Dov, Jon will focus on governance, strategic alignment, and long-term stewardship as World ORT begins its first chapter as one global organization .
We also pause to say thank you. Michael Perlmuter and Robert Grey, who chaired ORT America and World ORT respectively, concluded their tenures at this gathering. Their steady, principled leadership guided our organization through years of growth and complexity.
By the Numbers
80,000+
Students
200,000+
Beneficiaries
30+
Countries
What’s Next
That covers our first big stretch together. Thanks for reading, and we’ll be back next month with more.