Number of young people going on tour this summer nearly doubles

Of this year’s nine movements, Bnei Akiva, Ezra, FZY, Noam, Sinai, Tribe are going to Israel, while Habonim Dror, LJY-Netzer RSY-Netzer are visiting Israel as part of a wider summer trip offering.

View of Tel Aviv beach in summer time with Israel FlagGetty Images

According to UJIA, there have only been seven years in the last 30 when tour numbers have dropped below 1,000 young people. These were during the intifada between 2001 and 2003, during the Covid-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2021 and during the current Israel Hamas war in Gaza.

The organisation tracked participation trends over 30 years and said that numbers have been “remarkably consistent,” with tour remaining a “rite of passage” for many young Jews in the UK.

Even last year’s dip left participation rates at a higher level than they were during the 2002 intifada and the pandemic.

The average number of participants on an annual Israel tour in the past 30 years is 1,101 young people. In the last 30 years, a total of 31,935 young people have participated in a UJIA supported tour of the Jewish state.

In the meantime, the nature of the post-secondary school gap year in Israel has changed.

After tuition fee increases were introduced in 2010, there was a sharp decline in traditional youth movement gap years, other than yeshiva and seminary programmes.

Before the price hike, more than 200 young people regularly participated in gap-year programmes. In 2017-2018, numbers fell to just 66.

This year, there are 112 young people on a youth movement gap year programme, and an additional 37 participants on Aardvark, which focuses on providing young people with internships during their time in Israel.