Program Reviews

Destination Israel is an untrustworthy, disorganized business. Most importantly: They do NOT CARE about your safety.

I signed up for DI’s October 2023 Career Internship session in Tel Aviv. About 10 days before the program start, the Hamas attack occurred which killed 1400 Israelis in a day and injured thousands more.

Destination Israel's response: everything is fine, this is normal, come to Israel (in the middle of war), the program is still going on. Oh did I mention they previously had no idea if all our living accommodations had bomb shelters or not? They said we could take cover under a staircase.

DO NOT DO THIS PROGRAM. They will only give refunds if the program gets cancelled (which happens on their terms). It doesn't matter if Tel Aviv is getting rockets; according to Destination Israel, everything's perfectly fine. Any sane person will tell you to not travel there right now - EXCEPT for Destination Israel! Even the United States has issued level 3 travel advisory for the country and most airlines have cancelled their flights.

Thanks for taking my money, Destination Israel.

Really amazing experience. I learned a lot at my internship and I had a lot of support from the TII staff. Definitely a great way transition from college to work life. My mentor really challenged me and I feel like I grew not only as a person a professional but also as a person. I can't wait to come back to Israel again. The accommodations- were also great. Everything was practically new and the location was right in the center of everything. During our free time, we chilled on the beach any chance we had.

The program provides very value for its price.
The group was smaller compared to other programs/organisers which made the experience more personal and the staff more approachable.
The TII Staff was great and very supportive of any issues that came across and tried their best to resolve them in a timely manner.

The Placement process:
After the initial phone call to find out more about the program I was assigned to an internship placement coordinator.
After sending over my CV and cover letter we had a call to find out what exactly I am looking for and where I could develop the best.
The coordinator found me the perfect placement within the High-Tech and Life science industry.
She also made sure to explain my commute, as my internship was in Herzliya.

Apartments:
The apartment we stayed in was in South-Central TLV (Florentin). It was bright, modern and was only a short walk away from Rothschild, the Shuk, the Beach and many more interesting places.
We did have some problems with the Wifi but the TII staff was very keen on resolving the issue.

Activities:
TII provided a wide range of activities such as day and overnight trips, career progression programs, volunteering, group Shabbat dinners and many more.
Our Madricha was amazing in providing us with information on extra activities and events happening in the city.

Smaller group compared to other internship programs. In one side is good, because you’ll have more support from the staff, they were always very nice and helpful. But can be bad in the social side as it’s a small group. For me it didn’t change a lot as I already knew a lot of people in Israel. In general the program is very good. Ulpan classes are great, apartments too and the trips are amazing! Placement coordinator are also really good and found me the internship I wanted. If you’re looking for a more personal experience for sure this is the right option.

A unique program that allows you to live as a working Israeli with accommodation in the best locations, very supportive staff and some wonderful trips and activities. A special way to spend a gap-6 months, before or after university.

Regardless of your work interest, there is so much in Israel for you to explore. Should your world be within sports, science, arts or culture the Top Israel Interns team can find a work placement to help improve both your work and life experience. If you want to move to Israel, or simply want to work abroad for a 5 month period, the program immerses you in the heart of Israel's two major cities and takes you on wonderful trips and excursions, allowing you to experience all the very best of what this small -underestimated - country has to offer. Life long friendships are easily made and experiences and memories will be treasured forever.

Amazing experience, I really was placed in a 'top' internship and was given an amazing apartment right in the centre of the city.

The Madricha that was provided by the program was excellent and really made the program what it was. Truly a lot of fun.

Top Israel Interns took us on plenty of well-guided trips that showed us the bulk of Israel. You do get to feel like you're living in Israel and having a proper life in this special place.

I chose to go with Top Israel Interns because my buddy told me that they have the best internships and that they are really there to make sure that you find an internship that is best for you. He couldn't have been more right! I interned at a hospital and learned a lot from my mentor. I only wish I could have had more than 1 mentor so that I could have worked in different departments. Overall, it was a pretty cool experience. The apartment were also really nice and in the center of everything.

I interned at a tech company in Tel Aviv. I learned a lot from my supervisor and co-workers- I really felt like I was apart of the team and that everyone wanted to hear my opinions. I also loved living in the center of Tel Aviv- was really so much fun exploring the city and checking out the music scene. Plus the apartments were pretty nice and cool. I just wish I had had more time to explore the rest of the country and meet more Israelis.

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.