BT Students’ Summer Israel Experiences

By: Samantha S. ‘16
While most teens spent their summers working at camp, going to the beach and hanging with friends, many Beth Tfiloh students traveled to Israel on various summer programs. These programs, organized through sleep away camps, youth movements and Jewish organizations, combined sightseeing, community service, leadership and religion into the ultimate summer experience. In late June, when the conflict between Hamas and Israel began, many teen programs were canceled and postponed, while travelers on other programs already in Israel were forced into bomb shelters. Despite these few drawbacks, students remained in high spirits, making truly inspiring connections and memories in the homeland. Learning a lot from these trips, many of the students recount the experiences that are still influencing them now that they have returned to school.

Eleventh grader Audrey M. ‘16 traveled to Israel as part of a six-week CIT summer program, organized through JCC Maccabi and her sleep away camp. She commented that because she “go[es] to Beth Tfiloh, Judaism and Israel means a lot to [her]. Thus, the trip was a great way to enhance that and to spend time with my friends.” Being in Israel gave her the opportunity to connect with people she didn’t have the opportunity to interact with during her previous summers at camp. “It was kind of weird getting to know [new] people, but being in Israel kind of forced you to get to know your peers,” she explained. “We all became really close and connected through our roots.” Audrey’s trip traveled around Israel in the midst of the conflict. “Looking back on my experience, I probably should have been freaking out, yet I kept reassuring myself nothing would happen,” she reflected. “But, as an American it was kind of hard to understand the severity of the situation.”

Like Audrey M. ’16, Josh L. ‘16 also experienced bomb shelters, rockets and sirens while on Baltimore Zionist District’s four-week Teen Israel Experience. He pointed out that “being in Israel while the sirens went off was definitely an unusual experience. While it was certainly unnerving, I did not find it to be terrifying.” Josh first heard the sirens while staying on a kibbutz with host families. He recalled that “at first when [they] heard the sirens, none of [them] were entirely sure of what [they] were hearing. However [they] quickly realized and started running towards the nearest shelter.” Despite this experience, Josh L. ’16 felt that his “trip to Israel really personalized the current conflict.” Commenting that “after [his] first trip to Israel two years ago, [he] felt far more connected to the land itself. This trip bolstered that feeling, but it also made [him] feel far more connected to the people themselves,” Josh also added that seeing Israelis return to their daily lives after a siren truly showed him how strong and resilient the Jewish people are. He is very excited to return to Israel in the coming years.

Twelfth Grader Rafi L. also traveled to Israel this summer as part of The Bronfman Youth Fellowships, a yearlong program in which 26 teens of all Jewish backgrounds travel to Israel for a five and a half week trip where they discuss Jewish texts, tour and hear from multiple Jewish speakers. The fellowship continues at home through various seminars and individual service projects. Rafi explains his interest in applying for this program: “I’m really interested in Jewish pluralism and text study and the fellowship seemed like a great way to meet some really interesting people.”
Attending the fellowship also exposed Rafi to the vastness of Jewish texts and subjects out there to learn. “Although we try to comprehensively cover entire subjects over the course of the school year,” said Rafi, “in reality, there’s just so much out there to learn.”

While many trips traveled around Israel sightseeing and making connections, other trips were canceled and even postponed until later in the school year. Maia H. ’15 is a Diller Teen Fellow, a 15-month program combining Judaism, Israel, leadership and community service, which was supposed to leave for Israel on July 16th. Maia H. explained that “when the trip was postponed [they] went to Capital Camps for two days. Then, when the program was canceled [they] ended up going to New York for four days.” While Maia felt disappointed when the trip was postponed, she also felt very concerned about the safety of the Israeli friends she had made through the program. Although Maia will be unable to attend the Israel trip—which now leaves in December—she feels that participating in the Diller program has greatly impacted her connection to Israel. “I feel as if I have another family in Ashkelon. I spent the year learning so much about the culture and country of Israel, and now I feel so closely impacted by anything that happens there.”

Despite the sirens and rockets in Israel this summer, Beth Tfiloh students made connections with the holy land and forged lasting relationships with Israeli citizens. These teens experienced the realities and hardships of daily life in Israel, and came back with a better understanding of the Jewish nation’s resilience and strength.