Learn with us in Israel-Palestine

Come meet today’s democracy and human rights leaders in Israel-Palestine

 

Monthly recurring donations

Extend introduces you to grassroots leaders fighting for democracy in communities across Israel-Palestine. From Tel Aviv to Hebron, Extend’s educational programs equip you with the knowledge and moral urgency to join the movement for democracy and human rights. Extend has been featured in Haaretz, Slate, and at the United Nations, and called “the most thought-provoking days of my year.” Our community of 800+ alumni include rabbis, elected officials, orthodox yeshiva students, journalists, and artists raising their voices for democracy. Join Extend’s program on the ground today in Israel-Palestine.

Featured In

                 

Featured Programs

 

The West Bank: Occupation 101

Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military law, without the right to vote or protest, due process or freedom of movement. Extend programs highlight Palestinians and Israelis across civil society, academia, the arts, business, and diplomacy working to end the occupation and advocate for human rights. Our programs lend particular emphasis to leaders in the Palestinian movement for transformative nonviolent civil disobedience, including internationally recognized activists such as Iyad Burnat (5 Broken Cameras) and Issa Amro (UN Human Rights Defender of the Year).

 

Palestinian Citizens of Israel

More than one in five Israeli citizens are Palestinian. Often referred to as ‘Israeli Arabs,’ Palestinian citizens of Israel have reshaped Israel’s political and cultural landscape through a decades-long struggle for communal self-determination and civil rights. Extend programs include in-depth conversation with Palestinian citizens of Israel in politics, activism, media, and the arts about both political challenges and cultural identity.

Jerusalem: West & East

Jerusalem is a city at once shared and divided, with two-thirds of its population Jewish-Israeli and one-third Palestinian. Extend programs introduce participants to history, culture, and politics in both Jewish West Jerusalem and Palestinian East Jerusalem. Programs put significant focus on the legal inequities between the two communities. Palestinians in Jerusalem are permanent residents of Israel, but not citizens. Extend programs highlight inequities in housing, education, policing, and civil rights that follow from these different legal statuses. Our programs also focus on a shared vision for the city’s future.

 

Israeli Civil Society

Extend programs include conversations with Israeli academics, journalists, politicians, and artists. Our partnerships emphasize initiatives to strengthen democratic norms and civil rights within Israel and to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories. Extend participants will meet leaders from organizations such as Breaking the Silence, B’Tselem, Peace Now, Standing Together, Rabbis for Human Rights, Haaretz, and +972.

Testimonials

Extend Experiences

“Extend was a highlight of our family’s recent trip to Israel. I was nervous before participating but our Extend facilitator’s thoughtfulness and calm presence quickly allayed my anxiety and concerns. I learned so much and am grateful for the opportunity.”

—Andy, Reform Synagogue Congregant, Boston Area

“Before joining Extend, I had met many policymakers and/or ‘experts’ who felt informed enough to write and speak extensively on the conflict though they had never spent more than a day in Ramallah. Extend quietly smashes so many of the stereotypes that dominate ‘expert’ opinion, instead creating a more balanced perspective that empowers young agents of change.”

—Jai, Assistant to U.S. Secretary of Defense

“For years I’ve wanted to have a serious conversation with other rabbis about Israel. On Extend, our conversations were open, probing, and deep. I came away from the trip more energized to continue working for peace and committed to taking the small steps that will make a difference on the ground today. There is no substitute for being physically present and engaging in face to face conversation with people who live and work there if one wants to increase their understanding of the conflict and be an advocate for change.”

—Rabbi Andrea London, J Street Rabbinic Cabinet Co-Chair

“Extend is the only program that does not enter with an explicit agenda, instead openly struggling to hold all of the relevant complexities together: Zionism, Palestinian statehood, civil rights, history, and more. Extend demonstrates enormous intellectual integrity by choosing the much more difficult middle path.”

—Noah, Jewish Organizing Institute and Network for Justice

“My program guide made group discussions feel easy, open, and positive. Everyone had an equal opportunity to say what they wanted and when dialogue became diatribe, conflicting views were welcomed. My guide was excellent at making sure everyone had their fair chance to speak and finish their thoughts, checking in on people to make sure they were alright.”

—Anya, McGill University

“My family’s time with Extend gave us a fuller picture of Israel than we had before. Both the beautiful as well as heartbreaking, Israel in all of its contradictions.”

— Yonah, Labor Organizer Oakland CA

“It was powerful to experience the conflict in a non-argumentative, non-antagonistic space. Having learned from people open to my presence, I was able to gain a more empathetic, embodied view on the conflict.”

— Shay, Hebrew Union College

“The most interesting and thought-provoking trip I’ve ever done.”

— Shayna, UC Berkeley

“Extend is the only program that does not enter with an explicit agenda, instead openly struggling to hold all of the relevant complexities together: Zionism, Palestinian statehood, civil rights, history, and more. Extend demonstrates enormous intellectual integrity by choosing the much more difficult middle path.”

—Noah, Columbia University

“My tour guide made group discussions feel easy, open, and positive. Everyone had an equal opportunity to say what they wanted and when dialogue became diatribe, conflicting views were welcomed. My guide was excellent at making sure everyone had their fair chance to speak and finish their thoughts, checking in on people to make sure they were alright.”

—Rachel, New York University

“Extend was the most thought-provoking four days of my past year. Nothing can substitute for the experience of hearing directly from Palestinians and Israelis who live with the reality of occupation daily. Extend created a thoughtful context for us to hear those realities directly and carry them with us back to the U.S. to use in improved work for peace, freedom, and dignity for all people in Israel and Palestine.”

—Sarah, Harvard University

“Extend is an amazing and unique organization that provides curious young American Jews an opportunity to explore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a way most Americans never will. Participants are exposed to a wide variety of different narratives, and everyone is encouraged to ask questions, be open-minded, and form their own opinions. What Extend does is rare but so important.”

—Stephanie, Wesleyan College

“Extend is an amazing opportunity to hear an array of voices in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. As the next generation who will be dealing with this conflict, Extend is an opportunity to engage the Jewish community in a more honest and diverse tour of Israel/Palestine.”

—Eliza, Bates College

“Extend gave me authentic, real-world, on-the- ground experience that is priceless and crucial in understanding the conflict. This trip is an extremely rare opportunity.”

—Natalie, The New School

“Extend gave me an indispensable life experience. I feel more confident in my own ideas and my ability to discuss the conflict.”

—Ella, Wesleyan College

“Extend gave me a sense of responsibility to continue engaging with the conflict, both by learning intellectually and by having an emotional and personal connection to the region.”

—Haley, Tufts University

“Extend is the only experience I know of that gives a meaningful and nuanced understanding of how the occupation works and how it affects real people’s.”

—Elena, Columbia University

“Extend is a model for interacting with Israel – Palestine that is sorely lacking amongst present options. I most appreciated the respect for my intelligence implied by exposing me to the West Bank with the mission to simply ‘listen and learn.’ After my Extend trip, I want to write about what I saw, speak about what I saw, and get more people to go on Extend.”

—Rory, Harvard College

“There is no better program that advocates for a sustainable and secure Israel than Extend. It doesn’t try to hide the messy and complicated situation, but instead challenges us to become advocates for a lasting peace in the region. I found Extend to be invaluable in giving me the opportunity to meet with the people on the front lines of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and giving me the opportunity to hear the opinions of the many stakeholders. In addition, it exposed me to first-hand observation of the ‘facts on the ground,’ which is a requirement for an informed political position on U.S. policy towards Israel and Palestine.”

—Sam, University of Pennsylvania

“My Extend trip leader leader was great at guiding group conversations. All opinions were welcome to the table, which led to very interesting group dialogue. Our tour guide was really, really good at leading conversations and answering any questions that were asked. After being with Extend I now feel like I have a more balanced view on the situation in the Holy Land and I feel the calling to do all that I can to help.”

—Miriam, Northern Kentucky University

“My tour guide was awesome in encouraging dialogue without pushing for a certain opinion. In the West Bank with Extend I discovered my Jewish identity: an identity that understands the necessity of promoting communication, understanding, and human rights.”

—Ashley, University of North Carolina

“Speaking directly with a Palestinian who had been attacked by the Israeli army or a settler who had been shot at by Palestinians was entirely different from talking with or reading articles written by people far removed from the day-to-day conflict in the West Bank. Barbed wire and armed soldiers checking passports look and feel different in real life and seeing Palestinians’ and settlers’ homes brings their struggles to life. Even when I saw or heard exactly what I expected—and that wasn’t always the case—seeing and hearing for myself was an important experience.”

—Omer, Carnegie Melon University

“Extend did three important things for me. First, it gave me details of how the occupation actually works: how does law work in the West Bank? Physical movement? Social services? Second, it made me start taking hard looks at myself: how have I not wondered about these specific questions––and how can my membership in the American Jewish community be better informed now by a more nuanced understanding? Finally, it gave me human connections to life in Israel and Palestine. It moved me from an abstract image of ‘conflict’ to a visceral respect for the people I met who are struggling so hard for a better Israel-Palestine. Together, these elements committed me to fight more fiercely for peace and for the spiritual liberation of my own people.”

—Gabe, Tufts University

“Extend was one of the most intellectually challenging experiences I have had.”

—David, University of Oxford

“Extend gave me stories, experiences, pictures, and a personal perspective now to take back with me to the States.”

—Caleb, Jewish Theological Seminary

About Extend

Since 2013, Extend’s on-the-ground learning programs have connected American Jews with Israeli and Palestinian leaders fighting for democracy and human rights. Our expertise is in engaging American Jewish audiences with the nuanced, challenging conversations about the Israeli and Palestinian past, present, and future. Extend’s programs bring participants to communities across Israel-Palestine, including Haifa, Jaffa, the Gaza border, Hebron, the South Hebron Hills, Bethlehem, Ramallah, and Jerusalem. Extend has facilitated programs for rabbis in the Union for Reform Judaism, Hillel staff, private foundations, Hebrew Union College, BINA: The Jewish Movement for Social Change, students from the Jewish Theological Seminary, Young Judaea Year Course, Pardes, the Conservative Yeshiva, Nativ, The Secular Yeshiva, Migdal HaTorah, the Hartman Institute, and the Dorot Fellowship, as well as yeshiva students from Modern Orthodox institutions such as Yeshivat Orayta, Yeshivat Ma’alei Gilboa, Midreshet Lindenbaum, and Nishmat. Extend also offers private family programs. Extend alumni have gone on to advocacy with J Street, the New Israel Fund, If Not Now, and Jewish Voice for Peace, as well as advocacy through the arts, journalism, Jewish communal life, on Capitol Hill and at the State Department.

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