In 1956, 12 USYers traveled on the first “USY Israel Summer Pilgrimage”. Since then, thousands of Jewish teens experienced Israel with USY. Whether they traveled to Poland, or spent the summer volunteering in Israel, or spent a week completing IDF training, the summer was spent helping Jewish teens create community, build on their Jewish identities, develop a love and understanding of the complex holy land of Israel, and bring home what they’ve learned.
Program options:
Eastern Europe / Israel Pilgrimage: Discover Eastern Europe before embarking on a four-week tour of Israel
EPIC Israel: Experience with Purpose, Intention, and Community. It's going to be EPIC! Spend three weeks building a community unlike any other as you experience the Jewish homeland.
Italy / Israel Pilgrimage: Say Hello, Ciao, and Shalom to the most EPIC summer ever! Italy has a rich history all its own, and a fascinating relationship with the Jewish people. Spend one week traversing Italia – observing the world’s most beautiful art in Florence, learning the history of the Roman Empire, and experiencing the City of Water – Venice. All week long you’ll learn of the Jewish history of Italy, while eating the greatest food in the world! Followed by our Italian exploration, we will travel to Israel for four weeks.
Poland / Israel Pilgrimage: In a world in which antisemitism seems to be ever-increasing and survivors of the Holocaust are becoming smaller in number, it is more important than ever to learn about our history firsthand so that we can truly say – never again. On Poland/Israel Pilgrimage, we will spend one week in a Poland Seminar – bearing witness to the atrocities that took place, and carrying on the memory of those we lost. We follow this incredibly meaningful experience with four weeks in Israel.
