For Jewish teens in Baltimore, Israel is still physically far away, but it is a lot more attainable as a destination than it may seem.
That is largely because of the Jewish Educational Services Community Fund for Israel Experiences Grants, which provides funds for Baltimore-area teens to travel to the Jewish state for trips short and long. Applications for the current cycle opened on Feb. 9, and JES Executive Director Rabbi Aaron Levitt said that it’s going to be a great year for kids who are looking forward to seeing Israel.
“We are very happy to be able to help get Baltimore Jewish kids to Israel. We know that the statistics show the impact of Israel on Jewish identity, of just having a meaningful experience, educational experience in Israel. And so every year we are able to support students [going to] Israel, whether it’s with school trips or summer programs or gap-year programs.”
The program has been around for more than a decade. Summer program winners can get up to $500, students going for the semester can get up to $1,000 and those going for a gap year can get up to $1,500. There are both first-come, first-served scholarships and merit scholarships, and those who are awarded them are required to participate in at least one Israel education seminar through JES.
Those seminars are valuable experiences in and of themselves.
“It’s really an opportunity for them to explore different aspects of Israel that they might not have otherwise thought about. We’ll have speakers who will come and present on how the Israeli parliament works. Or they’ll talk about some of the challenges that Israel has had to navigate since Oct. 7. We had one Israeli mayor who was willing to share her experience of making aliyah; we had an Israeli soldier who was a Baltimore native,” Levitt said.
Importantly, Levitt added that it is not about leading the students to any particular opinion or way of thinking.
“We just want to expose students to the types of people that they will meet there, and the types of topics that will come up,” he said.
Each year, around 100 students participate in the program. Levitt said the experience is about connecting to the land, to Israelis and “walking in [the steps] of your forefathers and mothers.”
“The experience of going to Israel in your formative adolescent years has been shown in many studies to have a profound impact on Jewish identity. We don’t tell the students what program to go on; they can choose whatever program they want, as long as it’s in Israel,” he said. “Time and time again, it seems to have an incredible impact.”
Importantly, these grants aren’t just for students who have never been to Israel or don’t have a strong Jewish identity.
“Even for kids who’ve grown up in a very strong Jewish environment and have been going to Jewish school for their whole life, something about stepping foot there seems to have a tremendous impact,” Levitt said.
The gap-year program is the most intensive offering, and Levitt said that it appeals to all types of Jewish youths. Some go for a year in yeshiva or seminary, while some seek a more alternative type of program.
Spending a semester or a year in Israel is not easy, and has been particularly tough the last few years. Levitt said that, due to the war with Hamas, some programs were rescheduled. Flights were changed, too, and some parents were especially worried.
“For the most part, everything was able to operate, actually. I think that, despite all the challenges and the pain of the last couple years, students who haven’t been to Israel and adults as well who’ve been in Israel since Oct. 7 have really experienced almost a more meaningful trip, because they see Israel coming together and Israelis trying to help one another through difficult times,” Levitt said.
Some students from Baltimore have attended hostage rallies, while some have volunteered or cooked meals for soldiers and their families.
“They’ve seen what it’s like for a country and a people to look after one another,” Levitt said.
The JES Community Fund for Israel Experiences Grants program has become a model for other such scholarships in similar communities. Ultimately, it’s all about helping a new generation of Jews feel connected to their homeland, Levitt said.
“Other communities sometimes call us and ask how we do things, because they’re trying to either create a new program or tweak the one they have. So, I think it’s becoming more and more apparent that we have to get our kids to Israel. They may not make aliyah, they may not settle down there, but it cements their connection to the Jewish people for the rest of their lives,” he said.
