Students & lone soldiers
Students, gap year and lone soldiers
Givat Shmuel sits right next to Bar-Ilan University and, by English Wikipedia's count, has Israel's largest community of young English-speaking lone immigrants: students, gap-year and post-army olim, lone soldiers, bnot sherut and young couples. The JLIC Shabbat community, the GSC and Bar-Ilan's International School are the three anchors.
Students & lone soldiers
Start here
7 steps, in the order most people take them.
- 1
Plug into the JLIC Shabbat community
JLIC Mizrachi Givat Shmuel / Bar-Ilan runs Friday-night minyan and meals, a weekly kiddush and shiur, Torah Tuesdays and a women's chabura for students, lone soldiers, bnot sherut and young professionals. Its welcome packet links its WhatsApp community.
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Choose where to live: dorms or the 'Old side'
Bar-Ilan's Park 100 dorms are the closest dorms to the Shabbat community; yearly contracts run October to September, and short stays go through the International School. Off campus, JLIC says most of its community lives on the 'Old side' (Ben Gurion, HaNasi, Yoni Netanyahu Sts). Start flat-hunting after Pesach for a summer move.
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Use Bar-Ilan's International School as your base
The International School (Building 403) handles English-taught degrees, the Israel XP gap year, the ulpan and short-term dorm stays, and points new-immigrant students to Student Authority eligibility.
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Lone soldiers: register with NBN-FIDF and the Lone Soldier Center
The NBN-FIDF Lone Soldiers Program advises on drafting and lone-soldier benefits. The Lone Soldier Center in memory of Michael Levin runs community centres in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and Be'er Sheva with meals, housing and counselling around the clock.
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Find the municipal Young Adults Centre
The city's Young Adults Centre, part of the municipal youth and young adults department, serves residents aged 18-40 with guidance on studies and work, life skills, emotional support and community activities.
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Learn Torah in English on campus
JLIC and Bar-Ilan run an English Beit Midrash Program that can count for Judaics credit, and the Midrasha (women's Torah study) has evening batei midrash open to all students.
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Get around without a car
Dan 32 runs through the campus to Tel Aviv; the Route 4 interchange stops have buses to Jerusalem late into the night; the nearest Red Line stops are Shenkar and Aharonovich. The light rail and buses stop for Shabbat.
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Guides
Read next
- Getting around Givat Shmuel: buses, light rail, trains and parkingRav-Kav and Moovit basics, the buses to Tel Aviv, Bar-Ilan and Jerusalem, the nearest Red Line stops, the nearest train stations, Shabbat, bikes and parking.
- Shabbat and shuls in Givat ShmuelAbout 40 shuls, the young-adult and olim minyanim, the mikvaot and their hours, what is open on Motzei Shabbat, and the honest gaps: which shuls are English-speaking and where the eruv map is.
- Renting and buying in Givat ShmuelWhat rent costs by flat size and neighbourhood, when to start looking, the Bar-Ilan dorms, the paperwork your contract unlocks, and the urban-renewal projects changing the city.
- Students, gap year and lone soldiers in Givat ShmuelThe JLIC Shabbat community, dorms and the 'Old side', Bar-Ilan's International School, English Torah learning, lone-soldier support and the municipal Young Adults Centre.
Good to know
JLIC's support committee makes sure nobody is left without a Shabbat meal: ask. The city says it cannot give an arnona discount just for being a student. The campus gym (FitUp, Building 107) has women-only and men-only hours.
Community groups
Where people talk
- Bar-Ilan International School on FacebookFacebook · Bar-Ilan University International School
- Bar-Ilan International School on InstagramOther · Bar-Ilan University International School
- Bar-Ilan Midrasha (women's Torah study) on FacebookFacebook · Bar-Ilan University Midrasha
- Bar-Ilan Midrasha on InstagramOther · Bar-Ilan University Midrasha
- Beit Midrash Givat Shmuel (community beit midrash) on FacebookFacebook · Beit Midrash Givat Shmuel
- Garin Tzabar on FacebookFacebook · Garin Tzabar
Source
- collegeinisrael.org (opens in a new tab)
- collegeinisrael.org (opens in a new tab)
- biuinternational.com (opens in a new tab)
- biuinternational.com (opens in a new tab)
- Nefesh B'Nefesh (opens in a new tab)
- lonesoldiercenter.com (opens in a new tab)
- Wikipedia (opens in a new tab)
This page was written for Givat Shmuel from the sources above.
