Phenomenal Program and Supportive Staff

Yahel was one probably the most profound and impactful year I've ever had. I did Yahel in Lod in 2020-21 and met some of my closest friends and community connections. Yahel supported me professionally through an introduction into the non-profit world where I worked with The Abraham Initiatives and taught me a lot about building and creating community. Furthermore, Yahel allowed me to express my opinions and ideas as I struggle (and continue) to struggle with my relationship to Israel. However, I felt we did not shy away from these challenges and I met inspiring people to learn about social change along the way.

My coordinator in Lod was very supportive and knew the community very well which helped us navigate our role there as volunteers. She was local and born and raised in the community which offered us context into the work we were doing. Our fellowship director and executive director were also amazing educators and support for us on the program. Our seminars were very meaningful and taught us a lot about social justice, I really felt like the program invested in our learning and growth.

We were living in Lod in May 2021 when a lot of violence erupted and I felt we had support and the staff made sure to keep us safe in the best ways they could, they even evacuated us from the city after consulting with our community partners and I felt like our safety was their priority and they also provided emotional support.

Of course, there were challenges of navigating the culture and communities that host us, including, language barriers. We had Hebrew classes and minimal Arabic but it really required a lot of personal language learning as well. We also had a lot of placements every week which required a lot of energy and commitment to the community and juggling many different things. This program requires people to take initiative and you really get out what you put in.