ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF

Lily Horn, a 26-year-old from the United States, left her job managing live concerts for celebrities including Lady Gaga, Metallica, Green Day and Taylor Swift to teach English to Israeli students in Beit She'an.Lily Horn with Billie Joe Armstrong from the American rock band Green Day (Photo Credit: MASA ISRAEL JOURNEY).


After the coronavirus outbreak, the concerts and theater industry of which Horn was a part for seven years took a nose dive. She decided to leave her profession to join the Masa Israel Teaching Fellows, which brings college graduates to Israel for a 10-month fellowship, teaching English to children in the county's underprivileged cities and establishing a connection with the Jewish state. 

The program is a joint initiative between Masa Israel Journey and Israel's Education Ministry and "provides critical support to vulnerable and undeserved populations in Israel," Ofer Gutman, Masa Acting CEO said of the teaching fellowship Horn participated in.

Horn felt "connected to her Jewish and Zionist roots" and COVID-19 gave her the opportunity to come to Israel and "fall in love" with the country, Masa explained. Through teaching students of an elementary school in Beit She'an, she was able to connect with Israeli society.

Horn had her first bat mitzvah ceremony at the age of 26 and will read from the Torah in Tel Aviv's Bina Center. She has also decided to stay in Israel after the fellowship program even after the completion of the school year.