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

