Polish students in Israel

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Polish students in Israel



A successive group of Polish students began scholarship studies at Tel Aviv University in Israel. It is a part of this year's exchange within the framework of the Polish Intercultural Youth Encounters program.

Exchanges between Polish and Israeli students, present for years in the landscape of the Museum’s educational activities, are very popular. They enable students to acquire knowledge of and get to understand contemporary Poland and Israel, and experience a fantastic adventure in a group of open-minded and intelligent people. Ten Polish students have just started three busy months at Tel Aviv University. In addition to attending classes and a Hebrew course, they will participate in the Polish Roots in Israel project. Their task will be to find and interview people whose families have come from Poland. Students are also facing a rich cultural and social program. During meetings organized at the university on the occasion of Polish months, Polish guest students will make presentations about history, art and everyday life of our country, and – thanks to the assistance of the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv – will meet with the grandchildren of Holocaust survivors from the Association of Third Generation.

Polish students will also explore and learn about the daily lives of Israelis. Some will be staying with Israeli families, others in student residences. They will be introduced to the ins and outs of student life by Israeli students whom they have met last September during their study visit to Poland.

The PIYE program or the Polish Intercultural Youth Encounters program (formerly Polish-Israeli Youth Encounters program) was established in 2006 as the Museum of the History of Polish Jews first educational activity. Currently it is the largest program in Poland and Israel offering meetings and exchanges between young Israelis and Poles. The program exists thanks to the support of the Museum’s Prominent Benefactors Tomek Ulatowski and Ygal Ozechov, and the help of other donors and partners, among them the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Source: www.jewishmuseum.org.pl/en/cms/home-page/

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STUDENT EXCHANGE

This program aims at teaching to overcome prejudice and familiarising with the common Polish-Jewish history and present. Polish scholarship recipients study for three months at Israeli universities and live with Israeli families. Israeli participants come to Poland on two-week study programs. Mutual acquaintance, struck friendships and acquired knowledge are an excellent basis for engagement in the Polish-Jewish dialogue. Recruitment starts in February.

Our aim

The student exchange project was the first educational activity created by the Museum. It is aimed at overcoming existing prejudices and explaining the common threads that link the history and contemporary life of Poles and Jews. Most importantly, it allows Polish and Israeli students to get to know each other, making knowledge and friendship the basis for future dialogue between Poles and Israelis.

How does it look in practice?

Polish scholarship holders stay in Tel Aviv for 3 months, where they live with Israeli families. They participate in the project while studying in Tel Aviv, getting to know the history, tradition, and culture of Israeli society and working with other local young people. One of the crucial elements of their time abroad is participation in the gathering of Jewish keepsakes and personal documents organized by the Museum in Poland and Israel.
International dialogue alongside studies
Israeli students take part in two-week study programs in Poland, participating in numerous educational workshops. Their stay in Poland is devoted to learning about contemporary Polish culture and significant places for the history of both nations. Hopefully this time spent in Poland will allow them to better understand the country and take this information back to Israeli where they can share it with others.

Recruitment program

The recruitment of students wishing to go to Israel begins each year in February. In order to qualify for the second phase of recruitment (the interview), students will need to send in fully completed forms and documentation. Detailed information about the recruitment process can be found in the Recruitment section of our Website.

Program coordinator: Kamila Dąbrowska