Yahel Israel
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Yahel is an educational organization offering service learning & social action programs in Israel.
Visions Days are a learning day for fellows, by fellows. This day asked “What is the cost of creativity in Israel?”
Fellows explored that question through the lenses of food, visual art, performance, and public policy.
The day began at Asif, a nonprofit dedicated to documenting and celebrating Israel’s diverse food culture, before continuing to HaMecarer (“The Refrigerator”), an underground art space housed in a former produce warehouse beneath Tel Aviv’s old wholesale market. There, fellows met with curator Iris Pshedetzki to discuss independent art, activism, and the role alternative cultural spaces play in shaping public discourse.
After touring the Municipal Multidisciplinary Center for the Performing Arts, fellows met with Giyora Yahalom, Director of the Culture and Arts Department at the Tel Aviv Municipality, to learn about public investment in the arts and how cities support cultural life.
Visions Days are opportunities to dive deeply into topics that spark curiosity and explore Israel through direct encounters, conversations, and experiences.
One of the core ideas behind Yahel is that meaningful engagement requires sitting with complexity.
During a recent Jerusalem-area seminar, we were joined by , as fellows spent the day exploring the realities of Israeli and Palestinian life through conversations and site visits. From Gush Etzion to Roots, a joint Israeli-Palestinian initiative, they encountered perspectives that challenged assumptions, raised difficult questions, and resisted easy answers.
Experiences like these are woven throughout the fellowship, alongside nine months of volunteer service in communities across Israel.
Applications for the 2026–27 Yahel Fellowship have been extended to June 30. Follow the link in the first comment for more info!
14/06/2026
Last week, we worked with international volunteers all over the country. Check out the photos to see what they made happen!
Tel Aviv - Showing up for Asylum Seekers
A Tailor Made Birthright group from New York and Montreal spent the day at ASSAF,a grassroots organization providing aid to refugees and asylum seekers in Israel, organizing food packages and helping improve community spaces in the organization’s center.
Kfar Truman - Getting to work on an animal rescue farm
Ron’s Farm welcomed an international Tailor Made Birthright group of volunteers from London, New York, and Chicago. At this educational and therapeutic animal rescue farm, volunteers cleared a pathway leading to the animals’ grazing area. Their work supported the farm’s ongoing care for both people and animals.
Jerusalem - Making space for the Clubhouse Community
Volunteers from a Russian-speaking Birthright group joined members of the local Ethiopian Church and Talmud Torah communities for a special day supporting Clubhouse, a community for people coping with mental health challenges. Together, they cleaned a large courtyard, cleared away waste, and relocated a second-hand shop, helping create a more welcoming and functional space.
Haifa - Support for Israel's northern border
In a special volunteer project initiated by our Haifa Hub team and funded through our emergency crowdfunding campaign , the same Russian speaking Birthright group that volunteered in Jerusalem, travelled to Haifa and packed food boxes for communities along Israel’s northern border. The initiative responded to ongoing needs in the region, connecting volunteers directly with communities facing continued challenges.
Lod - Gardening and cultural preservation
Russian speaking volunteers partnered with the local community center in Ramat Eshkol to support both cultural preservation and community gardening. They helped strengthen a traditional Ethiopian Godjo house and worked in the community garden, preparing beds with fresh soil and compost for future planting
08/06/2026
"Hope is like peace. It is not a gift from God. It is a gift only we can give one another." — Elie Wiesel
Like so many across Israel, we are following developments closely and staying aligned with official guidance. We are grateful and relieved that our fellows, volunteers, and staff are safe — and we are holding our communities around the country close.
Tomorrow's volunteer activities will continue as planned. In uncertain times, choosing to show up is itself an act of faith — in each other, and in the work we share.
This is what community is built for. Every day, we witness people turning toward one another rather than away. That quiet courage is at the heart of everything we do, and we are honored to be part of it.
Wishing everyone strength, safety, and solidarity in the week ahead.
07/06/2026
Service Spotlight on... Haifa! 📍
Last week was about both building new connections and strengthening longstanding ones.
Volunteers launched a new partnership with the Reali School, bringing students together with volunteer mentors for English conversation and cultural exchange. For students whose education has been shaped by years of disruption since COVID, opportunities to build confidence in English, and connect with people from around the world makes a huge difference.
At the same time, volunteers returned to support longtime community partner Beit Maya, a therapeutic center for children and families, clearing outdoor spaces and painting a future relaxation room designed to support healing and trauma recovery.
One new partnership. One enduring partnership. Both rooted in the belief that strong communities are built through consistent investment, collaboration, and service.
Here’s to another meaningful week in Haifa.
07/06/2026
Spots are filling up fast- but applications are still open! Learn more about the Yahel Social Change Fellowship, link in comments.
Yahel Israel Fellowship | 9-Month Israel Volunteer Program Our most immersive Israel Volunteer program puts fellows at the forefront of social issues facing Israel and equips them with the tools to create real, lasting change
We were joined by HolyLand Speaks for a day that left us with more questions than answers…and that was exactly the point.
As part of our Jerusalem Seminar, fellows engaged with a wide range of voices and perspectives in and around Gush Etzion.
From conversations with Roots to meetings with speakers holding very different views about Israel, fellows were challenged to listen deeply, think critically, and engage with complexity rather than retreat from it.
At Yahel, we believe understanding begins with curiosity, and that meaningful leadership requires the ability to hold nuance, even when it’s uncomfortable.
Thanks to HolyLand Speaks for capturing a glimpse of the journey with us.
Applications for next year’s fellowship are now open!
Join a community of young leaders committed to service, curiosity, and engaging with Israel in all its complexity.
03/06/2026
Brotherhood took on new meaning this week as students connected with communities across Israel through service and learning.
Through Yahel and Repair the World’s strategic alliance, and in partnership with Taglit and JFNA, AEPi brothers traveled from the Negev to Jerusalem and beyond, engaging with Israel through hands-on service, meaningful conversations, and community connection.
Along the way, they volunteered alongside lone soldiers, supported children and families, cared for rescued animals, worked in community spaces, and met with local leaders and Yahel Social Change Fellows working to strengthen Israeli society every day.
The journey also created space to grapple with some of Israel’s most complex realities, from visiting the Nova site and hearing testimony from those impacted by October 7, to conversations about resilience, responsibility, and the role individuals can play in creating change.
Through listening, learning, and serving, participants experienced Israel not just as visitors, but as active members of a broader community.
Four days in Jerusalem, at the intersection of policy, conflict, and community with the Yahel Social Change Fellows!
From the halls of the Knesset to grassroots spaces across the city, from Gush Etzion and Efrat to Haredi neighborhoods in Jerusalem, we stepped into conversations that rarely sit neatly in one narrative.
We explored how governance is shaped and contested, and how dialogue,sometimes uncomfortable,opens space for deeper understanding.
Across perspectives that challenged and expanded one another, the seminar asked us to hold complexity.
Jerusalem, in all its layers, doesn’t offer simple answers, but it insists on engagement.
This week is building brotherhood through service.
After spending a week volunteering on the JSA trip himself, Andrew, AEPi’s Director of Campus Life, saw firsthand the impact of meaningful service in Israel — and couldn’t wait to bring this opportunity to the brothers, “This is who we are, this is what we stand for”.
Now, in collaboration with , , and , AEPi members are arriving for a week of volunteering, learning, and engaging with communities across Israel through hands-on service and shared experiences.
Excited to welcome them for the week ahead!
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