Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Zionist Education Initiative (ZEI) has launched the ZEI Fellowship, a groundbreaking new professional fellowship designed to equip North American Jewish high school educators to teach Israel and Zionism with a new Israel curriculum, at a moment of unprecedented urgency for Jewish education. The first fellowship cohort will commence in Israel on July 6-10, 2026. Applications are now open for North American teachers at Jewish day schools.
The ZEI Fellowship represents a major investment in the people at the center of Jewish education: teachers. Through immersive learning, mentorship, and sustained professional support, the fellowship seeks to cultivate teachers who are capable of guiding students through complex historical, ideological, and contemporary questions about Israel.
Nefesh B’Nefesh’s Zionist Education Initiative aims to serve as the global nerve center for Zionist education, training educators, developing curriculum, supporting schools, strengthening communities overseas, and providing ongoing learning for adults in Israel. In 2025, the initiative taught classes on Zionism and the story of the Jewish people in Israel to 13,700 participants, mostly gap year students, summer teen programs, and overseas student groups (26% increase from 2024). ZEI also developed a Zionist curriculum being taught to tens of thousands of students in Israel and throughout North America.
“The ZEI Fellowship is a transformative step toward reshaping Israel education across North America and a central pillar of Nefesh B’Nefesh’s mission," said Rabbi Yehoshua Fass, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Nefesh B’Nefesh. “We are deeply excited about this fellowship and honored to help shape the next generation of Zionist educators and leaders. Through the program, we aim to provide a serious and compelling education rooted in truth, history, and meaning."
The selective fellowship is open to North American Jewish high school educators teaching Israel, Zionism, Jewish history, Tanach, or related subjects. It begins with an immersive summer intensive in Israel this July, followed by a year-long cohort experience that includes guided study, individualized coaching, collaborative learning, and ongoing professional development, expertly led by Kadima Coaching the premiere professional development organization in the Jewish day school world. Fellows emerge with enhanced content mastery, innovative teaching strategies, and the confidence to lead nuanced, intellectually honest conversations about Israel in their classrooms.
“The ZEI Fellowship recognizes that the future of Israel education depends on investing deeply in educators," said Tikvah Wiener, CEO of Kadima Coaching. “Our partnership with Nefesh B’Nefesh brings together rigorous Zionist content with sustained, student-centered pedagogical coaching, ensuring teachers are not only knowledgeable, but truly equipped to guide students through the complexity, meaning, and relevance of Israel in their Jewish lives."
As part of the fellowship experience, educators will engage with a newly developed ten-unit Israel and Zionism curriculum, which is currently being piloted in a number of Jewish high schools across North America. As of now, the curriculum exists to facilitate piloting and educator feedback, with a full textbook planned for publication this year by Koren Jerusalem Publishers.