Hokies in Israel
Virginia Tech Birthright
Summer 2025 registration opens in January!
Go to Israel for ten days for FREE!
Birthright Israel is open to all Jewish young adults, ages 18 to 26, who have not traveled to Israel on a peer educational trip since they turned 18 nor lived in Israel past the age of 12. Trips span the ideological, educational, cultural, and physical challenges that Israel has to offer.
The advantage of traveling with Hillel at Virginia Tech is the sense of community with which you will return!
For more information about our next trip, e-mail Sasha Stadnik sasha@hillevt.org
See photos from our recent trip here
Kol Yisrael
Sababa Israel 101 course
What does it mean to live Jewishly in Israel? With so many religious and secular expressions of Jewish life, how can Israeli society negotiate with these different expressions? This series will explore how Jews navigate and share space in the Jewish State. Using five case studies, our cohort will explore the values that are animated when Judaism is actualized in the public sphere. Because this series focuses on questions relating specifically to Jewish practices, the content will center around Jewish-Israeli voices.
Kol Yisrael will meet for ....TBA. Timing will depend on the applicants availability so please indicate your availability below. There will be a fancy celebratory dinner at a restaurant of the groups choosing to finish our cohort, as well as a paid $150 stipend for participating all six sessions. Questions? Contact Sun sun@hillelvt.org
Strengthen your understanding of Israel and Judaism, develop your leadership skills and actively engage the world wide Jewish community, while you earn money. This spring's program will begin on January 30 and will last for 8 weeks. This is a PAID internship. Questions? Contact Sun at sun@hillelvt.org
Fill in application here:
VT Israel Perspectives Trip
Gain your own perspective about the Israeli-Arab conflict through a first-hand experience
Perspective Israel Trip is a new initiative Hillel at VT is offering to the student leaders of Virginia Tech. The trip brings together 20-25 students who are highly involved in campus life from student government to various social circles and are interested in global issues such as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
During the trip, which is fully funded, the students get to spend 10 days in Israel. They will be meeting locals from different backgrounds such as reporters, government officials, students, and more from both the Palestinian side and Israeli side.
The idea behind it is to bring the conversation back to campus and gain trust, respect, and friendships among various students who care about these topics and allow them to form their own perspectives.
The trip dates are:
TBD - Estimated May 21-31, 2024
Questions? Email jules@hillelvt.org
Go Back to Israel!
Onward Israel offers exciting resume building opportunities - internships, academic study and fellowships - providing a global, cross-cultural experience in Israel and direct contact with Israel and direct contact with Israeli peers. The programs can vary six to ten weeks, depending on program type and content.
Onward Israel offers a competitive and attractive venue for young people seeking such experiences at affordable prices. While meeting the individual needs of the participants and allowing them to advance their resumes. Onward Israel speaks directly to the interests and concerns of young adults entering the labor force in globalized worlds. The programs maximize opportunities for cross-cultural immersion, a feature that is highly prized by employers and academic institutions.
Click HERE to learn more about the programs.
Fellows assist English teachers in Israel schools. Each fellow has a host teacher and spends the 10-months working with smaller groups of students who are either behind in the curriculum and need extra help or very advanced students who are looking to further improve their English.
The Masa Israel Teaching Fellowship is a heavily subsidized program, costing $1,000 for 10 months if an applicant is eligible for Masa funding. Accommodations, health insurance, Hebrew courses, and trips around Israel are all included in the program fee. Fellows also receive a monthly stipend of ~ $250 USD/mo and their flight can be reimbursed up to $1,300 upon program completion.
Click HERE to learn more about the fellowship program.
Hokies for Israel
Hokies for Israel
Weekly meeting with Israel Updates
Friends of Israel at Virginia Tech’s mission is to educate Virginia Tech students about every aspect of Israel and to celebrate its accomplishments in technology, sciences, mathematics, and the arts. We network with student leaders and connect with them to create meaningful relationships between the Israeli and general population on campus. Thus, we hope to better our world by creating community.
Follow our Instagram page @vtstudentsforisrael
Our Hokies for Israel group meets weekly to discuss current events in Israel as part of a weekly update. We cover politics, culture, sports, and other issues. We also use these meetings to plan future events and just to socialize with other Pro-Israel students on campus.
Pro-Israel confernces
Campus wide events
Every year, we send student delegations to various conferences, such as AIPAC, StandWithUs, Hasbarah, BICEP, and more.
As we offer students internships with these national and international organizations on campus, we have created amazing opportunities for our students to engage with fellow Pro-Israel campus professionals and learn more about the diplomatic work Israel is doing across the world.
Hokies for Israel holds various events on campus open to everyone, such as participating at the International Street Fair, tabling on campus for Israel's peace week, fundraising for Save A Child's Heart, Isra-fests, Israeli themed Shabbat Dinners at Hillel, hosting guest speakers, Israeli movie festivals, Israeli photo exhibits on campus, and much more..
We hope to see you around at one of our events as we are working together with other organizations on campus to make this world a better place.