Recently, a group of young adults spent eight days in Israel through the Weinstein Fellowship, a leadership program run by the Young Leadership Division of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
Four of those days were spent in the Sovev Kinneret, Milwaukee’s Partnership 2000 region; the other four days were spent in Jerusalem. Following are their accounts of what they experienced and the lessons that they bring back to our community.
This trip for me was about two things: Partnership and connection. This was my fifth trip to Israel, and that alone makes me feel incredibly fortunate.
I have had wonderful experiences there previously, both on organized group trips and going by myself and with family. I have always appreciated the beauty of the land, the rich history, and the genuine hospitality of the people.
But I must admit that never before had I experienced this sense of “home” that many people speak of after traveling to Israel. I realized this on our first day in Israel, shortly after we arrived in the north.
We walked into a large hall at Kibbutz Ein Gev and there was a room full of people waiting to greet us. That was a nice feeling. I looked around the room and realized that I knew most of the people there.
Many of the people had been to Milwaukee on various programs through Partnership 2000 and I had the opportunity to meet them here. Suddenly the true meaning of the partnership was present in front of me; the many Israelis that I’ve gotten to work with and welcome to Milwaukee were now waiting to greet us and welcome us to Israel. It was only at this moment that I understood that feeling of being home.
Dan Schnoll
Israel has always been just a place on the map for me but I was so impressed by the beauty. There is no place like it on earth. Once I arrived there, I felt so at home. The people I met and those I was reacquainted with were so welcoming.
The views in the Sovev Kinneret region were incredible; pictures can’t articulate the beauty. Every time I looked from different angles at the Tiberias region, I could only say “Wow” and just let it sink in.
In Jerusalem, I had a different “wow” feeling. Just being in the Old City was like a dream. Thinking of who walked the city for more than 3,000 years is unfathomable.
I remember standing on a rooftop in the Cardo and thinking about why it is so difficult for the Jews, Muslims and Christians to get along in Jerusalem. At the Western Wall, I kept having to step back from the moment to realize what this place means to our people.
Shabbat was perfect because it gave me time to relax and think about what a special week it was in Israel. I feel very fortunate to have gone and thankful to be part of a great group of people. As I told the Weinstein family at dinner, I feel I have made lifelong friends on the trip.
Hallie Loeb
One thing that strikes me about our trip is that each participant had a memorable mission. We each saw something new. We each thought about issues in a new light. We each deepened our friendships with the other.
Through our Melitz tour guide, our MJF advisor Jody Kaufman-Lowenstein and our co-chair and peer leader, Aaron Bernstein, we were directed to investigate an Israel of the 21st Century — including societal issues such as immigration and absorption and the politics of the day facing the coming elections.
It shouldn’t surprise me that this trip had so much to offer. I think it’s the extent to which we each were touched so significantly, from the first-time traveler to the veteran mission maven to a sabra returning home, that amazes me. How could a one-week trip touch off the passion and excitement with which we return? I suppose that, too, is easy to answer. It’s Israel.
But it’s also Milwaukee. The “people to people” relationships are far more than a cultural exchange and more like a family reunion.
Zohar Harari
Israel is a beautiful country and my favorite city in the world has always been Jerusalem. In the past I visited Jerusalem as a child and teen; this time I saw it as an adult and as a community leader and contributor.
Putting on tefillin at, and inserting personal notes and prayers into, the Western Wall was for me one of the highlights of the trip. I had dreamed of doing so for a very long time and the timing couldn’t have been better.
As I become more and more involved in the leadership programs of the Jewish community of Milwaukee, my connection to and love of Israel and the Jewish community are ever growing.
Gary Lippow
This was my first trip to Israel, and I’m so grateful to have had the opportunity to go. It was an incredible experience that’s hard to fully describe.
It was very rewarding seeing first-hand several of the programs in the Kinneret region that receive support from the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
On our last day in Jerusalem, we spent several hours at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum and Memorial. For me, the most emotional part of the museum visit was the very end — after winding your way through the museum, which follows the history of the Holocaust in chronological order, you turn a final corner and suddenly find yourself outside, on a terrace, overlooking a beautiful view of the hills of Jerusalem.
It’s hard to explain how powerful of an experience that final view was — a reminder that after everything the Jewish people went through in the Holocaust, we are now a successful nation in Israel.
Mitch Nelles
The connections we made with the people in Israel may have had the biggest effect on me. Just being with people who are working so hard to ensure the future of the land of Israel, and being able to see and feel how devoted they are to their causes, really was an inspiration.
Seeing my new friend Shani, who works with teenagers, many of them underprivileged, showed me that we all care about the future. Visiting the campus of Jordan Valley College, which lies on the shores of Lake Kinneret, further showed me the connection to the future, and how beautiful the state of Israel is.
Visiting not one, but two absorption centers, and working side-by-side with people who benefit daily from all the services these centers provide, proved to me how important it is to support our land.
I had not been to Israel in 12 years, and I didn’t realize that something had been missing in my soul. As I began reconnecting with the land and with the people, I began to contemplate the importance of Israel to all Jews, worldwide.
It is of utmost importance to support, visit, and love Israel to our fullest capabilities. Sure, it has problems like any other country in the world, but as Jews, it is our country. It needs and deserves our attention and devotion.
To me, this trip was about connection. It feels nice — even comforting — to know Israel is there for me and for you.
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