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Birthright and Beyond

Birthright & Beyond

Harvard Hillel runs a two-week, staff-led trip to Israel each summer and winter break, combining a classic seven-day Birthright trip with our own unique seven-day extension program, Beyond (formerly known as Trekstension). This allows us to offer our students the best of both worlds: the Birthright-flavored cultural experience (think national heritage sites, beautiful nature, Israeli age peers), and the Harvard-flavored learning experience (think deep dive into important social issues with multiple narratives). Birthright & Beyond is the trip of a lifetime!  To learn more, email Mikhael Kesher, Director of Israel Programs.

Harvard College Israel Trek

The College Israel Trek is a ten-day peer-led trip to Israel during spring break, in which Israeli student leaders share their country with non-Jewish members of their Harvard community.

Applications for the Spring 2022 trip are now closed. To learn more about the program, contact student leader Ty Geri.

Israel Travel Fellowship

Students who are not eligible for either Birthright or the College Israel Trek can apply to Harvard Hillel's Israel Travel Fellowship. Fellows receive a generous stipend to help fund a learning or volunteering opportunity in Israel (or elsewhere), and they bring their new skills and experiences back to a student leadership role at Harvard Hillel.  Israel Travel Fellows are invited to participate in Beyond - our unique Birthright extension program - as part of their itinerary in Israel.  To learn more, email Mikhael Kesher, Director of Israel Programs.

Learning Opportunities

Harvard Hillel offers Israel-focused learning opportunities year round on campus, including cohort learning, drop-in sessions, and guest speakers and panels.  Harvard Hillel also marks the Israeli “Days of Gratitude” - the period from Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) to Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day) and Yom HaAtzma’ut (Independence Day) - with multiple opportunities to reflect, learn, and celebrate.  To learn more about our programmatic offerings, email Mikhael Kesher, Director of Israel Programs.

Student Groups

There are presently three Hillel-affiliated student groups focused on Israel:

CHIP Harvard Israel Initiative TAMID
  • CHIP (Coalition at Harvard for Israel and Palestine) is a pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian group aligned with the JStreet U movement. To learn more, contact student leader Meredith Zielonka.
  • HII (Harvard Israel Initiative) is a hub for direct engagement with Israeli society, Israeli culture, and productive, nuanced educational experiences. To learn more, contact student leaders Rebecca Araten, Natalie Kahn, and Sarah Bolnick.
  • Harvard TAMID engages students in Israeli business, entrepreneurship, and innovation projects.  To learn more, contact student leaders Toby Edelstein and Quinn Perini.