The Galilee Culinary Institute by JNF continues to advance toward opening, with activity progressing across student recruitment, campus programming, and regional engagement.

Student recruitment continues with Open Campus Days beginning later this month, offering prospective students an opportunity to experience the campus and learn more about GCI by JNF’s Rosenfield School of Culinary Arts 12-month culinary program. Planning is also underway for the Hope in the North HR Conference this October, which will unite employers and regional stakeholders around workforce development and opportunities in northern Israel.

At the same time, donor visits, pilot events, and partner meetings continue to bring new audiences to GCI by JNF and demonstrate the institute’s potential as a hub for education, hospitality, collaboration, and regional development.

Connecting Young Leaders to the Galilee

On July 1, GCI by JNF welcomed JNFuture and Israeli Young Leadership participants for an immersive evening showcasing the emerging campus, the culinary richness of the Galilee, and GCI by JNF’s broader vision for the region.

The program began at Nofei Gonen, where participants stayed in the suites that will eventually serve as residences for students in GCI by JNF’s 12-month culinary program. From there, guests toured the campus and learned about plans for culinary education, hospitality, the farm, outdoor gathering spaces, and GCI by JNF’s role in helping establish the Galilee as a global destination for food, agriculture, and innovation.

A Galilee wine workshop, farm presentation, and restaurant experience led by the institute’s culinary team brought that vision to life through the flavors and stories of the region. The evening concluded with an informal gathering at the farm, giving young Israeli and American leaders an opportunity to deepen relationships and strengthen their connection to the North.

Strengthening the North Through Partnership

That spirit of connection continued on July 12, when GCI by JNF hosted a special Tachles Forum gathering focused on the future of northern Israel. Regional leaders, innovators, entrepreneurs, educators, nonprofits, and community partners came together at the GCI by JNF campus in Kibbutz Gonen to strengthen relationships and identify opportunities for greater collaboration.

The gathering included representatives from MIGAL, The University of Kiryat Shmona, Nefesh B'Nefesh, MAKOM, Adam V'Adama, the Eastern Galilee Cluster, Upper Galilee Regional Council, Kiryat Shmona, the Golan, Green Horizons, LOTEM, AgriFoodTech Valley, HaShomer, Wadi Attir, JVP, Margalit Startup City, Matzpinim, Beitarbut, and many others.

Jewish National Fund-USA CEO Russell F. Robinson opened the evening by sharing the vision behind GCI by JNF and its role as a catalyst for long-term economic, educational, and community growth across the Galilee. Participants then toured the campus, seeing firsthand how GCI by JNF is being developed not simply as a culinary school, but as a platform for culinary excellence, innovation, tourism, education, and regional development.

Affiliate Relations Manager Sharon Engel Adam presented the vision for the Tachles Forum, which is designed to bring the region’s key stakeholders to the same table and foster a more coordinated approach to rebuilding and strengthening the North. By connecting government, academia, businesses, entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and local leadership, the forum aims to encourage shared knowledge, identify common challenges, and turn collaboration into practical action.

The evening concluded with dinner at GCI by JNF’s Restaurant Galil, where participants continued conversations, formed new connections, and explored opportunities to work together.

These activities demonstrate the role GCI by JNF is already beginning to play in the Galilee. As recruitment advances and programming expands, GCI by JNF is building not only the institution itself, but also the relationships that will help support the Galilee’s long-term growth.