When
did you go on a Birthright Israel trip and with which organizer? How was it?: I
attended Birthright in May 2016 with Shorashim and it was honestly, one of, if
not the best trips/experiences of my life. Nikki and Amit were both great trip
leaders, keeping things light while also always getting us where we needed to
be. Or was truly an outstanding tour guide; he was and has been an inspiration
to me since meeting him. Ziv was an amazing security guard/medic. What truly
was special was our group itself, it was a trip out of Chicago that consisted
of mainly Chicagoans, with a few Midwestern stragglers, a free bird from Vegas,
as well as the 7 Israelis (having them on the whole trip is the reason I will
be suggesting people do Birthright through Shorashim moving forward). Through
this trip I have made lifelong friends, it has only been a month and a half and
we have already hung out several times. Even more amazingly, the Israelis are
already coming here to visit and one of our trip members is actually moving out
to Israel for 6 months due to his experience on the trip.
Why did you decide to go
to Israel: I have always wanted to go to Israel, as I felt as a Jew, it
was an important trip to make. The vast majority of my friends and both my
siblings went on Birthright and I felt it was too good of an opportunity to
pass up, and I am so glad that I did it.
What is your favorite
trip memory/funniest story: This is one loaded question. There are so
many to choose from, ranging in the whole spectrum of emotions, but I will go
with this one. The first 3 days of the trip we stayed at a Kibbutz Gabot, which
was an amazing place in itself. All the daily and nightly activities were
great, but what I will remember most about it was the time spent with the
group. There was an awesome pub on the Kibbutz that played great music and had
a pool table, where we all hung out and got to know each other. After the pub
closed, we all hung outside our rooms at picnic tables listening to music and
hanging out for hours. That was when I was able to tell that it was going to be
a great trip with very great people.
You are from: Highland
Park
Where are you living
now: currently living with my 2-year-old Tubby in downtown Chicago
How do you pay the
bills: I am the head of the digital marketing department at a small ad
agency in Chicago called Marketing Partnerships International (MPI)
Favorite food from
Israel: SCH WAR MA, preferably in a Laffa wrap with Hummus and hot sauce
Your claim to fame/fun
fact: I have the same birthday as Michael Jordan, though it seems I got
the hair and he got the basketball skills and when I was 13 I caught a 14 foot
408-pound Hammer Head Shark off the coast of Florida
