📚The Yoel Program — Ethiopian-Israelis to Quality Academia

There is no dedicated mechina — there is a support programme

Start here: Bar-Ilan has no dedicated pre-academic mechina for Ethiopian-Israelis. Its dedicated mechinot are defined by subject — engineering and exact sciences, Metro-Tech, Tech Leaders, natural and life sciences, social sciences and humanities — not by community.

What does exist, listed on the mechina site under "accompanying programmes", is the Yoel Program — "Ethiopian-Israelis to quality academia". In the site's own words: "established and operated by the 'Chiburim – Education Building Society' association". It is a Chiburim programme hosted alongside the Bar-Ilan mechina, not a track of the university itself.

Who is eligible?

This is where people get it wrong. The programme is not for high-school graduates generally — you must already be a mechina student. The site's definition: "students in the mechina, with high academic aspirations… with good starting data".

So: you register for the Bar-Ilan mechina first, and only then does the Yoel Program become relevant to you.

What's included?

• "A scholarship to help finance the dormitories"
• "Daily academic reinforcement after mechina hours"
• "Mentor support during the degree"

In stage A, the reinforcement covers "English, mathematics and additional subjects".

No figure is published for the dormitory scholarship. If the amount matters to your planning, ask before you rely on it.

When does registration open?

There is no published registration window, and the page states explicitly: "*** Opening of the programme is conditional on the number of participants." That is why the status here is "to be announced" rather than "open" — the programme may not open at all in a given year.

How to apply

Via the programme page on the mechina site (its own last-updated date: 08/01/2026), or directly to the published contact: Roni Mohar, 052-2649021.

Source: The Yoel Program — Bar-Ilan pre-academic mechina · verified September 2026.

See also