New Jersey Jewish News
Monmouth County Feature Story

Tel Aviv One mission resonates with young Monmouth leader

by Gil Hoffman
NJJN Israel Correspondent

JERUSALEM — Thirty-six year-old Manalapan attorney Eric Abraham had been to Israel many times before to tour and visit family and friends, but until last week, he had never been joined on his visit by 1,200 young Jewish leaders from 86 North American Jewish communities and federations.

Abraham represented the Jewish Federation of Greater Monmouth County on Tel Aviv One, a March 5-8 United Jewish Communities young leadership mission intended to cultivate a young generation of lay leaders. The hope of mission organizers is that a new connection to Israel will inspire participants to become more involved with federation giving and programming upon their return to America.

Instead of holding its young leadership conference in Washington as in the past, UJC decided to hold this year’s event in Tel Aviv — Israel’s business and cultural capital — to bring its participants closer to the Jewish state and show them where federation dollars go.

Abraham toured the city, learned its history, and observed social, humanitarian, and educational programs across the country operated by the Jewish Agency for Israel, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and the Ethiopian National Project. They forged connections among themselves and with Israelis as they learned firsthand about the myriad social services and humanitarian and educational programs supported by UJC and the federation network.

UJC made an effort to add fun activities to the schedule aimed at the young participants. Top Israeli entertainers like Roni Superstar, Gil Sassover, Tararam, and Ethiopian comedian Yossi Wassa performed for mission participants, and Israeli movies were shown in the host hotels. Mission members were encouraged to explore the night life in the beachfront town that is nicknamed “the city that doesn’t sleep.”

“We’re having almost an irresponsible amount of fun,” Abraham told NJ Jewish News. “It’s a very young and energetic group. They kept that in mind when they set the program, and it’s really resonated.”

UJC national campaign chair Mark Wilf gazed at the large crowd of delegates who gathered at an Israeli Air Force base March 8 and saw the “cadets” that UJC is counting on to keep the organization flying. Wilf, a New Jerseyan, was instrumental in organizing Tel Aviv One.

“By being here, each of you and all of us are Jewish activists, and let’s not ever stop being that, because that is something very critical,” Wilf told the delegates. “I am strengthened by the power of our collaborative efforts and by the spirit, enthusiasm, and the energy of all of you. You said it was important to you to show up here and to take a place in the forefront. Working together we can achieve so much.”

Abraham started off the week by spending Shabbat in Jerusalem and praying at the Western Wall, which he called “a magical place.” Then he went to Tel Aviv for the opening ceremonies of Tel Aviv One, which he described as “a wild party.”

On the first day of the trip, the participants were split into several groups to see different aspects of the city. Some visited a virtual Israeli hospital and learned about Israel’s status as an international leader in emergency medicine, some went to Tel Aviv’s school of fashion, and one participant even attended a competitive crew event, where he learned about how Israel is one of the world’s top countries in kayaking and rowing.

Abraham went to the Israeli headquarters in Ra’anana of the international firm Hewlett Packard, where he met the next generation of Israeli high-tech entrepreneurs. Abraham said it was interesting to hear how preeminent high-tech Israeli companies have become leaders on the world stage.

The second day featured a tour of an absorption center for Ethiopian immigrants in Rishon Letzion and an introduction to UJC’s efforts to ease their immigration through Operation Promise and their advancement through Project Atzmaut.

“I saw an Ethiopian be ordained as a kess,” an Ethiopian rabbi, Abraham said. “It was great to see how their cultural integration has been successful.”

A group of recent immigrants who came to Israel from Ethiopia last week on Operation Promise addressed the crowd. The visitors later split into smaller groups and met with Ethiopian immigrant women and asked about the challenges they are facing and have overcome.

On the third day, organizers addressed the crowd at the air force base before a concert there.

“Our goal in planning Tel Aviv One was to connect,” Matthew Bronfman, Tel Aviv One international chair, told delegates at the event. “It’s a pretty big challenge for all of you to get to know each other in one week. But these days have not been just ordinary days, and you are not ordinary people.”

Wilf thanked the participants for coming and for adopting the Jewish notion of tikun olam — repairing the world.

“We are the most blessed and privileged generation that the Jewish world has ever known,” Wilf said. “Not just as Jews who live freely in the 21st century, but as a Jewish people who have the means and the wherewithal to make a difference and make the world a better place.”

The final day was devoted to a visit to the Monmouth federation’s Partnership 2000 sister communities of Arad and Tamar in the Negev. Participants toured schools, learned about the federations’ Economic Development Unit, and met with new immigrants at an absorption center. The day concluded with a visit to Moshav Neot Hakikar in the Tamar region, where the group met with local artists and learned how the moshavniks were making the desert bloom.

Abraham said he didn’t fully understand the purpose of the trip until he came and heard about UJC’s interest in shifting its leadership from his parents’ generation to his own.

“I realized the purpose is not just to foster young leadership but to motivate young people to become givers,” Abraham said. “In some ways, it’s like preaching to the choir because I have been a giver. But I think it’s good that the federation is starting to clue into targeting young givers with positive messages.

“Every time I come here, I meet with young people who have enough energy to do three or four times what people do in other countries,” said Abraham. “It was energizing to be energized by their energy to go home and realize that maybe I can do a little more.”

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