The URJ is proud to provide our Reform and progressive Jewish communities a suite of programs for our teens and the wider Jewish community to engage with contemporary social issues, culture, and community organizing around Israel. As the climate around Israel since October 7th has laid bare, the Jewish world is sorely in need of a place for nuanced and multivocal spaces to learn about and be in conversation around Israel and the ongoing war.
The URJ Teen Israel Organizing Programs are just the spaces for our teens and the wider community to thoughtfully deepen their engagement with Israel!
This page is the hub for all things URJ Teen Israel Organizing. See below for information about:
- our two signature URJ Teen Israel Programs
- a list of upcoming events with our virtual learning series Teen Israel Organizers Talk…
- a list of publications about our programs (some even by our teens!)
Signature Programs
The URJ Teen Israel Organizing Programs offer North American teens two incredible programs to deepen their understanding of and engagement with Israel: the URJ Teen Israel Organizing Fellowship and URJ Teen Israel Organizing Immersive.
URJ Teen Israel Organizing Fellowship
An immersive nine-month fellowship for North American high school students to learn about current events, social justice, and culture in Israel and learn how to organize around Israel within their communities. Fellows receive a $15,000 scholarship to spend the fall semester in Israel at URJ Heller High before returning home to work with mentors on an Israel organizing project of their choosing.
URJ Teen Israel Organizing Immersive
A four-month, US-Based program for teens to learn about current events, social justice, and culture in Israel and learn how to organize around Israel within their communities. Fellows receive a full scholarship to attend the opening seminar at the Collab in October 2024 before returning home to work with mentors on an Israel organizing project of their choosing.
Teen Israel Organizers Talk… Events
URJ Teen Israel Organizers Talk.. is a teen-led and open-to-all virtual learning series to learn about Israel by hearing from thought leaders, journalists, artists, community organizers, and more who contribute to the evolving conversation around Israel's past and present. Please join us!
Teen Israel Organizers Talk... with Rabbi Rick Jacobs (URJ President) about the URJ’s recent Position Statements on Israel and the Conflict
April 10th at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT
Register Now
Teen Israel Organizers Talk… What are we talking about? (Defining the terms: Occupation, Apartheid, Colonialism, and Genocide) – with Rabbi Josh Weinberg (URJ/ARZA)
April 16th at 8:30 PM ET / 5:30 PM PT
Register now
Selected Publications
- "Gen Z Jews Have the Agency to Become Changemakers Amidst War in Israel" by Josh Jury, Times of Israel, January 18, 2024
- "Fellowship Fosters Community Amidst War in Israel" by Josh Jury, October 27, 2023
- "One Way Reform Jews Can Lean Into the Conversation Around Israel" by Bryan Oren, Inside Leadership, April 17, 2023
- "Learning from D'vora" by Bryan Oren, ARZA blog, February 2, 2023