Introducing new inspiring Israel journeys for JCC members! What could be more exciting than planning your first trip to Israel? What could be more enjoyable than a return trip to see things you missed or revisit places that touched your heart? What could be more inspiring than bringing your children to learn about their Jewish heritage? The answer is: doing it with your JCC friends. And now you can, with these two great opportunities from JCC Association, coming your way in 2009!
Please, let my parents go, too!
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To plan a trip for your JCC, contact:
amp is in my blood,” says 27-year-old Meredith Fine, who last summer worked as a unit head at the day camp run by the Bernard & Ruth Siegel JCC in Wilmington, Delaware. That’s why when her camp director forwarded her an e-mail about a winter Taglit-Birthright Israel trip being organized by JCC Maccabi Israel for camp staff from JCCs around the country, Meredith knew it was time to go. She registered without hesitation for the group that left in December, led by Hagar Ben-Eliezer, director of Jewish cultural programs at the Osher Marin JCC in San Rafael, California. That Meredith, a biology and environmental science teacher In the video, at Montgomery High School in Meredith discovers Skillman, New Jersey and an EMT, her mother lighting had an amazing time was no surprise. “Because the participants menorah candles were all camp-involved, it was so easy backwards and to meet people quickly. There was a placing an apple very friendly feeling among everyone, on a Seder plate. just like there is at any JCC,” said Meredith. Furthermore, everything she did and saw in Israel inspired pride in her Jewish identity and feelings of connection to the Jewish people. “In Israel I didn’t need to explain why I wear a Star [of David] or a chai around my neck. Everyone there celebrates the holidays I do, understands the same culture I grew up with and appreciates what it means to be Jewish.” When she got home, she was glowing, and her parents, Nanette and Alan Fine, who had never been to Israel, were jealous, she recalled. So, when Meredith heard about Taglit-Birthright Israel’s video contest for birthright alumni, “Let My Parents Go,” conceived in honor of Israel’s 60th anniversary, she knew she had to enter—even though she had never made a video before. “Thank God for the tech guy at school who showed me what to do,” she laughed. “I had so much fun.” In the video, Meredith catches her father eating a ham and cheese sandwich with a glass of milk (“It’s skim milk,” he protests.) and affixing a mezuzah to the wrong side of the front door of their home – upside down. Her mother is discovered lighting menorah candles backwards and placing an apple on a Seder plate. (“Don’t we eat apples on one of the holidays,” she wonders.) After Meredith finds each of them, she asks, “What are you doing?” instructing, “You really need to go back to your roots.” In May, when Taglit-Birthright Israel announced the nine contest winners, Meredith and her parents were thrilled to learn the Fines were among them. The trip was scheduled to depart
Leah Garber lgarber@jcca.org or Sara Sless ssless@jcca.org
www.jcca.org
ion t i d e p x E y Culinar re u t n e v d A y Famil When families discover their heritage together, they share a bond forever. Our 10-day Israel family adventure program is designed to open the door for you and your whole family—including children from ages five and up and active grandparents—to enjoy an adventurous, fun-filled learning experience in Israel. A special bonus is the madrich noar (youth counselor) who will travel with your group. This young Israeli will supervise age-appropriate programming for your children at the places you visit and allow you the time to explore on your own. This really IS what memories are made of! Here are just a few of many highlights: • Float in the Dead Sea, the lowest point on earth, and cover yourself in its skin-replenishing mud • Help with food delivery and preparation at Table to Table, Israel’s version of Second Harvest • Take a donkey or camel ride—it’s more fun than you think! • Party in Tel Aviv–The Big Orange–the Israeli city that never sleeps • Hike, raft, and train outdoors • Take part in a scavenger hunt in an Israeli market—and then eat what you find! • Experience an interactive encounter with Israeli Arab culture in a drum circle with Bishara • Hang out at an Israeli community center and find out what Israeli daily life is really all about And besides all this, we’ll visit the sites you’ve always dreamed of seeing—the Kotel, Yad Vashem, Masada, and more—and you’ll feel like you’ve finally come home. Will your family be celebrating a bar or bat mitzvah during your Israel trip? We can help you plan a ceremony and celebration your child will never forget.
All over the world, culinary tours are gaining popularity; so why not combine a great nine-day tour of Israel—together with other JCC members—with the fabulous food expedition you’ve been contemplating? Israel’s wineries are now world-renowned, and the cuisines of Israel’s various ethnic groups have combined to create spectacular and exotic dishes. We will explore places where Israeli farmers, chefs, and vintners are creating this extraordinary food and wine, and combine that with a historythrough-food view of our country. You’ll come home a real food “maven” with a much deeper understanding of today’s diverse Israel. Here are some of the things you’ll do: • Visit kitchens in the Ethiopian, Moroccan, Russian, and Arab communities to learn about their history and culture • Breakfast at an organic dairy and goat cheese farm • Sample Israel’s best olive oil • Enjoy wine tastings throughout Israel • Shadow and cook with a top Israeli chef • Shop with an Israeli and prepare a meal together • Visit Machane Yehuda, Jerusalem’s outdoor fruit, vegetable, and spice market • Lunch in a Druze home and learn about Druze culture • Indulge at a boutique chocolate shop • Volunteer at a soup kitchen • Take a jeep tour of the gigantic Ramon Crater • Stop at the Nabatean village of Ovdat • Visit the Bedouin market (in case you want to buy a camel) • Attend optional Shabbat services at local ethnic synagogues • Relax at an Israeli spa • For night owls: Participate in a Hebrew karaoke night
JCC Association is working in conjunction with IsraelExperts™ (IsraelExperts– Initiatives in Education, Ltd), and together we will create the custom-made tour to Israel that you have been waiting for. We know you and what you’re looking for. Come with us for an inspired Jewish journey.
July 14, and her parents couldn’t have been more excited, she said. Now it’s Meredith’s turn to be jealous. “My parents spent time in different places than I got to see; for example, they are going to the Galilee wine country; and our tour didn’t get to do that. And I’d love to go back to some of the places I did go, like the Dead Sea, which was so cool, and Masada, which I absolutely loved.” To view Meredith’s video and the other winners of “Let My Parents Go,” log onto www.birthrightisrael.com/contestwinners.
This winter, bring your friends and travel to Israel for free!
Registration begins September 10, 2008
www.jccmaccabiisrael.org This trip is a gift from Taglit-Birthright Israel. Eligible participants are 18-26, Jewish, and have never been to Israel on a peer group tour. jcc circle 15