Young JNF leader has a message about Israel for his millennial peers

JNF Women: 'JNF more than the tzedakah box,' says Lila Chertman

The author, center, on the JNFuture Volunteer Vacation trip. 

By Lila Chertman

I have a deep sense of gratitude to my parents for inculcating my brothers and I with a love for Judaism and Israel. They worked very hard to afford sending us to Jewish day school, camps, trips, you name it, to make sure we not only knew about the history of our people but felt it tug at our heartstrings in all aspects of our lives. By college I was getting involved with political advocacy on behalf of the US-Israel relationship, and throughout medical school and residency I carved out time to stay involved, whether by working as a cantorial soloist leading religious services, learning from inspirational Jewish leaders by reading their books, attending conferences, or bringing my favorites to teach my friends and colleagues at lunch-and-learns I organized. But traveling to Israel on different programs was always the highlight because it made everything tangible, and left me with a taste of wanting more.

An awe-inspiring tenth trip to Israel, this time as a JNFuture volunteer

The author threshes wheat at LOTEM's ecological farm during his JNFuture Volunteer Vacation in Israel.  

JNFuture Volunteer Vacation brings Jewish young adults to Israel for a week to volunteer and tour the country. Here, Steve Postal of Washington D.C., who participated in the JVV, that ended earlier this month, shares his impressions of the experience. The next JNFuture Volunteer Vacation takes place from December 25 of this year though January 1, 2017. It's not too early to plan ahead!  

By Steve Postal 

To quote the great Israeli rock band Mashina, אין מקום אחר, there is no other place. 

This was my tenth trip to Israel (my second with JNF), but unique for me because it focused on the north.

The north's stunning beauty left me in awe. The grottos of Rosh Hanikra; Israel’s first accessible nature trail in Nachal Hashofet (in partnership with LOTEM-Making Nature Accessible); and the lush green hills of the Western Galilee complimented the eclectic rooftops of Jerusalem’s Old City and the white sand beaches of Tel Aviv we saw later on the tour. We stayed in the beautiful Kibbutz NirEtzion, with a night sky so crisp you could see three planets at once (Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn). Yes, this was verified by a smartphone app!