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First-of-its-kind Israel experience offers young Jewish communal professionals a month in Tel Aviv

TEL AVIV — It sounds like a dream offer: an all-expenses-paid trip to Israel for the full month of January, based in Tel Aviv, the beachside city with warm winter temperatures that inarguably is Israel’s most exciting metropolis.

Even better, participants won’t have to use up vacation days from work for the trip. If all goes according to plan, their bosses will recommend them for the experience, and the month in Tel Aviv will count as professional development.

That’s because this is no beach vacation.

It’s a unique opportunity for early-career professionals working in Jewish organizations to get a career boost while having an immersive Israel experience.

The monthlong professional development program scheduled for January 2024, called the Sullam Israel Residency, offers young professionals in Jewish organizations a chance to enhance their skills while immersing themselves in some of the most vibrant elements of Israeli culture and forging connections with fellow participants and Israelis peers. This first-of-its-kind program, being introduced by Birthright Israel Onward, isn’t just about advancing careers; it’s meant to deepen Jewish identity, foster meaningful connections and cultivate professional growth.

“Jewish communal professionals play a key role in engaging North American Jews with Israel,” said Gidi Mark, Birthright Israel’s CEO. “We hope that giving them a transformative way to experience Israel and bolster their careers with a journey of learning, growth and discovery will deepen their connection to the country and strengthen their ability to serve as a bridge to Israel and its people for years to come.”

A group of philanthropic foundations is funding the pilot program, and the curriculum is being designed by M²: The Institute for Experiential Jewish Education. The focus is on Jewish and Israel education, with the idea of giving participants a comprehensive understanding of Jewish communities’ history, values and contemporary challenges as well as valuable skills to become better professionals in their communities.

Participants will live independently in single rooms in shared apartments in Tel Aviv. Among the key subjects the educational component of the program will tackle: Israeli history, politics, innovation and social diversity; Jewish study, ritual and spirituality, and Jewish peoplehood. The program will also help participants develop dialogue and facilitation expertise to create safe spaces and embrace complexity, and facilitate networking opportunities with Israeli professionals.

The monthlong experience will also include Shabbat retreats and plenty of independent time. So it wouldn’t be a crazy idea to pack a beach towel and sunscreen.

The Sullam residency focuses specifically on Jewish communal professionals. Participants in the first cohort of this selective program must be nominated by their work supervisors or managers and gain acceptance in a competitive application process. Anyone working full-time in Jewish communal service who has been in the field for at least 18 months but no longer than five years may apply. Non-Jews are welcome, too.

The application deadline is Sept. 15.

The funding covers nearly all of participants’ expenses: accommodations, round-trip airfare from select North American cities, educational programming and seminars, meals during educational sessions, Shabbat retreats, basic medical insurance and ground transportation within Tel Aviv. Participants are expected to remain in the field of Jewish communal service after their Sullam experience.

This program is an outgrowth of Birthright Israel, which offers free 10-day Israel trips to Jews ages 18 to 26 designed to strengthen their connections to Israel, their Jewish identity and one another. Since its founding in 1999, Birthright has brought over 800,000 young Jews to Israel from 68 different countries.

Birthright runs numerous follow-up programs through Onward Israel and has facilitated the participation of an additional 20,000 people in various Israel- and Jewish-related internships, academic programs, and fellowships. In addition, more than 1,200 Jewish young adults have participated in Birthright Israel Excel, a 10-week business internship program in Israel.

To apply or recommend an employee for this experience, visit Sullamresidency.com.


The post First-of-its-kind Israel experience offers young Jewish communal professionals a month in Tel Aviv appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Antisemitic Incidents Spiked in UK After Bob Vylan’s ‘Death to the IDF’ Chants at Glastonbury

Police officers block a street as pro-Palestinian demonstrators gather in protest against Britain’s Home Secretary Yvette Cooper’s plans to proscribe the “Palestine Action” group in the coming weeks, in London, Britain, June 23, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jaimi Joy

There was a recorded rise in antisemitic incidents in the United Kingdom the day after the English punk rap duo Bob Vylan called for the death of Israeli soldiers at the Glastonbury Festival in June, according to the Community Security Trust (CST), a nonprofit charity that advises Britain’s Jewish community on security matters.

CST on Wednesday published a new report detailing antisemitic incidents recorded from January to June 2025. The report stated that the highest daily total for such outrages in the first half of 2025 was 26 reported on June 29, 16 of which took place online.

On June 28, Bob Vylan vocalist Pascal Robinson-Foster led thousands in the audience to chant “Death, Death to the IDF,” referring to the Israel Defense Forces, during the band’s set at the Glastonbury music and arts festival in Somerset, England. The performance was livestreamed by the BBC.

CST said the 26 incidents reported to the charity on June 29 involved “anti-Jewish responses” to events at Glastonbury, and CST’s statement on X that described Bob Vylan’s anti-IDF chants as “utterly chilling” and “an expression of mass hatred.”

The second worst day for “anti-Jewish hatred” in the first half of the year was May 17, when 19 incidents were recorded just a day after Israel announced the expansion of its military operation in the Gaza Strip, according to CST’s new report.

“In all of these incidents, anti-Jewish language, motivation, or targeting was evident alongside the rhetoric linked to Israel or Zionism,” CST said. “Both of these cases [on June 29 and May 17] illustrate how sentiment and rhetoric towards Israel and Zionism influence, shape, and drive contemporary anti-Jewish discourse, online and offline, often around totemic events that grab mainstream public attention.”

Because of their anti-IDF comments, Bob Vylan was dropped by their talent agency, as well as festivals and concerts worldwide. The duo also had their US visas revoked, and police in the UK launched an investigation to see if the band’s anti-IDF comments are a criminal offense.

The BBC apologized for broadcasting Bob Vylan’s “offensive and deplorable behavior” in their Glastonbury performance, during which Robinson-Foster also complained about working for a “f—king Zionist” and chanted “Free, free Palestine.”

According to Wednesday’s report, the CST recorded 1,521 antisemitic incidents in the UK from January to June of this year. It marks the second-highest total of incidents ever recorded by CST in the first six months of any year, following the first half of 2024 in which 2,019 antisemitic incidents were recorded in the aftermath of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel.

Fifty-one percent of all antisemitic incidents in the first half of this year “referenced or were linked to Israel, Palestine, the Hamas terror attack (on Oct. 7, 2023) or the subsequent outbreak of conflict,” CST noted. The group also recorded 73 antisemitic assaults in the first half of the year – with an additional three physical attacks categorized as “extreme violence” – and 572 cases of online antisemitism.

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Members of IDF’s New Ultra-Orthodox Brigade Complete Combat Training

Members of the Hasmonean Brigade during their beret ceremony at the Western Wall on Aug. 6, 2024. Photo: Screenshot

The first set of troops from the Israel Defense Force’s new ultra-Orthodox Hasmonean Brigade completed seven months of basic and advanced training on Wednesday morning, when they received their dark blue berets during a ceremony at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

“The army and the Torah go together, shoulder to shoulder. One strengthens the other, ” Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Boaz Bismuth wrote in a post on X, congratulating the troops. “I bless the ‘Hasmonean’ Brigade – the first ultra-Orthodox brigade in the IDF, which completed its training course today and, in an emotional ceremony at the Western Wall, received their beret. Only together will we triumph.”

Opposition Leader Yair Lapid also congratulated the troops, saying that “there is nothing more Jewish than defending the land of Israel.”

Israel’s Minister of Innovation, Science, and Technology Gila Gamliel added in a post on X that troops in the Hasmonean Brigade are “paving the way for combining faith with courage.”

“You are a symbol of dedication, mission, and contribution to the nation, and you light the path for all of us toward Israel’s unity,” she added. “Your brigade is proof that one can preserve identity while defending the homeland.”

The beret ceremony on Wednesday morning was attended by Shin Bet director and Maj. Gen. David Zini, who was crucial in the creation of the brigade, and brigade commander Col. Avinoam Emunah. Fifty ultra-Orthodox troops did a “beret march” that started in the hills of Jerusalem and ended at the Western Wall Plaza in the Old City of Jerusalem before the start of the ceremony. They blew shofars and sang songs calling for the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple, according to Israel’s Arutz 7.

Members of the brigade live a Haredi lifestyle both inside and outside the army and are given special accommodations, such as at least an hour of learning Talmud every day. Around 2,700 Haredim, or ultra-Orthodox Jews, have joined the army over the past year, according to Israeli media reports.

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UK’s Royal Ballet and Opera Cancels Israel Production After Staff Members Protest

The Royal Ballet perform in a general rehearsal of “Dark with Excessive Bright” at the Royal Opera House in London, Britain, Feb. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville

The Royal Ballet and Opera has canceled a performance of Giacomo Puccini’s “Tosca” at the Israeli Opera in Tel Aviv scheduled for next year after 182 anti-Israel RBO staff members signed an open letter protesting the planned performance and the organization’s support of Israel.

“We have made the decision that our new production of ‘Tosca’ will not be going to Israel,” RBO Chief Executive Alex Beard said in an internal message to staff, cited by The Guardian. He also reportedly mentioned the open letter signed anonymously by RBO staff members that was sent to him and the board on Friday.

The website of the Israeli Opera no longer includes any references to the RBO, but performances of “Tosca” are still listed for July 2026. The Royal Ballet and Opera is based at the Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden and is supported by a cast of more than 3,000 employees, according to its website.

In an open letter published by Artists for Palestine UK on Monday, RBO staff members said they “reject any current or future performances in Israel” and are committed to “withholding our productions from institutions that legitimize and economically support a state engaged in the mass killing of civilians.” They further condemned RBO’s decision to have a production of “Turandot” by Giacomo Puccini at the Israeli Opera this year. “The decision cannot be viewed as neutral. It is a deliberate alignment, materially and symbolically, with a government currently engaged in crimes against humanity,” said staff members – including dancers, singers, musicians, and backstage crew.

They then claimed that the Israeli Opera offers free tickets to Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. The RBO “is clearly making a strong political statement by allowing its production and intellectual property to be presented in a space that openly rewards and legitimizes the very forces responsible for the daily killings of civilians in Gaza,” the letter stated.

Staff members demanded that the RBO “withholds our productions from institutions that legitimize and economically support a state engaged in the mass killing of civilians.” They also condemned RBO’s “silence on Israel’s genocidal conduct” and expressed solidarity with a performer who last month raised a Palestinian flag during the curtain call of “Il trovatore” at the Royal Opera House. The staff members said the performer displayed “courage and moral clarity on our very stage.”

Video footage from the incident showed RBO’s Director of Opera Oliver Mears trying to seize the flag from the performer in front of a live, applauding audience. The open letter said Mears’ actions “sent a clear message that any visible solidarity with Palestine would be met with hostility, while the organization remains silent on the ongoing genocide.” They called for Mears “to be held accountable for his public display of aggression,” and demanded that the RBO “publicly acknowledge the genocide in Gaza” and “end its silence” regarding Israel’s actions.

“History will remember the choices we make in times of atrocity. We urge our organization not to be complicit through inaction or false neutrality,” they stated in conclusion.

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