Aardvark Israel

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Israeli gap-year provider, listed by Masa and funded through UJIA bursaries, whose add-on tracks include the army course Marva and a StandWithUs advocacy programme

Aardvark Israel

Logo Aardvark Israel logo.png
Type Gap-year and study-abroad provider
Founded 2010
Headquarters 39 Levinsky St, 2nd Floor, Tel Aviv 6610910, Israel; 3 Ben Yehuda Street, 3rd Floor, Jerusalem 9462402, Israel
Area served International; Masa lists the Classic programme for ages 17 to 21
Services Gap-year programmes; add-on tracks including Marva, Magen David Adom volunteering and StandWithUs advocacy training
Website aardvarkisrael.com
Remarks Operator named by Masa Israel Journey as Aardvark Tourism Ltd

Aardvark Israel is a gap-year provider based in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. It gives contact numbers in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Mexico,[1] and says its participants have come from "over 60 different countries".[2] Masa Israel Journey lists it as a Masa programme run by "Aardvark Tourism Ltd".[3] Masa is, in Aardvark's own words, "a project of the government of Israel and the Jewish Agency of Israel". In Britain, the United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) offers means-tested bursaries that, Aardvark says, cover "all Aardvark Israel Programmes".[4]

Aardvark says its programmes aim to help participants "love, advocate for and contribute to Israel".[2] Among its add-on tracks are Marva, an army-simulation course on which participants "wear an Israeli army uniform, carry a gun",[5] and an "advanced Israel education, leadership, and public diplomacy program" run with StandWithUs.[6]

History and claims

Aardvark's "About" page says that in 2010 "three Jewish educators sat down to solve a problem". It claims:[2]

  • "Over 3,000 students have attended our programs since 2010";
  • "Winner of the 2019-2020 Masa Prize for Excellence in Education";
  • "Largest gap year program in the world in 2020-2021".

It adds that its staff "are proud to be Jewish and Zionists" and that it is "proud to work in partnership with Masa Israel Journey".

The figures differ between sources. Masa's programme listing, checked on 23 October 2026, gives "Alumni - 2166" for the Classic programme.[3] Aardvark gives "over 3,000" for all its programmes.[2]

Programmes

The Classic programme is based in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Masa lists it for ages 17 to 21, and gives prices before any Masa grant of $14,490 for the spring 2027 semester and $28,990 for the 2027 "Year Plus".[3] Aardvark's home page lists "Israeli Army" among the "areas of interest" applicants can tick, next to "EMT Training". A participant quoted on the same page says: "We visited Hevron and Sderot." Hebron is in the occupied West Bank.[1]

On 10 July 2026 Middle East Eye reported that the "Israel Classic Track gap year programme, which is run by Israeli organisation Aardvark", was "advertised on UJIA's website", and that its weekly trips included destinations in the occupied West Bank. It said participants could sign up for Marva as part of the Israel Classic Track.[7]

Marva

Aardvark's Marva page invites applicants to imagine "How would it feel to wear the uniform of the Israel Defense Forces?" It calls the track "an army simulation program that gives you the opportunity to gain a first-hand understanding of the Israeli military from within". Participants "live together with Israelis and other participants from around the world on an army base for six to eight weeks", and "meet with soldiers, wear an Israeli army uniform, carry a gun, and learn survival skills, field training, self-defense, topography, navigation, and more". The page says:[5]

  • "The program is based in the south of Israel on a Gadna base" (see Gadna);
  • time is also spent in "Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, the Galilee and more". The Golan Heights is Syrian territory occupied by Israel since 1967;
  • "Hard military-style discipline is enforced in all activities";
  • "Marva will help you strengthen your ties to Israel, whether you're a tourist or a potential new immigrant".

Accounts differ on who runs Marva. The Israeli Ministry of Defence's youth department describes it as a programme run jointly by the Ministry of Defence, the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Experience and world youth movements.[8] Middle East Eye says it "is run by the Israeli military and the Jewish Agency for Israel".[7]

MADA

The MADA track begins with an "intensive ten-day, 60 hour training program". Participants then volunteer on Magen David Adom ambulances, for "eight hours per shift and a minimum of four shifts a week", over a five-week volunteer period. Participants must be at least 18. Aardvark says "final acceptance is determined solely by the MADA Overseas program".[9] By Israeli law, Magen David Adom is an auxiliary to the army's medical service in wartime (see Magen David Adom UK).[10]

StandWithUs

The StandWithUs track is described as an "advanced Israel education, leadership, and public diplomacy program" at the StandWithUs Katz Education Center in Jerusalem. It includes "monthly field tours" to "the Northern Border, the Gaza Envelope, and historical sites across Jerusalem and Judea & Samaria". "Judea and Samaria" is the Israeli government's term for the occupied West Bank. The page says the track will "prepare you to counter misinformation and lead conversations on campus".[6] See StandWithUs and StandWithUs UK.

Funding

Aardvark's scholarships page lists three sources:[4]

  • Masa grants, which depend partly on "country of origin";
  • UJIA, which it says "provides means-tested bursaries for Israel Gap Years, including all Aardvark Israel Programmes";
  • the Jewish National Fund's "Plant Your Way To Israel" scheme. Participants sell trees to be planted by the JNF, and "50% of the funds raised will be awarded to you towards your Israel program tuition".

UJIA's conditions for gap-year bursaries require "a financial contribution from MASA and the youth movement or programme provider".[11] Its Gap Year Scholars scheme pays up to 50% of the cost of a Masa-approved programme lasting at least four months.[12]

Contact

Aardvark gives offices at 39 Levinsky St, 2nd Floor, Tel Aviv 6610910, and 3 Ben Yehuda Street, 3rd Floor, Jerusalem 9462402. Its UK telephone number is 020 3695 2955.[1]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Aardvark Israel, Gap Year Israel in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Aardvark Israel, About Aardvark Israel Gap Year Program aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Masa Israel Journey, Aardvark Israel - Classic masaisrael.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Aardvark Israel, Scholarships & Financial Aid aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Aardvark Israel, Marva: Israel Army Simulation Gap Year Program aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Aardvark Israel, StandWithUs aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Melissa Muller, Middle East Eye, 10 July 2026, "Settlement stays and army days: How UK charities promote migration to Israel", accessed 23 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Israel Ministry of Defence, Marva programme (תוכנית מרווה) noar.mod.gov.il, in Hebrew, accessed 23 October 2026. Quotations are our translation.
  9. ↑ Aardvark Israel, Mada First Responder Track aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Magen David Adom Law 5710/1950, as amended 5736/1976 solutions.ifrc.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  11. ↑ United Jewish Israel Appeal, Financial Assistance ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  12. ↑ United Jewish Israel Appeal, Gap Year Scholars ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
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