EMPOWER
| EMPOWER by ITME |
Be The Bridge You Wish Existed. Become An Ambassador Of Change.
Our goal is not to tell people what to think—it’s to equip them with the tools to know how to think.
The ITME Fellowship Model I One Architecture. Diverse Populations. Scalable Impact.
ITME operates a Fellowship model—not a single program—anchored in a consistent educational framework but tailored to meet the specific needs of distinct populations. Every Fellowship follows a three-phase progression:
- Educate: Delivering apolitical Middle East understanding grounded in regional context and perspectives.
- Equip: Providing intelligence-based analytical tools to enhance critical thinking, media literacy, and practical communication skills for constructive engagement.
- Empower: Building leadership capacity through education, practical skills, mentorship, applied work, ongoing cultivation, and connection to a global alumni network.
Each Fellowship features structured hybrid learning with small cohorts that foster trust, curated readings, intelligence and ambassador tasks, mentorship, and a curriculum addressing real-world challenges. A capstone project ensures practical application of knowledge and skills. While the core framework remains consistent, each Fellowship is adapted to the cohort’s roles, constraints, and context, balancing virtual and in-person learning, mentorship intensity, and applied work.
Graduates join the ITME Alumni Forum, extending impact beyond the program and forming a growing network of leaders united by common challenges and frameworks. This model allows ITME to scale deeply—building enduring leaders, not just cohorts.
“For the people, by the people.” Each of our long-term programs and fellowships is built in cooperation with the distinct interested population – and responds to their unique needs and challenges.
These field-driven, population-specific programs are shaped by the unique challenges faced by students, educators, professionals, and community leaders in their environments—on campuses, in organizations, and communities.
Our long-term programs cultivate leaders who elevate the quality of conversation about Israel—not through advocacy or argument, but by introducing context, critical thinking, and often-missing regional perspectives into polarized spaces.
Participants receive intelligence-based analytical tools and leadership communication skills to shift discussions from slogans to understanding. They emerge capable of leading with clarity, confidence, context, and credibility, strengthening the communities and institutions they serve by fostering constructive discourse rather than division. Through sustained engagement with Avi Melamed and regional experts, combined with applied learning and a culminating Capstone, Fellows transform regional knowledge and analytical discipline into practical leadership capacity.
| CURRENT ITME FELLOWSHIPS |
VOICES FROM THE MIDDLE EAST ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST [COHORT #2]
An international fellowship for motivated and graduate students, as well as young leaders up to the age of 30.
This Fellowship empowers emerging leaders to become Ambassadors of Change with the education, Intelligence Tools and Ambassador Skills they need to lead contextualized and constructive conversations about Israel and the Middle East across divides.
ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT | A VIEW FROM THE REGION [COHORT #1]
A Fellowship designed specifically for Israel Campus Fellows working on North American college campuses.
This Fellowship empowers Israel Fellows to be trusted educators and leaders, providing the education and tools they need to support students navigating complex, polarized conversations about Israel on campus.



