Eight young people involved in JEWISHcolorado’s Young Adult Division (YAD) recently traveled to Israel as part of an exchange program with young Israelis from JEWISHcolorado’s partner region, Ramat HaNegev. The Israeli cohort had visited Colorado earlier this year, and the exchange came full circle with the Colorado cohort’s trip to Ramat HaNegev and other parts of Israel in May. JEWISHcolorado sat down with two members of the YAD group and talked about the impact of the trip on their lives.
Lauren Hughes
Lauren grew up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and now lives in Steamboat Springs where she is a development director for a nonprofit that works with people affected by domestic violence and child abuse. This was her second trip to Israel.
When I talked to Jillian Feiger (Director of Teen and Israel Engagement) and Katherine Podolak (YAD Manager), I realized this would not just be a sightseeing tourist trip. We would have the ability to meet people and make connections. I went to Israel because I wanted to hear the stories and understand the perspectives of the people living in Ramat HaNegev and other parts of the country.
Meeting Rabbi Kolby in Steamboat inspired me to start a Young Adult program at our synagogue Har Mishpacha. In just the past two years, I have grown the program so that I now have 100 people on my newsletter list! People have come to know me as a leader of young adult Jews in Steamboat, so I thought it was important that I join this trip and bring home what I learned.
Most people who go to Israel go to Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I enjoyed spending time in Ramat HaNegev, in the desert. It was great to experience a slower-paced life, and I loved spending time with the women who were in the Ramat HaNegev cohort that visited Denver.
When you watch what is going on in Israel from afar, you might think that Israelis would see things as very black and white—“This is my opinion, it is a fact, I am not willing to listen to any other information.” But in fact, I found that the Israelis we met talked about October and the political climate in the country in a much more nuanced way. It was not just black and white—there was a lot of grey.
I was also surprised by the extent to which Israeli Jews are worried about antisemitism in the U.S. We were there during the shooting of the young couple in D.C., and the reaction I saw around me was “War is terrible, but we see what our brothers and sisters are going through overseas as well.”
There were people I met on this trip that I will never forget. At Nitzana, the educational youth village, we met a young Muslim woman who is an English teacher. She teaches Bedouin children who don’t think she can be a teacher because she is a woman, and she teaches Jewish children who don’t trust her because she is Muslim. And yet, she was so graceful and kind. She talked about how she cannot solve world issues by herself, but she believes that if she can influence the thinking of just one student, that could make a difference.
This young Muslim woman in the desert was just astounding to me. We talk a lot about “doing the work.” Well, she is actually doing the work of building true bridges of peace.
We visited Holit, a kibbutz near the border of Gaza that was attacked by Hamas on October 7th, and we spoke with a woman who survived the attack by hiding in her safe room. She said it was “hell on earth.” This kibbutz is not a place where tourists go. We went because of the relationships JEWISHcolorado has in Israel, particularly in Ramat HaNegev, and that is one advantage of going on a trip like this. All the residents at the kibbutz have been displaced from their homes. The woman told us, “No one wants to live in a ghost town with the ghosts.”
Going on the YAD trip reinforced my sense of my Jewish identity. When questions about Israel come up from coworkers or friends, I have greater confidence, and I also have a new perspective and understanding to share. I have been to Israel, I have listened to multiple people, and I want Americans to hear what they are saying.
This trip also means that I have a community of young Jewish people in Denver that I did not have before—and they are welcome to come to Steamboat! So YAD is connecting Jews beyond the Front Range. And I also made new Israeli friends, and we will stay connected.
But I want to make clear that even though I have more knowledge after this trip, I have even more questions. I think that it’s important that we continue to ask questions, have conversations, and start from a place of genuine willingness to listen. The best way to do that is to take a trip to Israel.
Alex Markovitch
Alex grew up in Central Illinois and now lives in Denver with his husband. He is an architect who specializes in the design of sports, recreation, and entertainment facilities, as well as multifamily housing.
I had never been to Israel before this trip though I had wanted to go for many years. Every time I had a trip planned out, some big roadblock would pop up and force me to cancel.
I come from an interfaith background and decided for myself at a young age that it was important I identify as Jewish. I have always been fascinated by Israel because it’s this unexplored part of my story, filled with ancient and modern history, and it’s a place where, as a Jew, you don’t have to constantly question whether you belong or not.
To me, this seemed like a unique time to go because Israel is in the news almost every day, and there are countless stories waiting to be heard. The Israel I encountered was a place of deep contrasts. I would be sitting outside in the desert, admiring these beautiful jacaranda trees and listening to children play, and in the midst of this peaceful moment, I would hear an almost constant rumbling in the distance. It didn’t take long to realize that the rumbling was the war in Gaza.
One mother I talked with said sometimes she just tells her children that the rumbling is thunder. It’s not normal, but life goes on in Israel.
We visited Kibbutz Holit, a beautiful agrarian community nestled along the Gaza Envelope, that was attacked on October 7th. There were these lush flowering plants all around, but as you looked toward the horizon, you could see the smoke rising above Gaza. It was this strange juxtaposition of beauty and war.
Until this trip, I didn’t fully appreciate to what degree October 7th was still so immediate for people. They wanted to talk about that day. They wanted to bear witness to people they loved and lost. It’s gut-wrenching because the war is not over, the hostages are not back, and the trauma is ongoing. It permeates everything.
One afternoon, we had a memorable lunch in Ofakim, not too far from the site of the massacre at the Nova Festival. Our chef was this local woman named Osi who had spent her time and efforts after October 7th feeding the community. She told us the story of how a Hamas rocket landed in her front driveway but failed to fully detonate. It left this hole in her driveway; she kept the shell, and she covered the hole with a piece of glass to preserve it. She described this experience as a miracle, and the hole was evidence of protection from G-d that she wanted to memorialize. Her entire attitude was, “How can I find the good in any situation?”
Another strong memory will be wandering through the Old City of Jerusalem and going to the Western Wall for the first time. I walked up to the Kotel with my tiny prayer scribbled on a scrap of paper and slipped it into a crack. Being in that place, surrounded by so many other people making a similar pilgrimage, was a powerful and deeply Jewish experience.
On Shabbat, I had lunch with the Gesundheit family in the community of Retamim. The wife was also an architect, so we immediately bonded over that and talked about Israeli design and architecture quite a bit. She showed us around the amazing house that she designed with her husband. At the end of the visit, they walked with us back to our Airbnb. I make linocut and wood block prints and had brought a few with me, so I gave her one as a gift. It was a connection I didn’t expect to have on this trip.
My main interest in life is community building, and this trip certainly offered that. You meet tons of people and get the chance to learn about each other. The Israelis gained insight into American Jewish life, including the experience of antisemitism, and the American Jews came to better understand the realities of living in the world’s only Jewish state during a time of conflict. My sense of the Israelis I met was that they just want a return to peace and normalcy.
I developed friendships with many of the other participants on this YAD trip, and I expanded my Colorado Jewish community in the process. This trip also made me feel more connected to a global Jewish community. I met all these exceptional people who were helping to create this special refuge and homeland for Jews. I think this is really an important mission in a world where Jews are not necessarily welcome everywhere.
Having friends in Ramat HaNegev has deepened my connection to Israel. It’s not so abstract anymore—it’s a real connection and it makes me feel more invested in their future. Even though there were near constant reminders of the ongoing war, I felt surprisingly safe and comfortable. It felt like I just belonged there, and I definitely intend to go back.