Traveling, studying and living in Israel are life-changing experiences that cultivate Jewish leadership, activism, learning and community building among students. AMIIE provides a total educational and academic experience combining discussions, seminars, on site learning and retreats.

It is assumed that Day School students arrive in Israel with a strong knowledge base. They come with myriad ideas and questions about Jewish history and Jewish life. Students arrive in Israel at different stages in the development of their personal Jewish identity. Our goal is to reinforce what has been learned and absorbed at home and in school. We hope to add to their general Jewish knowledge and to their religious experience in the context of their time in Israel. Our goal is to challenge students both intellectually and spiritually.

The aim of studying history is not merely to examine the facts of the past but to weave them into an historic narrative, one that may teach students about themselves and their place in Jewish history today. This study enables our students to confront the issues and role models that shaped Jewish history and Jewish life and allows them to draw conclusions relevant to their own lives. The historical narrative method has proven immeasurably more effective than the conventional arrangement of experiences in a thematic modular format. 

AMIIE's 7-volume Sourcebook was developed to complement discussions and site visits with easily accessible primary and secondary sources. The Sourcebook is modified and personalized for each partner school. Whenever possible, text study is done on the site with direct relevance to the text itself. We travel and study with a frame of reference to the text. The interaction of text, the actual act of studying and the students' experience validates the relevance of the text.

Traditional texts, historic maps, modern Israeli literature and other primary source material are all used to promote this understanding. Of course, most significant is the unfolding of this living drama of Jewish history in the "classroom" of the land of Israel itself.

The AMIIE teacher leads all discussions, learning sessions and serves as guide on all trips. This assures educational continuity and enhances the creation of a total educational experience. Experiential education techniques may include the study of Jewish texts in a Bet Midrash atmosphere, creative art projects, dramatic presentations and regular personal journaling.

Upon request, AMIIE is flexible to engage other speakers or educational organizations as "subcontractors."