jews d

in
the

For an unforgettable and

continued from page 20

RIGHT: Sivan Shatz shares a pita
with travel mate Brendan McCormick
in Jezreel Valley’s Pioneer Museum.

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Favorite moment?
Shabbat at the Kotel (Western Wall).
This moment was beyond power-
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the words to explain the feeling of
being in Jerusalem on Chanukah at
the Kotel on Shabbat. I felt lucky,
privileged, happy, proud, so thankful
and appreciative to be Jewish and to
be there.

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22

May 25 • 2017

jn

HANNAH WEISS, 24
Ferndale, Program Associate, Hillel of
Metro Detroit
As someone working with
young Jewish adults in Detroit,
how do you think a Detroit
Community Birthright trip helps
people connect to their local
community?
The special part about this trip
is that the connections you make
in Israel come home with you. The
Detroit Jewish community has so
many opportunities to get involved.
When you come home from Israel
feeling inspired, you come home to
a place with people and resources
ready and waiting to keep your
Birthright journey going, and that’s
incredible.
What did you take home with
you from this trip?
The Detroit Community
Birthright trip was an incredible
experience and helped shape my
Jewish identity as well as my views
on Israel. I never considered myself
a Zionist and was unsure about my
connection to Israel, but after going
on Birthright, I feel I can better
advocate for Israel here in Detroit.
Favorite moment?
Going to the Old City in
Jerusalem. It’s so beautiful and so
different from any other place I’ve
been before. Hearing the stories
of the Jewish people in the Old
City made me feel a connection to
Jerusalem and a feeling of belong-
ing. It was special to be there with
our group, listening to these stories
and feeling this sense of pride for
the land.

SIVAN SHATZ, 22
Kibbutz Mizra, Israel, works at the
kibbutz elementary school and in
a restaurant
As an Israeli participant from
Detroit’s Partnership Region,
how do you think the relationship
between our two communities
enhanced the trip for everyone?
My relationship with the
Partnership started in eighth grade
when I got the opportunity to go to

Tamarack Camps. I fell in love with
the idea of belonging somewhere
that isn’t home, of having a place.
You could really feel the connec-
tion, or as the staff liked to say, “that
home-away-from-home kind of feel-
ing.”
Whether it was in the personal
connections we made with each
other or the day we spent in the
Partnership Region as a group, that
feeling was definitely there on our
Birthright trip. It gave the whole trip
a sense of family and brotherhood,
and we were already looking for-
ward to August when we will reunite
again for our mifgash in Detroit.
Favorite moment?
One of my favorite moments was
experiencing Jerusalem Thursday
night with Brendan, Jennifer and
Oran, three of our American travel
mates. We had free time, and we
didn’t really do anything specific,
but it was such a cool, beautiful
night. The energies and vibes in the
streets were so special; it was just
enough to have an amazing night.

BEN KRUMAN, 26
Huntington Woods, graduate student
at Wayne State University
What would you say to some-
one debating between going on a
NEXTGen Detroit Community trip
or another Birthright trip?
For me, the decision to go on a
NEXTGen Detroit Community trip
over another Birthright trip was
an easy one. Most Birthright trips
offer an opportunity to interact
with Israelis for a set period of time
during the trip. With the Detroit
Community trip, Israelis are a part
of your group for the entire journey.
This to me was not only a deciding
factor, but the best aspect of the
trip.
To have the opportunity to experi-
ence an amazing country and do
it with its citizens was an invalu-
able experience. We quickly came
together as a group and now con-
sider one another family. I’m not
sure these types of relationships can
be fostered in quite the same way on
other trips. If you really want to fully
experience a country, its people and
its culture, the Detroit Community
trip is the way to go.
Favorite moment?
My favorite part of the trip was
the Partnership Day. Being able to
spend time with the Israelis at their
homes and explore their lives in
such intimate ways was an invalu-
able experience. •