Lawrence teen attends Birthright Israel Excel summit

Lawrence resident Arye Lifshitz, a past fellow of the Birthright Israel Excel program, took part in the organization’s April 9 New York City summit, to learn more about what is happening in the Middle East. 

Completion of a fellowship in the Birthright Israel Excel program is required to receive an invitation to the summit.

Birthright Israel Excel retains the same values and purpose of Birthright, but focuses on business and leadership, recruiting from top Ivy League schools and schools of that caliber from across the United States, Brazil, Canada, across Europe, Israel, Mexico and South Africa. The internship aims to seek out potential future business and innovation leaders.   

Not only are they looking for book smart students, but those with leadership skills and experience.

“We predict in 20 years, these students will be successful business people who can give back to Israel and the Jewish world and lead their Jewish community,” said Idit Rubin, executive director of Birthright Israel Excel.

The Birthright Israel Excel program is extremely competitive, receiving 1,500 applications and accepting 60 students to participate. While in Israel for 10-weeks, the fellows have their business internship in the morning and work with a company pre-determined by the program.

In the afternoon, three times a week each participant meets with his or her Israeli peer for a speaker.

“In 10-weeks they will understand a little bit what Israel is all about, the complexity about Israel and in the country,” Rubin said.

After their internships, Excel fellows have maximized their experiences by taking  positions at top companies such as J.P. Morgan Chase, Bain & Company and Google, developing strategic partnerships with Israeli companies, and starting their own companies, while often hiring other fellows.

At this year’s Excelerate24 Summit, almost 400 fellows from all over the world attended. The summit reflected on the horrors of the October attacks by Hamas and served as a central element of the three-day Excel Summit.

Fellows at the summit participated in global networking opportunities, panels on topics from impact investing to climate tech and AI. Excel fellows, who are navigating the worlds of the business and tech fields, led each panel.

“It was heartwarming to see the global Excel business community launch initiatives supporting Israelis and young Jews worldwide post October 7th,” Gidi Mark, CEO of Birthright Israel, said in an email.

“Birthright Excel Fellows are active every day as recognized leaders in their professional arenas and within the broad Jewish community and it’s our goal to continue guiding and supporting them in their efforts to build a thriving and better Jewish future for all,” Mark added.

For more information on Birthright Israel Excel, visit BirthrightIsraelExcel.com.