Life-Changing Journey

On June 13, 2010, we em-barked on an unforgettable, life-changing journey. Admittedly, the majority of teens who take trips to Israel claim their trips to be life-changing, but our trip with Write On For Israel (WOFI) was a truly unique experience.

WOFI is a two-year Israel advocacy program for high school juniors and seniors that equips teens with the resources, facts and skills to defend Israel on college campuses, because that is the battlefront of the anti-Israel war. Throughout this past year we had eight seven-hour learning sessions that included Israel’s history, current events, and instruction in hard and soft advocacy (culture).
We thought we knew Israel. Now we realize that you cannot possibly advocate for something unless you’ve experienced it. REALLY experienced it. And not by riding camels and swimming in the Dead Sea, neither of which we did on our trip. We experienced the real Israel. We interviewed people while waiting at falafel stands, talked with taxi drivers about their understanding of various topics including the Arab-Israeli conflict, listened to speakers representing various points of view, and rushed all over Tel Aviv as part of an educational scavenger hunt.

I now realize I took home with me more than mosquito bites and a sunburn. My love and pride for my Jewish homeland has never been so strong. What more could I possibly need to make my connection with Israel even stronger? Another trip, of course.