Youth Programs
NFTY and KESHER are the official Zionist youth movements of ARZA and ARZA Canada in North America. NFTY is a snif (branch) of Netzer Olami, the worldwide Reform Zionist Youth Movement, and KESHER is a partner organization of TaMaR, the worldwide Reform Zionist movement for young adults. There are many travel and advocacy programmes available to high school and university students. Students interested in any of these programs should check out their respective websites, and consider applying for the Rabbi Stroh Scholarship Fund.
If you're in high school or university and would like more information on the youth movements of the Union for Reform Judaism, click on the logos to learn more about NFTY and KESHER.
The ARZA-KESHER Fellowship
The Reform movement is also a Zionist movement. KESHER, as the heart of Reform Jewish life at schools, is also the Zionist Reform center on campus! Within the KESHER on campus, it is the ARZA-KESHER Fellow who has the “Israel chair”, and it is their job to lead the Zionist and Israel related activities.Such activities range from Israel advocacy on campus to promoting student programs in Israel, and from being the Zionist Reform voice in interaction with other Jews on campus to taking a role as Israel educators at URJ summer camps!
Youth Israel Programs
MASA is supported by the Government of Israel, the Jewish Agency for Israel, the United Jewish Communities of North America and Keren Hayesod. Its aim is to help young Jews from around the world to build a life-long relationship with Israel and a firm commitment to Jewish life. Masa Website.
The Reform movement sponsors a number of long term study options in Israel which for which MASA Funding is available
f o r u n i v e r s i t y s t u d e n t s . . .
For information on these next three programs, please visit: rjisrael.org or this Reform Judaism magazine article.
Tamarim
A 10-month Reform study and travel program in Israel for recent high school graduates. Earn college credit while studying at Haifa University. Choose from one of 3 tracks while living with other NFTY and Netzer international alumni. Ages 17-19
College Semester in Israel
Study for a semester at a major Israeli university in Jerusalem or Haifa and earn university credit. Includes traveling and learning with Reform leaders in Israel. Ages 19+
ARAVA-The Jewish Environmental Institute on Kibbutz Lotan
A 9-month accredited program focusing on social-environmental issues from a Reform perspective and a Green Apprenticeship for full University credit. Ages 20+.
Jewish student leaders will get the opportunity to learn about and experience the rich diversity which exists within the Jewish people and to engage with the accompanying challenges. The trip will offer encounters with different Jewish communities in Israel, with Jewish texts, and with Jewish challenges. Participants will study Torah through a plurality of different voices at a variety of institutions, will delve into the complex realities of Israeli pluralism, and will engage in active dialogue with Jews of different backgrounds, nationalities and religious identities.
f o r h i g h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s . . .
Imagine The Most Incredible Summer Of Your Life.
Hike, climb, discover, and explore with new friends from across the continent. Return home with endless personal accomplishments, meaningful memories and stories you'll never forget. Check out the three programmes: NFTY Adventure, NFTY L'dor V'dor and NFTY EIE Summer Semester.
For the Reform teen looking for the ultimate in life experience, the Eisendrath International Exchange High School in Israel is the time of a lifetime. For over 40 years, the Reform Movement has been sending youth to Israel, with this four-month accredited high school nestled in the Judean mountains serving as the premiere program. Our students live together, learn together and grow together as a community as they explore four thousand years of Jewish memory, learn Hebrew, and come to know Israel as their second home. Go on EIE and hook up with your history, your land and your people!
Shnat Netzer
For people involved in Netzer Olami or people with a background in the Reform movement, Shnat Netzer is a Reform leadership program. The program includes; Volunteering, kibbutz, options and Etgar or Machon Le’Madrichei Chutz Le’aretz. During the program there are hikes and trips all over Israel. Brochure
MASA information page
Camp George is the Reform Jewish Movement’s only Canadian camp. Since its inaugural season in 1999 Camp George has offered the best in Reform Jewish Camping blended with the rich history and tradition of the Ontario Residential Camp experience. Through informal Jewish education, the Arts, a state-of-the-art Waterfront program, an intense Ropes Challenge Course, and great athletic facilities, Camp George offers campers an experience of a lifetime. Campers gain independence, develop fabulous friendships, and establish an identification with their Judaism and the Jewish values that weave their way through the entire camp program. Click here for more information