About Us

At the Zion Orphanage every child's physical, emotional and educational needs are a top priority. The staff uses an individualistic approach giving each child the unique framework he needs to succeed. The Orphanage also has its own in-house health clinic, staffed by a physician and a nurse.

Rabbi Blumenthal pioneered the practice in modern Israel of providing an institution in the form of a home with the warmth and care of a loving family. As their "father" he provided all their needs including learning a profession (during those initial years it was farming, today it is technology-based fields such as computers and photography). The orphanage has served thousands of graduates who then went on and integrated into the world, both in Israel and abroad. Notable graduates include David Azuly who has been serving as a member of Knesset since 1997 and Moshe Abudbal who is Mayor of the 100,000 resident city of Beit Shemesh.

Today, over 100 years later, the Zion Orphanage continues to be run with the same family atmosphere by direct descendants of Rabbi Blumenthal, Rabbi Baruch Rakovfsky (4th generation) and his mother, Mrs. Rivka Rakovsky (3rd generation). The Zion Orphanage is located in the heart of the compact Mea Shearin and Geula area of Jerusalem. When the children walk into the self-contained campus they leave the noise and activity of the city and enter an environment of children from highly troubled backgrounds that are now truly enjoying themselves as they gain the confidence and skills to re-enter the world from a position of strength.

Throughout Israel there are four types of children's dormitory settings:
  1. Educational: High school and colleges
  2. Rehabilitative: Children with emotional problems, learning disabilities, and in need of behavioral modification.
  3. Therapy: Children in need of intensive psychological treatment.
  4. Post Hospitalization: Children suffering from severe problems, one step before requiring hospitalization.
The Zion Orphanage serves those children requiring "rehabilitative" services. The student body consists of Jewish boys from secular, traditional and religious backgrounds as well as from numerous traditions including Ashkenazi, Chassidic, and Sephardic including, Yemenite, Syrian, Moroccan, Persian (Iranian), Turkish, Tunisian, and more. 		 
 
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