Day One

We all safely landed in Eretz Israel, thank goodness! We were met at the hotel by Hannah Rosenthal (CEO of Milwaukee Jewish Federation), Caren Goldberg (Chief Development Officer of MJF), Hannah Wallick (Vice President of Ourtreach, Israel and Overseas), Moshe Katz (Chair of MJF), Deb Katz, Pnina Goldfarb, and Tanya Arbit. We are grateful to MJF for their support of the trip and look forward to joining them at the GA.

We started our travels off with a bang by enjoying some yummy falafel sandwiches and listening to some women from the Jewish Agency. They shared their experiences about making Aliyah. Katrina has had many opportunities to learn and grow while living in Israel. Katrina made Aliyah from the Ukraine and has been living in Israel since the age of 16. She also served as a lone soldier in the Israeli army. She’s attending Tel Aviv University and studying industrial engineering.

In our coach bus, we got to tour the streets of Bnei Brak, an ultra Orthodox community. Rebecca from the Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI) led a panel discussion comprised of the director and a few of the mentors from “Youth Futures!” The girls they service range in age from 3rd through 6th grades; they also provide support to the their parents. The main goal of the program Is to empower and support the families. The Mentors Program is called “to trust”, i.e., people they can trust.

Our group ended the evening with a fabulous vegan meal at Zakaiim Restaurant, that was led and recommended by Moshe and Deb Katz. We enjoyed course after course of amazing food. Amit Zehavi, former community Shlicha to Milwaukee joined us for dinner.

We had quite the adventure finding the bus, but we are all back at the hotel safe and sound! Good night from Tel Aviv.