At Ulpan Etzion Bernstein met people who explained religion and Orthodoxy to him. Today he is Torah-observant. He made a couple of good friends, and some of his former classmates even work at the same place that he does. I remember we watched the election returns together in May 1999, the Leftists were happy and the Rightists were upset and that was a kind of bonding. THE renowned author Ephraim Kishon first learned Hebrew at Ulpan Etzion and news anchor Haim Yavin taught there.
Students volunteer for community services while on the ulpan.
They participate in Mishmar Ha'ezrahi and they teach English at the local community center. Pilzer had been teaching at Ulpan Drom Afrika, another Jewish Agency ulpan located in Kiryat Moriah, until 11 years ago. She then moved to Ulpan Etzion with the big wave of Russian immigrants. Pilzer considers herself privileged to have worked with these massive immigration waves. The walls of the Ulpan are lined with posters, notices, newspaper cuttings, and maps.