Section archive - Israel Education

MASA Israel, has just launched a recruitment campaign aimed at young people in the USA facing great challenges in finding suitable jobs in the contracting US economy. The ' A Better Stimulus Plan' website encourages young college graduates to apply for 5 -12 month internships in Israel in their fields of training and interest. By participating in the MASA program in Israel they can obtain valuable work experience and enhance their résumés before embarking on a permanent career while getting to know modern Israel firsthand by living and working there.

The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel offers a 5-week summer program in Israel that educates and inspires exceptional young Jews from diverse backgrounds to become active participants in Jewish culture throughout their lives, and to contribute their talents and vision to the Jewish community and to the world at large. Bronfman Fellows spend the summer before their high school senior year traveling through Israel, exploring their Jewish Identity, and engaging with thinkers, authors, artists, and educators in an all expenses paid, 5 week Israel experience.

Israel experience trips—and Taglit-Birthright Israel trips in particular— increasingly include a substantial mifgash—an “encounter” between the Diaspora Jewish visitors and Israeli peers. The aim of the present report is to improve understanding of the formal and informal components of the mifgash, as well as the significance of the experience for North American and Israeli participants.

Drawing on focus group interviews and interviews with communal professionals in five cities, this report examines the extent to which Birthright Israel alumni are able to express their heightened interest in Jewish life on their campuses and in their communities. The report, the first in a series, is part of a comprehensive research program in how best to meet the needs of the Birthright Israel alumni.