Blog
Blog
Why I Chose Gadna
By Rachael Metzgar, Bus 4 Participant I would like to preface this with the fact that I am insecure. I don’t often find myself overcoming huge challenges - and that’s exactly why I signed up for Gadna. I wanted to push myself and try new things. The first day was by...
Reflections on Auschwitz
By Jacob Schwartz, Bus 6 Participant We started early in the morning, and as we drove through Oswiecim, Poland, we could feel the depressing atmosphere. It was a dreary day, with very gray skies. When we arrived at Birkenau, I was hit with a solemn sense of dread...
Why I wanted to staff NFTY in Israel
By Annie Abramowitz, Bus 5 Staff Working for NFTY in Israel was never really on my mind until last summer. I remember sitting with my campers when one of them turned to me and said, “So, you're going to be our counselor for Israel next summer?” I wasn’t really sure if...
On the Wings of Eagles
By Rabbi Rich Kirschen, Director So much of our trip this summer is dedicated to experiential Jewish learning and Jewish identity formation. NFTY in Israel presents an itinerary that tells the epic, 3,000-year-old, story of the Jewish people; or what Israelis call...
Finding Connections from my Experience in Poland
By Maya Kendall, Bus 7 Participant My earliest memory of learning about the Shoah begins in fourth grade. I was nine years old, sitting in Hebrew School, watching videos of bodies being dragged and tossed onto piles of more dead bodies. I had no idea what I was...
Why I chose Mitzvah Corps Israel
By Melissa Hesse, Bus 10 Staff Last year, I was a Madrichah for Mitzvah Corps Israel. As a full time teacher during the school year, I wanted to do something meaningful with my summer. Through my home congregation, I learned about NFTY in Israel and of the amazing...
TBT to… Our Flight to Israel on Sunday!
Why I Chose Gadna: An Israeli Defense Force Training
By Sloan Salinas, Bus 1 Participant I had never felt certain about doing the army. Some people are positive that they’re going to go into the navy or the air force or some branch of the military. While I hadn’t ruled out the possibility, I was never one of those...
The Warsaw Jewish Cemetery
By Noah Lipsitz, Bus 8 Participant This cemetery was very different than any other I’ve seen in my life. I noticed that the entire cemetery was in the woods with trees surrounding the grave stones and life all around. The cemeteries I’ve seen usually consist of an...
