This article was originally published in Fed5. Read the original article here.
If you have a high school senior thinking about a gap year in Israel, JumpSpark has wonderful news! The Zalik Foundation has renewed support for a second year of the Atlanta Israel Gap Year Scholarship pilot. For a second year in a row, select high school students will be generously awarded $10,000 towards a gap year program in Israel for fall 2022. JumpSpark will continue to manage this program which provides generous scholarships for a limited number of pre-approved, eligible Gap Year programs. (Learn more about eligible Gap Year options here).
Right now, 25 lucky students from Atlanta are having Gap Year experiences in Israel. They are exploring the desert, volunteering on kibbutzim, visiting high-tech startups, engaging in meaningful social action, and connecting with Israeli history. One of them is Ariel Goldt, a graduate of Walton HS, who chose the Nativ program for her gap year in Israel. She posts weekly on her adventures. Read some of her excerpts below.
Week 10: Last Shabbat on the Moshav (cooperative community) was such an amazing experience. I played Settlers of Catan entirely in Hebrew with 10-year-olds who didn’t know English while I didn’t know any Hebrew. Somehow, they won but I think something must have gotten lost in translation … or maybe the 10-year-old actually did beat me, but I guess we’ll never know! The family we stayed with did not speak English except for the grandma. The grandma’s daughter, her husband, and seven kids were also staying at her house this weekend. Oh, and a few other of her daughters were there so it was a busy house, but I loved it. Something exciting is always happening and I got to play with the baby all weekend! On Saturday we walked around and got a tour of the Moshav. It was beautiful.
Week 8: On Wednesday we went to a MASA event in Tel Aviv. It was SO much fun! The venue was so cute and Hativah 6 performed for us! We have been listening to their music a lot here, so it was so much fun to see them live! All of the gap year programs that are funded through MASA were there and it was nice to see all of our friends that are in Israel. That night we had a girls’ night in! We set up the laptop and watched Pitch Perfect, the first one obviously, because it’s the best. On Thursday we did some exploring around Jerusalem and found this pretty park! We walked around the park then grabbed lunch at the cutest cafe! That night our camp friend Jonathan was getting sworn into the IDF (Israel Defense Forces), so we went to his ceremony at the Kotel! I loved getting to see him and it was so special we got to be there for him!
Week: 7: This week we started our first official classes at Hebrew University! Now we have classes with other people in the international school. I have never been in one classroom with so many different denominations. Everyone I talked to was from a different country and it’s amazing hearing everyone’s unique perspective on the things we are learning in class! I am excited for the rest of the semester! The other night we last minute decided to go to a Hapoel basketball game! We lost at the buzzer, but it was still a really fun game!
Shalom! My name is Zoe, I’m 18 years old, and I’m from Atlanta, Georgia. I currently live in Yokneam Illit in a communal apartment with six other people and am a Shinshinit, which means I’m participating in a “year of service”. In the mornings, I work in a high school and help students with English and in the afternoons, I help out in a community center. As a shinshinit, I get the amazing opportunity to live and connect with Israelis and create a positive impact in my community.
I’ve had several “wow moments,” but I think one of my favorites was on our first “komuna Shabbat,” which is when once a month, we all stay in the apartment and spend a Shabbat together. On Friday morning, we made a group trip to the mall, and while we were there, we found a puzzle shop. Now I’m sure you can only imagine how difficult it is for seven people to choose a puzzle. Everyone wanted a different puzzle, and we all disagreed on how much was reasonable to spend on a puzzle. But after a little time, we were able to discuss and compromise, and find two puzzles that we all were happy with. Then we went home, cooked and ate a beautiful Shabbat dinner, and had a very intense, very exciting puzzle competition (not to brag or anything, but my team won). Just the thought that we could all compromise and work together to find a solution really blew my mind. The situation could have turned ugly, but instead I think it strengthened our connection as a team. I’m really happy to be here in Yokneam, and I can’t wait to continue to grow and learn and experience more “wow moments.”
This article was originally published in Fed 5, a publication of The Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta. Read the original article here.
Sheryl Korelitz, Director of Gap Year Recruitment for Masa North America, works with JumpSpark and Federation to recruit students for gap year programs in Israel and match students with programs that suit their interests and needs. We asked Sheryl, the proud mother of two Masa gap year daughters, about the value of this experience:
Q: Why send your teen on a gap year program in Israel?
A: So many parents think of a gap year as a year off and worry that their kids will fall behind their peers when they get to college. Overwhelmingly, research shows that a gap year is incredibly beneficial for college success. Gap year alumni have higher GPAs in college and tend to graduate in four years. They are more focused in terms of their careers, and they develop a higher level of independence and maturity.
All types of kids grow during their gap year. Highly driven kids really benefit from time to breathe and flex different muscles. This gives them a year without expectations and less pressure. And kids who are not super students, who spent their high school years not feeling great about themselves because school wasn’t their best skill, they come back brand new! They walk taller, speak with confidence, and have had a year of tremendous growth and self-discovery.
Q: What are the benefits of deferring college to go on a gap year?
A: Kids have FOMO (fear of missing out), and I get it. They think their brain will wither, or that they’ll forget grammar if they take a year away. Some Israel programs have an academic base where you can earn college credit. But the truth is, your college peers won’t care where you spent the previous year. A gap year gives you a whole year to learn how to make all new friends — you’ll come to campus with that skill. You’ve learned to live with a roommate, you’ve done your own laundry, you’ll hit campus running. You’re not behind, you’re ahead.
Future employers will appreciate your experience, and the fact that you have friends from all over the world is a gift that you’ll have forever. And you’ll have BIG fun!
Q: What does a gap year mean for Jewish identity and future leadership?
A: Parents are understandably anxious about the influence of the BDS (Boycott/Divestment/Sanction) movement on campus and students’ general lack of knowledge about Israel. A gap year is not meant to teach your kids how to be Jewish on campus or dictate a particular point of view on Israel, rather it lets them take ownership of their Judaism — discover how they feel about Israel, and what it all means. Their Israel experience empowers them to come from a place of knowing. They’ve lived it. They’ve met Palestinians. They’ve seen Israeli life and culture. The year empowers young adults to be strong in their Judaism. Being away from family, away from synagogue, helps students make their own decisions. Nothing is more powerful.
There is a strong correlation between Jewish campus leadership and an Israel experience. The Zalik Foundation, a funder of Atlanta scholarships for Israel gap year options, is specifically focused on this and I think it’s wonderful. These nine months spent in Israel are life-changing and I truly believe that they contribute to the Jewish future. I applaud the Zalik Foundation for seeing how impactful this can be.
When I got to the start of my senior year and the overwhelming question of “what are you doing next year?” became the subject of every conversation between peers, parents, and teachers, something inside of me clicked. I knew that I needed a year before college to better prepare myself, grow, and breathe after a long four years of high school. I began telling everyone that I was taking a gap year, with little idea of where to even begin planning. My friends looked at me like I was crazy, and my parents trusted that I would figure it out on my own. I had minimal support, knowing no one who had taken or was planning on taking a gap year. Little by little, however, I began taking steps towards preparing myself for my gap year, and I haven’t regretted it since. These were some of the steps I took over the course of my senior year, that would be helpful to anyone else thinking of a gap year:
Get a Job & Save Money
My first week of senior year, I got a job working at a sushi restaurant. I began putting aside money every week from my job, and slowly saving my way to a financial goal that I set for myself. I was really careful about spending money, and would remind myself: “I can either buy this top/makeup/whatever else I really didn’t need or spend an extra day in Tel Aviv.” Slowly, those decisions began adding up and I was able to put away more and more money. I also recommend working in the restaurant industry. It’s hard work, but it’s fast money, eye opening, and you’ll learn skills you can use on your gap year.
Defer Admission
I, like many other seniors, applied to college during the fall of my senior year. I was confused about the deferral process, and worried that it would impact my college admissions. Thankfully, I had nothing to be worried about. All of the colleges I applied to had a very similar deferral process (and I applied to 17 schools). I think it would be much harder to find a school that would not let you take a gap year, than one that would. After I paid my deposit for Georgia Tech (go yellow jackets!), I submitted a deferral request and wrote a paragraph about my gap year plans. Two weeks later, I was approved. It was by far the easiest and least stressful thing I’ve done regarding college admissions.
In terms of financial aid, most merit scholarships from your university will defer with your admissions. However, in the case of many outside scholarships, it is not always possible to defer. I would suggest looking into any scholarship that you are interested in, and double checking that it is deferrable. You’ll also have to reapply for need based aid through FAFSA, but that is something you have to do every year in college, regardless of whether or not you’re taking a gap year.
Every college and scholarship is different, so double check that taking a gap year works with the plan that you choose for future education. However, while it is not the most traditional path, you are not the first student at your university to take a gap year, so your college has a process set up for this.
Do Research
I’m the kind of person who loves to prepare ahead of time, but I knew I wanted my gap year to be different. I didn’t want to have everything planned out, so I could “go with the flow” as often as possible. However, I also wanted to prepare myself and go into the year with as much knowledge as I could find. I knew that I wanted to backpack in Europe, but I had no idea where in Europe I wanted to go. I began researching and educating myself as much as I could about different countries in Europe, which made me feel confident and less worried about solo backpacking. And the more research I did, the more opportunities I found. My plans changed and changed as I found more resources, and I feel lucky that I had my whole senior year to explore what I wanted to do.
Reach out to Friends & Family
Because taking a gap year isn’t the most traditional path, it’s a good idea to begin warming up your family and friends to the idea as early as possible. I was lucky enough to have supportive parents from the get-go, but I know this isn’t the case with everyone. Even so, my parents needed time to adjust to the idea of me traveling on my own. Instead of springing it on them last minute, I began introducing the idea of a gap year back in August. My community was very supportive, and gave me the motivation and validation that I needed in order to pursue a gap year.
Daydream
For me, the idea of a gap year meant a year with no commitments, no concrete plans, and (not to be cliche) endless opportunities. The best thing I did over the course of my senior year was daydream about what my gap year could be. Envisioning my gap year got me through the college application process, senioritis, and every other challenge I had this past year. While I heard my peers complain about how exhausted they were from school and how they couldn’t believe that college was going to be four more years of work, I saw myself walking through historic cities and working on a farm in Israel. I understood that my gap year would allow me to experience so much of life that I have dreamed about, and this both fueled my excitement for my gap year and pushed me through my senior year. If there is only one thing you take away from this guide, I would hope that it would be to dream about all of the adventures that are out there during a gap year.
Resources and opportunities for connection and conversation for Jewish teens, parents, educators and professionals.
The current situation in Israel is complex and there are many narratives, viewpoints and resources filling our news and social media channels. Jewish Teen Initiative at CJP has compiled a collection of resources to help you learn about the evolving situation, which will be updated as new opportunities and resources become available.Join our Email List SIGN UP.
Since Atlanta and Yoqne’am Illit and Megiddo are partnership cities, Yonatan and Stella have created local guides for their hometowns. We hope you enjoy getting to know the cities better from the perspective of high school Jewish teenagers!By Yonatan Cohen & Stella Mackler, May Amplifying Israel Teen Fellows
Everything to do and see in Atlanta!
Atlanta is an incredible city. It has a rich and complicated history which is evident throughout the city. In this guide, you will find great sight-seeing spots, delicious restaurants, historic neighborhoods and so much more!
Dining
Where to find that necessary cup of coffee: One of my favorite cafes in Atlanta is Apotheos Roastery, formerly known as San Francisco Coffee. They have two locations, and one of them happens to be super close to where I live! They roast, brew, and bag their own beans and offer classic drinks like lattes and cappuccinos alongside a rotating seasonal menu. They also serve pastries fresh out of the oven and offer breakfast toast, sandwiches, and other local products like King of Pops.
Lunchtime bite: Take a quick but filling stop for lunch at Mediterranean Grill (aka Med Grill). They are 100% Halal (except for the gyros) and serve many familiar favorites like hummus, pita wraps, lentil soup, and so much more. The greek potatoes are a particular standout. Its a common site to see people walking around with takeout containers filled with just that. Med Grill is perfectly located across the street from Piedmont Park and the Beltline, making it a convenient spot for your day of exploring.
Dinner: For the last meal of the day, make your way to Doc Cheys, somewhat of a hidden gem in the neighborhood of Morningside. They serve a wide array of pan-Asian fare with ever-changing weekly specials. I have grown up spending Saturday nights with the grandparents and friends here, and it’s not just because of the food. The sense of community the restaurant welcomes you with is impossible to miss. The waiters there are the same ones that have been there since I was seven years old and the takeout guy and I are on a first name basis. Some notable dishes include the thai peanut salad and the mongolian stir fry. Doc Cheys is vegetarian/vegan friendly and most dishes can be served with tofu.
Sightseeing/touristy spots
The Beltline: The Beltline is “a sustainable redevelopment” project that will ultimately connect 45 intown neighborhoods via a 22-mile loop of multi-use trails, modern streetcar, and parks – all based on railroad corridors that formerly encircled Atlanta. The Eastside trail is my recommended starting place. It is covered with murals and other forms of public art. There is a skate park, playground, and it often hosts festivals, like the lantern parade.
Ponce City Market: Ponce City Market is a multi-use building with shopping, fitness, and a dining hall all in one. It is located inside a former Sears factory and is conveniently right off the Beltline. There are some great shops, like Citizen Supply and Modern Mystic, and places to grab a bite, like St.Germain Bakery. There is also an amusement park and restaurant on the roof, with very pretty views at night.
Piedmont Park: Of all the places to see on this list, Piedmont Park is the one you absolutely cannot skip. The greenspace is the perfect place for a walk by the lake, a picnic, an exercise day, or just plain old people watching. It stretches from tenth street into the heart of midtown and is the site of the Music Midtown festival in the fall. There is a farmers market there every Saturday morning, and festivals are a common occurrence in the summer.
Historic Neighborhoods
Virginia Highlands (VaHi): Named after the intersection of Virginal Avenue and North Highland Avenue, the VaHi neighborhood is famous for its historic houses built between the 1910s-1930s.
Old Fourth Ward (O4W): O4W is located just east of downtown and is the birthplace of Martin Luther King Jr.America’s best known civil rights leaders. It is also home to a giant park, Historic Fourth Ward Park, which includes a skate park, splash pad, and outdoor theater. Many of the best restaurants in Atlanta are located within O4W.
Sweet Auburn: This area is a historic African American neighborhood and was designated as a National Historic Landmark District in 1976. The first Black newspaper in the US, the Atlanta Daily World, began in Sweet Auburn. The neighborhood is also home to 4 prominent Black churches, the Civil Right Walk of Fame, and the Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History.
What Can You Do in Yoqne’am Illit?
Yoqneam is a small city in northern Israel. It’s about 20 kilometers from the city of Haifa and about 80 kilometers from Tel-Aviv. The city is located alongside Israel’s main highways – highway 70 and highway 6, enabling you to reach the center of Israel and its northern areas quickly. Yoqneam is known as “Israel’s Startup Village,” because its’ hi-tech hub is surrounded by forest and small communities. Yoqneam was founded in 1950 and became a city in 2007. Yoqneam is an attractive city to many young families who seek to live in a small and quiet, village-like place, yet enjoy all the things a city can offer, as described below.
Shopping in Yoqneam
Yoqneam has several shopping centers that include a mall and an open shopping domain where you can find famous clothing shops, supermarkets, homeware, hardware shops and more. All of them offer free parking, which shoppers find very convenient.
Dining in Yoqneam
Yoqneam has a few well-known restaurants, coffee shops and food and beverage counters you can enjoy. One of the most popular restaurants in the city is “BBB,” which is an exclusive burger diner where people from all over Israel come to eat.
Sport in Yoqneam ⚽
If you’re looking to keep in shape while in Yoqneam, you have come to the right place. Yoqneam offers a big country club where you can go to the gym, train at different sport classes, such as: Pilates, Yoga, Zumba and more, and swim in an outdoor or an indoor pool. Aside of the country club, you can find a big gym at the mall and a smaller one at the industrial area.
Culture in Yoqneam
If you’re fond of shows and plays, you can come to Yoqneam theatre. This theatre hosts popular shows and actors from all over Israel. There is a miniatures museum and a winery.
Since Yoqneam is mentioned in the Bible, there is archeological evidence that the area exists for 3,500 years. In the new archeological visitors center, you can find items aged thousands of years which tell the story of the city with its rich past.
Nature in Yoqneam
Yoqneam was built on a hill in the middle of nature, therefore, nature surrounds all its areas. There are wide parks where you can take a walk or just sit by the pond and relax. There is a stream that runs through the city where you can walk beside it. There is a big forest and a spacious field area where you can hike and ride a bike.
I was born in Israel and have been living in Israel my whole life. As an Israeli teen, I am required to take part in a volunteering activity at school, and there are different kinds of volunteering activities to choose from. I chose to be a young “Shelach” guide. “Shelach” stands for “Field Nationality Society”. Being a young “Shelach” guide means to learn about Israel – its history, places, and society through touring the country.
Throughout the “Shelach” activities I experienced camp life, including: Building tents, cooking in the field and lighting a fire. We also get a taste of life in the army as we practice discipline, basic training, and work as a member of a team to accomplish tasks. We are also being trained on different subjects, and as we grow older, we may become trainers ourselves.
We are also very much involved in community life, where we support and assist our community whenever needed.
I am proud to be a young “Shelach” guide being able to contribute to my country. Whenever I achieve a goal or finish a mission, I feel proud of myself and my team. I enjoy the activities and the tours we have very much, and I feel satisfied that I can train younger teens, strengthen their connection to Israel and teach them to love the country and the Israeli life.
It’s Monday morning. My alarm goes off at 6:15 am, which is too early. Way too early. But for me, this is just the start of a normal day. I like to run in the mornings, so I have to get up this early to make sure I have enough time to be in the car on the way to school by 8:10. I roll out of bed and get ready to go, passing the mezuzah on my bedroom door frame, then my front door, taking off down the street as the run begins to peek through the clouds. I love running in the morning. It’s a stress reliever, a break, a time all to myself. Sometimes I listen to podcasts, or music, or nothing at all. I pass the same people each morning, the walking mom in the bright colored tank top, the men who run together, the man waiting for the Marta bus on the corner. My morning runs are one of the only constants in my life, and they bring me a great sense of peace.
When I get back to my house after about an hour, it’s time to get ready for the day. I grab some breakfast, which normally consists of oatmeal with a banana, and of course a cup of coffee. I call out to my brother, who is perpetually late, that I am leaving whether he is ready or not. He normally makes it to the car door before I’m out of the driveway. Then we are off to school. It’s about a 10 minute drive to my high school.I go to an inner city school so it’s a pretty diverse place, but there aren’t that many Jews, maybe me and about 5 or 6 other people in my grade. This means I often have to deal with tests on high holidays and pointed stares whenever we study the Holocaust. Even so, my school remains one of the most accepting environments I’ve ever found myself in. I feel lucky when I say I’ve never felt like an outsider or unwelcome in any way because of my Judaism.
I am a junior and my brother Meyer is a freshman. We don’t see each other much during the day, but then again, I don’t see many people during my school day. Because of the pandemic, classes were all online for the majority of this school year. When school reopened in February, only about 15% of students chose to come back. Out of my four classes, the biggest one has four people aside from me. Everyone else is at home.
At the beginning of every class I log on to Zoom. Even though I am back in school, due to the fact that the majority of students are not, we still conduct classes all online. We have an hour-long break for lunch, which is nice. I spend that in my photography class. I’m the only one in that class who went back to school in person. There used to be one other boy there with me, but he was a senior and he graduated so now it is just me and my teacher. I’m fine with that though, I like my teacher and I enjoy the time I get to spend talking with her. My youngest brother’s bar mitzvah was during the first week of May, so I’ve been telling her all about that. I read Torah and I didn’t mess up! My family was super lucky because we actually were allowed to invite guests to the service (we had 50 people).
Celebrating my brother’s Bar Mitzvah
At the end of the school day, which is at 3:30, I walk out to the parking lot and wait for Meyer to meet me in my car. Sometimes I have to bring some of his friends home too, a lot of them live in our neighborhood. I like to drive with the windows down, especially since it’s gotten warmer out. There is this really pretty street that we drive down on the way home, it’s lined with cute houses and there is a park too, but my favorite part is all the trees that flower in the spring.
Once we get home, I start on my homework, or mock trial, or my school newspaper article, or anything else that needs to get done. Friday nights are different though. On Friday nights (on the rare chance that all five of my family members are home for dinner) we gather around the table over my mom’s homemade challah. We do the brachah over the candles, the wine, the children, and of course the delicious bread. Then we sit down to a home cooked meal made by my mom and myself, and we enjoy our time together.
30 Jewish teens will receive gap-year subsidies of at least $10,000 next year
As the number of American students in Israel on gap-year programs between high school and college began to jump during the pandemic, an Atlanta foundation was taking careful note.
Now, the Zalik Family Foundation and the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta are trying to sustain that “COVID bump” by making the gap-year experience more affordable.
“It’s basically a fifth year of college,” said Kelly Cohen, until recently the director of JumpSpark, the Atlanta federation’s center for teen programming.
Religiously observant communities in North America have long made a practice of sending high school graduates to spend a year studying at a yeshiva or seminary, but the practice was less common outside them, said Sheryl Korelitz, director of gap-year recruitment at Masa Israel Journey, which supports providers of long-term Israel trips for people ages 18-30 and is funded by the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency. In the 2019-2020 academic year, about 3,000 North American teens studied in religious settings, while 634 participated in other kinds of programs, such as the Young Judaea Year Course, which offers classroom study and volunteer experience, or the Nativ Leadership Program, offered by the Conservative movement.
Familiarity with the concept extended beyond the relatively small group of families that participated, however, said Korelitz, who was working at the time as a guidance counselor for Farber Hebrew Day School-Yeshivat Akiva in Southfield, Mich. When incoming freshmen realized last spring that they would be starting their college careers on Zoom, the idea of spending the year in Israel instead started to gain broader appeal.
“People started scrambling,” she said, and the number of students from North America participating in the 30 non-religious gap-year programs Masa offers jumped by about 40%, to 1,100.
The pandemic limited the experience in some ways, Korelitz said. Groups of students had to quarantine upon entering Israel, and couldn’t travel freely throughout the country. Sites of cultural and historic interest were closed. However, many of the students became involved in anti-COVID volunteer work, such as putting together vaccination packets, which they found meaningful, she added.
The Jewish Community Response and Impact Fund (JCRIF), formed in the early days of the pandemic, responded to the opportunity to help those families and nurture their relationship to Israel by creating the JCRIF Gap Year in Israel Stimulus Fund, which gave funding to gap-year programs and scholarships to participants.
Inspired by JCRIF, the Zalik family came to JumpSpark with the idea of creating a local Atlanta program that would be easy to replicate in other communities, Cohen said.
Helen and David Zalik, the foundation’s principals, similarly said they wanted to harness the impact of the pandemic to create more enthusiasm for the gap-year experience, which they had long believed makes a lasting impact on students’ lives, enhances their readiness for college and will also improve Israel’s image on campus.
“If successful in Atlanta, we hope to help expand this model to other communities,” they said in an email.
In 2019, 12 students from the area participated in gap-year programs; during the pandemic, that number rose to 19, Cohen said.
To grow it further, JumpSpark did research through an internet survey and follow-up phone calls to families who tended to send their children straight to college, and asked them what they thought about the possibility of a year in Israel after high school.
“It wasn’t on their radar,” Cohen said. “There’s this hyper-focus on college admissions. Everything is about building your brand and your resume and going to school right away. But we knew we could disrupt that.”
JumpSpark also asked how much financial support was necessary to make the experience a fiscal possibility, and found that $10,000 was the right-sized subsidy. A gap year costs between $14,000 and $25,000, said Korelitz. Many federations give scholarships or subsidies for gap years, but the Zalik Family Foundation’s is the biggest, she added.
The foundation agreed to fund 30 subsidies; if a student agrees to add a service component, the subsidy rises to $15,000.
JumpSpark will apply to the Zalik Family Foundation to renew the grant, and now the question is whether the program will be taken up by funders in other cities, Cohen said.
“Because of the size of Atlanta we’re very much right-sized to do a pilot,” she said. “This work is replicable, but you have to have funding behind it.”
Israel’s 75th birthday will be celebrated with special joy in 2023 as Jews and Federations from around the world gather in Israel for this milestone event. Group travel is a…
For over 60 years, USY has provided Jewish teens with transformative travel experiences, opening their eyes to new places, different ways of life, and some of the world’s most spectacular sights.
On a USY Summer Experience, you will gain independence and a better sense of self, form lifelong bonds of friendship with teens from across North America, be immersed in other cultures and see the world from a different perspective, develop a deeper understanding of global issues and conflict, repair the world in local communities through volunteer work and service, and discover the joy of Jewish living through fun, meaningful experiences that create a lasting impact.
Now, it’s YOUR turn to have the summer of a lifetime in the U.S., Canada, Israel, Europe, or the Dominican Republic. See where USY Summer Experience takes you, and register today.
Ramah Israel Seminar is a six-week travel program in Israel, designed for entering 12th graders who are graduates of the ten Ramah overnight camps in North America. For over 50 years, Ramah Seminar has been an outstanding way for teens to experience Israel. Seminar is an intensive experience of study and travel, combining hiking and trekking throughout Israel with text study, challenging discussions and hands-on learning. Seminar participants travel Israel from north to south, gaining an in-depth perspective of Israel’s history and future. Seminar is an opportunity to live the Ramah life in Israel, combining all that is central to camp – community, connection and growth.
Below are some examples of NSCY Summer Programs to Israel:
Euro— Travel around Europe for two weeks before journeying to Israel to visit Safed, Eilat, Tiberias and many more cities and sites on this co-ed trip.
Euro GO (Girls Only)– Travel with great girls from across the country around Europe for two weeks before journeying to Israel to visit Safed, Eilat, Tiberias and many more cities and sites on this co-ed trip
GIVE — Girls Israel Volunteer Experience (GIVE) is for exceptional high school girls who want to experience Judaism firsthand through the art of giving back in Israel.
Israel ID – Israel ID is a co-ed program that travels through the land of Israel.
JOLT Israel– Our leadership program will show you Israel in a whole new way while you create and run a 10-day camp for Israeli kids in need.
JSU GO Atlanta – Travel and see Israel in this once in a lifetime adventure for Atlanta public school teens.
Kollel — Spend an unforgettable summer in Israel filled with intense learning, world-class sports, and great trips.
Michlelet — An extraordinary program for teenage girls looking to spend their summer in a productive way by learning Torah and touring Israel.
Discover Israel’s many treasures on a transformative journey with a focus on historical exploration, exhilarating adventures in nature, and cultural connections.
Travel from the far north in the Galilee to the deep south at the Red Sea as we visit ancient Jerusalem, modern Tel Aviv, the lush Golan Heights, the vast Negev Desert, the unsinkable Dead Sea, and the stark mountaintop fortress of Masada. Along the way, you’ll take part in an authentic archaeological dig, sample the world’s very best falafel, spend a night sleeping under the desert stars, and experience the innovative energy of Tel Aviv first-hand.
More than a tour, this is an opportunity to understand Israel’s dynamic society first-hand while finding your own connection to this storied land. Explore what it means to be Jewish from an Israeli point of view, understand the complex politics of the Middle East with real-world insights, and practice Jewish values through hands-on volunteering and Shabbat experiences.
Some of our Israel Journey trips will have the opportunity to attend The Maccabiah Games. Often referred to as “the Jewish Olympics,” this is the world’s largest Jewish athletic competition that takes place every four years in Israel.
NFTY in Israel is a chance for teens to experience the true culture and history of Israel through a variety of social and educational opportunities. Focusing on all that Israel has to offer, this trip is for the teen who is ready to explore their progressive Jewish values from a whole new angle! Come discover yourself on the adventure of a lifetime and make lifelong friendships along the way.
Touch ancient ruins visited by your ancestors for thousands of years. Eat delicious pita fresh off the fire. Climb sand dunes. Hike mountains. Swim in the Mediterranean. Float in the Dead Sea. Wander with your friends and meet amazing new people. Explore your progressive Jewish values from new angles. Discover yourself on the adventure of a lifetime.
Choose from several specialty trips, including a deep Hebrew immersion, a trip through the lens of social justice, a sports trip for athletes, and a sci-tech Israel trip.
Travel from the Golan Heights to the shores of Eilat and everywhere in-between. Swim in the Kinneret, visit archeological digs, hike through the mountains and float in the Dead Sea and much more.
Explore your Jewish Heritage
Judaism will come alive as you pray at the Western Wall, hike up Masada and visit all the holy sites Israel has to offer. Connect to the past and discover your future.
Meet Other Jewish Teens
JSU GO is designed for public school teens looking to learn more about their Jewish heritage through hands-on, meaningful experiences.
