Kadima (World Bnei Akiva)

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World Bnei Akiva gap year in Israel, formerly Kivun, approved by Masa and offering the Marva army course as an elective

Kadima (World Bnei Akiva)

Logo World Bnei Akiva Israel Year Programs logo.png
World Bnei Akiva Israel Year Programs logo, shown on the Kadima page
Type Nine-month gap-year programme in Israel
Founder(s) World Bnei Akiva
Headquarters Chavat Hanoar youth village, Katamon, Jerusalem; Beit Bnei Akiva, Givat Mordechai, Jerusalem
Location Jerusalem
Area served Modern Orthodox high-school graduates aged 17 to 20 from the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe and Mexico
Services Kibbutz work, work experience, volunteering, Torah study, seminars and an elective of either Magen David Adom ambulance volunteering or the Marva army course
Website worldbneiakiva.org/kadima
Remarks Approved and grant-funded by Masa Israel Journey; recruited in the UK by Bnei Akiva UK

Kadima is a nine-month gap year in Israel run by World Bnei Akiva, the international religious Zionist youth movement. It was formerly called Kivun. Bnei Akiva UK recruits British school-leavers for it.[1] The programme is approved and part-funded by Masa Israel Journey, which World Bnei Akiva describes as "a project of the Israeli government".[2] Masa itself says it is "a joint project of the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Government of Israel".[3] Kadima's schedule includes a January–February elective in which participants choose between volunteering on Magen David Adom ambulances and Marva, an army course that World Bnei Akiva describes as "run by the IDF".[2]

World Bnei Akiva describes Kadima as a "Modern Orthodox Israel Gap Year Program" for participants from Canada, Europe, the UK, the USA and Mexico. Its stated mission is "to forge a deep, lifelong bond between young Jews and Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael, and Torat Yisrael". The programme is based at the Chavat Hanoar youth village in Katamon and at Beit Bnei Akiva in Givat Mordechai, Jerusalem.[2]

From Kivun to Kadima

Bnei Akiva UK's Hachshara page introduces "The Kadima (formerly Kivun) programme".[1] A World Bnei Akiva post of 29 March 2021 promoted Kivun as a "co-ed, 9-month program" offering experiences "From tasting that wholesome kibbutz life to diving into IDF army training". It said participants "have the opportunity to do it all-volunteer, learn, intern, and train with the IDF".[4]

Programme

World Bnei Akiva's published outline for the year, checked on 23 October 2026, reads:[2]

Kadima "At a Glance" (World Bnei Akiva, checked 23 October 2026)
Months Content
September Welcome Seminar, High Holidays
October Kibbutz – Pioneering Experience
November–December Work Experience
January–February "Electives: MDA Ambulance / Marva IDF"
March Volunteering, Israel/Judaism Seminars
April Group Pesach Seder, National Holiday Seminars
May Shvil Yisrael (Israel National Trail), Zionism Seminars
June Shavuot, Amazing Race, Closing seminar

The same page says the year includes "volunteering with MDA, experiencing the IDF, journeying to Poland and so much more". Its FAQ describes the year as modular, with "volunteering with MDA or Marva" as one module. A trip to Poland is an optional extra.[2]

Fees

World Bnei Akiva gives the 2027/28 fee as 118,000 NIS. It says the fee "is nearly all inclusive" and covers "electives (MDA/Marva)". It offers a 3,000 NIS discount for a 15,000 NIS deposit paid by 15 December 2026, though the page's banner gives the deadline as "Dec 15th, 2027".[2]

The Marva elective

World Bnei Akiva describes Marva as "an Israeli army experience, run by the IDF". It says participants learn "many of the challenges of Israel through the lens of the IDF" by "hiking the land in uniform, living in field conditions, navigating deserts and participating in seminars and lectures". It says the course "is based in the Southern Negev", with time in "Jerusalem, the Golan Heights and the Galilee", and that it is a "two - month experience" in "easy Hebrew". Applicants face "a personal interview prior to acceptance", and "Marva may ask for a financial deposit in exchange for the uniforms and equipment".[2] Bnei Akiva UK's 2025 catalogue for Kadima, Torani and Mechina Olamit gives the same description, including the Golan Heights.[5] Middle East Eye, reporting on trips by British gap-year groups, describes the Golan Heights as "occupied Syrian territory".[6]

Sources differ on who runs Marva and how long it lasts. Middle East Eye says it "is run by the Israeli military and the Jewish Agency for Israel".[6] The Israel Defense Forces call it "an army simulation program run by the IDF and the Jewish Agency for Israel" lasting "eight weeks".[7] Aardvark Israel gives its length as "six to eight weeks" on "a Gadna base", where participants "wear an Israeli army uniform, carry a gun".[8]

Bnei Akiva UK tells British applicants: "You'll have a choice between an army experience or volunteering with MDA".[1] On 10 July 2026, Middle East Eye reported that "Bnei Akiva UK also runs a Kadima gap-year programme, regularly posting pictures of Marva participants on its global Instagram accounts". It said that "Wearing Israeli military uniforms, they look indistinguishable from soldiers. In some pictures, they pose with guns."[6]

Masa approval and funding

Masa Israel Journey lists "World Bnei Akiva - Kadima" as a "Youth Movement" gap year for ages 17 to 20 from "the USA, Canada, UK, and Europe". Its description calls it a "9-month" programme, while its duration field gives "Between 8-10 months". The listing states that "Kadima offers a unique array of experiences: volunteering, Kibbutz, MDA/Marva, internships, Torah study, travel". When checked on 23 October 2026 it recorded 459 alumni.[9] World Bnei Akiva says that "As an approved MASA program, all World Bnei Akiva Hachshara Israel programs follow the safety and security guidelines outlined by MASA". It tells applicants to "Register with MASA", and says Masa "offers Hachshara participants an automatic grant, with further needs based funding available". Its FAQ says "MASA grants all participants a minimum $200 grant and offers additional need-based scholarships".[2]

UJIA and the Gross bursaries

Bnei Akiva UK's Hachshara page, which covers Kadima, Torani and Mechina Olamit, states: "Bnei Akiva gratefully appreciates the generous support of the Danielle and Michael Gross Bursaries provided through UJIA".[1] The United Jewish Israel Appeal (UJIA) says that for gap-year awards "there must be also be a financial contribution from MASA and the youth movement or programme provider".[10] UJIA's website has pages for Bnei Akiva's Torani[11] and Israel Machane[12] programmes.

Recruitment in the UK

Bnei Akiva UK invites enquiries about "Torani, Kadima or Mechina Olamit" on 020 8209 1319 (extension 3) or Israel@bauk.org.[1] Its 2025 catalogue presents Kadima alongside Mechina Olamit, which it says includes "army preparation" and "IDF Basic Training". The catalogue says Mechina Olamit's participants from abroad are "either taking a gap year, becoming 'lone soldiers' or are olim chadashim".[5]

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Bnei Akiva UK, Hachshara bauk.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 World Bnei Akiva, Kadima: World Bnei Akiva, Modern Orthodox Israel Gap Year worldbneiakiva.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  3. ↑ Masa Israel Journey, About Masa Israel Journey masaisrael.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  4. ↑ World Bnei Akiva, Experience Israel with World Bnei Akiva worldbneiakiva.org, 29 March 2021, accessed 23 October 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Bnei Akiva UK, Kadima, Torani, Mechina Olamit: catalogue 2025 bauk.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Melissa Muller, Settlement stays and army days: How UK charities promote migration to Israel Middle East Eye, 10 July 2026, accessed 23 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Israel Defense Forces, Volunteer Programs idf.il, 30 October 2017, accessed 23 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Aardvark Israel, Marva: Israel Army Simulation Gap Year Program aardvarkisrael.com, accessed 23 October 2026.
  9. ↑ Masa Israel Journey, World Bnei Akiva - Kadima masaisrael.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  10. ↑ United Jewish Israel Appeal, Financial Assistance ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  11. ↑ United Jewish Israel Appeal, Bnei Akiva Torani ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
  12. ↑ United Jewish Israel Appeal, Bnei Akiva Israel Machane ujia.org, accessed 23 October 2026.
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