An unforgettable journey

After over two years of missed international travel opportunities, the Jewish Federations of North America’s National Young Leadership Cabinet set off on a mission to explore Israel’s increasingly diverse society through up-close visits to various communities.

Along with the group of 93 people, Chicago’s 10 participants had the opportunity to meet Ethiopian olim, immigrants, while sipping tea and learning traditional dance. We also toured an ORT-supported school that focuses on cultivating each student’s unique gifts through tech, farming, sports, communications, and other diverse areas.

Next, the Director of Hillel Russia spoke captivatingly about the harrowing tales of Russian students making instantaneous decisions to stay or come to Israel rather than going back home in light of the war.

A conversation with President Isaac Herzog at his residence and an eye-opening visit to the Peres Center for Peace and Innovation offered glimpses into Israel’s role in shaping the future both geopolitically and economically.

While all fascinating, by far the most impactful part of the trip for me personally was a spontaneous and heartbreaking visit to the shivas of two Israelis brutally murdered by a terrorist in the Haredi neighborhood of B’nei Brak, an area which we had just visited the day before to view a JUF-supported job training center for both men and women I was honored to be asked on behalf of the Jewish Agency for Israel and JUF to pay our condolences, offer words of support to the grieving families, and present a symbolic check from the Jewish Agency’s Fund for the Victims of Terror, which is supported by JUF.

While the setting was quite different than what I am accustomed to, the scene was also so familiar in other ways–homes filled with grieving families surrounded by friends and family, and the purest notion that support comes from showing up and showing that you care, understand, and empathize.

We may look different and have disparate lifestyles, but our presence signified we are all part of the Jewish community and we all shared in the families’ pain and grief. This immensely emotional yet formative moment will sit with me forever and I will always have the Hezekiel and Shalom families in my heart.

Erica Tarantur is a third-year member of the National Young Leadership Cabinet, the co-chair of JPN Women’s Professional Network and the 2021 Young Women’s City Council Campaign Chair.