FZY Year Course

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Nine-month gap year in Israel run by the Federation of Zionist Youth, with options of Magen David Adom volunteering or the Israeli army's Marva course

FZY Year Course

Type Gap-year programme
Location Jerusalem and Tel Aviv
Area served School-leavers aged 17 to 19 from the United Kingdom
Services Study semester, internships or volunteering, Magen David Adom track, optional Marva army course
Website fzy.org.uk
Remarks Run by the Federation of Zionist Youth; listed by Masa Israel Journey and UJIA

FZY Year Course is a gap year in Israel run by the Federation of Zionist Youth (FZY), a British Zionist youth movement. The United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) describes it as a "9-month gap year programme" for young people "aged between 17 and 19".[1] Participants spend a study semester in Jerusalem and a second semester in Tel Aviv.[2] FZY's 2027/28 fee includes "the option to participate in MDA or Marva (subject to acceptance)".[3] Marva is an army-simulation course for young people from abroad held on an Israeli army Gadna base,[4] and MDA is Magen David Adom, Israel's ambulance and blood service, which by law is an auxiliary to the army's medical service in wartime.[5]

The programme is listed by Masa Israel Journey, the gap-year scheme of the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency for Israel.[6][7] Participants can apply for bursaries and scholarships through UJIA.[8] A separate charity, Friends of the Federation of Zionist Youth, says it raises funds "to provide grants and interest free loans to members of the Federation of Zionist Youth participating in the movements year course programmes in Israel".[9]

Programme

FZY's Year Course page, checked on 23 October 2026, sets out three stages.[2]

  • Jerusalem. Semester 1 is "an educational semester in partnership with the Machon Institute". Its courses include "History of Zionism" and an elective on "Israel and Middle East Politics". A one-week trip to Poland is included.
  • Zman Yachad. Between the semesters the whole cohort comes together. Optional "Olami" trips go to Morocco, Portugal and Dubai. FZY introduces the Dubai trip with the words "Following on from the historic Abraham Accords".
  • Tel Aviv. In Semester 2 participants choose an internship or volunteering track, or the "Magen David Adom (Medical) Track". On that track, participants "will be considered full members of an MDA ambulance team after 10 days intensive training and 2 exams". The Tel Aviv semester's fitness classes include Krav Maga, the Israeli military's close-combat system.

Conflicting descriptions

The Masa listing differs from FZY's own page on two points.[6]

  • Masa says participants "live and volunteer their time in Bat Yam, a southern suburb of Tel Aviv", while FZY places the second semester in Tel Aviv.[2]
  • Masa says: "Currently the chanichim have the option to take part in Marva, Magen David Adom or volunteer at Yemin Orde youth village". FZY's pricing page names only MDA and Marva.[3] The Yemin Orde Youth Village option appears only on Masa's listing.

Masa's listing also refers to "UJIA programming" and to "Israeli Scouts that join". It gives the number of alumni as 443.[6]

Marva and the army

Marva is offered as an option within the Year Course fee.[3] The Israeli Ministry of Defence's youth department describes Marva as a programme run jointly by the Ministry of Defence, the Israel Defense Forces, Israel Experience and world youth movements, lasting eight weeks at the Gadna base at Sde Boker. It lists Marva under its Gadna pages.[4] The Aardvark Israel gap-year provider says Marva participants "wear an Israeli army uniform, carry a gun" and are based "on a Gadna base" in southern Israel.[10]

Year Course participants have also worked on army bases. In January 2009 the Jewish Chronicle reported that "the army approached the FZY youth movement, along with its American sister group Young Judea, to ask if participants on its year programme could volunteer". British teenagers worked on eight bases, "packing kits for soldiers in Gaza, checking equipment for faults and monitoring stocks". The paper said some bases "had been understaffed as soldiers were deployed to Gaza".[11] See Young Judaea.

Cost and funding

The sources give different prices.

  • FZY's 2027/28 pricing page gives £23,499 (early bird), £23,999 and £24,250 for a full year, and £13,499 to £13,999 for one semester, with a £500 deposit. The fee covers return flights from London to Tel Aviv, the MDA or Marva option and "a partial food subsidy".[3]
  • UJIA's directory entry, last modified on 28 July 2026, gives the cost as £15,899.[1]

UJIA's financial assistance page restricts its means-tested bursaries to families with a gross household income below £100,000. It adds: "there must be also be a financial contribution from MASA and the youth movement or programme provider to be eligible for UJIA awards."[8] Its Gap Year Scholars scheme pays up to 50% of the cost of a Masa-approved programme of at least four months. Scholars "must intend to return to the UK".[12]

UJIA's accounts for the year to 30 September 2025 record grants to the Federation of Zionist Youth of £233,000 (2024: £167,000).[13]

Contact

FZY's pricing page gives the telephone number 020 8201 6661 and the email address office@fzy.org.uk.[3]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 United Jewish Israel Appeal, FZY year course ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Federation of Zionist Youth, Programme Breakdown fzy.org.uk, accessed 23 October 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Federation of Zionist Youth, About 1 fzy.org.uk, accessed 23 October 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Israel Ministry of Defence, Marva programme (תוכנית מרווה) noar.mod.gov.il, in Hebrew, accessed 23 October 2026. Quotations are our translation.
  5. ↑ Magen David Adom Law 5710/1950, as amended 5736/1976 solutions.ifrc.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Masa Israel Journey, FZY Year Course masaisrael.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Masa Israel Journey, About Masa Israel Journey masaisrael.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 United Jewish Israel Appeal, Financial Assistance ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Charity Commission, Friends of the Federation of Zionist Youth, charity 261241 register entry, accessed 23 October 2026.
  10. ↑ Aardvark Israel, Marva: Israel Army Simulation Gap Year Program aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Jewish Chronicle, 8 January 2009, "UK teens volunteer for the IDF", accessed 23 October 2026.
  12. ↑ United Jewish Israel Appeal, Gap Year Scholars ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  13. ↑ United Jewish Israel Appeal, Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2025 Charity Commission register, accessed 23 October 2026.
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