itrek — ISRAEL


Routes coordinates the premier Israel travel programs for itrek—an elite series of high-level, educational experiences in Israel for students and faculty hailing from the leading graduate programs in the world. Working in partnership with the professional itrek staff, the Routes team facilitates the travel programs for thousands of graduate students. Routes enables Leadership Teams to develop customized experiences enabling first-hand insights into the unique complexities of Israel and the region as well as the development of a personal connection with the country.

 

YOUR itrek WITH ROUTES

The Routes team has amassed experience with well over 100 university programs. Leading schools from across the continent count on the Routes team for outstanding content, memorable stays and experiences, incredible meals, and mind-blowing parties.

For a partner willing to go the distance to ensure your success, choose Routes.

itrek
Harvard Kennedy School with former Israeli President, Shimon Peres.

  • “To Our Amazing Routes Team, Now that everything is settled we wanted to thank you profusely for the months of working together, culminating in the amazing week we spent with our 105 participants in Israel in March. It was an absolute pleasure to work with you. Besides the ultimate professionalism, organization and expertise, it is very apparent that you all really care, and put your heart and soul into the trek being as successful as possible. For us, this is an added touch that makes all the difference. The Trek has been our most significant experience since arriving at Kennedy School. It was extraordinary to witness the process our participants, predominantly non-Jewish and first-timers to Israel, went through. The trip included a large number of students who felt a baseline antagonism towards Israel and this led to difficult but rich and important conversations and experiences. They were introduced to undeniable complexity, hugely different than their previous perceptions, as well as to the extraordinary and inspiring parts of the Israeli story. We couldn't have done it without you ! With Gratitude,"

    Yael, Gal and the rest of the Israel Trek Team - Aliza, Rei, Josh, Heli & Yehuda (Harvard Kennedy School)”

TESTIMONIALS

  • "I ate a big slice of humble pie on this trip… as policy students we love to quickly judge and proscribe policy solutions but that can be very dangerous and sometimes there is no easy or right answer."

    (Harvard Business School dual degree student from Australia)

  • "I will take this with me forever and I'll never forget the love that Israelis have for their country."

    (iTrek student from Austria)

  • “What I learned on this trip is humility.”

    (iTrek student from Indonesia)

  • “Both of my grandfathers served in the U.S. military and I’ll never forget their stories of liberating the concentration camps. This trip helped me put a sort of humanity to those wrenching stories.”

    (iTrek student from America)

  • “I’m so appreciative of our trip leaders’ willingness to listen and engage with competing opinions so openly. It helped me understand the complexities and difficult realities here.”

    (Dual degree iTrek student from Nigeria)

  • “I grew up in Buenos Aires with very real anti-Semitism – over 100 people killed in terrorist attacks on the Jewish Community Center and the Israeli Embassy when I was a kid – and so I couldn't bring myself to speak to people who were pro-Palestinian. But this trip has really helped me both be more Zionistic and more able to have a conversation with people of different opinions.”

    (iTrek student from Argentina)

  • “I came because of admiration for Israel's accomplishments and I feel an incredible respect for what this country has achieved in such a short period.”

    (iTrek student from Thailand)

  • “There's a kind of pain that you can't describe in words and I could feel it in some of the people we met, like Rachel Frankel. Her son was murdered yet she said ‘I can feel hate without becoming hate and I can feel sadness without becoming sadness.’ She was still so hopeful of a better future. Hope may be vague but it's there. Yad Vashem’s narrow structure had a small beam of light: it was small but it was still there… If I become a leader that is what I will keep with me: openness, tolerance, and hope.”

    (iTrek student from China)

  • "I was struck by the Israelis ability to tackle challenges. Water was a problem so they created desalination; rockets were a problem so they built missile defense. They don’t simply complain, they act."

    (Indian student from Sloan MIT)

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