Temple Isaiah Member Since: 2000
What Israel Means to Me
This summer, I joined 46 teens from across North America on my first trip to Israel. It was a NFTY trip and the group I was with was named Mishpucha, meaning “family.”
We began our trip in Eastern Europe where we walked the streets of Prague and learned how the majority of Prague’s Jews were sent to Terezin and then to Auschwitz – a site we visited later when we spent four days in Poland. There are no words to describe what it’s like to walk through a former gas chamber and cremation room where your own ancestors died.
At the end of this emotionally exhausting week, we expected the weight to lift as we excitedly got ready to visit Israel. But on our first day there news came in of the rockets firing into Israel from Gaza. We were all a bit shaken upon hearing this news but continued on as planned, refusing to let those attacks ruin our trip.
Even knowing that at any given moment we would have to go into a bomb shelter, I felt a sense of belonging in Israel that I haven’t felt anywhere else. This experience changed my life in countless ways, but most prominently made me realize that I have a newfound responsibility to the state of Israel. As a young Jew I have a duty to at least try to change the way things are. Rabbi Hillel writes in Pirke Avot 1.14, “If I am not for myself, who is for me? And if not now, when?” If I am going to make a difference, I must start now.
I spent a week in Eastern Europe learning about Jews that weren’t allowed to live freely. I saw first-hand the concentration camps in which millions of Jews were murdered. I came to Israel expecting to finally see this freedom. Instead, I witnessed war. We are still fighting for not only our freedom to have a home, but our freedom to just be. Seventy years after the Holocaust, and we are still fighting.
I will never forget the chills that ran down my spine while walking down the train tracks at Auschwitz Birkenau, or the incredible feeling of being surrounded by my Mishpucha, my family, while singing songs around a campfire in the Negev Desert.
The pure bliss of walking through Jerusalem’s shuks alongside my best friends… the vibrant blue of the Red Sea or the feeling while standing on top of Mount Shlomo overlooking five different countries, this is what Israel means to me.
What I Do to Support the Jewish State
I tell my non-Jewish friends what’s really going on in Israel on a more personal level. Watching the news on this conflict versus hearing it from someone who had some level of involvement is incredibly different. I hope to humanize the state of Israel by sharing my story.
What You Can Do to Support Israel
Get educated! While in Israel, I witnessed acts of violence all stemming from ignorance and hate. Take the time to read about both sides before taking a stance. Then, speak up; say something and create a dialogue. We will get nowhere if we all watch as bystanders.