Over the past year, the Task Force has expanded our efforts to make Arab citizens a vibrant and important part of Israel educational travel. Working with travel organizers, tour operators, Arab civil society leaders and changemakers, we are creating opportunities for learners to encounter Arab citizens through direct, meaningful, and context-rich engagement and expanding the ecosystem in a way that benefits all stakeholders.
Our work building relationships in the ecosystem paid off. For the 2025 summer travel season, the Task Force scheduled 23 programs with 13 different Jewish and travel organizations and ran 6 of them before war with Iran once again shook the nation.
Highlights included a Columbia University faculty delegation discussing shared society in Jaffa with Khouloud Ayuti of the Boustan Foundation; Jewish education professionals learning about Jewish-Arab cultural programming at Beit Hagefen with Hasan Haj*; adult education learners heard from Saja Kabaha* about Arab society and wartime experiences. Birthright students guided by Fadi Far* at the Tel Aviv Museum of Art on identity and representation; student interns hearing from Hasoub CEO Rabea Zioud about Arab citizens in tech and entrepreneurship; and high school students from LA visiting Kafr Qara and Arara to explore identity complexity and social mobility.
Along with reaching more than 175 participants, we are excited about the partnerships and capacities we are building with organizations in this ecosystem, and the connections being forged with speakers and sites in Arab society. For American Jewish learners, the need to engage with Israel’s diversity and complexities has never been greater. We are proud and grateful for the opportunity to do so through deep partnership with Arab communities that amplify their voices and work.
Unfortunately, with the war closing Israeli airspace, nearly all upcoming educational tourism activities have been cancelled or postponed. While disappointing, our prior programs and outreach demonstrated the growing demand for these encounters. In the meantime, we continue to develop the opportunities in the field and creating tools and resources for educators.
*Task Force Speaker Fellows
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