Masa Israel Journey Blog

From Hollywood to Tel Aviv, learning how to make a difference

Published : September 01, 2010

By Arielle Miller, Teach and Study Program (TASP), Los Angeles

After graduating from UC Berkeley and traveling to Israel with Birthright Israel, I knew that while I needed more time in Israel, I also needed to start developing my career. On the Masa Israel Journey-accredited Teach and Study Program (TASP), I not only earned a Masters degree in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and gained competitive skills for the job market, but I also became a contributing member of Israeli society. I stayed in Israel after the program ended and today I work at an educational publishing house in Israel.

Though my father is Israeli, I did not grow up speaking Hebrew and I first arrived in Israel as a tourist. Upon returning to the...

Keeping the connection to Israel

Published : September 01, 2010

By Gabi Gordon, Chicago, IL, Nativ

Having been raised in a Conservative home in Chicago, Judaism was always a part of my life. I attended Solomon Schechter for elementary school and then got involved in USY. While a Junior in high school, I took part in the Alexander Muss semester program in Israel. It was then that I decided I needed to return for another extended period of time.

My chance to do so came soon enough. After graduation, I enrolled in Masa Israel’s Nativ, the Conservative movement’s gap year program in Israel. During that year, I had the opportunity to get to know the areas where I lived. While taking courses in Arabic, Jewish studies and Hebrew at ...