Avital Sojcher

Avital Sojcher is an intern at Hillel Israel and a student at the Shalom Hartman Institute’s Hevruta Gap Year program during the 2025-2026 academic year. She is from Long Island, New York, and grew up studying in Orthodox Jewish day schools. She began writing stories at a young age, which grew into the interest in Journalism she has today. In high school, she wrote for her school newspaper, teen magazines, and on her own time. 

After October 7th, Avital gained a stronger connection to Israel and Judaism and wanted them have a greater significance in her future. She decided to come to Israel for the year in hopes to learn more about her Jewish identity, Israeli culture, and the conflicts within Israel. Coming from a primarily Orthodox background, Avital wanted to meet and interact with the many different sects of Judaism from across the world to harness Jewish unity. She discovered Hevruta through the Hartman Teen Fellowship, which she participated in for two years. Its pluralistic and multicultural environment was exactly what she was looking for. 

 Avital interns at Hillel Israel as a part of Hevruta’s social engagement programming. Avital interviews Hillel’s amazing staff and students, and writes articles about their stories and the programming that brings them together. The work is meaningful to her because she gets to hone her writing skills through projects that spread the messages of Jewish pluralism and unity that are so important to her. 

Next year, Avital will return to New York to attend List College, the joint program between Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary, and plans to study English and Jewish history. In her free time, Avital enjoys rock music, reading, and drawing.