Program Overview

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Ulpan Orientation
Tikkun Olam in Tel Aviv-Jaffa begins with one month focused on Hebrew language study (called "Ulpan"). Participants study Hebrew in an intensive setting with experienced, highly qualified Hebrew Ulpan teachers.  Different class levels will be provided and all Hebrew levels are welcome -- no previous knowledge of Hebrew is required.

In addition to Ulpan classes, participants take part in a variety of seminars and workshops in order to get them acquainted with the issues facing those communities in which they will live during the main portion of the program.  Also, participants will tour various volunteering opportunities to help them decide where they might want to volunteer their time.  At the end of the Ulpan Orientation period, participants work together with Tikkun Olam staff to build an individualized volunteering schedule that will enable them to get the most out of their Tikkun Olam experience.

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Community Service Track
This track focuses on work in South Tel Aviv's poor Jewish neighborhoods and growing foreign worker and refugee community (from Darfur, Eritrea and other parts of Africa and beyond).  This track is similar to past incarnations of the Tikkun Olam program.

The Neighborhood

Participants who choose this track will make their home in the working class Tel Aviv neighborhood of Kiryat Shalom.  There, they are provided with well-stocked apartments, and grocery stores, banks and restaurants are all within easy walking distance.  The city center, other South Tel Aviv neighborhoods and Jaffa are all easily accessible by bus, bike or on foot.  Tel Aviv's Central Bus Station and Hagannah Train Station are each a 20 minute walk from the apartments, making all of Israel easily accessible to Tikkun Olam participants.

In Kiryat Shalom, participants will live within a population of both recent Israeli immigrants and veteran citizens, most of whom are more religiously observant than those in other parts of Tel Aviv, giving Shabbat and holidays a distinctive flavor.  What truly defines this neighborhood, however, is a strong sense of community.  Many Kiryat Shalom residents proudly boast that "everybody knows everybody else" here.  This combination of factors creates a unique cultural experience for participants in this track.

Volunteering
Participants in the Community Service track volunteer for 15-20 hours each week, spread out over 3 days of the week at 3-4 different regular volunteering jobs, most of which are located a short walk from the apartments.  

 
Some examples of past volunteering opportunities in the Community Service Track:

• An after-school program for 3rd and 4th graders who have learning or behavioral problems in the classroom, or come from broken homes and difficult family situations
• A daycare for developmentally disabled toddlers
• Tutoring English in a high school in an underprivileged neighborhood
• A half-way house for teens recently released from juvenile detention centers
• A program that arranges adapted physical activities for people born with disabilities, or people who have become disabled in terror attacks or military conflicts
• Tutoring English in the neighborhood elementary school in Kiryat Shalom
• Working in a non-government funded daycare for children of migrant workers

In addition to these regular volunteer opportunities, throughout the year, the opportunity may arise for special short-term volunteer projects for those interested.

Please note that Community Service participants may choose volunteering options from the Coexistence Track, while still maintaining an overall emphasis on work in the Community Service Track.

Study
The Community Service track study program includes classes on Judaic texts and philosophy, as well as issues facing the communities of South Tel Aviv, and Israeli society as a whole.  An emphasis on the tenets of tikkun olam and gemilut hasadim will help participants understand the Judaic underpinnings of their volunteer work.  These classes will take place at Bina's Secular Yeshiva, located in the heart of South Tel Aviv, and are taught by Bina's outstanding and renowned teaching staff, representing some of the biggest names in their respective fields.  Classes are conducted informally with an emphasis on work in small groups and open discussion.

The Secular Yeshiva, now in its third year of operation, functions as an educational and cultural center for Bina's groups of young Israelis, as well as well as Tikkun Olam.  By encouraging open discussion and dialogue about the Jewish sources, the Secular Yeshiva gives secular Israelis the opportunity to explore their Jewish identity in a more relaxed and progressive setting than is found in most traditional yeshivas.  Click here to read more about the Secular Yeshiva.

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Coexistence Track
Participants who choose this track will volunteer in community centers and organizations that promote Arab-Israeli coexistence and understanding, and study sessions will explore the background of Arab-Israeli relations and coexistence.  This represents the first and only MASA program whose participants work for Arab-Israeli coexistence in Israel's largest metropolitan area, Tel Aviv-Jaffa.

The Neighborhood
Participants who choose the Coexistence Track will live in apartments in the diverse and historic Jaffa area of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.  The apartments are fully furnished, with well-stocked kitchens, and grocery stores, banks and restaurants all within easy walking distance.  A short bus ride takes you to the Tel Aviv city center, as well as to the Tel Aviv Central Bus Station, from which point all parts of Tel Aviv and Israel are accessible.

The neighborhoods of Jaffa present an eclectic mixture of Arab and Jewish culture.  Participants who stay there don't just volunteer and study coexistence -- they live it.  Living in one of the world's oldest port cities, set against the backdrop of Tel Aviv, one of the Middle East's most modern cities, lends itself to a cultural experience unlike any other.  

Volunteering
Participants in the Coexistence Track spend 3 days each week volunteering at 3-4 different volunteering jobs, totaling 15-20 hours of volunteer work per week.  Most volunteering is a short walk from the apartments.

Some examples of  past volunteering opportunities in the Coexistence Track:

• An after school program for motivated and academically gifted Arab students with difficult home lives or economic situations
• Work in a variety of Arab-Jewish community centers
• A program that runs basketball activities for mixed groups of young Jewish and Arab Israelis
• Working alongside a highly diverse staff in a day care for Arab and Jewish toddlers with disabilities
• A halfway house for recently released Arab and Jewish juvenile offenders

In addition to these regular volunteer opportunities, throughout the year, the opportunity may arise for special short-term volunteer projects for those interested.

Please note that Coexistence participants may choose volunteering options from the Community Service Track, while still maintaining an overall emphasis on work in the Coexistence Track.

Study

Participants on the Coexistence Track will take classes on issues relating to Arab-Israeli coexistence in order to fully understand what they will encounter during their volunteering.  In addition, Coexistence participants will have the opportunity to take a seminar in conversational Arabic, and 10-month participants can choose to take part in The Daniel Centers' Jaffa Tour Guide training program, which will allow them to guide tours in Jaffa for the many tour groups that visit the Daniel Centers throughout the year.  

Coexistence study days will take place at The Daniel Centers' Mishkenot Ruth Daniel in Jaffa, and at Beit Daniel in north Tel Aviv, where a variety of cultural, social and spiritual events are held throughout the year.  Click here for more information on the Daniel Centers.

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Communal Life
Both Bina and The Daniel Centers are home to thriving communities of young Israeli Jews, and host events for holidays and other special occasions.  Participants from both tracks are welcomed in to both communities, and are invited to take part in those events which they host..  

The Bina Community

Bina boasts several groups of young Israelis who also live, study and volunteer in South Tel Aviv. All of Bina's groups (Tikkun Olam included) arrange special communal celebrations for Jewish holidays, periodic events for Shabbat as well as cultural and educational events, usually taking place at the Secular Yeshiva.  Tikkun Olam members are encouraged to help plan and participate in all of these events, and to truly feel a connection with the Bina family in South Tel Aviv.  In years past, for example, Tikkun Olam groups have hosted Channukah candle lightings, helped organize Shabbat dinners and Bina's annual Tu B'Shevat seder.

The Daniel Centers' Community

The Daniel Centers have recently begun working in Jaffa with the opening of Mishkenot Ruth Daniel. Mishkenot Ruth, doubling as a youth hostel and an education and cultural center, boasts diverse communal programming such as coexistence tours guided by Jews and Arabs introducing Jaffa and their own conflicting narratives of identity and peoplehood, intimate weekly Friday services at Mishkenot Ruth, and much more. Through all of these initiatives and more, the Daniel Centers work to realize a vision of pluralism and coexistence in Israel.

Participants of Tikkun Olam are welcome to join in the The Daniel Centers' wealth of cultural activities in Jaffa, as well as take part in a particularly active young adults group which meets regularly in our North Tel Aviv center of Beit Daniel.

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Trips and Cultural Activities


Once a month, the whole group will take an overnight trip somewhere in Israel, usually involving hiking and camping.  Through these experiences, participants get a chance to get to know the Israel that exists outside of Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and because of the variety of trips, Tikkun Olam graduates can say that they really got to know Israel as a whole during the program.  Participants get to enjoy the country's fantastic geographic diversity and breathtaking natural beauty, while also touring fascinating historical and cultural sites.  Furthermore, these trips lead Tikkun Olam members to encounters with the many ethnic groups living in Israel, as well as a chance to meet different Jewish populations with a wide variety of perspectives on life in Israel.  

In addition to the overnight trips, 1-2 times each month Tikkun Olam participants will take part in day trips or cultural activities in and around Tel Aviv-Jaffa to get better acquainted with the culture and history of this remarkable city.

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Shared Classes
In addition to classes taken within the track, all Tikkun Olam participants will take part in a shared class on Jewish Identity with Israeli peers at Bina's Secular Yeshiva.  The class will be taught by a member of Bina's outstanding teaching staff, and will seek to open a dialogue about what it means to be Jewish in the Diaspora and in Israel.

All participants will continue to take Hebrew Ulpan classes for the duration of the program.  Following the initial 4-week intensive Ulpan seminar, Hebrew classes will be held twice a week.

Additional classes may be made available on a voluntary basis, depending on level of interest.  

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Independence
The staff at Tikkun Olam in Tel Aviv-Jaffa prides itself on giving participants a level of independence not found in other long-term programs in Israel.  As a post-graduate program, we feel that our participants are adults and should be treated as such.  In addition, we hope that Tikkun Olam participants will have the freedom to explore Tel Aviv-Jaffa and Israel on their own and thus really feel at home here.

This independence, however, comes with an expectation of personal responsibility.  Free time during the Tel Aviv portion of the program is ample (as opposed to during the Ulpan orientation, where there is free time but not as much), and so failure to fulfill the program's very reasonable requirements will not be tolerated.  Our application process seeks to find the most motivated, mature and responsible candidates who will fulfill their responsibilities without excessive oversight from staff.


Read more about Tikun Olam: An Award-Winning MASA Program

Questions?  Please feel free to contact us.
Sounds good to you?  Check out the application process.

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