Culture
Exposure to the lifestyles and culture of everyday Israelis allows students to immerse themselves in unique aspects of Israeli society and view citizens separate from the emotionally-charged political discourse This creates space to unwind with culinary experiences, recreational activities, cultural tours, and social events.
Fashionating by Liri
Activity description:
Learn about the Israeli fashion and design scene and participate in a Tel Aviv or Jerusalem fashion tour. More than 'just' fashion experiences, you’ll learn about local production, sustainability, inclusivity, and support of sub-groups and social impact organizations in Israel.
Fashionating by Liri is a social enterprise established by Liraz (Liri) Cohen Mordechai in 2016 to empower Israeli fashion designers, brands, and companies and to tell Israel's story through a new and unique perspective on fashion. The company offers customized educational lectures, tours, trips, and special events in Israel and in North America focusing on the effects of cultural, social, and economic factors on the evolution of Israeli fashion. To date, the company has inspired and educated thousands of participants from Jewish and non-Jewish organizations.
Other
Jerusalem / Tel Aviv
Nura’s Kitchen
Activity description:
Enjoy Nurah's cooking in a meal of traditional Druze cuisine, followed by an intimate conversation about her story as a woman, a chef, and a daughter of the Druze community in Israel.
Nurah Husyesi is a chef who specializes in Druze cuisine. She worked for five years at the exclusive Carmel Forest Spa Resort and has cooked alongside some of the top chefs in Israel including Chaim Cohen who encouraged Nurah to open a restaurant in her home in the Druze village of Dalyat El Carmel.
Other
North
BE Tel Aviv
Activity description:
Get a behind-the-scenes perspective of Israel’s rich graffiti culture or make your way through a bustling Israeli market on a global tasting tour.
Tel Aviv is a young city and very different than ancient cities of religious importance in Israel like Jerusalem. Israel's cosmopolitan, creative, invigorated cultural hub, Tel Aviv is also one of the most secular cities in Israel, characterized by cultural diversity created by immigrants from around the world. Be Tel Aviv offers a variety of cultural experiences and tours designed to provide an insider's look into Tel Aviv. Tours focus on the hottest topics in Tel Aviv life today and are led by the best guides in town who share a local's point of view.
Other
Tel Aviv
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Sindyanna of Galilee
Activity description:
Visit Sindyanna of Galilee and sample some of their award-winning olive oil. Learn how this non-profit organization produces high-quality, fair-trade products and creates economic opportunities for Arab women, one of Israel’s most underemployed sectors. You can also try your hand at basket weaving using traditional techniques, participate in a Za'atar-making workshop, or join in a Palestinian Arabic meal prepared by the women of Sindyanna.
Sindyanna of Galilee is a female-led non-profit that actively promotes the concepts of “business for peace” and fair trade in Israel. Sindyanna sells Arab producers’ olive oil and other premium products in the international marketplace according to fair trade principles and then channels all of the profits back into education for Arab women. The organization consists of Arab and Jewish women who share a vision of peaceful coexistence and work towards this goal side-by-side with skill, care, and a passion for traditional crafts.
Medium
North
Guru Zuzu
Activity description:
Twist and shout through the streets of Tel Aviv, Haifa, or Jerusalem, and let yourself be swept away by the magic of urban music-play! Put headphones on and follow a local Guru on an exciting journey of Israeli culture, music, and dance. The music changes in real time according to the group dynamics and spontaneous situations with Israelis in the streets of Israel. All experiences include a processing session and a discussion.
Guru Zuzu uses the city as a playground and brings Israel to life in a one-of-a-kind urban musical adventure. The Israeli branch of a global project that has involved 500,000 participants worldwide, Guru Zuzu offers a unique opportunity to get to know Israeli culture through music, meet Israelis in authentic street encounters, and learn fun facts about urban local history.
Other
Tel Aviv/Haifa/Jerusalem/
Zichron Yaakov
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Ma'aleh Film School
Activity description:
View a movie and talk to the filmmaker or participate in a writing or mobile phone video workshop.
The Ma'aleh School of Film and Television in Jerusalem is dedicated to exploring the intersection of Judaism and modernity through the visual language of film. Ma’aleh is a boutique film school that emphasizes tradition alongside Western humanitarian values. Students create artistic, inspiring stories that share their world, hopes, dreams, fears, and challenges. At film festivals and in public screenings, their films build bridges between various sectors of Judaism and between Israel and the world.nsideration and sensitivity to each culture and its characteristics and strive to create in-depth and direct acquaintance with the “other” in a natural environment, emphasizing commonalities without ignoring or fearing differences.
Other
Jerusalem
Na Laga'at
Activity description:
Experience the world of the deaf and blind, see a multi-sensory show performed by blind and deaf performers and meet with the performers to understand more about their lives, artistry, and abilities. Other options include dinner at Blackout, one of the world’s few dark restaurants; an introduction to sign language during a light meal without words at Café Kapish; a wine, beer, or chocolate tasting experience in total darkness, or creating clay sculptures in a total-darkness workshop.
Na Laga’at (Please Touch) is a one-of-a-kind non-profit cultural and arts center. The center is home to the Na Laga’at theater, BlackOut Restaurant, Kapish event center, and workshop center. Na Laga’at presents an innovative model in every facet of integrating people with disabilities in society and provides an equal stage for meetings between the general public and people who are deaf, blind, or both deaf and blind.
Medium
Jaffa
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The Cooking Experience
Activity description:
Guided by an expert chef, create a variety of Israeli culinary selections and then savor the results for lunch or dinner.
All cuisines are a result of the interplay of many forces—historical, sociological, and agricultural—and Israeli cuisine is no different. Renowned for being healthy and fresh, Israeli cuisine is versatile and influenced by a fusion of Oriental, Mediterranean, Middle-Eastern, and Western traditions. The culinary workshop at The Cooking Experience shares the secrets of the Israeli kitchen and teaches visitors to cook like an Israeli in a unique Ottoman-era Manor House graced with Italian marble pillars and painted floors.
This is Not an Ulpan (TINAU)
Activity description:
Take part in an active Hebrew or Arabic language lesson and acquire a basic understanding of the language through games and useful phrases while fully immersed in Israel's complex reality.
This is Not an Ulpan (TINAU) was founded in 2012 by a group of teachers and students frustrated by their own Ulpan experiences where the language taught was often removed from the real world. The group believed a language school should teach the language of everyday life and in real-life situations whenever possible. The group also identified the lack of language schools teaching both Hebrew and Arabic and believes language barriers need to be overcome in order to reduce cultural barriers within Israel. Today TINAU stands out as one of the only language schools in Israel that teaches both Hebrew and Arabic and is run together by Jews, Palestinians, veterans, and newcomers. TINAU students learn in a refreshing style that doesn’t revolve around endless textbooks or grammar charts but focuses on speaking and everyday conversations that are relevant outside the classroom.
Other
Israel
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Talking Art
Activity description:
Join a local art expert for a Tel Aviv or a Jerusalem gallery hop that explores the best and boldest art in town, or visit Tel Aviv’s blue-collar Kiryat HaMelacha that has suddenly become the happening home for contemporary Israeli art, with neighborhood galleries, studios, and street art. You can also take a theme tour on a topic such as “Art and Technology”, “Art and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict”, or a street art smartphone photography workshop.
Israel’s contemporary art is diverse in trends, styles, and genres. Museums, trend-setting and experimental galleries, artists’ studios and working spaces, beautiful street art, and more, all create a vibrant, beating art scene. “Talking Art” is a project initiated in 2013 by Shani Werner that strives to “talk art” as much as possible. Believing that understanding art is also a way to understand the place in which it was made, it presents Israeli art as a portal into this complex and beautiful country. The organization offers private art, architecture, and urban culture tours led by experienced guides from various fields including art critics, curators, street artists, architects, and more.
Other
Tel Aviv / Jerusalem