SIJ now offers four ways to spend a summer living in Jerusalem and interning in Israel, and applications are open through January 15.
For ten summers, more than 1,200 college students in JLIC’s Summer in Jerusalem (SIJ) program have spent their days at internships across Israel and their evenings in the beit midrash. In 2027, a new track gives them a seat in rooms most students never get into.
JLIC announced SIJ XP, a co-ed track that pairs professional internships with special speakers and behind-the-scenes experiences. SIJ 2027 runs June 23 through August 9.
Picture a Tuesday in July. An XP student spends the day interning at an Israeli health-tech startup. That evening she’s in a small room with a speaker who helps shape Israeli policy, asking her own questions. Wednesday, she volunteers. By Thursday night she’s learning Torah with friends she didn’t know a few weeks earlier.
“For ten years, SIJ has shown college students they don’t have to choose between building a career and building a Jewish life,” said Rabbi Josh Ross, Executive Director of JLIC. “Our alumni kept telling us what they’d add. XP is the result, and it gives students more opportunities to explore Jerusalem and Israeli society.”
“This is my first time being in Israel long term, and actually the first time getting any systematic Jewish educational experience,” said Steve Cordova, a student who joined SIJ in 2026. “The classes here on SIJ helped me grow in my connection to Judaism.”
The same core, now with four ways in
JLIC places every student in a professional internship matched to their career goals, in fields that include tech and startups, healthcare and science, and finance and business. Recent SIJ interns have worked at Merck Group, the Waldorf Astoria Jerusalem, and medtech startup Tissue Dynamics. Students leave with international work experience on their résumés. Outside of work, they spend Shabbat together and go on trips, with dedicated staff mentoring them all summer. The program covers housing and food.
“We have the opportunity to be responsible for our own projects in a way that we wouldn’t get at internships in the United States,” said Zacharya Abrahman, a Washington University in St. Louis student who interned at Tissue Dynamics during SIJ 2025.
Where the tracks differ is how students spend their evenings:
- Summer in Jerusalem XP (SIJ XP), new for 2027: A co-ed track pairing internships with volunteering, speakers on everything from Torah to Israeli politics, and Torah learning programs.
- Summer in Jerusalem @ TVA (SIJ @ TVA): A co-ed track for students seeking serious Torah learning, with beit midrash programming three nights a week at Midreshet TVA in Katamon.
- Summer in Jerusalem for Women @ Nishmat (SIJW): An all-women’s track with high-level Torah learning three nights a week in the Nishmat beit midrash in Pat, with access to many well-known Nishmat teachers.
- Summer in Jerusalem for Men (SIJM): An all-men’s track with intensive Gemara learning in a seder and shiur model, plus optional chaburot and occasional Thursday night mishmar.
“Students come to SIJ for the internship. By the end, they’re talking about the people they lived and learned with,” said Shira Schneider, Associate Director, JLIC Summer. “XP builds on that same sense of community, giving students opportunities to connect through the Beit Midrash, volunteering, and engaging speakers.”
Apply now
Applications for SIJ 2027 are open through January 15, 2027. Students who apply by December 5 save $500 with the early-bird rate. Each track has a set number of spots, and they fill fast.
College students can learn more and apply at summer.oujlic.org.