Browse Programs

A pluralistic and liberal pre-military academy in Jerusalem, founded in 2010, aiming to develop Jewish-Zionist identity, personal and social skills, and physical/mental readiness for military service, alongside values of civic involvement, pluralism, leadership, and Zionism.

A fully accredited semester of high school in Israel for Reform-movement teens in grades 10-12, formerly known as NFTY-EIE, combining Hebrew, Reform Judaism, and Israel history and culture with home-school-equivalent coursework in English, math, science, and social studies; since 2023 its secular academic administration is run jointly with Alexander Muss while the Reform movement retains all religious and Israel-focused programming.

A fully accredited semester of high school in Jerusalem for 10th-12th graders, combining Judaic and general studies at the Ramah Jerusalem High School with immersive exploration of Jewish identity, Israel, and the city itself over just under four and a half months.

A 6-10 month gap year (length varies by home-country cohort) for members of Netzer, the Reform/Progressive Zionist youth movement, opening with a seminar at Kibbutz Ein HaShofet, moving into 1-2 months of volunteering on Kibbutz Harduf through the Jewish Agency's Project TEN, and continuing with programming on Tikkun Olam, leadership, and Zionism alongside Netzerniks from Australia, the UK, South Africa and beyond.

A 10-month leadership program founded in 2015 by the Jewish Community of Oslo, open to 18-22-year-old European, Israeli and American Jews of any observance level, combining an immersive Israel experience at the Upper Galilee Leadership Academy with University of Oslo coursework and travel to Jewish communities around the world, centered on Jewish history, religion, culture and identity.

A required summer-term Israel program (typically in the third year) for Reconstructionist Rabbinical College students, combining academic coursework and experiential learning on Israel's history, culture, politics and contemporary society; students who want to extend for an additional term or full year can access RRC scholarships and academic advising to do so.

An intensive 10-12 week summer Israel program for Ziegler rabbinical students, replacing what was previously a full year in Israel (third-year students traditionally spent a year there before the school's 2023 curriculum restructuring shortened the program overall).

A required second-year-of-study year in Israel for JTS rabbinical students, based at the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, engaging students with Israeli society, history and politics alongside advanced Jewish text study to prepare them to teach and speak knowledgeably about Israel in their future communities. A joint Pardes/JTS track also lets students count a year at Pardes toward the rabbinical degree.

A mandatory first year in Israel for all HUC-JIR rabbinical, cantorial and Jewish-education graduate students, opening with a Hebrew ulpan before a full slate of Hebrew immersion, foundational textual skills, Israel studies, community-building and community-service projects, using Israel itself as a classroom to explore Israeli culture, Zionist history and contemporary social/political issues.

A new (launching 2026-27) pre-college gap year combining a minimum of four for-credit Tel Aviv University courses with cybersecurity, AI and entrepreneurship workshops, hands-on research in TAU labs, mentorship from Israeli entrepreneurs, Jewish-peoplehood programming, and immersive tours across Israel.

A 6-month leadership program (with an optional 3+ month 'Perek Bet' internship extension) bringing young Israelis together with Jewish peers from around the world to study Jewish Peoplehood, public diplomacy and Jewish texts alongside personal-growth work and volunteering that benefits Israeli society.

A Masorti/Conservative-movement gap year for young adults from Noam's global network (UK, Europe, Latin America and beyond), combining Zionism, Masorti Judaism, tikkun olam, hadracha (leadership) and democracy education, run through Kibbutz Hannaton's Education Center in the Galilee.

Britain's flagship Zionist-youth-movement gap year: a 9-month program (or 4-month option) split between a Jerusalem semester and a Tel Aviv-area semester based in Bat Yam, combining academic study, community volunteering, direct engagement with Israeli society and a Special Interest Month (options include kibbutz, yeshiva, hiking, business internship, or surfing).

An immersive Jerusalem gap year for 70 recent high school graduates -- half from North America, half from Israel -- blending Jewish text study, philosophy and modern thought with leadership training and communal life, drawing on the Hartman Institute's pluralistic scholarship and methodology.

An egalitarian yeshiva offering one-year, pre-college, advanced-studies, summer and winter Torah-study tracks for adults of all backgrounds and denominations, blending traditional beit midrash learning with a Conservative/Masorti approach; the program includes Thursday day trips and a Shabbaton, and long-term study is Masa-eligible.

A pluralistic, egalitarian beit midrash for university graduates combining classic Jewish text study (Talmud, Tanach, Halacha) with philosophical, ethical and societal questions facing the Jewish people today, taught seminar-style with chavruta (paired) learning; students choose from a wide range of electives and can study for Elul (September), a semester, or the full year while living independently in Jerusalem.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy named for Haviva Reich, one of the WWII Jewish parachutists, combining standard mechina Jewish-identity and leadership study with community volunteering and physical preparation for IDF service.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy spanning several northern Israel communities, suitable for students of any religious background, combining standard mechina Jewish-identity and leadership study with community volunteering.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy emphasizing progressive and Zionist leadership development, alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity study and community volunteering.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy across several small Arava Valley communities, deliberately open to all Jewish denominations to maximize the diversity of its cohort, alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity and leadership study.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military leadership academy in Harish drawing on Israeli Air Force heritage and values as a framework for its leadership training, alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity study.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy in the Yizrael Valley centered on exploring Jewish-Israeli identity through study, leadership training and volunteer community work.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy in Beer Sheva open to students of all religious backgrounds, combining standard mechina Jewish-identity and leadership study with community volunteering in the Negev.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy across three campuses focused on cultivating a new generation of Israeli leadership with an emphasis on social and environmental responsibility, alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity study.

A pluralistic, gender-separated pre-military academy in the Dead Sea region combining the standard mechina curriculum of Jewish identity, Zionism and leadership with the unique desert and Dead Sea environment across its two single-gender campuses.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy established in 2018 that uses a distinctive physical-and-mental training system to build modern-age resilience and life skills, alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity and leadership study.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy on the Golan Heights focused on cultivating initiative, responsibility and leadership toward building a democratic Jewish society, alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity study and volunteering.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy on a kibbutz near the Sea of Galilee emphasizing nature exploration and building bridges across different sectors of Israeli society, alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity and leadership study.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military academy set in a dense urban environment, emphasizing social justice and coexistence work within Tel Aviv-Jaffa's diverse Jewish and Arab communities alongside standard mechina Jewish-identity and leadership study.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-military gap-year academy combining intensive study of Jewish identity, Zionism and Israeli society with coursework in the arts and environmentalism, plus independent study, community volunteering and physical preparation for IDF service.

A service-learning center co-directed by a Jewish woman and a Muslim man where young-adult volunteers weekly support Beit Elisha (a group home for adults with disabilities) and Sha'ar La'adam's ecological/educational activities, alongside pluralistic Jewish learning, Hebrew and Arabic classes, coexistence sessions, theater and bio-dynamic gardening.

A highly selective, lifelong business and tech fellowship for outstanding Jewish college students that begins with a 10-week summer internship in Tel Aviv at a Fortune 500 company, top consulting firm or Israeli startup across fields like finance, venture capital, software engineering and biotech, followed by ongoing mentorship and a 1,500+ alumni professional network.

The Reconstructionist movement's Israel program for 11th graders: after building community together at Camp JRF, participants travel to Israel for a month, tracing how Jews have lived on the land throughout history, spending Shabbat in Jerusalem, watching sunrise over Masada, doing tikkun olam projects with Israeli peers, and meeting Reconstructionist rabbis living in Israel.

The Conservative/Masorti movement's gap-year program, run in partnership with Aardvark Israel: a full academic year split between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, with intensive Hebrew ulpan, university-accredited coursework, internships/volunteering, and leadership training grounded in Conservative/Masorti values.

A pluralistic, fully-accredited study-abroad program for high schoolers combining general studies with experiential Israel-studies curriculum (learning history on-site at the actual locations). Offered as a semester, a shorter 'Mini-Mester', or summer sessions; students can earn college credit through the University of Miami. The Reform movement's own standalone semester program, URJ Heller High (formerly NFTY-EIE, previously based at Kibbutz Tzuba), recently merged into AMHSI due to declining enrollment -- Heller High students now live and take Jewish studies together as a track within the AMHSI campus near Tel Aviv rather than as a separate program.

The largest gap-year program in Israel (9 months, up to 30 college credits) offers a Medical Track: a 10-day intensive course followed by five weeks of hands-on volunteering aboard Magen David Adom ambulances alongside Israeli paramedics, plus tours and workshops with Israeli medical staff. Eligible for 3 college credits. No prior medical experience required, but a conversational Hebrew oral test must be passed before volunteering with MDA.

A pluralistic, non-movement-affiliated program combining outdoor adventure with workshops in visual, performing, and literary arts, community service, and creative Jewish study. Israeli and North American participants travel together through four regions of Israel exploring the land's role in Jewish history and the future of Jewish life, with a multi-day service project benefiting Israeli children.

A nine-month artistic gap-year program for 18-19 year-olds studying visual arts, music, theater, or dance. Students choose one of four tracks and get weekly one-on-one studio time with professional artists, plus a personal artistic project. Participants live alongside Israeli students from the 'Ruach Nachon' pre-army artistic academy, building Hebrew fluency and Israeli friendships. Includes trips, volunteering, and Jewish learning.

Founded in 1997 as Israel's first secular/pluralistic mechina and the first to accept international participants, Nachshon alternates 'in' weeks of campus study with 'out' weeks of hiking and volunteering, emphasizing leadership, Zionism, and Israeli identity. Runs in Hebrew and is primarily for Israelis, but has a history of hosting overseas participants through the Yachad program.

A mixed religious-secular pre-army academy founded in 1997 by the Beit Yisrael urban kibbutz community, bringing about 70 young Israelis together annually for Torah study, community volunteering (10+ hours/week), and leadership training before IDF service. Israeli-only, Hebrew-language program with no overseas track.

A pluralistic, co-ed pre-army gap year program founded in 1998 in memory of PM Yitzhak Rabin, combining Hebrew-language study, communal living, and volunteering. Has a dedicated international track welcoming non-Israeli participants ages 18-19 to study alongside Israeli peers, though military-specific preparation is for Israelis only.

A pluralistic pre-military leadership academy founded in 2001, combining Jewish text study, Israeli society engagement, and leadership training for Israeli high school graduates before IDF service. Primarily Israeli-only and Hebrew-language, though it participates in the Joint Council of Mechinot's Yachad initiative that places diaspora young adults into partner mechinot.

Bar-Ilan University's English-taught overseas student program for a semester or full gap year, combining Jewish studies, general academic coursework, and Hebrew ulpan with dormitory life and organized trips around Israel.

A six-week immersive Israel adventure for Jewish teens entering 11th or 12th grade, exploring the country's history, culture, and people; eligible for RootOne and Masa grants.

A 3.5-week pluralist Israel summer trip for teens entering 10th or 11th grade from any camp or denomination background.

The three-week Israel component of the year-long Diller Teen Fellows leadership program, bringing ~700 Jewish teens from 32 partner communities across 7 countries together for the Global Diller Congress.

A 28-day BBYO Passport journey across Israel including hiking Mount Arbel and Masada, rafting the Jordan River, Bedouin-style desert camping, and a multi-day Gadna army-style program.

A 22-day BBYO Passport trip through Israel for teens in grades 8-12, visiting major cities and lesser-known sites while engaging with diverse local communities.

A six-week travel and study program for rising 12th-grade graduates of Ramah camps, combining hiking, text study, and discussion-based learning, with optional Sea-to-Sea Hike and Gadna tracks.

A four-week summer program for Reform-movement teens (grades 10-12) combining touring, hiking, and social-justice engagement across Israel.

A month-long immersive Israel journey for 10th-12th graders (successor to the historic USY Israel Pilgrimage), with an optional Poland add-on.

A 10-month secular gap-year program in which participants live communally with Israeli peers in south Tel Aviv, study pluralistic Judaism and Hebrew, and take part in grassroots social-action volunteering.

Short-term programs in Tzfat and Jerusalem focused on Jewish identity, hiking, volunteering, and Israeli history.

A Conservative movement gap year program blending Israel study, army service (Marva), and leadership development.

A nine-month gap year program combining volunteering, touring, army experience, and academic study across Israel.

A free 10-day trip to Israel for young Jewish adults ages 18-32, covering history, culture, food, and modern life across the country. Registration fills up fast, so early application is strongly recommended.