HAB NIM DROR NORTH AMERICA
Israel Programs
Workshop
A gap year that goes beyond the ordinary
Spend your gap-year immersed in Israeli society, living in community, exploring your values, and building the skills, confidence, and relationships that will shape your future.
For over 75 years, Workshop has helped generations of young Jews deepen their connection to Israel, engage with complex questions, and discover their place within the Jewish people and the world around them.
What is Workshop?
Workshop is Habonim Dror North America's eight-month gap-year program in Israel. Participants spend the year experiencing both urban life and kibbutz life, learning Hebrew, volunteering with communities across the country, and traveling throughout Israel and beyond.
Along the way, they explore Jewish and Israeli history, engage with contemporary Israeli society, and encounter a wide range of people, perspectives, and communities. Through shared living, meaningful responsibility, and values-based learning, participants build lifelong friendships while developing a deeper understanding of Israel, Judaism, and themselves.
Program Overview:
Duration: 8 months
Dates: September through May (exact dates TBA)
Program Chapters:
"Shorashim"
A 2.5 month educational experience based on Kibbutz Ein HaShofet in northern Israel. Participants study Hebrew, explore Jewish and Zionist history and ideas, volunteer locally, and travel throughout the country on educational seminars and tours.
"Anafim"
A 3.5 month leadership and community living experience based in Tel Aviv. Participants live independently as a group while volunteering with Israeli youth, developing leadership skills through ongoing seminars and practical experience. Alongside their volunteer placements, they explore Israeli society through urban life, educational programming, and engagement with local communities.
"Adama"
a 2 month international and agricultural experience based in South Africa and Kibbutz Ravid in northern Israel. Participants spend several weeks serving as counselors at Habonim Dror South Africa's summer camp, gaining hands-on educational experience while exploring Cape Town and engaging with a new cultural environment. They then join Kibbutz Ravid's agricultural work program, taking part in daily farm work and experiencing kibbutz life firsthand.
Additional Components:
The Journey to Poland
A week-long educational journey exploring the history of the Holocaust, Jewish resistance, and the role of youth movements, including Habonim Dror's roots in the Dror movement.
World Habonim Dror Chapter
A global gathering bringing together participants from Habonim Dror gap year programs around the world for shared living, educational seminars, and discussions on leadership, ideology, and current events.
Conflict Seminar Week
A week-long seminar based in Jerusalem exploring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through guided tours, educational programming, and conversations with a range of speakers and perspectives.
Program Cost
The cost of the 2026-2027 program is $24,500 USD.*
*HDNA is committed to making Workshop an accessible program and working with interested participants to find subsidies and scholarships. The cost of Workshop is subject to change prior to the start of the program.
A Week in the Life of Workshop!
"I'm working in different Arab villages, in schools and youth clubs, and educating about equality and shared existence."
- Hannah, Workshop 63
Ma’apilimot – The Future of Habonim Dror
Following their year in Israel, many Workshop participants return to North America in time to work as tzevet (staff) for the six Habonim Dror machanot (summer camps). As madrichimot (counselors), they are encouraged to share their newfound knowledge and experiences with their chanichimot (campers) and with the youth movement as a whole. Most Workshop participants return to North America and become active on university and college campuses in social, political, and educational activities connected to Israel, Judaism and social justice.
