Our program is a special combination of an identity journey, a personal experience, a tour of Israel, and camp life. The entire program is carried out in an intimate group with a guide with rich educational experience and includes nature trips, water sports, unique encounters with fascinating characters, music, deep discussions and unique group dynamics, exciting ceremonies, tours of sites and above all – an unmediated encounter with Israel in a way that cannot be found anywhere else- through benevolent eyes and from a positive experience.

Part of the educational concept of I Belong Islands is the concept of the journey. The understanding that in order to cause deep insights into identity and belonging, we must give the child the opportunity to adapt to new situations and sites, to feel that the group is a home for him, to feel that he is significant for others. In order to realize this concept, our camp travels between three spaces and sites:

1. Nir Ha’emek Youth Village – In the heart of the Jezreel Valley, the old youth village allows us a camp life that includes agricultural and farming activities, sports, a pool, and recreational facilities. The children sleep in spacious rooms in bunk beds, up to the room.
2. I Belong Village – A special organic agricultural farm in the heart of the Jerusalem mountains, on the outskirts of the city in the picturesque valley of the cedars. We built camp facilities that combine many years of agricultural tradition and educational innovation. The children will sleep in brand-new pavilions inaugurated this year. A unique Jerusalem Shabbat in a magical pine forest.
3. Field activity – In each semester we will go on a two-day- one-night excursion to the field, during which the children will sleep in new camping tents in a secure and guarded complex, where all the activities will take place.

This is what we are. We speak to Generation Z and Generation Alpha in their language. We contain diversity, take care of the environment, make sure to create accessibility solutions for every need of every participant, and above all put the participant at the center. At the same time, we set clear boundaries of behavior- we do not allow cynical discourse, we do not allow violence of any kind, bullying or blunt language towards others. All of our activities provide an opportunity for a positive experience of self-image, of accepting differences and of treating others. The camp staff monitors unusual behaviors and calls for help, alongside the medical office that operates 24/7, there is always someone to turn to in the form of experienced educators with experience in youth care.

Our organization is based on the unique and diverse nature of the educational staff. Each group has an experienced leader, who has guided dozens of day trips, completed a course of over three months and specializes in guiding dynamic groups of teenagers. All l Belong guides are approved by the Ministry of Education in Israel and have a tour guide certificate. The instructors are carefully selected from the broad team of Masa Israeli, which consists of more than 2,450 graduates who have gone through selection processes, training and professional development over the years. Every guide of an international group is a native speaker of the group’s language. Next to each leading guide there is also the support of MADATZ, a young guide who assists in the activity, so that at any given moment each child receives personal and close attention. The camp is managed by the mature staff of Masa Israeli, an organization that for the past 18 years has been leading the educational activities in the field in Israel

One of the unique components of the program is the intimate connection with Israeli children. We produce a value-based and social dialogue through the application of the contact hypothesis, a sociological method designed to reduce stereotypes and suspicion and create trust between different groups. Each group is independent, and the meetings are guided, equal and fair, so that a group of youth from around the world will always meet with a group of Israelis of the same size and with the same gender mix, when the educational experiences are shared, but the processing units are different according to the educational needs of each group. The accommodation, the trips and the informal time is shared, although even the connection under these conditions is constantly supervised and monitored due to the differences in mentality.

It is important to remember that the meeting with the Israelis is not an end in itself, but an educational tool that allows each group to explore itself, and for each individual to discover for himself the belonging to different circles.

No, and Yes. It depends on your child and the rules you set together. The camp is a camp in which secular and traditional religious participate side by side. The food is kosher, we avoid activities in which contact between boys and girls is obligatory, and on Shabbat the program does not include activities that require the desecration of Shabbat, and we hold Kiddush and Havdalah together. At the same time, since the camp integrates and includes, every child has the right to whether and how to join the prayers. On Shabbat, as well as the other days, there is no use of the mobile phone in the public space, during free time, in the room, the child reserves the right to use it, according to the way you arranged it with him or her as parents.

Each age group has different educational goals, according to the different age needs and the educational goals of the organization. Every year we visit Jerusalem and experience Shabbat in the Jewish Quarter and the Western Wall, but beyond that, a trainee will visit different routes and sites during the three years he is a trainee, in the 10th grade he will experience a unique educational program and in the 11th grade he may already serve as a guide so the experience is completely different.

Each participant is placed in a group that speaks his mother tongue, or at least a language in which he can conduct himself fluently. Because of the unique content of the camp, which includes group dynamics and reflection, alongside an educational experience of presentation and creation, language confidence is very important. Along with this emphasis, we are also careful about diversity and that the children will hear Hebrew around them, when in meetings with Israeli children we are careful about adequate mediation and translation through bilingual instructors and students.

During the activity, 24/7, a camp office operates, part of whose role is updating, establishing contact, sending personal and general messages and responding to emergency situations. You will receive a regular report on the schedule, on the activity, along with photos of the child and greetings. Every day, after the activity hours, the children will be able to contact you on the mobile phone.

In order to maintain the educational independence of the guide, it will not be possible to talk with the mud guide, but only with the office and the camp management, so that even unique comments and requests will be answered quickly and with all the attention and due respect.

In addition, a secure site will be activated to view the child’s photos during the day, so you can see how happy the children are…