Israel emerges as the premier destination for American teens in a pandemic

“There is a culture here where every mother and dog caretaker is happy to take care of you, so I and my parents put me here during these noisy times. I felt very comfortable sending it. “

Israel, a destination for young Jews who have long sought to explore their religion and establish ties with the Jewish state, is a new gap-year student arriving from the United States and other countries. I’m watching an explosion. With few other countries accepting American students, Israel has emerged as the premier destination for those seeking a meaningful experience beyond the scope of online learning from the family sofa.

They are coming The country has just entered its second national blockade This is because the Covid-19 cases have reached record levels and new daily cases are currently stopped at around 7,000 a day. The three-week blockade, which began in mid-September, disrupted some of the activities and work experiences that young people had planned for a year abroad, but could not prevent it.

Masa Israel, which oversees non-religious gap-year shows in the country, said gap-year attendance has increased by 40% compared to last year, two-thirds of which are Americans. According to Ethan Knight, Executive Secretary of the US-based Gap Year Association, Israel has the highest number of American students taking gap years.

“Israel is the number one destination in the world this year,” he said.

According to the organizers, Israel’s current visa regulations allow only Jewish students to stay for extended periods of time. This year, the government has decided to grant permission to 21,000 foreign students studying in Israel, including Jewish seminaries, Yesivas students, and non-religious programming students. Although the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology does not have a final number this year, Masa Israel already has about 5,000 students in gap year and other programs for seniors, with more than 2,000 by the end of the year. I’m expecting it.

Israeli gap year organizers say the total number of gap year students has increased, even though the total number of American students spending gap years abroad has decreased.

Matthew Cooper from Harrison, NY and his 18-year-old twin brother, Josh, decided to postpone admission to Duke University earlier this summer. Their mom, Sharon, began exploring gap year options after they realized that their Duke experience wouldn’t be as they imagined it. The twin brothers live in Tel Aviv with two other future Duke students and will move to Jerusalem later in the school year.

“Taking a gap year is a big insurance policy for college,” said Matthew Cooper. “If a gap year is great, it’s a life-changing experience. Even if the gap year is stinking, there are four years in college. It’s more normal than starting college in 2020.”

Students attend internships, volunteers, or classes, with changes, but most are progressing.

Cooper intended to intern at a technology company in Herzliya, a seaside technology hub about six miles north of Tel Aviv’s apartment. Coronavirus pandemic Postponed the start date, complicating commuting.

Before the lockdown and after two weeks of quarantine, he spent several days investigating Tel Aviv. Currently, he and his roommates are playing pick-up basketball and hosting a small gathering on the balcony of their apartment, in line with the limits of the coronavirus. He is worried that good times may be short-lived.

“If they decide to test a few children, they’re afraid that everything could be at risk,” he said. “Social distance is very loose.”

Debbie Goldsmith, head of Ardberg Israel, who runs Cooper’s program, said that seven out of 170 students who participated in the program were forced to quarantine after receiving a negative test result before traveling to Israel. He said he was positive for coronavirus for about a week. Four of the students were symptomatic and three were asymptomatic. She said everything had recovered.

Sophie Dauerman lived in a community-style village before college to strengthen her life and leadership skills. Originally from Vermont, 18 years old, she enrolls in a leadership program called Korami, where she lives with Israeli kibbutz Kiryat Anavim and international and Israeli students.

Ms. Dowerman chose the gap year when Yale University allowed freshmen on campus only in the fall in July and learned that all classes were online and that scramble programs could be found quickly.

In investigating his relationship with Judaism, Dauerman first observed the Jewish Sabbath, which is called “Shabat” in Hebrew. This means that she will not use her phone or other electronics from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.

“It will be very difficult to keep the Sabbath at home,” she said. “This is an opportunity to try it out and I really enjoy it.” Her program is proceeding almost as planned.

Israeli officials say they want the program to be able to build a lasting relationship between American Jews and Israel.

“The silver lining that these graduates discovered as they began to spend gap years in Israel provided them with a lifelong experience of the Israeli mosaics they chose to explore with their program participants. We will build a lasting bond with every part, “said Isaac Herzog, president of the Jewish Organization, a quasi-governmental organization that oversees plans and projects connecting Jewish Diaspora and Israel, including the gap year program. ..

Sharon Cooper, the mother of Matthew and Josh Cooper, said the Israeli coronavirus situation was much less severe when she decided to send her son, but she was still happy.

She said Mrs. Cooper wanted her son to grow equally deep appreciation for the country that meant a lot to her family. Mrs. Cooper said her mother fled Iraq to Israel in 1948. He grew up in the United States but expanded his family in Israel.

“I really want them to develop their love for the country. Living there and actually immersing themselves in culture is a unique opportunity,” she said. “I’m excited about them.”

— Dov Lieber of Tel Aviv contributed to this article.

Write to Felicia Schwartz [email protected]