Here to stay!

Israel program alumni who were inspired to make their lives in Israel.

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Eight years on...

Shortly after graduating University in Canada in December 2001, I went on a Birthright program.  Truth is, growing up in downtown Toronto, I never really considered travelling to Israel but got convinced by a few friends at a Hillel lunch, that in addition to free trip, Birthright would be a great adventure. 

For the next three years I took every chance I could to come back to visit Israel. On my third post-Taglit trip, I decided to make the move to Israel at the age of 27.

When making aliyah, I never really thought too long term, but eight years later I'm still happily living in Israel, been working at a great company for almost seven years, married a wonderful Israeli woman last year and have a number of close friends that I met in the early days after making Aliyah.  

In fact, my best friend to this day is the one that Nefesh B'Nefesh seated next to me on the Aliyah flight from New York. We were recently reminiscing about when we were standing alone, waiting for the flight in JFK, wondering what the hell we had gotten ourselves into. As one of only a handful of single 'young' people on that particular flight, we had introduced ourselves to each other in line, only to realize we were sitting next to each other on the flight.

Now we just celebrated eight years in Israel.

Nick Freeman

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My Aliyah

I never wanted to live in Israel. Holland was my home. Period. This thought of not wanting to move to Israel continued until I was about 17. During that year (and after as well) whenever I spoke about Israel I was immediately attacked by a lot of people about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, and I really needed to stand up for Israel and defend Israel with my word. It was something that happened all of the time and that I became passionate about.

By that time I already had gone to Israel about 20 times. I still didn't want to move there because Holland was my home, I grew up here, everything that I have and know is in Holland. I didn't want to leave it all behind just like that. My parents and siblings moved to Israel last year. I didn't go because I didn't want to and anyways I needed to finish my senior year of high school.

All of that changed when I participated in Taglit Birthright. It was really a once in a lifetime experience and it made me see something that I always knew but never believed. It just became so clear to me. It opened my eyes in a way that I've never experienced before: Israel is my home. And the need for defending Israel all of the time made that feeling even stronger. I became determined and motivated to join the IDF (Israel Defense Force) and make Aliyah. It was the most logical thing to do. I pictured myself and my life, how it would look in the future. And I just realized that it should be in Israel. My whole family lives there, it's easy to live a Jewish life over there, and it is just home for me.

Yes I know that life can be rough there, and that people are really straightforward and direct but eventually it comes to this: the people in Israel have a unity because we are connected. There is a certain bond that I feel with the nation. We are connected to each other and the warm hospitality of the people towards each other, and to strangers is something unique and I only find that in Israel.

That's why I'm making this step. It is a challenge and an experience at the same time and I'm all up for that. I am making Aliyah and I will begin a new chapter of my life in Israel :).

Liël van Aalderink, 19 years old.

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"I am here to stay. I married my love, my soulmate, my beshert - Jerusalemite Sagiv Yaakov - on June 27th, 2013!" -Jackie Frankel Yaakov, Pardes alumna

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 REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN! 

If you are Jewish, 18-26 years old, and have never been on an peer-group/organized trip to Israel before, you qualify for a FREE* ten day trip to Israel!

REGISTER NOW AT freeisraeltrip.org ! Registration doesn’t last long! 

*The program does not cover domestic flights, (this means if you live in one city and your group flies out of another city [this happened to me] you will have to cover the cost of the flight to and from that city. But it’s a hell of a lot better than paying for the flight to and from Israel!) You will only need to pay for approx. 1 meal a day, all else is covered. And a down deposit, which you WILL get back unless you choose to donate it to the program and help fund trips for others.

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Connecting to Israel

Shortly after my conversion, I began to feel a burning desire to go to Israel. I arranged to come through Taglit (Birthright). My plan was to stay for a year and study in an English-speaking midrasha (Judaic studies program), with the help of the MASA program.

The Birthright experience was amazing. I've been told by many Israelis that I have been to places that even they have never been, in their own tiny country.

However, I was bothered by the fact that I felt like I was living in an "Anglo bubble", and was not really connecting to Israel and its people through language. I decided to transfer my MASA scholarship, and moved to a religious kibbutz (Kibbutz Yavne), where I participated in a 5-month Ulpan program to learn Hebrew.

While living on the kibbutz, I became friendly with a lone soldier (also from the U.S.), who introduced me to the man who is now my husband. After being in Israel for less than six months I was already engaged, and in another five months I was already married (quite a busy year)! My husband Daniel was also not born in Israel, so together as a married couple, we made Aliyah.

~Excerpt of Chava Miriam Ashkenazi's entry in the Israelforever.org blog. Used with permission.

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Every year, many WUJS Israel participants strongly consider or make aliyah, or choose to stay in Israel to live and work for an extended period of time...

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My OTZMA

Today marks 10 months since I said goodbye to my family and walked through security at Newark Airport into the unknown with a group of strangers. From my vantage point in Jerusalem, I can look back over the past 10 months and say, “Damn, where did the time go?”But I can also appreciate the incredible wealth of experiences that this year has given me and when I look back on events from the beginning of the year or even my parents’ visit in March I can say, “That feels like so long ago!” I’ve been a part of a lot of groups in my life. Countless sports teams, school clubs, the trips I’ve staffed, etc. But nothing, and I mean NOTHING can come close to touching my OTZMA experience. Not with a 10-foot pole. It’s not even a little bit of a stretch to say that it changed my life. Just a few short months ago I thought I would head back to the States and get a Masters in Physical Education. But now, as my friends have started to pack up and head home, here I am, employed (well, hired), making Aliyah and playing on Israel’s National Lacrosse team. This year has been a series of amazing gifts, and now I’ve been given one more – the chance to pass this gift on to another group of OTZMAnikim.

But while the job is nice, I think the biggest thing I will take away from this experience are the people and the relationships.  Day in and day out I’m surrounded by people who love me and care about me. There’s always someone to eat dinner with and the sense of community is just incredible. Second to none. I can’t wait to share these traditions with others and incorporate my OTZMA traditions into what ever community I may join next (or in 10 years). It is absolutely what inspired me to change careers and find a job in the Jewish community. 

Read More

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Yom Haatzmaut at Nachal Poleg by Netanya. The girls are Bar Ilan alumni who made Aliyah in the past couple of years. Submitted by Nava Gershman

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A natural transition

I grew up in United Synagogue Youth (USY) in Los Angeles. After finishing high school, it was a natural transition for me to attend the USY gap year, the Nativ College Leadership Program in Israel. During the first semester, I lived in Jerusalem attending Hebrew University. I spent the second half of the year volunteering on Kibbutz Sa'ad in the Western Negev.

During my gap year, I realized that there was no other place in the world besides Israel where I connected so deeply with both the land and the people living there. It was such a unique feeling, that while I was away from home, away from my parents for the first time in my life, I had never felt so at "home" before.  Nativ gave me the spark to keep coming back to Israel during college, whether it was on a Hillel trip, volunteering in Sderot, or leading Taglit-Birthright groups.

Upon finishing my BA, I knew the only decision I had to make was not if I would make Aliyah, but where I would live in Israel. And it's safe to say that nearly four years later, I know it's the greatest decision I ever made.  

~Benji Davis

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Did you go on a Masa program? We want to hear about it!

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Aliya and activism: Jeremy Dery

“I always loved the Jewish traditions and customs,” he explains. “I always maintained my Jewish identity by keeping the basic Jewish rules such as eating kosher, celebrating the Shabbat and going to the synagogue. While I was living in France, I witnessed various anti- Semitic incidents such as spray painted swastikas and rock-throwing at Jews going to synagogue. My non-Jewish friends would make fun of me for being Jewish, which was very uncomfortable. That experience made me realize how different I am, and that led me to be very curious about what it means to be a Jew. That passion drew me to the Solomon Schechter Jewish day school, which further enhanced my exposure to other Jews while learning more about our religion and modern-day Israel.” In fact, Dery credits his Jewish day-school education with leading to his life-changing decision to study at Tel Aviv University for that semester.

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I wanted to kiss the ground, as I had heard was customary; but it was a hot June afternoon, and I was afraid of burning my lips on the asphalt.

Adam Kenigsberg

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No turning back

After months of meetings, preparations, and getting to know the group, I boarded an El Al plane for the first time in my life. I was 16 years old.  My traveling companions were 40 other Jewish high school students, all from Orange County, California.  We set off on a six week adventure, where we (quite literally) traveled from Dan to Eilat, and everywhere in between. I remember taking my first steps in the Holy Land.  This was before Ben Gurion Airport had jetways.  In those days, every passenger had to walk down a set of stairs, onto the tarmac; and shuttle buses brought everyone in shifts, to the terminal. I wanted to kiss the ground, as I had heard was customary; but it was a hot June afternoon, and I was afraid of burning my lips on the asphalt. Israel felt foreign and welcoming at the same time.  I was a silly American in a tour group, but I was also in my homeland.  I couldn’t speak more than a few words of Hebrew, but everyone was happy that we came, and hoped that we would return. Young Judaea ran an excellent program.  We hiked, learned about the political and religious landscape of the day, and met Jews of all different levels of religious observance, who had come home to Israel from all over the world. On a chance encounter at the kotel, I met an American rabbi who became my  mentor and good friend.  His father, a well-known rabbi in the New York area, presided over my wedding.  Although it would be 11 more years until I became an Israeli citizen, this summer-long experience taught me that Israel was already my true home.

~Adam Kenigsberg

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Aliyah, with a side order of comedy

Since making aliyah in 2006, Benji Lovitt has performed stand-up comedy for groups including Hillels, Masa Israel Journey, Birthright Israel, the Jewish Federations of North America, and more. His perspectives on Aliyah and life in Israel make up a good part of his material:

"I went on Young Judaea Year Course twenty years ago. While I may no longer remember every detail about that year, I know that those nine months in Israel had a greater effect on my Jewish identity and connection to Israel than any other single experience in my life. "While you’d be hard-pressed to call any trip to Israel “not incredible”, the fact that I came at the impressionable age of eighteen for such a significant period of time made it clear that Israel was going to be a major part of me for the rest of my life. Israeli music, Israeli friends, Hebrew, and of course….chumus…. All of these played roles in my college and adult experiences, leading me to eventually build my life in Israel."

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Taking law into her own hands

After attending a year and a half at Sha'alvim in Jerusalem, I knew that I wanted to end up in Israel. Of course, I needed a game plan. While almost all of my friends moved back to America for university, after many hours of research, I decided to pursue my university education here. Ultimately, it seemed most logical to stay in Israel and start to build my life here - before accruing college debt, integrating into a community or buying a home. Staying in Israel after seminary meant that I didn't have a job to quit, a family to move or debts to repay. 

I applied to the law program at Bar-Ilan University (which, parenthetically, does not require an undergraduate degree or LSATs), and was accepted right before getting onto my Nefesh B'Nefesh flight. My Hebrew skills were far from perfect - but after sitting through lectures every day, (trying) to write papers and conversing with my peers, it improved quickly. The other students were always making efforts to help me along and email me their notes. Three and a half challenging years later, I graduated Bar-Ilan with absolutely no university debt (as the degree was paid for by the State of Israel as part of the Oleh benefits that I was entitled to). Following my formal education, I performed a year long internship (as required by the Israeli bar association), and then spent two months studying for the Bar Exam itself. I recently passed and am now officially a certified Israeli lawyer!

~Sarah Davis

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Talya's Thoughts on Tzion

We received this from Talia Herring, who is currently studying at Midreshet Moriah in Jerusalem, about to make Aliyah this summer. She will be doing National Service (Sherut Leumi) at Aleh Negev.

"Here is my Yom Ha'Atzmaut post that shows a lot of Midreshet Moriah's influence on me." http://talyaherring.blogspot.co.il/2013/04/there-is-sacrifice.html

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A motivated artist: Paul Curran

Paul Curran had only been Jewish for a few years when he went on Taglit-Birthright and fell in love with the Israel. He then returned on the army-simulation program called Marva, and twice as a Birthright leader. The programs affected him deeply and finally there was no escaping the fact that Israel was the place for him, and, last year, the 26 year-old artist made Aliyah.  

Dedicated to his Aliyah dream but without sufficient funds, the former director of the Hillel at Simon Fraser University came up with a creative way to raise funds for the move by selling his black and white acrylic art. An accomplished artist who works in a variety of media, Paul continues to produce incredible and unique drawing, paintings and other artwork. Paul is currently working at new Israeli start-up Heyku, a social-sharing iPhone app, managing their marketing and social media efforts.

Paul currently lives in Tel Aviv.