Visit Israel

Residents of North America must hold a US or Canadian passport valid for at least 6 months from your last day in Israel.  If you are not an American citizen, you may need a visa and have other restrictions; please contact your closest Israeli consulate for more information.
If you do not already have a passport, you should begin obtaining a passport as soon as possible. You will be required to provide your passport number and a photocopy of your passport prior to our issuing your airline ticket.  If you realize after the cancellation deadline and after being assigned a flight that you will not have a valid passport by your departure date, we may need to cancel your trip.  No one can travel to Israel without a valid passport.

MEOR Israel has established partnerships with philanthropists who recognize the unique opportunities presented by our trip and are eager to support its ongoing development.

Yes!  We encourage you to take advantage of being in Israel and to extend your stay after the program and are happy to assist you with this process.  Extensions on El Al flights can be made in one of two ways:

For around $125 and at your own expense you can make an extension prior to departure from the United States directly through our travel agent. Please contact Yoni Greenwald (212.444.1813; johnnygisrael@gmail.com) to make those arrangements. Extending will only be possible once we have notified you that you have been ticketed on a specific flight.

You also have the option to extend your ticket at your own expense once you are in Israel. This is usually the more expensiive option. However, scholarships are available for anyone who plans to enroll in a Judaic studies program. If you know you have to be back on a certain date, it is highly recommended that you extend your ticket prior to departure of the trip from the US.

Tickets are only valid for 90 days from departure and will become null and void after this time. Additionally, our tickets are a certain class of seating. In the case of making an extension before departure from the US, all efforts will be made to find a seat within the existing class of service for the date you are seeking. As a last effort, our travel agency may be able to find you a seat in a different class of service and this may require a higher fee for the extension.

Once the MEOR Israel program has concluded, you will no longer be under our supervision or covered by our insurance.

We will be staying in a variety of hotels and hostels throughout the country. Primarily, we will be based at a Jerusalem hotel (women and men housed separately) and will be bussed privately to our learning and touring locations.

MEOR Israel maintains regular communication with the Israeli government. We receive the most updated information, which allows us to take the strongest relevant precautions.  A group's itinerary will be changed immediately to reflect any heightened risk or security concerns.

The program does not visit areas controlled by the Palestinian Authority or any other areas deemed unsafe by the Government of Israel.

MEOR Israel does not use public transportation at any time.

MEOR Israel does not hold any programming or events that congregate in public areas without security.

All major trips and excursions on the program are done with armed security.

There is free time on the program. Students will be given detailed instructions concerning places they should not go during their free time.

Generally speaking, mornings will be spent engaged in exciting Jewish learning; afternoons touring around Israel; and the evenings are free.  Special trips that require extra travel time and Shabbat will have unique schedules.

Mornings (3-4 hours) are dedicated to Jewish learning in a formal setting, with some time spent in lectures from top-flight Jerusalem speakers and some spent in one-on-one or small group discussion formats. See the scheduling information for more details.

There will also be many informal Jewish learning opportunities throughout the trip—through the agency of Shabbat programming, daily tours and others.

Absolutely. One of the goals of the trip is to give students a taste of living in Israel and to experience Israeli society. Although the structured programming guides the majority of the day, a significant number of nights are left free for you to enjoy on your own, provided you honor the security guidelines. In addition to designated free time, you are more than welcome to extend you stay so that you can have more time to visit with family and friends in Israel.

MEOR Israel’s trip assumes a high level of student maturity and therefore treats you as an adult.  Accordingly, a curfew will not be implemented.  However, students must comply with security regulations at all times, maintain contact with staff members, and ensure that they are able to participate fully in all day time programming.  If any of these conditions are compromised, a curfew will be imposed.

The simplest method to obtain local currency is to withdraw cash from an ATM using a US banking card.  Most ATMs are in urban areas, so you are encouraged to use them at the airport or when you see them, which may not be daily.  Additionally, most hotels offer currency exchange and many establishments accept major foreign currencies like the Euro and US dollars.  This being said, you may not need much cash on hand. For incidentals and shopping, most establishments accept credit cards like Visa and MasterCard.  

It would be ideal for you to travel with your own traveler’s insurance in addition to the health insurance that is provided by MEOR Israel.

Health insurance will be taken out on behalf of every trip participant but it may not cover any pre-existing medical conditions.  Our insurance will provide basic coverage that will suffice for routine incidents.

Click to view our recommended packing list.

Weather in most parts of Israel is similar to Los Angeles—mild in the day and cool at night.  However, because of its high altitude, Jerusalem is an exception and generally stays about 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the country and experiences more rainy/cloudy days in the winter.  Check Yahoo! weather for accurate details.

MEOR Israel staff has secured a discounted cell phone plan exclusively for those participating in our trip. If you would like to take advantage of this opportunity, please click here to be linked to the provider's online application.

Rates to and from America vary but are generally quite reasonable. MEOR Israel staff will carry each students’ cell phone number at all times.