Hi. Has anyone’s kids done the birthright trip to Israel. Any feedback about the experience? Was it hard to get into? Was it a good experience? Did your child go with a friend? (I don’t think D would have anyone to go with and her school doesnt seem to offer.) Any tips? Most likely would explore this seriously once the pandemic is under more control (hopefully one day…) Thanks!
It’s an amazing trip. Not at all hard to “get into.” Just sign up, first-come, first-served. There are many, many dates.
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Every person I know who has done this said it was a fantastic experience. If your school doesn’t have a program, your student can join any other college’s program. Just reach out to them. Yes, I think that it is a good idea for your student to arrange to go together with one friend, but not try to arrange to go with a gaggle of people whom they already know. Part of the experience is meeting and connecting with other American Jewish students on the trip, and experiencing it together.
I think, based upon how Omicron is whipping right through the population in both Israel and the US, that spring break should be during a Covid lull, and maybe in May, too. March is spring already in Israel, a perfect time to go. May is summertime, although not as hot as June/July/August. Trips are also held in early January, and even then, the weather is usually mild (at least compared to winter in the northern US), but some rain.
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My nephew went with his cousin, and my neighbor went with a friend. Both loved it.
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Great, glad to hear this, thanks everyone!
My daughter is going in May (was scheduled to go last month but the trip got canceled due to omicron). The trip she is going on is for Boston-area college students, not specific to her school. She does have a friend going, but would have gone regardless. She can’t wait!
Edited to add: not hard to get into, had a phone interview where they ascertained her religious affiliation, that’s about it.
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Great to hear and I hope she has a wonderful time! How far in advance would you say to sign up?
So, if I understand it correctly, you identify a trip you’re interested in (usually listed 6-9 months in advance) and apply for it. For the December 2021 trip, she applied very last minute (I think the day before the deadline, which was early November). It made for some added stress as we ended up having to expedite her passport renewal—all for naught, as it turns out since the trip got cancelled a week before they were due to depart. I would guess some trips are more popular than others and might fill early, but in general, I think applying 3-4 months in advance should be fine.
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My son went to France to do a Michigan engineering study abroad then flew to Israel to do a 2 month internship.
This was an amazing experience and pay for the majority of this program. It’s very unique since they give the kids money for their food etc and they have to decide how to spend it. To do shabbat or not. Travel together etc. My son did this instead of Birthright…
His internship was with the RD division of a known company in the United States. He had many known companies to choose from.
It was the single best thing he probably did. Lots of time to explore and travel. They live together in an apartment style building. He saw friends from the States that were doing their birthright in a bar and they all wanted to do this program. He has also been there prior.
https://onwardisrael.org/programs_category/jinternship/
He did one of the Themed Programs
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Thank you for sharing this! This looks amazing. A student could certainly go on birthright (which is a ten day visit program), and then also do Onward Israel at a later time. I know that there are followup programs for Birthright, too.
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They had lots of leeway and the idea of the program he did was they wanted you to feel like you lived there. The company treated him like he graduated and gave him projects etc. Everyone was young at his job and a cool environment. He got to practice the Hebrew he knew but only English is required. He was also this companies first American intern and they wanted to learn more about the marketplace so it was good for him. They couldn’t of been nicer.
Kids in his apartment complex like 25 of them, were from all over and each of course had their different internships. But he became friends with like 5 kids that traveled together, going to the beaches, bars, etc. He had a blast. Funny thing is where he worked they just hired someone from Michigan. They had a great talk. Lol. Also it was a very laid back company and he got to wear Tshirt, shorts and sandals to work… Lol.
His current job, which is an international company hired him and said his study abroad and especially the internship in Israel was very inspiring for them when they made their decisions… It’s a very affordable program since its like 90% subsidized
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That looks like a super cool program. I would caution anyone considering doing that and birthright to do birthright first, as certain prior experiences in Israel will disqualify one from Birthright.
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Great, thanks for this info!