You’re sitting in a funky Tel Aviv cafe with an iced coffee in your hand and a smile on your face. You’re two weeks into an eight-week internship, and you’ve made new friends, learned new skills, and your conversational Hebrew isn’t too shabby! This could be you: Onward Israel Los Angeles is your chance to travel to Israel with a group of new friends from L.A. and gain valuable professional experience while exploring contemporary Israel.
Onward Israel LA is an eight-week summer program that offers L.A.-based students a professional global experience through customized resume-building internship opportunities and adventure abroad. Students are encouraged to explore modern-day Israeli life and connect with their fellow Angelenos as they spend the summer living together as a community in Tel Aviv. This summer, The Jewish Federation is partnering with Onward Israel and Young Judaea to bring 35 students from the University of California, Los Angeles; University of Southern California; Santa Monica College; California State University Northridge; Moorpark College; and Occidental College to Israel. Our cohort of local students is interning in companies and organizations such as:
- Dotan Cohen Law Office
- Ticketmaster
- Time Out
- Ewave Real Estate
- Prima Hotels
- Joy Records
- Ecomotion
Through internships, study, and service-learning, Onward Israel is designed with the beginning in mind: The beginning of your success story. In addition to interning, our 35 L.A. students will participate in a robust educational program that includes opportunities to travel all over Israel, a Shabbaton seminar, cultural nights in Tel Aviv, and professional development workshops. While in Israel, they will have the opportunity to connect with almost 8,000 other North American participants and build meaningful connections with their fellow Angelenos before returning to L.A. as a newly formed community.
Sounds amazing, right? Don’t only take our word for it! Onward Israel LA 2018 participant Valerie Taranto (USC) shared with us, “I am really grateful for the experience to have come to and worked in Israel. I am not quite a tourist but getting a taste of what it means to be a local in Tel Aviv, all while exploring my Jewish roots. I’ve learned so much about what my Judaism means to me and what I want to continue to learn about it. My internship is with Keith Glassman, a still-life photographer. As photography has always been a main interest of mine, it has been exciting to work with someone who has made a career out of it. So far, I feel inspired every day and I am learning life skills that I am eager to bring back to the states.”
Want an awesome internship in Israel next summer? Applications for Onward Israel LA 2020 open in the fall, and more information can be found by visiting YAJewishla.org/Onward or emailing OnwardIsraelLA@JewishLA.org.
