Year Course - Gap Year Program in Israel

My niece went on Young Judaea's Year Course program and it was an experience of a lifetime! She forged deep friendships that hopefully will last forever (she has already gone to a couple of reunions in her first year back in the states). She strengthened her Jewish identity and learned about life in Israel and the mixtures of cultures that exist there. She learned to manage finances, organize meals, and juggle studies, social work, and fun while living in apartments in Bat Yam, the Negev, and Jerusalem.

We spent a week traveling together when my husband and I visited and got our fill of stories about the great experiences she was having. The measures Young Judaea took to ensure everyone's safety were also obvious (and a welcome excuse for my niece to have a cell phone with her at all times). It was clear to us that it was a transformational year for her. Having gone on Year Course myself decades ago, it was heartwarming to see that she too was finding it to be an experience of a lifetime. It's a program I'd highly recommend.

Parents looking to send children to Israel for the gap year after high school face a daunting task, so many available programs, so little feedback. However on the surface there appears to be one program that stands out above the rest, namely; Young Judaea Year Course or the Young Judaea Gap Year Program. When you study the Young Judaea Year Course web site and programs you realize the following: that the lure of the perfect program promising to give your child the experience of a lifetime; trips, lectures, volunteering, kibbutzim, marva/army experience, living on your own etc. is possible. But alas, it’s just that. A lure, a trap, costing the average family $20,000 that many parents will need to save, beg or borrow in order to qualify for the few scholarships still available.

Most of us, despite the hardships, are very happy to do so because we know we will be giving our 18 year old child an experience never to be forgotten. What they don’t tell you on the Young Judaea Year Course site is, that your 18 year old child who is actually still only a child and might get into occasional trouble i.e. getting drunk, smoking a joint, getting into fights, or the other common things teenagers do nowadays, and that if caught, will get kicked out of the Young Judaea Year Course program with out any recourse. Young Judaea Year Course will have your child shipped home the same day, without a warning, without a hearing or any probationary period shipped home guilty, gone! Regardless of the fact that the program has just started, you will not get any money back, If you’ll want your child to still have the Israel experience you will need another $20,000 for another program (I couldn’t afford to pay another $20.000) because Young Judaea Year Course cares about you only if you are part of their program. The minute your child gets kicked out he does not count any more, you will not be able to argue your case because no one will talk to you. They will not take your calls, they will tell you to e-mail them and they will answer you with a 3 line e-mail dismissing anything you say. This is what happened to my child. My sons Rabbi ( who loves my son because of the great kid that he is) tried to talk to Young Judaea Year Course directors Adam Jenshil and Kate Nachman trying numerous times for 2 weeks but finally telling me that there is just no one to talk to.

Of course it’s great that they keep the program clean of drugs and alcohol or any other bad influences, but, do they really do their job? Or do they just need to find a few scapegoats so that everyone sees and has duly noted to stay clean? My sorry experience tells me that what Young Judaea Year Course cares about is only what looks good and not the truth. My child admitted what he did despite others being involved but did not squeal on his friends. He said that he did it by himself. When I spoke to them (on the one phone call they made to me telling me that he is dismissed from the program) they told me that they knew that other kids were involved but that they were not going to pursue it. So my son, was publicly humiliated, cut of from all the new friends that he met on the program, and shipped off back to home feeling like a failure. Adding to the woe of no refund I still owe them my last payment and some of the MASA money that they had to give back to the MASA program. So not only did they choose my child to be the scapegoat, they also threatened to send me to collections if I didn’t pay the balance. When Young Judaea wants your business they will tell you how great their program is (and to be fair it is a great program) but if your child gets into any kind of trouble, regardless of the severity it will be Adam Jenshils decision alone that will affect your childs life forever. Because lets face it, just like Young Judaea Year Course is a life changing experience, getting kicked out of Young Judaea Year Course is an experience that will stay with you and your child for the rest of your life, and the way Young Judaea directors treat you if your child is dismissed from the program will make you wonder how Adam Jenshil and Kate Nachman the director and deputy director of Young Judaea Year Course ever became directors of a teenage program to begin with, having no tolerance for teenage stupidity or high jinks. I would like to point out that the Young Judaea New York office was in communication with me even though they are just a managing office and they don’t have any influence on the Israeli office decisions. Also while looking into other programs I found out that although most programs will not tolerate trouble with their students, they all understand that they are dealing with teenagers and as such, keep an open mind to helping the kids as best as possible and will work with the parents to help every child to do his/her best. Sadly not the case with Young Judaea. No guidance counselors, no guidance, no tolerance, not a place for your child. My son is now relegated to a minimum wage job with a negative attitude until college starts in September. Thanks Young Judaea. Great job. Enjoy the money...

Interesting fact: On orientation weekend the kids are told that about a 3rd of the students will not make it to the end of the program for various reasons, I would safely assume that half of that 3rd, (about 17%) are dismissed for violation of rules, in other words, in a program of about 300 kids approximately 50 kids will be sent home for violating the rules.

As part of Year Course, I worked in the back of an ambulance as a medic on Haifa. The perspective I got of Israeli society from that experience was intimate, diverse, fascinating and accessible to very few. I came away with such a stronger, more nuanced and layered understanding of Israel, its society and people, as well as challenges. That was the highlight of Year Course experience. However I had an absolutely amazing 10 months also in Jerusalem and at Kibbutz Ketura. Getting to know Israel with such an amazing group of friends and staff was such a unique opportunity. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to partake and for the impact its had on my life!

Year course is a wonderful program that provided an out of the box educational experience. I formed life long friendships, and interpersonal skills that have served me well every day of my life. Nothing compares to living in Israel for a year and becoming engrossed in the society. Year Course is a great program.

I attended Year Course in 2001-2002 and the program completely changed my life. I knew that I wanted to make a difference in the world and Israel was where I chose to make a huge impact with Young Judaea. I lived all over the country, spent time in the Army and lived on a kibbutz, all experiences that I never would've been able to have without YJ.

I gained such self-confidence from living on my own with peers my age, shopping and cooking for ourselves among other life skills that have proved invaluable. I can't say enough about the organization, security, communication and care that the program takes in every single participant. Don't miss out, this will change your life forever!

After his year on Young Judaea Year Course our son Max returned home, and safe....not necessarily where he wanted to be. He had changed so much that he walked past me at JFK and I missed him.....until he came up to me for a big hug.

As we drove home to Fairfield, he kept thanking me for 'pushing' him to do Year Course. I reminded him, it was his decision...although we did steer him in that direction. I could go on and on but I will just conclude by thanking the staff of Year Course for taking such good care of Max. More importantly for transforming Max. For doing what Year Course, and Israel do to kids.

We have no more of our own kids to send you, but we will do our best to finds somebody else's kids to send you.