Top Israel Interns Review

!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.