Welcome To Our New Shinshinim!

We are thrilled to welcome our ’26-’27 Shinshinim to Baltimore. This year marks the 19th year of the Shinshinim Program in Baltimore, a unique partnership between The Jewish Agency for Israel and The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, managed locally by Jewish Educational Services (JES). The program brings recent Israeli high school graduates to Baltimore for a year of service. Through educational programming and community engagement, our Shinshinim serve as informal educators, community builders, and ambassadors of Israeli society, building meaningful relationships and fostering lasting connections across our community. Joining us from communities across Israel, they bring with them a wealth of passion, leadership skills, and informal education experience. Throughout the year, they will live with host families and volunteer in our community day schools, congregational schools, youth movements, and Associated-funded programs and events, helping to strengthen the connection between Baltimore and Israel.

At its core, the Shinshinim Program is about people-to-people connection, creating relationships that strengthen both our Baltimore community and the Jewish people as a whole. The impact of the program is truly reciprocal. While in Baltimore, the Shinshinim gain a deeper understanding of Jewish life in the Diaspora and the vibrancy of our local Jewish community. When they return to Israel, they carry those experiences and relationships with them, sharing what they have learned with their families, friends, and communities. In doing so, they help strengthen the bonds between Baltimore, Israel, and the global Jewish people.

Since the launch of the program in 2008, more than 60 Shinshinim have left their mark on ​the Baltimore Jewish community through their service, leadership, and relationships. Their impact extends far beyond their year of service. Many remain closely connected with their host families and community members, returning for visits and sharing in weddings, births and other meaningful life celebrations. These enduring relationships are a testament to the power of the program and the deep bonds that have been built between Baltimore and Israel.

As we begin our 19th year of the program, we invite the entire community to welcome this year’s six shinshiniyot. We look forward to the energy, perspective, and connections they will bring, and to the impact they will have on our community in the year ahead.