I am an American, non-Jewish student and would like to spend summer
term (my last term in college before I graduate this August) studying
Hebrew in Jerusalem, but I need financial assistance in order to make
it happen. What I am looking for from you is a place (or places) to
turn to for financial aid. I am looking for a little bit more than
just the sites google lists if I enter, for example, "financial aid to
study in Jerusalem," because I am capable of coming up with that list
on my own. What I am interested in more than anything is to hear if
anyone knows someone that has done what I am attempting to do and has
received assistance, and how they went about doing it.

Here's a little more background on my situation. Hopefully it will be
pertinent to my search and help you better answer my question. I've
only taken one Hebrew course. It doesn't matter at all where I study
in Jerusalem specifically, I just want to be there. I don't even
necessarily need to receive credit at my school for doing it. My
school does not offer any scholarships or grants for this sort of
thing. I've browsed online a bit, but it seems that most scholarships
and funding are for Jewish students. I have studied Arabic for 3 years
and obtained a fairly decent level of fluency. I KNOW that there has
to be someone willing to pay the relatively small amount that it would
take for me to be in Jerusalem and improve both my Hebrew and Arabic,
and increase my understanding of that area of the world.  I have a
PELL grant for this current semester, but cannot receive one over the
summer. Thank you so very much! Sorry for the low price, but this will
have a huge impact on the life of a poor college student who wants to
make a difference in the world. :)

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Clarification of Question by amylynn-ga on 13 Feb 2005 11:10 PST

My question has been locked for nearly 20 hours now! I thought it
could only be locked for 4. Because of the nature of my question, I
would really like it if other people could comment as well. Thank you!

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Clarification of Question by amylynn-ga on 13 Feb 2005 12:03 PST

I hope I didn't scare away whoever was locked on to my question! I
desperately need your help. I was just curious if any of the other
readers had some imput as well. Thank you so much for what you do!

hi,
i'm a jerusalemite (...), you may try the following:
several institutions in jerusalem offer hebrew courses or can direct
you to them, such as the hebrew university, bet shmuel
(beitshmuel.com), Ulpan - where immigrants learn hebrew, the jewish
agency ("Ha-Sochnut Ha-Yehudit"), if you are christian or mormon you
may want to try one of several churches in the old city or the mormon
center in jerusalem. if you want, you can probably even find a private
tutor when you arrive, they post their ads on billboards and they are
usually cheaper and nice.
i would like to warn you that you have several disadvantages to your
request: you are non-jewish, probably don't know anyone in israel,
broke, and know no hebrew, plus, it seems you don't plan on staying in
israel or converting.
if you are still sure you want to do this, remmember the following:
jerusalem is a highly-strung city, difficult and sometimes harsh. it
is expensive, difficult to understand and full of extremes. if you
don't know anyone and have no money to start with, i would HIGHLY
suggest to reconsider and study hebrew abroad. i'm not trying to
downplay your aspirations, just describe the reality of living here.
if you still have questions, i'll try to answer to the best of my
knowledge. good luck!

Hi Supperman! Thanks for responding! I suppose it would probably be
ideal to do a program through the Hebrew University or something
similar seeing as how I don't know anyone. That way I could stay in
dorms or something rather than trying to find my own place. I looked a
little bit at the Hebrew University on their webpage and it looks a
little too expensive for me unless I can get some funding. Do you know
if I can do something at an Ulpan even though I am not an immigrant or
Jewish? That would probably be cheaper, wouldn't it? Do they have
dorms to stay in? I realize that I am probably a little bit crazy to
think of going over there without knowing anyone! I was studying in
Egypt in 2003 and took a little weekend trip over to Jerusalem and
fell in love with it. It did seem a bit "highly-strung" as you put it,
but I would love to return. I will also have a friend of mine with me
so at least I won't be alone. Were you born and raised in Jerusalem?
Thank you for taking the time to help out!

yes, i was born and raised in jerusalem.
if you want to live in a dorm, only the hebrew univ. can be an option.
go into their international student school website and contact them.
it's located on mount scopus, it's really a good place to study, very
nice students and kind of relaxed.
may i suggest setting your targets differently? rather than looking at
learning hebrew in jerusalem as your target, why not make the move
itself your target, learning hebrew will come naturally since you'll
have to use it. then, when you're settled, you'll know enough to find
a place to study it throughly. moving to jerusalem from the us in
itself is not easy, so why not start at that?
if i were you i would start by hanging around where most of the
anglosaxons hang - nahalat shiva'a area, the university area (intl'
students) and talk to them. i would also ask the university for help.
the municipality won't help. if you need more info, try supplying more
info such as age and how long you plan to stay, plus what are your
plans, and i'll do my best to answer.

forgot to mention that you have a better chance if you apply as a
student to the hebrew univ., they have several programs for getting a
degree.

Thank you! You are so helpful! It sounds like I do need to reset my
target a little. After some more consideration, I realize that this is
going to have to be a little different than maybe I had originally
intended. As I mentioned in my original question, I will be graduating
in August. What I didn't mention, however, is that shortly thereafter
I will be starting a new full time job here in the U.S. After
reanalyzing my current financial and job situation, probably the
soonest I could go would be in June. So at most that would give me 2
months in Jerusalem. I know better than to think I can learn Hebrew
(especially based on my minimal exposure!) in only 2 months. But I
would like to go and learn as much as I can and just enjoy being over
there. I am the kind of person that would just pack up and head over
there, even on my own, and just see what I could find. But I'm glad
you've responded because I'm realizing that maybe that really isn't
the best plan. :) I will get in contact with the Hebrew University
soon and see what I can find out. Lately I've been really busy
finishing a final project for one of my classes so I haven't gotten
around to it yet. And, by the way, I'm 25. I realize that my plans
probably seem somewhat vague and maybe make it difficult for you to
help me any more than you already have. In any case, I greatly
appreciate what you have done, and if anything else comes to mind, I
would love to hear from you!