YU Israel Summer Internship Program Offers Students Career Experience Abroad
The YU Israel Summer Internship Program gives Yeshiva University students the chance to spend seven weeks in Israel exploring their career interests firsthand, while also participating in trips and learning opportunities. This past summer, 30 students in the program worked in an Israeli work environment in a field of their choice, including accounting, finance, media studies, journalism, law, mental health, healthcare and more. Students were responsible for being in contact with their employers, building their own schedules and traveling to and from their internships every day. Behind the scenes, the program was run by Gabi Sackett, who handled recruitment, program scheduling and internship coordination.
In addition to the internship, students were provided housing on YU Israel’s Gruss Campus as well as breakfasts and dinners throughout the week. Students ate these meals with others on the internship program along with students from the three other summer programs housed on Gruss: YU’s Counterpoint program for volunteering and traveling within Israel, the YU Summer Excavation Program for experience in archaeological work settings in Jerusalem and the Bar-Ilan University-Yeshiva University Summer Science Research Internships Program, where students worked with different professors to conduct research related to their career interests. Students from all programs were also given the opportunity to daven with a minyan three times a day and learn in Gruss’s Beit Midrash in their free time.
While students were expected to make their own Shabbat plans for the majority of Shabbatot, there were three “in-Shabbatot” where students either stayed on campus with their peers or traveled as a group to an off-campus location. The program hosted two on-campus in-Shabbatot with one of them featuring Friday night davening at the Kotel and dinner in the Old City. Additionally, the program held a Shabbaton in Tzfat along with YU’s Counterpoint program. The Shabbaton included davening at different shuls in Tzfat, tours of the city and group meals.
Another component of the program was the night activities. These activities were primarily student-run and included games, student-led chaburas and shiurim given by teachers the students brought in. In addition, there were a few night activities run by the program itself, including a viewing of the Joe Lieberman documentary and hearing from speakers on topics ranging from photographing scenes from Oct. 7 and its aftermath to artificial intelligence usage in today’s world. Regarding this programming, Eitan Barenholtz (YC ‘27) remarked, “The exciting night activities … were a real highlight of the program. My favorite was the in-person Among Us game.”
The program also included a day designated for internship exploration in Tel Aviv. All students traveled to Tel Aviv and heard from representatives of Monday.com, PwC and Wix. Students were given tours of the various companies’ buildings and got an inside look at what working at these companies looks like. A common message delivered by the various representatives was that learning to adapt to AI in the working world is crucial for success, which was a valuable lesson for students just entering the workforce.
Overall, students had very positive feedback about the program. Ruti Frohlich (SCW ‘26), a student who interned at Machon Dvir (a mental health clinic), told The Commentator, “Throughout this internship, I was able to form connections with mental health professionals in Israel and learn about what the mental health field looks like in Israel. To contribute to meaningful work in Israel while being on a program with like-minded, passionate and inspiring students was a unique opportunity that I am so grateful I got to experience.”
Akiva Rosenberg (YC ‘28), who interned at a small startup, told The Commentator, “I learned what software engineering is like in the real world, especially in the age of AI, and got a chance to contribute meaningfully to code that is running in production. The best part of the program was the cohort. I have no idea how Gabi Sackett collected a group of such incredible people. Overall, the summer felt like stepping through the back of the wardrobe into a fantasy land for seven weeks!”
The program was a great way for students to further their career goals while getting to spend the summer in Israel. Many college students struggle with deciding how to best spend their summers, debating if they are better spent doing career-related internships, recreational activities or participating in non-career-inspired initiatives they are passionate about. For a college student, trying to infuse one’s summer with as much productivity and fun as possible can be a real challenge. The program, however, is a great opportunity for students to have a meaningful, productive and enjoyable summer and definitely leaves a lasting impact on those who attend.
Photo Caption: Participants on the YU Israel Summer Internship Program
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University Instagram
