Masa Israel Journey

Program Reviews

Default avatar
Seth
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Phenomenal 10-Month Journey in Israel!!!

Having the opportunity to participate in the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows program through Israel Pathways was truly one of my greatest life experiences! Being able to live in Netanya, Israel, while teaching, traveling, and fully immersing myself in the daily life and cultural experiences of Israel was genuinely a journey that I will cherish with me for the rest of my life! From the food and people, to the music and scenery, Israel forever holds a place in my heart, and I will highly encourage anyone and everyone to have the opportunity to visit and/or participate in one of the many incredible Masa programs and experiences.

What would you improve about this program?
The only change that I would suggest would be to provide more Ulpan / Hebrew study to the participants that would be useful in navigating through a new life in Israel.
Default avatar
Debbie
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Teaching Materials/Facilties

The stipend was not much and wasn't as advertised, however ITF is the only program with a stipend. With that said, as long as pay is properly advertised then there are no surprises.

Living facilities in Netanya should be changed. The location is great, but the conditions are sub-par. The building had more an more problems. While it might be good for a another year or so, the housing should be changed sooner, rather than later.

Ulpan - Ulpan in Netanya gave us no books and not so great teachers. Therefore, my suggestion would be to bus us to Tel Aviv or do better research on better teachers and DEFINITELY provide a book. I know other cities did not have this problem and this was specific to Netanya.

Madrichim- They were great, but I employ someone who has graduated college in order to have better fluidity for the program.

Overall experience - amazing. I would do it again and recommend ITF to future prospects. My experience was amazing because I took advantage of every Masa opportunity, and it was through Masa seminars that I met my life-long friends and also developed a network of people.

What would you improve about this program?
Talpiot - Get rid of it completely because it was not useful. Instead, implement a more effective program to teach participants how to teach English, something along the lines of TOEFL.

Handbook - there were so many questions I and other participants had before leaving, so a handbook would be great. For example, how to get your visa, what cell phone company to use, what to pack, etc.

Ulpan - Masa should invest the time into making sure the Uplan in each city is up to standards because I Netanya Ulpan was below-average.
Default avatar
Josh
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Best. Decision. Ever.

Hands down, Israel Teaching Fellows was the best year of my life so far. Living in Israel as a local, traveling and experiencing intimately, has changed the way I see the world and identify in many ways. Teaching gave meaning to my lengthy stay in Israel, and truly made me appreciative of the many opportunities I had to travel both domestically and internationally. I fell in love with the people and land, traveled nearly ever kilometer by foot, bus, bike, camel, and taxi--all the while learning so much about myself.

What would you improve about this program?
More facilitated interactions with local Israelis of similar ages
Default avatar
Ben
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

ITF Review

I look back fondly on my time in the program, but also will not allow nostalgia and the passage of time to cloud the very real drawbacks. I formed lifelong friendships, established a deep meaningful ratio ship to the people and land, and clarified many life priorities for myself. However, the stipend was not even remotely sufficient, while led to rather substantial problems (e.g. I rarely had enough money for three meals a day and had to skip breakfast and usually a snack at school as well, causing me to become cranky and unfocused with my students).

What would you improve about this program?
The stipend MUST be increased.
Response from Masa Israel Journey

Hi Ben,

Thank you so much for your feedback. We are so glad to hear that you had a positive experience as a Masa Israel Teaching Fellow, despite your issues with the stipend.

Throughout the application process, both Masa Israel Journey and our program providers try to make it clear to potential Fellows that the stipend would not cover all monthly expenses. As such, we recommend that Fellows budget their own spending money to supplement the stipend, according their own spending habits. We are truly sorry if Masa Israel and/or your program provider failed to communicate this important piece of information to you.

Thanks again for your positive review and recommendations for improving Masa Israel Teaching Fellows.

-The Masa Israel Team

Default avatar
K.T.
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

ITF in Beit Shean

My experience in the first group of ITF beit shean was a truly amazing experience. I was immersed in Israeli culture every day! Being in a city further away from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem made this immersion more true, but it also made travel more difficult.

My days were filled wth teaching, volunteer work, and spending time with my host family. Many times I would go to weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and other parties with my host family and friends from the school. I would also often travel to different places on the weekend so that I could see more if the country.

What would you improve about this program?
The biggest difficulty in this program was the communication between Masa, the ITF coordinators, and the teachers/schools we were working with. Often times expectations were not clear and it led to frustrations between the fellows and the teachers. The Masa program could do a much better job at establishing expectations for all who are involved.
Default avatar
Eric
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Never let disorganization hinder your experiences

Read More
What would you improve about this program?
The ages and levels of maturity and professionalism were quite surprising when it came to the madrichim, not only in my group, but in our sister groups as well. This became a major talking point among the majority of Americans. Especially when dealing with a post-grad program which included many adults above the age of 25. I think that adding American madrichim would do WONDERS. I acknowledge the vast cultural differences between Israelis and Americans, and having a few American liaisons working hand-in-hand with the Israeli program staff could really shake things up in a positive way.
Not only does the Israeli program staff need more/improved training, I think that the American fellows need improved training and more teem-building. We were brought to Talpiot for "training" and it was honestly nothing but a waste of time. It did little to prepare us for our time in our Israeli classrooms. Our days were filled with nonsensical lectures, speakers rehashing things we have all learned in high school, and activities and lessons that were never used during our actual teaching. This time would be better served in intensive Ulpan and shadowing sessions at the schools we were going to be teaching for.
Default avatar
Emily
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Amazing program and people

I loved my time spent in Israel. The staff put a lot of time and effort into our programming trips, and I met some great people in my group and through other programs I participated in. I think the teaching program could have been a bit better put together, it was hard teaching hebrew without really knowing it too well, but it was a pilot program, so hopefully the next year things went more smoothly.

Default avatar
Joshua
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Want to change your life? Israel Teaching Fellows

Read More
What would you improve about this program?
It was perfect!
Default avatar
Ada
4/5
Yes, I recommend this program

Masa Israel Teaching Fellow

Read More
Default avatar
Brent
5/5
Yes, I recommend this program

So much to do, make the most of every minute you have in your MASA experience

Read More
What would you improve about this program?
One thing I would hope to change would be the amount of money we receive on our stipends. I received 850 NIS per month in Be'er Sheva. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to live on that much money each month. Everything in Israel is very expensive. Leisure activities become more of a luxury especially by the 3rd week of the month. In addition, traveling the country can get very expensive. Sure the Egged buses to Tel Aviv or Jerusalem are cheap, but if you plan on going any farther than that, you're going to be paying a lot out of pocket. Many of us including myself had recently graduated from College and had very little savings. I would suggest that the stipend be bumped up to 1000 NIS.