Taglit-Birthright Israel announces the establishment of a unique training program for an elite cadre of American trip leaders through a partnership with the iCenter, a North American organization dedicated to Israel education. Taglit-Birthright Israel will dub the participants “Taglit Fellows” and expects to provide up to 200 trip leaders each year with intensive theoretical and practical training skills.

Taglit-Birthright Israel’s three-pronged approach to trip leaders’ education will include a four-day seminar with Jewish and Israel studies and skill-building workshops, the implementation of online learning and the establishment of a networking framework for these leaders.

Applications for the first round of Taglit Fellows opened on April 1, 2014. Applicants should be at least 21 years old, have professional experience in Jewish education or in communal settings, knowledge of Israeli history and culture, and must be able to commit to staffing three Taglit-Birthright Israel trips over the three years following the completion of training. The deadline to apply is May 15, 2014. Interested parties should visit http://www.TaglitFellows.com. 

“The Taglit Fellows program complements our successful Institute for Tour Educators in Yad Ben Zvi, Israel which ensures that our participants receive the best experience possible from people thoroughly trained in all aspects of the experience we provide,” said Taglit-Birthright Israel CEO Gidi Mark. “The next natural step in the advancement of this training is to educate the American staff who join the buses. The iCenter’s reputation in advancing high quality, meaningful and innovative Israel education was a natural choice for collaboration on this exciting initiative.”

The Taglit Fellows program is funded by the Maimonides Fund through a $4 million grant over the next six years.

“This initiative provides us with a terrific opportunity to simultaneously improve the educational quality of the trips as well as dramatically increasing our capacity for effective follow up,” said Maimonides Fund President Mark Charendoff. “It is strong evidence that Birthright is committed not just to increasing numbers but to constantly rethinking how to best engage the young people who participate, on both sides of the ocean.”