JLIC - Empowering Tomorrow's Jewish Leaders, Today.

What we do

Our Programs

North American Campus

We recruit, train, and place rabbinic couples on college campuses across North America to serve as Torah educators, role models, and community leaders. JLIC Campus Directors support and empower students as they navigate the college environment and take their first independent steps into Jewish adulthood.

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Israel College and Community

JLIC Israel builds communal and personal support for the new wave of college students, graduate students, and young professionals who are making Aliyah and choosing to study for a degree in Israel (ages 18-35).

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Summer and Volunteer Israel Programs

JLIC offers summer and short-term Israel programs that feature professional internships, Torah study, volunteering, travel, and leadership training for college students from North America

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Yavneh

Yavneh recruits, trains, and mentors a network of all-star student leaders who are engaged in positive Israel activism, building Jewish life, and creating dynamic programs on college campuses across North America.

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Abraham's House

This initiative engages Jewish students and young professionals in social service and charitable giving, mobilizing the community—especially its younger members—to support a variety of meaningful causes.

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JLIC is...

IMPACT

HERITAGE

LEADERSHIP

SUPPORT

FRIENDSHIP

LEARNING

CONNECTION

Chessed

GROWTH

UNITY

TRADITION

COMMUNITY

MENTORSHIP

JLIC By the Numbers

Our Stats

100+

Campuses + Communities

25+

Years Operating

Yearly Global Participants

400+

Student Leaders

600+

Programs Yearly

Voices from the Community

Student Reflections

Rav Josh and Rikki are the absolute best!!!! They foster such an uplifting environment and make Judaism so exciting! Their commitment to our community and connecting to everyone is so inspiring.

University of Maryland JLIC Student

The Ozars are the reason that you can be orthodox on the Yale campus. If they only ensured we had kosher food and minyan throughout the pandemic and building closure, dayenu. But they do so much more. They are the linchpins of a vibrant and thriving community experience.

Yale JLIC student

JLIC is wonderful with helping students grow as Jews and as people. I am very grateful to have developed a wonderful relationship with them over the past few years. They have impacted my religious experience at Brandeis tremendously and I have grown close to their kids and to them.

Brandeis JLIC Student

The past year with Yavneh was truly a growing experience. I learned so much about myself, learned the value of community, how much community matters and how it takes a group effort to be successful.

Yavneh Fellow at Rutgers

I was able to see what its like to work in Israel and through my internship make a bunch of connections that helped me to better understand what the best route of action for my future would be.

JLIC Summer Participant

JLIC has really made my move to Israel as seamless as possible. The amazing Shabbat programs have helped me meet friends and find my support system.

JLIC Israel Community Member

I felt like I was able to go to an Israeli University because I had an Anglo community to rely on because of JLIC.

JLIC Israel Community Member

JLIC is a program I’m familiar with from college in the US and was great to have here to help me transition to living in Israel. I have met most of my friends through JLIC and usually go to our JLIC couple for a Shabbat meal if they are hosting, which is always a relief and joy.

JLIC Israel Community Member

Meet the Finkelsteins: Brandeis JLIC’s New Directors

Rabbi Joel and Jenny Finkelstein have arrived at Brandeis with their daughter Shira, and the JLIC community couldn’t be more excited. After just a few weeks on campus, it’s already clear they’re bringing something special to Jewish life here. Rabbi Joel’s Path to Brandeis Rabbi Joel grew up in West Hempstead, New York, then […]

The Energy is Electric: JLIC NYU/Downtown’s Incredible Back to School 2025

Something special is happening at JLIC NYU/Downtown this year. We’re only one week into the semester, and the energy is off the charts. New leadership, fresh programming, and an enthusiasm that’s genuinely contagious. Meet Your New JLIC Directors Rabbi Zechariah (who introduces himself as Rabbi Z) is that rare combination of tech genius and Torah […]

Young Jewish Professionals Explore AI’s Role in Religious Life

The question hit the room like a lightning bolt: “Can artificial intelligence have a soul?” It was the kind of question that would have seemed absurd just a few years ago. But there they were on a Tuesday evening, a room of young Jewish professionals—doctors, lawyers, tech workers, rabbis—all leaning forward in their chairs, genuinely […]