HDNA MBI – Bus 13

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

On Sunday, we met our Israeli peers! Here's some fun we had getting to know each other...

By Becca Newman, Bus 7 Participant This past year in school, I had the opportunity to learn about the Holocaust throughout the entire month of March. We took as long as needed to make sure we understood the significance of it and what really happened. Going to...

By Ilan Bar, Bus 6 Staff I grew up in the north of Israel on a small kibbutz to a family who cherishes Israeli land and Jewish values and culture.  Last year while spending a summer as a counselor at Camp George in Canada, I realized how important it is for Jewish...