The Nitzana Youth Aliyah Village is located in the Negev Desert, about 70 Km. south of Beersheva, on the peace border between Israel and Egypt. Nitzana brings together religious and secular Israeli-born youth with youth from the Diaspora and immigrants from the Former Soviet Union and Ethiopia.
Nitzana is an educational community providing activities that impart Zionist values, and teaches science and technology subjects as tools for personal and regional development. These activities include topics such as: the Bible heritage and Israel’s war heritage; ecology and protection of the environment; alternative ‘clean’ energy; technological solutions to problems of desert life; advancing applied science and research in the desert; information technology and its effects on processes of gathering, organizing and disseminating knowledge. The overall approach emphasizes tolerance among sectors and towards minority groups.
The village is active during the entire year, and offers a variety of programs to participants from Israel and from abroad. Programs range from one-week Negev Seminars for Israeli high school students, to year-long Selah and Ulpan courses for olim. At any one time, 450 youth participate in short-term Negev Seminars and long-term Selah and ulpan programs.
Programs at Nitzana
Ulpan - a five-month Hebrew course for young immigrants from the former Soviet Union
Selah Science - a pre-academic 9-month program for young students from the FSU who arrived in Israel without their parents. Kedma - A new program for Ethiopian Olim which started this year and promotes social and economic integration.
Desert Seminars - a week-long program to acquaint high school students with life in the Negev
Marva - a joint Jewish Agency-Gadna program offering an Israeli experience to Jewish youngsters from abroad
Science and Computers - courses to young children from the south of Israel, in conjunction with the Rashi Foundation
The Nitzana Educational Community is Partnered with the Allied Jewish Federation of Colorado