Andy Babitz

By Andy Babitz

Every Jew should visit Israel because Israel is our home.  It is the home of our people's past, present and future.  The incredible miracle of a modern state of Israel is the culmination of 2,000 years of hope, prayer, faith and survival.  When you step off the plane in Tel Aviv, you can honestly feel the spiritual connection to your entire people's history.  When you walk the streets of the old city in Jerusalem, you are literally walking where our ancestors and our great forefathers walked, prayed, lived and loved.  Throughout the entire history of the Jewish People, we have lived in many different countries, but Israel has always been our home.  If you have not been, you do not understand when I say that when you are in Israel, it feels like you are home.  No matter your political leanings or your feelings towards the current government in the United States or Israel, you can be a Jew in Israel and be home.  

Leslie Yoffie

By Leslie Yoffie

Every Jew should visit Israel...at least twice! Once to see all of the important historical sites. Return to explore the Israeli people and culture.

WARNING: You will become addicted to Israel.

Jamie Goldstein

By Jamie Goldstein

Although my visit to Israel included many unforgettable moments, my favorite memory was the day I visited the Western Wall. After walking through Jerusalem, I rounded the corner and saw the Western Wall for the first time. It was a beautiful view with the Dome of the Rock in the background, just like I imagined. Throughout my life I have seen numerous pictures from this spot and heard many stories from friends and family that visited. But at that very moment when I saw it with my own eyes, I felt an overwhelming, satisfying and peaceful feeling. After placing my prayer note into a crevice in the Wall I was able to share this experience with a wonderful group of women. I am grateful to have such an incredible memory from my trip to Israel.

Rick Recht

By Rick Recht, United Hebrew's Artist in Residence

Even before I visited Israel for the first time, I felt an innate connection with the Holy Land as well as the important place it held in my family history.  My mother who was impoverished as a child always dreamed of going to Israel and saved all of her money to eventually travel there, not just for herself, but for her Zionist father who never had the opportunity to visit during his lifetime.  My mother dreamt that someday, she would have a child and he would have his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Israel.  She continued saving her money with my father, and when I was 13, as she had dreamed, I had my Bar Mitzvah at the Wall in Israel.  35 years later, I’m proud to say that both of our children have had THEIR bar mitzvah’s in Jerusalem. 

There are so many layers to the beauty, strength, spirituality, and miracle we find in Israel… and all of these things deeply touch my Jewish soul.  Israel is a thread through generations and generation of hundreds of thousands of people who have hoped and dreamed of a homeland for the Jewish people… and I’m blessed to have lived in this sliver of time when my family could sew this thread through our own personal family story.  

Melissa Wallace

By Melissa Wallace

I was fortunate enough to go to Israel as part of the Rubin Israel experience and I can honestly say it changed my life. I can still remember stepping out of the airport into the strong Israeli sunshine and feeling like I was Home.

I have so many amazing memories but one of my favorite is sitting in an ancient orthodox synagogue on Shabbat morning in Jerusalem. I was sitting on the women’s side listening to the service. I turned to look through the beautiful stone arched window to my left and the view literally took my breath away. The shutters were open to let in the warm breeze, and I sat there gazing at the walls of the old city, almost in disbelief that I was actually there. I remember thinking I will never forget this moment, and I never have.

Tammi Laiderman

By Tammi Laiderman

The most meaningful memory I have from visiting Israel was visiting Yad Vashem. It was so powerful being in Israel and experiencing the deep emotions you feel as you wander through Yad Vashem. I felt as though I was walking in my fathers shoes as they told the story of the families from Prague. A truly deep and moving experience for me.

70 Voices for Israel - A Countdown to Yom Ha'atzma'ut

Seventy - ע - 70 

The Mahara”l of Prague writes that the number seven represents the entirety of this natural world, which was created in seven days (six days of creation, completed on the Sabbath) and which will last for seven thousand years (six thousand years, plus a thousand-year Sabbath - see Talmud Sanhedrin 97a). And any number times ten represents its expanded full potential – so that seventy of something represents all the potential facets of that thing in the natural world.

In 70 days, the State of Israel will be celebrating it's 70th year of independence.  70 years of the Jewish people having a state of their own, a place where Judaism and democracy exist and Jews have self sovereignty.  Israel is still a young country, and it is not perfect, but its existence is a testament of the strength and faith of the Jewish people.  It is a dream realized after thousands of years.  

 As the words of Hatikvah remind us, "As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart, with eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion, then our hope - the two-thousand year old hope - will not be lost: to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem."

For the next 70 days, as we look toward this momentous occasion, we celebrate with 70 voices, your voices, the voices of United Hebrew that continue to hope, to love, to dream, to experience Israel!

May we cherish and learn from the past 70 years and look forward with hope at the amazing potential of the next 70!  And, may this year, be the year, that Israel and her neighbors know peace!

“Welcome back” by Ethan Guller

These were the words I had heard when I first stepped foot into Jerusalem. I remember thinking, how could my tour guide be welcoming me back to a place that I have never been? Throughout my trip, I thought more about what he had said. As I further explored Jerusalem and talked to the citizens, I finally began to understand the deeper meaning. I saw the struggles that went into creating this beautiful country. I thought about the millions of lives that had been lost, many of whom were my family members. And then I thought about the people who never had the opportunity to experience our amazing homeland. I realized my trip to Israel was for more than just me, it was for all my ancestors. When my tour guide welcomed me back, he welcomed us all back to the one place that will forever be ours. Even though I live thousands of miles away, Israel will always be my home, and I am glad there will always be someone there to welcome me back.