DATE
May 28, 2023 –
June 9, 2023
(program dates subject to change)

ELIGIBILITY
All full time faculty at any level or in any discipline may apply.

Applicants must have a current passport which expires no earlier than December 9, 2023.

COVERAGE
Air, room, & most meals

APPLICATION DEADLINE
February 20, 2023

Academic Exchange

• A Dialogue Among Peers
  Participants will have a special opportunity to be hosted by peer academics on their campuses in Israel and to participate in a cross-cultural academic dialogue on issues in their own or related disciplines. In addition to observing academic life in Israel first hand, fellows will be able to propose and discuss with Israeli counterparts the development of collaborative research and other projects in their disciplines. As selected Fellows, participants will be able to have a unique visiting academic experience with their peers and their students in Israel as a unique professional development activity.

Positively Israel

• Israel is changing the world – for the better. Through hard work and determination, this young, desert nation is a global leader in renewable energy, agricultural innovation, and medical breakthroughs that improve quality of life all over the world. This is the conversation that the world must have about Israel. The time has come to show the world how Israel makes the world a better place. And it starts with you.

Science and Technology

• Israel’s Advancements in the Sciences
  Israel’s medical and environmental sciences, high tech centers and universities are among the most sophisticated and productive in the world. Fellows participating in this program will meet with and share collaboration efforts with leading academic scientists, engineers and technologists at major universities to expand collaborative and cooperative ventures as Israel contributes to humanitarian, environmental and technological knowledge for the entire world.

History

• Old City, Jerusalem: Where History Meets the Present
  The contemporary situation in Israel can be seen from many angles, but to gain true insight it must be seen through the prism of the history and the sense of community that surrounds the Old City of Jerusalem. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of why an intense attachment to Jerusalem has been felt by so many groups of people over the millennia.


• Memory Reflected in Design at Yad Vashem
  Yad Vashem represents, in part, Israel’s attempt to grapple with its painful memories of the Holocaust. Participants will be given an inside look at the new Museum, Memorial, and Educational Center at Yad Vashem by chief architect Moshe Safdie.


• Historic Tour of Tel Aviv
  A stroll through Tel Aviv’s Florentine District and Neve Tzedek culminating in a stop at Independence Hall will highlight the familiarity of Israel’s leaders and thinkers who lived in the houses, sat in the cafés and spoke in the square.

Society

• Israel’s Diverse Population
  Israeli society is made up of many different groups. While most of the world sees Israel through the lens of the country’s conflict with the Palestinians, few know about the rich diversity of its citizens. The Jewish majority in Israel is comprised of subgroups for example: Ashkenazim (Eastern European), Sephardim (medieval Spain), Jews from Arab countries and Ethiopian. Israel’s non-Jewish population is also differentiated religiously, socially, culturally and nationally from the Jewish majority. In addition to the above subgroups, Israelis are also defined by gender, income, geographical dispersion, professional distribution, age etc. Israeli society is comprised of groups of people with differing values and world views.


• The Rich Tapestry of Faith Traditions
  At several points in the journey, perhaps especially in Jerusalem and in the Galilee, participants will explore the overlapping layers of historic sites with meaning for people of many faiths and traditions.

Economy

• What Warren Buffet Understood
  "Iscar and the Tefen Industrial Park should be taken as an example... of what can be done against all odds," Warren Buffett said after purchasing his first foreign company, Israel’s Iscar, located in the North. The company is renowned not only for its high quality products and high profitability, but also for its development of tools using advanced technology; like many other Israeli companies, it is a living example of Jewish-Arab co-existence. During the program the group will meet and visit with management of companies in Israel and their diverse work force that has transformed Israel into a successful start up nation with its technological and intercommunal success.


• Pioneering a Sustainable Future
  The high tech boom is back and this time Israelis are using their vast know-how and creativity to pioneer sustainable solutions for our planet in the areas of solar energy, agriculture and water conservation. Participate in an open discussion with leaders from some of Israel’s premier energy companies.

Politics & Diplomacy

• Gaza: From the Withdrawal to Today
  This tour will provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of the reality on the ground in Southern Israel following the withdrawal from Gaza. The tour, with experts who can discuss the effects on both sides of the fence, will include visits to “Kassam Country” Kibbutz Nahal Oz and Sderot to meet the residents who must live with the reality of ongoing Kassam attacks; to Nitzan to meet with former residents of Gaza now living in caravan villages; a military briefing on Israel’s challenges in the South; and a meeting with experts on Palestinian affairs to discuss what is happening in Gaza. The tour, with experts who can discuss the effects on both sides of the fence, is designed to show the geographical and social challenges and possibilities posed by the this area.


• Landscape of the Middle East
  A discussion with leading Middle Eastern experts on the region’s most complex issues and how Israel fits into it. Potential speakers include members of the media and Ministry of Foreign Affairs


• The Northern Front: Lebanon and Syria
  This tour will give participants an up close perspective of the challenges Israel faces on its northern front from Hezbollah in Lebanon to the potential threat from Syria. Leading military experts will join the group for this intensive tour.

Culture

• Israeli Society through the Arts
  Israeli cinema continues to develop in terms of both quality and output, winning major awards in festivals throughout the world. Participants will sit with a panel of leading film makers, such as Doron Tsabari, Orna BenDor, and Etgar Keret, to hear about how they see contemporary Israeli society and draw on it in their films.


• Sounds of the Middle East
  There has been a resurgence of Israeli music with roots in the Middle East, led by Jewish communities that made Aliyah from countries as diverse as Iraq and Morocco. This evening will explore the deep roots of the Jewish community throughout the Middle East through music with a discussion and musical performance.

Law, Democracy and Human Rights

• A Plight for Democracy
  Israel is a parliamentary democracy, committed to human rights, with parties representing all segments of the Israeli society. Fellows participating in this program will have the opportunity to meet with legislators, political scientists, government officials, political activists, commentators and other experts representing various points of view. Participants will learn about the vibrant and vital differences in opinions as well as the overall commitment to civil and human rights. In addition these differences and issues will be addressed along with how Israel, as a democratic and pluralistic society, is meeting the challenges facing it.

Past Fellows

To see the Fellows for Winter 2022/2023, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2022, please click here

To see the Fellows for Winter 2021/2022, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2021, please click here

To see the Fellows for Winter 2020/2021, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2020, please click here

To see the Fellows for Winter 2019/2020, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2019, please click here

To see the Fellows for Winter 2018/2019, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2018, please click here

To see the Fellows for Winter 2017/2018, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2017, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2016, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2015, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2014, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2013, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2012, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2011, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2010, please click here

To see the Fellows for Summer 2008, please click here