(Denver, CO) – JEWISHcolorado is excited to announce that after a three-year hiatus, the annual Joyce Zeff Israel Study Tour (IST) is returning to Poland in 2023. A staple in the Colorado community since 1971, the IST program has helped thousands of Colorado teens connect to and strengthen their Jewish identity.  

IST offers an experience of a lifetime to Colorado teens who are entering their senior year of high school. For five weeks each summer, students are immersed in experiences and opportunities that allow them to expand their knowledge about Israel, its neighbors, and Jewish heritage and history.  

IST has not been to Poland since 2019 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and ensuing travel restrictions. IST 2023 adds Poland back to the itinerary and for the first time will include a Shabbat in Poland.  

“Starting the trip in Poland helps ISTers understand the Jewish post-World War II experience and the founding of the

State of Israel,” said Jillian Feiger, JEWISHcolorado’s Director of IST. “It is important for teens to see the Jewish people’s history and learn about before, during, and after the Holocaust.”  

Students will explore and experience places that are meaningful to Jewish history and culture including touring sites in the cities of Krakow, Lublin, and Warsaw. They will also visit the camps of Auschwitz and Birkenau, Krakow’s Jewish Quarter, and the Warsaw Ghetto. In Israel, the itinerary includes everything from Masada at sunrise to Shabbat at the Western Wall. 

Registration for summer 2023 is now open. Learn more and register on JEWISHcolorado’s website. 

About JEWISHcolorado 

JEWISHcolorado mobilizes resources to ensure that Jewish culture remains vibrant, secure, and accessible for all Jews in Colorado and abroad, acts on issues of concern to the local community, stewards our communal resources, and maintains living links with the people of Israel in partnership with local, national, and international agencies. For more information, please contact Jillian Feiger, jfeiger@jewishcolorado.org or 303.321.1371. 

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