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Israel Teaching Fellows May Update
Unsurprisingly, things have been busy for Ma’ase Olam’s Israel Teaching Fellows this spring. After kicking off a three-week break coinciding with Passover that started with a tiyul, or tour, of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, our Fellows took the chance to get some travelling in. Some of the Fellows traveled back to the US, while others traveled around Europe, including two participants who backpacked through Vienna and Berlin.
Before their break, our Teaching Fellows were invited to spend a really special night with one of the members of the Israeli Peer Group that Ma’ase Olam participants work with. The groom, Gideon, his family and friends, made sure that our Fellows were welcomed at the event, which Fellow Alan Borenstein described as “one of his favorite things that he did this year,” adding that it was a really “great cultural experience.” The Fellows were made to feel incredibly welcome, and for our group of Fellows, it was a really terrific experience for them to spend together.
As the program itself begins to wind-down (our end date is in late-June), our Fellows are doing some really exciting end-of-the-year projects. Brian Levenson, who has been teaching his students English through songs, is planning a day-long event in his school. Brian is working with fifth-grade students in his school to prepare for a school-wide concert for the students to perform in front of their families and classmates. This work has pushed Brian to work with larger groups of students than he had been working with before. Brian’s average class size has doubled, from around 6 students at a time, to now working with no less than 12 students. Exciting stuff and he’s excited about the work. We’re excited to see 10 year old Israeli students crank out hits from Adele, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Beatles, The Fugees, and Jason Mraz. According to Brian, “Students come up to me every day begging to sing.”
At Alan’s school, he and his co-Fellow Rachel recently held an event they called English Day.  For English Day, Alan and Rachel’s 3rd grade students sang songs about colors, their 4th graders performed short plays, and their 5th and 6th grade students competed for a region wide spelling bee, wrapping up a competition that has been taking place since January. English Day took up a serious amount of time for Alan and Rachel, unsurprising, as it was such a major project. We wish him luck and look forward to his pictures!
Be sure to check back with us soon, as we look forward to having more updates about our Israel Teaching Fellows as they begin to think about wrapping up their time in Israel and figuring out what comes next. We’re inspired to see them continue their work, and as much as we’re going to miss them and their work, we’re really excited to see what they’ll do next with the skills and lessons they’ve learned with us in Israel.
For more information about our Israel Teaching Fellows program, or if you would like to fill out an application, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call us at (212) 339-6075. Ma’ase Olam is also very excited to unveil our new post-college program, Israel Service Fellows. Israel Service Fellows is a 10-month service learning program for a select group of exceptional Jewish college graduates. Israel Service Fellows will work on informal education, community development and empowerment projects and will live and work together in small groups in either Israel's south (Beer Sheva ) or North (Akko). Aside from a service placement, all Fellows will receive ongoing professional support, intensive Hebrew training, and trips throughout Israel. If you would like to nominate someone for our Israel Service Fellows program, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

playgroundUnsurprisingly, things have been busy for Ma’ase Olam’s Israel Teaching Fellows this spring. After kicking off a three-week break coinciding with Passover that started with a tiyul, or tour, of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, our Fellows took the chance to get some travelling in. Some of the Fellows traveled back to the US, while others traveled around Europe, including two participants who backpacked through Vienna and Berlin.

Before their break, our Teaching Fellows were invited to spend a really special night with one of the members of the Israeli Peer Group that Ma’ase Olam participants work with. The groom, Gideon, his family and friends, made sure that our Fellows were welcomed at the event, which Fellow Alan Borenstein described as “one of his favorite things that he did this year,” adding that it was a really “great cultural experience.” The Fellows were made to feel incredibly welcome, and for our group of Fellows, it was a really terrific experience for them to spend together.

 

 

As the program itself begins to wind-down (our end date is in late-June), our Fellows are doing some really exciting end-of-the-year projects. Brian Levenson, who has been teaching his students English through songs, is planning a day-long event in his school. Brian is working with fifth-grade students in his school to prepare for a school-wide concert for the students to perform in front of their families and classmates. This work has pushed Brian to work with larger groups of students than he had been working with before. Brian’s average class size has doubled, from around 6 students at a time, to now working with no less than 12 students. Exciting stuff and he’s excited about the work. We’re excited to see 10 year old Israeli students crank out hits from Adele, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bon Jovi, Beatles, The Fugees, and Jason Mraz. According to Brian, “Students come up to me every day begging to sing.”

At Alan’s school, he and his co-Fellow Rachel recently held an event they called English Day.  For English Day, Alan and Rachel’s 3rd grade students sang songs about colors, their 4th graders performed short plays, and their 5th and 6th grade students competed for a region wide spelling bee, wrapping up a competition that has been taking place since January. English Day took up a serious amount of time for Alan and Rachel, unsurprising, as it was such a major project. We wish him luck and look forward to his pictures!

Be sure to check back with us soon, as we look forward to having more updates about our Israel Teaching Fellows as they begin to think about wrapping up their time in Israel and figuring out what comes next. We’re inspired to see them continue their work, and as much as we’re going to miss them and their work, we’re really excited to see what they’ll do next with the skills and lessons they’ve learned with us in Israel.

For more information about our Israel Teaching Fellows program, or if you would like to fill out an application, please contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or call us at (212) 339-6075. Ma’ase Olam is also very excited to unveil our new post-college program, Israel Service Fellows. Israel Service Fellows is a 10-month service learning program for a select group of exceptional Jewish college graduates. Israel Service Fellows will work on informal education, community development and empowerment projects and will live and work together in small groups in either Israel's south (Beer Sheva ) or North (Akko). Aside from a service placement, all Fellows will receive ongoing professional support, intensive Hebrew training, and trips throughout Israel. If you would like to nominate someone for our Israel Service Fellows program, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .