Mission participants, from left, bottom row, Rabbi David Berkman, Andrea Sherman, Federation Executive Director Diane Sloyer, Risa Gorelick; standing: Stephanie Fox, Kristen Stavisky, Stephen Cohn, Bonnie Werk, Sandi Jacobs, Andrea Weinberger, Brian Levy, Nat Wasserstein, Ross Mazer (behind), Yael Holand, guide Izzy TK, Jill Goldstein, James Sarna, Lois and Bob Silverman

The 17 participants who attended the Jewish Federation of Rockland County’s Atid Mission, spent less than a week in Israel, but returned with a lifetime of memories.

The visit to the Jewish homeland was meant to give participants insight into Federation work. And for those selected for this first-ever leadership mission in early December, it was a success. Dubbed an emotional, exciting and often powerful hands-on experience, they felt they had gained knowledge into what a donation to Federation means to those on the receiving end in Israel.

“For my entire life, I’ve heard stories about Israel, stories in Hebrew school, the dinner table, about family members, in the newspaper,” said Brian Levy, who had never been to the country before. “It’s like plugging a cord into the wall and having all the lights go on. Your senses light up and all these stories have new meaning – the geography, the people here, linking it all together, all that I’ve heard over the years, moments where it’s all illuminated.”

Whether visiting Yad Vashem, Israel’s national Holocaust museum in Jerusalem with a veteran Jewish Federations of North America guide Hazy Flint, to visiting Har Herzl, where Israel’s founders and military fallen are buried, mission participants took in a breathtaking scope of the country in a few short days. Kept running from morning until night, they had a chance to learn about Israel’s technological achievements at the Better Place, where they learned about how Israel is pioneering the transition from petroleum to electric powered cars. They saw the play “Not by Bread Alone,” performed by 11 deaf-bond actors who engage with the audience in a unique performance piece.

But it was the site visits to the places supported by the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Joint Distribution Committee, the overseas partners of the Jewish Federations of North America that seemed to make the most impact. They checked in on the Youth Futures program that provides services for the 350,000 at-risk youth in Israel, giving them opportunities and hope for success as they struggle in their impoverished lives. Visiting Sderot, the southern immigrant town that has born the brunt of Hamas missiles since 2008, was eye-opening for participants, some of whom were not familiar with the trauma the rain of Qassam rockets from Gaza has spread among the population.

They learned there of Chibuki, the fuzzy doll with a name that means “hug” developed by the JDC, to help comfort children through attacks.

“You can read about this, hear about it, but until you see it, smell it, you can’t understand the facts on the ground,” said Stephen Cohn, also a first time visitor to Israel, who was so appalled that social workers couldn’t afford to paint the walls of the children’s bomb shelter that he made a donation on the spot.

By far, what really touched participants was a visit to Kiryat Moriah, where they saw the JAFI Nativ program at work. Created to help lone immigrant soldiers study Judaism while serving in the army, it left a strong impression on the mission participants, who were taken by the commitment of the young soldiers. Many were not born in the country, and have only one Jewish grandparent, and are not considered Jewish by Jewish law. They nonetheless learn about the religion, with about 800 of them converting through the program each year.

For Kristen Stavisky, herself a convert, hearing stories from individual recent converts was overwhelming.

“I knew this trip would be different for me” said Stavisky, who had previously visited Israel once before, with her father, the late Ken Zebrowski. “My only other time in Israel, I was not a Jew…I got teary when the first person started speaking. I told him I had such respect for him, to me as a convert… [for them] to make this commitment and to feel so strongly about this connection, it really brought me back to my own decision to convert.”
For Bob and Lois Silverman, the mission was unlike any other on which they’d traveled. In the past, the former Federation president and his wife have traveled with peers. This time, they were there as overseers of the funds.

The Atid Mission was established with money left to the Federation by Lily Steuer, a close family friend of the Silvermans. The $660,000 that came to the Federation last spring as an endowment enabled the organization to establish the mission to build future leadership and educate participants about Federation work.

“She believed in Federation and she believed in young people coming up to the plate,” said Lois, who felt Steuer would have thought the mission and excellent use of the funds. “I think this was a good use of the money and that this is a good way to pass the torch.”
For Bob, who was a recipient of a free trip to Israel many years ago that inspired him to help found the Federation, the hope is that the trip will inspire a new generation of leaders. But only time and follow-up will tell whether the mission is a success.

“My gut feeling is this is a great use of those funds, but we need some time to evaluate it and revise it and to critique it,” said Bob. “What I hope they got out of it is a sense of the impact they can make in our own community and in the overseas work that we do, by their participating and getting others to participate.

“We believe this will help build our campaign and that the investment will be worth it,” said Bob. “It will ultimately come back to the organizations we support in our own community.”
The initial feedback was positive and enthusiastic. Andrea Weinberger was impressed with the gratitude expressed by Israelis for the work that the federation system does in their country.

“One thing I took way with from this mission was getting to see how the Federation helps fund programs that are developing young leaders and how impressive that is, and how far the financial support we give them goes,” she said.