5-Month Internship Programs | Top Israel Interns

Before coming on the program I was very excited for the unique opportunities Top Israel Interns had to offer, but unfortunately, many of those promises never came true, and we did not receive the programming that was advertised.

INTERNSHIP PLACEMENT
- During the internship placement process, it became clear that I (along with my fellow participants) would have to take our placement process into our own hands. The internship coordinators are NOT helpful. They offered to teach us how to optimize our resumes and cover letters which never happened. Aside from taking weeks to respond to emails, the coordinator responded rudely and simply told me to go to my school’s guidance center to fix my resume, without even telling me what to correct.
- I never heard from her after I found my own internship opportunity.
- There was no internship orientation as was promised

COMMUNICATION WITH STAFF
- I was extremely unhappy with my living arrangements. I had my phone calls avoided and was finally told I could not be moved because they had virtually introduced everyone to their roommates.
- 2 hours later, my only other flatmate at the time was transferred at his request. That was extremely unfair.
- Towards the end of the program, our room was infested with ants, and it took 5 days to get someone to come spray. Until that point, AGAIN, my phone calls were not answered and not returned by the program coordinators. One admitted she did not have authority for certain things that needed to be done.

LIVING ACCOMMODATIONS
- Online there are photos of the newly renovated apartments in Florentine posted, stating that’s where everyone is going to live. It also mentions well maintained lobbies and good security.
- Our apartment had neither security nor a lobby, and was situated on the main floor with our apartment door opening to the street.
- The apartments were run down, lower quality, had recurring mold issues which nobody fixed (we were given spray to take care of it ourselves), broken furniture, broken doors, no AC or air circulation in living rooms/showers/toilets/kitchen/laundry rooms.
- We recurrently got little or no notice that the landlord/someone else/strangers/repairmen were coming into the apartment, and they would come in when we are at work or on a day trip. This made me OVERLY uncomfortable- especially when we found out during a day trip that the exterminator was coming, and I had left personal items and envelopes of money laying around.
- Our living situation was sub-par, and definitely NOT worth the amount of money we had to pay. - We also had to travel to the apartments far away for all programming, some day trips, and the sheets and bedding were delivered there (so we had to carry it all home when all of those folks had it delivered to them). We were totally stranded and forgotten.

PROGRAMMING
- The day trips were advertised on the website as amazing- “the program includes two group Shabbatons (weekends away) which includes rappelling in the north, a tour of the Knesset, ATVs in the desert, a visit to exclusive start-ups and much more”.
- We did NONE of those specified items and did not have either group Shabbaton

DAY TRIPS
- The program hit rock-bottom the day we went to the Dead Sea and an Oasis. The lunch they promised to provide consisted of 1⁄2 a bagel per person because not enough food was supplied. Because of the insane disorganization, we missed our next stop (the Jordan River) to get pizza.
- The website claims that past trips went north for “kayaking, camping, to basketball games, enjoyed sushi nights, chocolate workshops [and] wine festivals”
- we did nothing even closely resembling those fun-sounding excursions
- We were also never taken or given the opportunity to attend any of the “social and cultural events” that were mentioned.

SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
- there were many social activities that we were told we would have that never occurred, such as “pot-lock dinner, professional development workshop, movie night” and “opening and closing sessions as well as a seminar where you learn about Israeli start up and hi-tech culture”.
- TII was also advertised as a program that would offer career advancement workshops regularly, which did not occur. For many of us, that was a huge factor in deciding to participate in this program, and was a huge let-down.

I have also been informed that the 5 month program currently running had Ulpan (hebrew lessons) but only for about 1/2 the amount time they originally promised.

JUST AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE. PLEASE TRY A DIFFERENT PROGRAM.
(I enjoyed onward israel, personally!!)

!DO NOT DO THIS PROGRAM IT IS A SCAM!

Similar to the other reviews on this site, I would like to start off saying I love Israel and highly suggest traveling there, it is an amazing place filled with welcoming people and great vibes.

I am writing this email on behalf of myself, however, I am aware my peers are suffering similar feelings. I have a feeling you will disregard or give me a subpar response just like you have with everything else on this program.

Let’s start with our “Maidrecha” which in English means “House Mom.” She was not helpful to us at all. Luckily I am familiar with Israel as I have been here a few times before and know family/friends here. However, some of the people in my program do not. This is not a Jewish program; we have people who have never been to Israel or been on Taglit. She was unreliable as a Maidrecha and very rude. When people were sick and texted her for help she would answer that she couldn’t help, even if it were a simple question such as “what hospital should I go to?” or “where can I get medicine?” This is extremely unfortunate, as she is paid to do this.

We were told we were going to have weekly social activities such as “pot luck dinners, movie nights, and career development workshops.” We were also told we would have two group Shabbatons (weekends away) that never happened. We were told on these Shabbatons we would “repel in the North, tour the Knesset, ride ATVs in the desert, and tour exclusive start ups.” None of this happened. We never had a pot-luck dinner that was paid for (we once hosted our own Shabbat that we had to pay for that was pot luck style.) We never did any of what we were promised. The program director, NEVER met with us to prep us for our internships. She led one program that was a total joke --- no career advice, resume building, or anything along that line. We colored pictures and gave each other compliments.

The pictures of the apartments posted on the website are a lie. I was lucky to live in Herzl 1, a nicer, modernized apartment in Florentine, whereas my peers who lived in Guela by the beach suffered mold, cockroaches and being separated from the majority of the group.

Below is NOT our apartment and I can ASSURE you that no one had any sort of lobby like this. Our apartment was on the street of Herzl with no security, we often had people who worked for the building come in and out without our permission. Not to mention the directors of the program would tell us a few hours, sometimes 30 minutes before someone was going to enter the apartment. That is both scary & not safe for the people who live there.

One of the craziest experiences I had on this program, however, was our trip to the Dead Sea and oasis in the desert. They didn’t have enough food for everyone that day --- it was both the TLV and Jerusalem trip. We were given half a bagel. HALF A BAGEL for a day where we were in the Dead Sea and hot desert sun. No drinks were provided. No snacks. We stopped for pizza, however, and missed a major element of our scheduled program which was supposed to be seeing the Jordan River.

There’s so much more I can complain about; however, it is not worth the time & energy --- NOR IS THIS PROGRAM! This program put ZERO EFFORT into the wellbeing, safety, and quality assurance of the participants. As a person who has had many friends do similar programs, I suggest Onward Israel, Career Israel, and anything not through Top Israel Interns.

As I write this, I am in utter shock. I do not have words to express at full capacity just how despicable of a company this. I was told by a former Top Israel Interns participant to have everything in writing and to not trust the director of the program under any circumstances. The director of Top Israel Interns, will lie about anything and she will go through GREAT lengths to cover her lies. Sadly, I did not listen to this advice and I really wish that I had.

We had so many problems with this program, especially regarding money, it is not even funny. There was a participant who was an endangerment to himself and others on the program and was allowed to continue the program despite how traumatized we all were.

We went on a dangerous hike and when a participant got hurt not only did they not know how to get help, but they told us we had to CARRY HER off a mountain.

When asked to contact our lawyers, parents, masa leadership, etc. the director just doesn't respond for months and then claims "she was waiting on a response."

I was asked to sign a contract regarding my scholarship. When her new employee incorrectly processed my scholarship, the director tried to cover it up and then come after me for the remainder of the chargers. In front of her former employee, the director, promised me the scholarship would cover the full amount and then I would be refunded for everything I paid into the program at the end. The director went through get lengths to cover this up, but after I received confirmation that the wrong scholarship was processed, I was given a refund for the scholarship.

After the program, I left a review on another website, stating that masa has less expensive programs that offer the same quality experience and better. I made no mention of my personal experience or the reason for my distaste for the program itself.

The director responded to one of the other reviewers stating that I was out to get Top Israel Interns and that I was out to get them and defame them based on my own personal vendetta.

And then the director of the program then tried to demand money from my sister stating that this is what I owed the company in charges.

When I responded asking how she had the nerve to write such a letter after months of not speaking to me and how could even be possible to owe them money when THEY REFUNDED ME ... She bold faced denied having refunded me the money. When I showed her my bank statements stating that she did in fact refund me, in less than 24 hours she had her bank reverse the charges causing my bank account to over draft big big time. And then she denied doing this stating that "my bank made a mistake."

I'm so just dumbfounded and in shock. This is like 1920's Italian mobster, keep quiet or you'll end up with a dead fish on your front door stuff. This is just so extreme and so awful. I cannot even express how much I regret having any dealings with them after having been warned of the consequences.

My sister went on a Top Israel Interns program a few years ago and she felt it was a good value for money program which helped her get a step ahead. When I decided to look into international interning opportunities, I naturally had to check out the Top Israel program. Now that we've both been on it and can compare, I can tell you that it has changed A LOT. They've always had good internship options, and the staff have always been nice, but now they offer much MUCH nicer accommodation and also run the career development workshops alongside the internship, which really brings the whole experience together. The Hebrew classes are also better now. Back in 2013 when my sister came, they had a tutor who would meet them at the Top Israel offices, it was ok, but not amazing. Our group went to lessons at Ulpan Or which is the top rated Hebrew school in Israel - we actually finished those classes being able to speak a reasonable amount of Hebrew! My internship was nothing short of impressive. I was at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital and got to see procedures I never would have dreamed of being able to witness elsewhere, let alone having amazing doctors finding the time to explain and offer their advice on my research. My sister did an internship in finance and also said her mentors were really patient and taught her a lot.

I've traveled extensively and worked around the world so I thought I could arrange my own internship pretty easily, but I chose to go through a Masa provider so I could get the benefit of the grant, and also secure an excellent job right from the start. I'm really glad I chose to go with Top Israel Interns, and not just for the reasons I've mentioned above. It was only once I was in the program did I realize the value of having my transport and accommodation taken care of, and also how much more I was getting through the career development workshops. These really helped me brush up my CV and get me ready to start the job search and secure myself a much better permanent position (which I managed to do!) My actual internship was amazing, I learned new things everyday, and built really good relationships with the people in the office -who I really hope I will get to see again someday soon! The Hebrew aspect of things was by no means easy, but the lessons we got at the beginning of the program did help us to at least not feel as foreign! Although it was tough, I don't think any of us found the language to be a barrier to the success of our internships. I was really happy with our apartment, it was new and really nicely set up, and we were the first group to stay in it. We had one issue with the stove, but that was fixed the very same day. Aside from my internship, I think the best part of the program for me was the people I met. Our group was made up of people from all over the world, but we connected really nicely. I know this changes from group to group, but I think the staff play a big role in this. The staff were really great at encouraging the group to connect and consider each other. They made us feel completely at home and went out of their way to help us have a great time. Doing this program was by far the best thing I have done for myself and my career!

Top Israel Interns found me an internship placement at the Israel Securities Authority.

It was a 5-month internship, and it opened up a whole new world for me. My role included a lot of research, and mentors that guided me every step of the way!

I'm still in touch with both the people that I met at the office, and the people that were in the Top Israel Interns program.

If you're looking for a great internship program in Finance, then this is a great program to do it with.

I was also eligible for the Masa grant, which I recommend anyone interning in Israel checks out.

Hey!

I'm Joleen from North Carolina.

I went on this program, and can't say enough good things about it!

The placement they found me was perfect for my professional development. I interned at "Teva" which is Israel's largest pharmaceutical company. It gave me experience that I carried on to my future roles, and serves as a stepping stone for me - for sure!

Also, the the group of interns with me were great, and we traveled around the country as part of the program.

Life-changing experience!

Top Israel Interns is by far the best internship provider in Israel.
I made great friends during my time in Israel, and the employment coach at Top Israel Interns found me a great spot!
I have already recommended the trip to 3 of my good friends when I returned back home to the states.
The greatest part was the $4,500 grant.
I really love the staff at Top Israel Interns, and would go again if I could.
Thanks!