JNF a Different Way to Spring Break
A group of some 35 college students, including eight Atlantans, just returned from an arduous, but deeply fulfilling week in the Negev Desert spent building, digging, hiking, sweating, straining, sharing and most of all, learning about Israel and their connection to the land and people.
The 18-to-30-year-olds were on the Jewish National Fund's Alternative Spring Break volunteer program. The project sends them deep into Israel's southlands, where they work at public service projects in economically hard-hit development towns, and participate in landscaping and reforestation initiatives throughout the slowly greening wilderness.
The students also get a taste of Israel's breathtaking natural beauty on hikes though the Negev's wadis and hills, and, woven through it all, a serious message about Zionism, and the value of reclaiming the land, and finding their part in it.
Alyssa Blumenfeld, 20, of East Cobb is one of them. She's a junior at the University of Virginia, and came away from the trip deeply moved.
The students also get a taste of Israel's breathtaking natural beauty on hikes though the Negev's wadis and hills, and, woven through it all, a serious message about Zionism, and the value of reclaiming the land, and finding their part in it.
Alyssa Blumenfeld, 20, of East Cobb is one of them. She's a junior at the University of Virginia, and came away from the trip deeply moved.
For Blumenfeld, the most affecting part of the seven-day sojourn came on Thursday evening after their bus pulled into the Western Wall Plaza in Jerusalem. There, they came upon a group of Israeli youth, not so unlike them in age or manner, but sporting army berets and new Israeli Defense Forces khaki, and swearing on a gun and Bible to place themselves in harms way to protect the Jewish State.
“We were at the Kotel, and there was an army induction ceremony going on, and I have to say – that was really one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced, she said.
“We were at the Kotel, and there was an army induction ceremony going on, and I have to say – that was really one of the most powerful things I've ever experienced, she said.
”We cried out of love and respect for everyone in the security forces fighting for this land and for us - it's just incredible,” Blumenfeld mused.
In order to take part in the program, the students are tasked with raising a minimum of just under a thousand dollars towards their trip – whether via busting the piggy bank, calling in old loans, or on old relatives. The funds go directly towards the JNF's Blueprint Negev program, which the organization touts as a “far-reaching and visionary plan to increase the area’s population and improve living conditions for all of its inhabitants.”
JNF kicks in the cost of airfare to Israel and the rest of the trip, thanks to backing by “generous donors.”
The students are only responsible for airfare on the domestic travel, to get to the starting point with the group – no small cost nowadays between jetfuel costs, and security and other surcharges. But the clearing the fees and other hurdles along the way only seemed to have whetted the appetite for more of Israel among this group.
“I wanted to be a tourist, but I wanted to be something more,” said Ross Hoddeson, 19, of Westchester, New York.
Hoddeson is studying business and marketing at Emory University and has visited Israel twice before, the last trip with birthright Israel last summer. After that jaunt, he decided he wanted more of Israel, up close, sweaty and personal:
JNF kicks in the cost of airfare to Israel and the rest of the trip, thanks to backing by “generous donors.”
The students are only responsible for airfare on the domestic travel, to get to the starting point with the group – no small cost nowadays between jetfuel costs, and security and other surcharges. But the clearing the fees and other hurdles along the way only seemed to have whetted the appetite for more of Israel among this group.
“I wanted to be a tourist, but I wanted to be something more,” said Ross Hoddeson, 19, of Westchester, New York.
Hoddeson is studying business and marketing at Emory University and has visited Israel twice before, the last trip with birthright Israel last summer. After that jaunt, he decided he wanted more of Israel, up close, sweaty and personal:
Many of the group members are birthright alumni, and view it as a natural next step to weaving Israel deeper into their lives.
“I wanted to experience Israel in it's core, and see the desert and more of the unknown territory and not just the tourist attractions,” Hoddeson said.
And he got his wish in spades: Ironically, despite being based in town and villages across the Negev, Hoddeson found the desert treks the hardest part of the sojourn. He wasn't quite prepared for the physical demands of the week-long workout:
"I knew it was going to be hot, but I'd heard that in March, it's not that bad – and that's a complete lie,” he said, laughing.
The group starts it's morning at 6:30 am, several hours earlier than Hoddeson, who says his first class at Emory starts at the crack of noon, is used to. They spent one morning engaged in building a reclaimed-tire playground for a school in Yerucham, a small, struggling desert town with many Ethiopian immigrants.
On another morning, the group was in the thick of it – literally – picking grapefruit deep among the branches and spiny thorns of a citrus orchard. The orchard's owner later donated the day's pick to the needy.
The group starts it's morning at 6:30 am, several hours earlier than Hoddeson, who says his first class at Emory starts at the crack of noon, is used to. They spent one morning engaged in building a reclaimed-tire playground for a school in Yerucham, a small, struggling desert town with many Ethiopian immigrants.
On another morning, the group was in the thick of it – literally – picking grapefruit deep among the branches and spiny thorns of a citrus orchard. The orchard's owner later donated the day's pick to the needy.
But besides the strenuous physical activities, the program also nourishes a higher goal of tightening the student's connection to Israel. Many are from homes where Israel awareness may not be that high, and study at schools where unabashed, and even non-political support for Israel can come under withering criticism from other students and sometimes even professors.
But members say the program is a potent antidote to a chronic waning Jewish and Zionist identity in some of their communities.
Hoddeson said the program will stay with him – and not just as a memory. While he “definitely felt a stronger spiritual connection,” in Jerusalem, “in terms of playing out in other experiences in future years, I definitely feel that I'm going to come back.”
But members say the program is a potent antidote to a chronic waning Jewish and Zionist identity in some of their communities.
Hoddeson said the program will stay with him – and not just as a memory. While he “definitely felt a stronger spiritual connection,” in Jerusalem, “in terms of playing out in other experiences in future years, I definitely feel that I'm going to come back.”
And, he added, not before spreading the word about Alternative Spring Break:
“Yes – trying to get other friends and family to realize how important it is, not only to serve [in Israel], but to pay homage and get a broader understanding of our home,” Hoddeson said.
“I would tell them it's a really rewarding experience; you really get to meet - not just regular Israelis - but you really get to see how your work is assisting new immigrants and impoverished people who moved here from other countries, and you get to see the joy on their faces from the work that you put in.”
“Yes – trying to get other friends and family to realize how important it is, not only to serve [in Israel], but to pay homage and get a broader understanding of our home,” Hoddeson said.
“I would tell them it's a really rewarding experience; you really get to meet - not just regular Israelis - but you really get to see how your work is assisting new immigrants and impoverished people who moved here from other countries, and you get to see the joy on their faces from the work that you put in.”
And for group member Adam Maslia, 20, from the Briarcliff, Lavista Rd. area of town, that sense of satisfaction is everything. 
Adam attends Or V'Shalom synagogue and is a junior at the College of Charleston.
After work, lunch and a hike or similar activity later in the afternoon, Adam says members - who are all in fraternities or sororities - spend the evenings digesting the day's experiences:
Adam attends Or V'Shalom synagogue and is a junior at the College of Charleston.
After work, lunch and a hike or similar activity later in the afternoon, Adam says members - who are all in fraternities or sororities - spend the evenings digesting the day's experiences:
"...and so we'll talk about how we can bring some of the stuff we've been doing to our fraternities and sororities – philanthropies and service and things like that,” said Maslia.
He said that, besides fruit picking and hiking, the best part of the tour for him was the landscaping work:
“So, it's not just like we're out in the desert planting, but we're at places where people are living, where we know that people will notice the changes that we're making,” he said.
Maslia said while he wasn't totally prepared for the tough hoeing and field work, team leaders made it clear from the start that this wasn't your typical cushy “Off-the-bus, on-the-bus,” kind of Israel experience:
“They definitely were very up-front with it; we knew that we were going to be working hard, and that was very clear from the very beginning,” Maslia said, but adds that it was worth the sweat and sore muscles.
“So, it's not just like we're out in the desert planting, but we're at places where people are living, where we know that people will notice the changes that we're making,” he said.
Maslia said while he wasn't totally prepared for the tough hoeing and field work, team leaders made it clear from the start that this wasn't your typical cushy “Off-the-bus, on-the-bus,” kind of Israel experience:
“They definitely were very up-front with it; we knew that we were going to be working hard, and that was very clear from the very beginning,” Maslia said, but adds that it was worth the sweat and sore muscles.
“It's very draining, but it's fulfilling at the same time,” he said.
The experience for him was reminiscent of images from the pages of Israel's history of taming the wilds of the Negev many decades ago, primarily, then, as well as now, through the backbreaking efforts of the JNF:
The experience for him was reminiscent of images from the pages of Israel's history of taming the wilds of the Negev many decades ago, primarily, then, as well as now, through the backbreaking efforts of the JNF:
”As I struggled to cultivate the rocky and sun-baked Israel soil, an experience that I would not have traded for any other spring break trip,” Adam says the work makes you, “feel like one of the original settling pioneers.”
Adam says the labor helped him realize “that I want Israel to be here, forever,” adding, “I'm hoping that the work we're doing will foster that, and by beautifying and making these more permanent roots within Israel; it'll be hard for someone to take that away from us.”
Adam said he encourages Atlantans to help the JNF, and, “donate their time, donate their money.”
Digging into their and Israel's roots along with Adam, Aylssa, and Ross on the JNF Alternative Spring Break were Atlantans Adam Ginsberg, Shelley Kenith, Sydney Lampert, Noah Scherz, and Mike Seidman.
Dave Bender is a freelance journalist living in Israel and reporting as our exclusive Atlantajewishnews.com correspondent from Israel. He can be reached at dave@atlantajewishnews.com. Find out more about him and see his variety of multi-media work at www.davebrianbender.com.
Adam says the labor helped him realize “that I want Israel to be here, forever,” adding, “I'm hoping that the work we're doing will foster that, and by beautifying and making these more permanent roots within Israel; it'll be hard for someone to take that away from us.”
Adam said he encourages Atlantans to help the JNF, and, “donate their time, donate their money.”
Digging into their and Israel's roots along with Adam, Aylssa, and Ross on the JNF Alternative Spring Break were Atlantans Adam Ginsberg, Shelley Kenith, Sydney Lampert, Noah Scherz, and Mike Seidman.
Dave Bender is a freelance journalist living in Israel and reporting as our exclusive Atlantajewishnews.com correspondent from Israel. He can be reached at dave@atlantajewishnews.com. Find out more about him and see his variety of multi-media work at www.davebrianbender.com.
By DAVE BENDER
