Apply for HMI

At Honeymoon Israel (HMI), we’re here to connect young couples who want to bring Jewish life into their homes in a personal, meaningful way. What begins with a ten day trip to Israel becomes a community that lasts a lifetime.

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Apply in Your City

Please Note: All application cycles are currently paused. Join our mailing list below and stay tuned for upcoming application cycles.

Check back here to find links for info sessions and applications, important deadlines, and trip dates for all open cities. Click here to sign up for our mailing list to be notified of the next trip in your city!

Questions? Email us at applications@honeymoonisrael.org

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Don’t see open applications in your city? Click here to sign up for our mailing list, and we’ll notify you via email when the next application cycle opens in your community! HMI currently operates out of 22 cities – click here to see the map.

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Guide to the HMI Application Process

Who is HMI for?

HMI is open to couples of all cultural, racial, religious, gender, and sexual identities who are looking to create connections with each other and to Jewish life. HMI is geared toward couples with at least one Jewish partner, between the ages of 25 and 40, and who are within the first five years of marriage or early in their lifelong committed partnership. Before you apply, please make sure you meet our Eligibility Requirements on the next tab.  

Our goal for each trip is to build cohorts that are reflective of the community, including couples with interfaith, Jewish, Jewish by choice, and multi-racial backgrounds. All couples will be based in the same metro area to enhance community-building during and after the trip. HMI is most powerful and impactful for couples who have yet to find a strong connection to the Jewish community or Jewish life and are searching for the right ways to incorporate Judaism into their relationship, family, and home.

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Who’s eligible for HMI?

Honeymoon Israel’s hope is to create a fulfilling, welcoming experience for couples with at least one Jewish partner who do not yet have strong connections to Jewish life. HMI is a good fit for couples who are searching for ways in which they want to incorporate Judaism in their relationships, family, community, and home.

The HMI experience is open to couples of any cultural, racial, gender, and sexual identities. HMI aims to ensure that each trip has a diverse mix of people including couples where both partners were born Jewish, interfaith couples, and couples where at least one partner is a Jew-by-choice.

Each couple must meet basic eligibility requirements in order to be considered for a Honeymoon Israel trip. Meeting the requirements is the first step and does not guarantee a spot on the trip.

  • At least one partner must be Jewish. We define that broadly, such as one Jewish parent or grandparent.
  • You must be a resident of the geographic catchment area in the city the trip is based. Trips are organized locally, so you’ll be traveling with other couples from your community.
  •  Couples should be committed and/or married life partners between the ages of 25-40. At least one partner must be between 25-40 at the time of the trip and neither partner over 45 years old.
  • If married, couples must be within the first five years of marriage or very close to it.
  • At least one partner must have no prior organized Israel travel experience on a post high school Jewish peer trip (i.e. if both partners have been on Birthright or a MASA program, you are ineligible)
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How does the application work?

The HMI Application process begins with submitting your application form. When an application cycle is open for your city, you can submit an online application by the posted deadline for that cycle. Once submitted, it will be reviewed by HMI staff and a trained team of HMI alumni.

Here are some tips as you prepare for your online application: 

  • Complete every answer with detail – we’re trying to understand your background/motivations/how we can best serve you. Provide full answers to the questions.
  • There’s no right or wrong answer. We simply want to better understand who you are as a couple.
  • It’s critical that both partners complete the application together. We want to see that the answers reflect both partners’ voices.
  • Be honest! Don’t cheat the process by trying to fit a mold that you think we’re looking for. HMI is completely open to couples of all diverse backgrounds and experiences.

When you submit your application, you’ll receive an automated confirmation email. If you don’t receive the confirmation email, email us at applications@honeymoonisrael.org.

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What happens after we apply?

Once we receive and review your application, we’ll reach out to you via email to let you know if you’re invited to the next step in the process: the interview. 

If you’re invited to the interview round, we’ll email you with dates and times to sign up to be interviewed by an HMI staff member or trained HMI alumni. A local community partner may join the interview as well. The interview is a time for us to bring your application to life. Before the interview, it’s helpful to get familiar with the HMI Experience. Other than that, there’s nothing you need to do to prepare!

If you’re not invited to the interview round, there are different factors that may have led to that. We receive approximately 4X the number of applications than we have spots available for upcoming trips. We try to interview as many eligible couples as possible and offer the opportunity for those who don’t get to interview to provide HMI with feedback.

Don’t forget to make sure you meet our Eligibility Requirements as those who don’t meet them won’t be invited to interview. The most common reason for ineligibility is not living within the geographic catchment area. Make sure you meet all the requirements before you apply.

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What happens after the interview?

After your interview, we’ll let you know via email about whether or not you’re secured a spot on an upcoming HMI trip. 

If you’re secured a spot on an HMI trip, you’ll be asked to register for the trip and submit your payment. HMI is flexible with payment plans if you need more time to submit the trip payment.

If you’re notified that HMI cannot secure you a spot on an upcoming trip, you’re welcome to re-apply in the next application cycle for your city. HMI wants to secure spots for as many qualified, eligible applicants as possible. Please note that if you’re not secured a spot on your desired trip, we will do our best to give you a chance to participate in the future. HMI does not automatically add all interviewed applicants to a trip waitlist, but in the case that a participant drops out prior to the trip, some applicants may be notified and invited to take the spot.

The email notification will also inform you that the HMI local team and/or partners in your city will be reaching out to connect with you personally to help you find other ways to engage with the Jewish community.

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In Their Own Words

“I will be forever grateful to HMI for providing me the opportunity of a lifetime: experiencing the land of Israel with my husband and a group of strangers who quickly became family. This trip allowed me to deepen my connection to Judaism, [and] it fostered a community in Boston and exceeded my expectations in ways I couldn't have predicted. If it weren't for HMI, I do not believe I would have ever visited Israel in my lifetime; now, I am certain that we will return.”

Victoria and MattHMI Boston Sept. '19