Thank you for your interest in our Academy Travel Seminars for 2025/26. 

The educational value and social experiences which our teens receive by participating in our Academy travel programs is unparalleled. Temple Israel is there committed to ensuring that any member teen who wishes to travel has the opportunity to do so. Therefore, the out-of-pocket cost to Temple Israel families is graciously subsidized, and additional scholarships may be available for those enrolled in our All-Access program. Financial expense should be not the deciding factor in a family’s decision. 

7th-9th graders will travel together with teens from Stephen Wise Free Synagogue & Temple Emanu El to Georgia and Alabama to explore the sites of the Civil Rights Movement and the legacy of this transformative time. Together with our travel partner, Tzedek America, we will visit Atlanta to see the burial site and childhood home of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and unpack the story of Leo Frank – made famous by the Broadway musical Parade. In Birmingham, we will see Kelly Ingram Park, where peaceful were infamously broken up with high-pressure water cannons and dogs. In Selma, we will walk across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, site of John Lewis’s famous march for voting rights. And in Montgomery, we will visit the memorial for lynchings, the site where Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, and the Southern Poverty Law Center – an organization that today monitors hate speech and prejudice against any group. Along the way, we will learn about the role Jews played in the movement and the implications of that activism for us. The trip will depart in the early morning of Friday, February 13 and return in the early evening of Monday, February 16

10th-12th graders will travel together with teens from Stephen Wise Free Synagogue & Temple Emanu El to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic and hub of Bohemian culture. One of the few cities in Europe that escaped major damage in World War II, we will be guided by our beloved Jonathan Goldstein of Cicerone Travel in exploring the synagogues and sites that represent the complex but rich history of Jewish life and culture that existed here for more than 1,000 years. Of course, it’s impossible to ignore the devastation that the Holocaust brought to Czech Jews, so we will visit the city of Terezin and the Theresienstadt concentration camp – the Nazis’ model camp that was propagandized to sell the Red Cross on the ethical treatment of prisoners. We will conclude our trip with a look at the era of Communism that followed the war and the rebirth of Western culture and Jewish life of the last 35 years.  The trip will depart in the mid-afternoon of Thursday, February 12 and return in the early evening of Tuesday, February 17.

Israel Seminar Extension – We’re excited to offer a special five-day Travel Seminar extension to Israel as part of our Prague journey. For many teens, this may be their first time experiencing Israel with a group of peers, and it’s an incredible opportunity to explore the heart of Jewish life today. We’ll walk through the layers of Jewish history in Jerusalem, discover the energy of Tel Aviv and the beauty of Haifa, and take part in hands-on service learning. One of the most meaningful parts of the experience will be a mifgash—a real exchange—with Israeli teens. We’ll listen to their stories, ask big questions, and begin to understand Zionism not just as an idea but as something real and lived. We’ll also ask challenging questions and confront the dualities of life in Israel that often come into conflict with one another, giving our teens the tools and knowledge they need to have nuanced conversations about Israel. The group will travel from Prague to Israel, returning to New York on February 22.