A
young adult from
our corner of the
world is helping
teach English in the Israeli
education system.
West Bloomfield’s Justin
Weiss is currently part of
Masa Israel Teaching Fellows,
a program where young
adults serve as teaching
assistants in classrooms from
large cities to small towns
across Israel.
Masa Israel Teaching
Fellows explore their Jewish
identities while empowering
Israeli children who may
not have otherwise had the
opportunity to learn English
from native speakers. About
180 of these teaching fellows
are in Israel right now spread
all over the country, including
a few others from Michigan.
Weiss graduated with
a degree in history and
Spanish from the University
of Michigan in 2021. After
graduation, Weiss planned on
going to law school, but found
this program, which seemed
like a great use of a gap year.
I’d be doing something
to help other people while
also living in Israel, which
is something I’ve wanted to
do essentially my whole life,”
Weiss said.
While he was growing up,
Weiss’ family took part in
the Israeli camper program
through Tamarack Camps,
which saw Israeli campers
stay at his house. Weiss also
worked as a staff member at
Tamarack and was around
Israeli campers and staff all
the time.
Between those experiences,
and ever since his first time
in Israel at 15 years old with
his parents, Weiss has wanted
to return to Israel and be
there for an extended period
of time.
Weiss was supposed to
take part in the 2021-22
Masa Israel Teaching Fellows
cohort, but a tragic event
prevented him from traveling
to Israel. A few weeks before
starting the program, he was
involved in an accident in
which he broke a vertebra in
his cervical spine.
Weiss had to undergo
surgery, recover for a while
and get ready to join the year
after that.
“Instead of one gap year, I
had to take two,” Weiss said.
“It’s really given me an extra
appreciation of where I am
right now because I worked
so hard for it, and it was a big
motivation for me and my
recovery.”
Weiss arrived in Israel
for the program in August
2022 and will return home
at the end of June. Weiss, 23,
begins law school at Tulane
University next school year.
AN APPRECIATION
FOR LANGUAGE
Weiss spent the first five
months of the program in
Beit She’an helping teach
third- through sixth-grade
students and is now spending
the second half of the
program in Tel Aviv helping
teach second-, fifth- and
sixth-grade students.
While helping bring a
native English-speaking
presence into Israeli
classrooms, Weiss has also
picked up a little Hebrew
along the way.
Through studying Spanish
and Portuguese in college,
while also spending time
studying abroad in Madrid,
OUR COMMUNITY
West Bloomfield’s Justin Weiss is helping
Israeli students learn English, hoping to
open doors for them in the process.
Opening Doors
Across the World
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
32 | APRIL 20 • 2023
Justin
Weiss