Experience: Israel
We cultivate a lifelong relationship with the land, people and State of Israel.
A B O U T
Based in the city of Jerusalem, we study and travel from Morocco to India, and we encounter the riches of the human experience with optimism tempered by reality.
We encounter Israel openly: appreciating its grand and historic achievements together with its unfulfilled goals and aspirations. We encourage a perception on the part of our participants that they have a role to play in the fulfillment of the national ideology of the Jewish People. We meet with leaders of Israeli culture and society exploring ideas old and new. We hike, we explore, we examine, we reflect, we read, we write: we think a lot!
We travel the breadth of the country, walking its streets, meeting and speaking with its diverse population—all while grappling intellectually with the many complex issues that are the State of Israel.
Kivunim offers a positive and hopeful understanding of Jewish life rooted in shared traditions and history, expressed through mutual respect and openness.
We provide our students the opportunity to build a powerful connection to the Jewish people and the State of Israel, one that coexists with a love for all humankind and reflects a strong commitment to diversity and peaceful co-existence across the globe.
P R O G R A M H I G H L I G H T S
Open to graduating high school seniors
Based in the heart of Jerusalem
Travel to up to 12 countries
Fully accredited academic program (up to 30 college credits)
Students explore international history, culture, philosophy, art, music, and religious ritual—all of which help to deepen their own Jewish Identity.
Our staff includes distinguished historians, writers, poets, artists, musicians, philosophers, journalists, religious, political, and business leaders from around the world.
Within our academic program, a full-year humanities course is devoted to understanding the struggle between competing nationalisms in the Middle East, studying the roots and history of the Zionist movement, Israeli and Palestinian history, and exploring the issues that continue to challenge the region. We visit Israel's magnificent ancient archaeology and her more recent historical sites; all the while looking for connections, offering interpretations, and building a deeper appreciation for what has taken place in and on this historic land.
We expect our students to return to their college campuses and their future lives with the capacity for and commitment to building dialogue in place of confrontation.
We encourage a perception on the part of our students that there is work yet to be done and that they have a role to play in the fulfillment of the Zionist promise. At each stage of our year-long journey, our students listen thoughtfully, and develop the capacity for and commitment to having an open dialogue.
