Everyday Heroes: John and Dora Boruchin, lifelong Zionists

Enthusiastic professors on Faculty Fellowship want an Israel repeat

What was your first time like? Reflections of an Israel newbie

By Lori Feldman

If someone would have asked me BEFORE my landing in Israel, "What is one word you would use to describe your first visit to Israel?" I most likely would have said "amazing," "inspirational," or maybe even "unexpected." Now that my trip is complete, the word I would use is "family."  

Everywhere we turned, people treated our group like family. We were welcomed to experience life from a perspective of being home. We were made to feel we have always been family and would continue to be no matter where we call home at the end of the trip.

In the JNF Kitchen: Strawberry spinach salad from Israel's Galilee

Negev 'pitch night’ for new start-ups also solves local problems

'I won the lottery' on Faculty Fellowship 2017, professor says

Professor Markel planting a tree during Faculty Fellowship 2017. 

Jewish National Fund, along with Media Watch International, sends a group of professors on the Faculty Fellowship Program in Israel for 10 days of touring, learning, and sharing ideas with Israeli counterparts. Look out for reflections from this year's recently returned trip. Applications are being accepted for next year's program now. 

By Professor Karen Markel, Human Resource Management, Oakland University

I can’t believe it took me nearly 50 years, but I finally made it to Israel thanks to the 2017 Faculty Fellowship Program. Israel had always been part of the conversation throughout my early Jewish education, and I grew up planting trees in Israel to honor someone’s memory or a special event. And here I was, finally getting a chance to visit the Jewish state and not only learn about its religious history but to make connections to my profession as professor of human resource management. I have been studying how business organizations can become more inclusive to people with disabilities in the United States. I was now going to learn specifically how Israel has been making employment more accessible for all its people.

Everyday Heroes: The soldiers of Israel's War of Independence

Machal Memorial. Photo credit: Jewish Action

In concert with our most recent issue of B'Yachad celebrating Israel's heroes, we are bringing you stories that showcase inspirational men and women. If you want to become a hero too, support a hero. 

Tucked away halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in Sha'ar Hagai, near the old Burma Road, stands a memorial that is a testament to the immense bravery and selflessness that went into the creation of the modern State of Israel.

It's title, Machal, is named for the volunteers during the 1948 War of Independence. A Hebrew acronym for "volunteers from abroad," this group was comprised of 5,000 adults; 1,250 of which were Americans and Canadians; men and women, Jews and Non-Jews alike. 

JNF Staff Spotlight: Lou Rosenberg, making it a family affair

In 1983-84, I decided to take a year off from college, what is commonly know these days as a gap year.  After some long discussions with my grandmother, I was encouraged to go to Israel and live on a Kibbutz. When I arrived in Israel on a bright and sunny October day, I looked around and proceeded to ask myself, 'what have I just stepped into?'