Masa Israel Journey

Masa Israel Journey (or Masa Israel, Hebrew: מסע‎‎ "journey") is a public-service organization founded by the Prime Minister’s Office of the Government of Israel, together with The Jewish Agency for Israel. Masa Israel is the leading organization in the long term Israel experience space, and it sets the industry standard.

Since its founding in 2004, over 110,000 young Jews (18-30) from more than 60 countries have participated in Masa Israel programs The organization's eventual goal is to bring 20,000 young adults annually on semester- and year-long programs in Israel.

Masa leads this informal educational effort with a diverse portfolio of 2-12-month study, service, and career development programs for young Jews (18-30).

Masa Israel offers unique educational experiences beyond the scope of the participant’s main program, with a particular emphasis on excellence and leadership programming for qualifying participants. Masa’s transformational, authentic Israel experiences, among the best in the international experience space, empower participants to develop as individuals, while also developing a robust global professional network that includes Israelis and Jews from around the world.

Masa Israel Journey offers every eligible participant a grant of $500- $4,500 towards participating in a program in Israel.

Conceived by Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Masa Israel was officially established in 2004 as a joint project of the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency for Israel. Masa Israel is governed by a 16-member steering committee, with eight representatives of the Government of Israel and eight representatives of the Jewish Agency for Israel. The steering committee is co-chaired by the Government of Israel Cabinet Secretary and the Director General of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

During the 2004-2005 school year, $10 million was invested in the program, with 45 long term Israel programs participating. As of late 2009, the budget expanded to $40 million and the number of programs affiliated with the project has grown to over 200. The bulk of the budget goes to providing grants and financial aid to participants of affiliated programs. In 2015–16, participation reached an all-time high of over 13,000 participants.

Masa Israel is not officially connected to Taglit-Birthright Israel, though the organizations do collaborate regarding recruitment and education.

In 2009, Masa Israel and Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life began working together expand reach on North American university campuses.

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