Israel Programs

Hasbara Fellowships In Israel

Trip Dates

Hasbara Fellowships in Israel

Summer 2010

May 23 - June 7

August 1 - August 16

Hasbara Fellowships, a program spearheaded by Aish International, educates and trains university students to be effective pro-Israel activists on their campuses. Started in 2001 in conjunction with Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hasbara Fellowships brings hundreds of students to Israel every summer and winter. So far, Hasbara Fellowships has trained over 1,400 students on over 250 campuses, providing its participants with the information, tools, resources, and confidence to return to their campuses as leaders in the fight for Israel's image. The most critical aspects of the Fellowships program is the opportunity for Fellows to network with one another, learning from each other and sharing experiences about Israel activism.

The Hasbara Fellowships program consists of mainly three tracks:

Educating students on Israeli and Middle East history and politics with a specific focus on issues related to the Palestinian conflict. Lectures cover topics including History of the Land of Israel, History of the State of Israel, Media Bias, Palestinian incitement and Occupied or Disputed Territories.
Training students to be effective campus activists by creating and implementing pro-active, pro-Israel campaigns. This track includes training students to communicate effectively, workshops in building pro-Israel programming on campus and sessions dealing with "Everyday Activism" topics such as working with campus media, promoting events and building coalitions.
Building students' Jewish identity and knowledge in order to be effective Jewish leaders.

Based in the Old City of Jerusalem, Hasbara Fellows spend time traveling the city as well as other important sites in the country including strategic military sites, borders with neighboring countries, a trip to the North of the country, as well as one to the South. On the program, Fellows have the opportunity to meet with many important members of Israeli society including journalists, politicians, prominent Israel activists, historians, and other experts. Fellows are exposed to a variety of perspectives on the Israeli political spectrum, and have been privileged to hear from Israeli officials including Benjamin Netanyahu, Shimon Peres, Dore Gold, and Natan Sharansky.

Upon returning from the program to their respective campuses, Hasbara Fellows receive support from our staff, which offers various campaigns, programs, speakers and other materials to bring to campus. All students who attend the program commit to being activists for Israel on their campuses, specifically running at least one program or campaign with the Hasbara Fellowships staff.

The Hasbara Fellowships Israel Program is for university undergraduates who have at least two semesters left on campus!