The beginning of ORT's operation in Israel is traditionally associated with Dr.Aaron Syngalowski,then head of the organization. Syngalowski came to Israel in 1948, and the first shools opened here a few months later.It was a period of mass immigration, with grave challenges on the agenda including absorption, empioyment, housing, education, social integration.



ORT came forward, locating places where immigrants could study, mobilizing teachers and instructors, purchasing equipment, and above all, creating a standing for an organization whose history was not associated with the Zionist cause and which consequently encountered a somewhat reluctant attitude, particularly in light of its lack of funds.


The beginnings, one may summarize, were modest: Classrooms in an abandoned building in Jaffa and another site on Ha-Neviim Street in Jerusalem. As time went on, ties were formed with the Ministry of Education, the Kibbutz Movement, the Ministry of Defence concerning soldiers discharged following the War of Independence.

ORT's activity gained momentum. As an apolitical organization, ORT's only aim was to aid the national economy and to contribute to the well-being of the individual.




ORT's first employees and activities needed lots of imagination, sacrifice, faith, and most of all - pioneer spirit to withstand the many hardships. In the wake of the many courses for discharged soldiers, an evening class was also opened (nicknamed ‘the Bulgarian Class’ after the common country of origin of its members), as well as a day class. This scholastic framework developed into a four-year school under the supervision of the Ministry of Education. The study streams it offered were Mechanized Industry, Electro-Mechanics and Radio Technics.


The modest school in Jaffa quickly became a milestone, both in the history of ORT and in that of modern technological education in the State of Israel. The ideology bestowd by ORT treated labor as a supreme ideal. The value placed on labor led to the development of new study streams as required by the economy, in the best pioneer tradition of those who built the State.

The Network's schools began to fulfill a variety of roles beyong that of providing trained manpower for industry; today, they comprise an educational framework for youngsters, thereby contributing to the formation of a united Israeli society, molded by the Ingathering of the Exiles from all corners of the world.

This, then, is the greatest paradox: despite its non-Zionist history, it is precisely in Israel that ORT has succeeded in fully achieving the goals and accomplishing the visions of the founding fathers, transforming the Jewish People with its myriad trades and callings into a fruitful, self-sufficient, working nation.


The dynamic development of ORT Israel stems from the efficiency of its manpower. The creative work of teachers and educators has produced far-reaching pedagogical achievements in every field. Curricula and teaching tools have been developed, which meet the needs of the technological era. Along with technological and scientific instruction ORT has consolidated its successful efforts in the humanities and the exact sciences, and it is the combination of all of these that creates the whole human resource so vital to the generation of the 21_st century. The success of this undertaking is proven by the great demand for ORT graduates in every technological area of industry, services, and the military.

Great importance is placed on social and ideological education and on the bond with Diaspora Jewry. The ambition of ORT Israel is to provide a rich cultural and humanistic portfolio to every ORT graduate, in addition to the general and scientific technological education he or she acquires.


The ORT Israel Network is nationwide, extending from Sasa on the northern border to Eilat at the southern tip of the Negev, offering a rich variety of schools - from special education centers for culturally deprived youth to technological and scientific comprehensive schools, colleges for technicians and practical engineers, and accredited academic institutions authorized to grant a Bachelor's degree. To fulfill the ideal of "education for all", the Network has developed these various models of scholastic frameworks which provide a suitable solution for a broad variety of students, both youngsters and adults. Curricula are adapted to the rapid changes constantly characterizing our technological and scientific sphere.

Aiding the ORT Network in its mission are the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Ministry of Labor and Welfare, the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption, the Israel Defence Forces, industrial plants, the Jewish Agency, the Joint and a wide gamut of other organizations and institutions.

Over eighty thousand pupils study in the ORT Israel system every year; the Nrtwork's 400,000 graduates are living proof of ORT's dedication and to the immense significance of technological and scientific education. Without it there would be no security, no industry, no immigrant absorption, no growth.