Build community. Create change. The grassroots Israel experience.

Yahel Social Change Program is a unique 9-month service learning experience for young adults between the ages of 21 and 27. The program, taking place in Gedera, Israel, combines hands-on volunteer work with in-depth learning and immersion. Yahel participants explore Israel by living, learning and volunteering alongside their peers from the local Ethiopian Israeli community. Yahel and its participants make meaningful contributions to Israeli society by working in collaboration with Friends by Nature - an Israeli grassroots organization working in the Ethiopian community in the fields of community empowerment and education. 

We're currently accepting applications for our Fall 2012 9-month semester (Sept. 2012-June 2013). Apply here! 

As a participant on this program you will have the unique opportunity to:

• Live as part of the local Ethiopian Israeli community in Gedera and experience their culture and way of life.
• Learn first hand about grassroots organizing and community empowerment and contribute in a sustainable manner to these efforts through direct service.
• Take part in learning that is tied to the service experience and allows in-depth exploration of root causes and local social issues.
• Learn about social change initiatives through meetings with social entrepreneurs and policy makers.
• Create a vibrant community that learns and works together and forms the basis for individual and mutual growth.
• Engage in pluralistic study of traditional and contemporary Jewish texts dealing with issues of social justice.