BBYO Passport: A BBYO Travel Experience

BBYO Passport: A BBYO Travel Experience

7-Day Israel Extension

LENGTH: 7 Days

GRADES: 9th-12th

COST: $950

EXPERIENCE: Israel

About the Experience

All core Israel programs are based on a three-week model. Participants can get more out of their time in Israel by choosing a week-long Israel extension. Each extension program is campus-based and is designed to open a window on a unique aspect of Israeli society that you may otherwise not experience.

PART 1 / Gadna Basic Training

The first half of the extension is spent participating in Gadna. Organized by the Israel Defense Forces and located on a specialized army educational base, Gadna is a basic training-style simulation experience for high school teens from abroad. Since every Israeli teen is required to serve in the Israeli army, Gadna offers a window for Jewish teens from around the world to see what this uniquely Israeli experience is like. To be clear, the Gadna program is not political or militaristic in nature. The experience is about learning new skills, hiking in the outdoors, and simulating what life is like on a real Israeli army base. Gadna is a challenging and character building life experience that you can look back on with a definite sense of accomplishment.

PART 2 / The Community Service Experience

The second half of the week is devoted to community service. In some cases, the service may be focused on a single project, and in other cases it may be a series of different service projects each day. Activities may include preparation and delivery of meals for the hungry, volunteering at a domestic abuse center, building wheelchairs and crutches for disabled and elderly Israelis, bringing the gift of company and song to children at Hadassah Hospital, working with disadvantaged children to learn English, and working with the Jewish National Fund to restore Israel's forests. Depart Israel with a sense that you not only visited, but gave something back as well.

How the Extension Works

The 7-Day Israel Extension can be added to the following Core trips:

The Gadna & Community Service program is considered a "post-trip extension". This means that the extension experience begins immediately following the end of the core trip. On a typical core trip, about a quarter of the participants will choose an extension option. In some cases, teens from multiple core trips will converge to form a new extension group – which is an opportunity for additional friendships. Each extension program is supervised by North American chaperon staff as well as Israeli professional staff.

*On Israel Journey Plus, the Gadna & Community Service programming is embedded within the core experience and is not treated as an extension.