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January 9, 2019
Photos by Cyndi Bemel

After high school, many students take a “gap year” before heading to college.  Jewish students often spend that year in Israel. But to make sure they know the diverse range of available experiences, Phyllis Folb founded an annual Israel Gap Year Fair in 2013. Today, it is the largest of its kind on the West Coast and represents more than 40 programs: living on a kibbutz, doing an internship, serving in the Israeli army or taking part in any number of traditional learning programs across the denominational spectrum in Israel. 

“We want them to have the best year and that only comes with exposure to all the options so they can make an informed and thoughtful choice,” said Folb, the volunteer, full-time executive director of the American Israel Gap Year Association (AIGYA). “I literally spend my whole life on this.” 

AIGYA’s goal is to be an inclusive and nonjudgmental educational resource to families and organizations, so Folb’s mission isn’t “vested in one outcome or the other, just in [students] loving Israel and being proud to be Jewish,” she said.

More than 400 students attended the 2018 fair, held at Yeshiva University Girls High School in November, which included breakout sessions on addressing the concerns of the Sephardic community and on safety, health and emotional well-being during a gap year. Support for the fair comes from Jewish schools of all denominations, as well as non-Jewish secular public and private schools. The fair’s location rotates. 

“It’s the only cross-denominational fair in the country and it was born here in L.A.,” Folb said. “I like to say it is a ‘Red Sea-parting moment’ to see everyone together, all in the same room with a singular mission.” 

“All the things you’ve learned, when you come to Israel, it all jumps off the page and it’s just real. You can hear your ancestors and feel the power and inspiration.” 

She added, “Students develop a solid sense of who they are and what kind of Jew they want to be and ask, ‘What am I going to bring back, and what’s my relationship with the land and the Jewish people?’ It’s life-changing.”

Instead of  “gap year,” Folb prefers the term “bridge year.” 

“That year is a vulnerable time for young people,” she said. “My feeling is that if we provide a bridge, they can build a real relationship with Israel and engage. They come back energized and excited both in an academic direction and in a personal-identity direction.”

Folb runs the organization on her own with a few volunteers. This year, the Rosina Korda Gap Year Scholarship will award $5,000 to three students to be put toward a year in Israel. Having more philanthropic support, she said, would help her “move the peanut forward to make it better, bigger and reach more people.” 

“These young people are going to be our leaders,” Folb said. “I would love people to recognize this fragile, important, vulnerable time as worth the investment and attention. I like to say I’m in the Jewish continuity business and I hope that other people will invest in that with me.”


Read more about our 2019 mensches here.

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