An Experience to Remember - Micayla's time in Israel

            I flew to Israel on the 12th of May 2025 with an excitement that I had not felt in a long time. The path in front of me was uncertain, but that's what made it so utterly thrilling. I was electrified with the unknown, I was yet to know what I would see, taste, experience, who I would meet. Being evacuated from Israel was that much more devastating knowing the excitement I had upon arriving, yet I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world. 

Birthright marked the beginning of my stay in Israel and I was lucky enough to be surrounded by my friends from university. We began our trip in Tzfat where around every corner was a new, spectacular view of the Sea of Galilee
and history was practically baked into every limestone brick. We ended our visit by walking through alleys of jewelry shops and art galleries, another aspect that the city was known for. Tzfat’s art scene had been struggling since the war in Gaza began and I felt proud to be supporting the city. 

We stayed in the north of Israel for another night and then traveled south to Jerusalem. I remember this being my favorite leg of the trip as we visited the Western Wall, Har Herzl and Yad Vashem, all places that I had been before but had not seen in a post-october 7th world. As a young Jew in the diaspora, being in our holy city during the war with Gaza was a reminder of Jewish resilience. Through it all, from the days of pharaoh to the days of Hamas we are still here, we were alive, and it seemed that absolutely nothing could shake the spirit of the Jewish people. I was grateful to have walked the streets of the old city and to bear witness to the many holy and historical sites once more. I understood how many Jewish lives had been taken, and how many were currently being risked, so that my generation and each after could live and experience the land of Israel. So that we would have this place of Jewish unity regardless of what struggles the world burdened us with. 

The rest of our trip was spent in other parts of central and southern Israel where we got to see Tel Aviv and its vibrant nightlife, sleep under the stars in Bedouin tents, and view the Dead Sea from the top of Masada. Among one of our stops was the Nova Music Festival memorial, where over 300 innocent jews were murdered and others taken hostage. Nova was intensely jarring, how recently it had happened. It was as if we could still hear the music or see the rising sun after a night of dancing. Though, I was easily brought back to reality with every boom heard, coming from just a few miles away in the gaza strip. That same day we visited the city of Sderot and were once again reminded of the brilliant resilience of Israel. After the destruction that the city had experienced in the past year and a half they were still out and living, music could be heard from every restaurant window and residents were out enjoying the fine spring day. It was as though nothing had happened, but we all knew that this place had been irreversibly changed. 

After Birthright ended, I was sad to say goodbye to an extremely fulfilling 10-day period as well as the new connections I made during the trip. Though, I knew that this was just the beginning. I began working with the Ethiopian National Project within the next week and I could not have been happier to support their cause. After the past two years on a college campus, I was extremely motivated to support the Jewish state in any way I could. ENP gave me this opportunity, to support the Ethiopian-Jewish community in Israel. I was reminded everyday of the purpose and importance of Israel, regardless of race, nationality, or ethnicity we are all united under a Jewish state. I was reminded that wherever you may be in the world, as a Jew you will always have a place in Israel where you can live freely and express your Jewish identity without fear of violence or hate. 

This is why leaving Israel when the 12-day war with Iran started was sad, surreal, and bizzare all at the same time. When Israel originally struck Iran the specific live and work program that I was a part of had us gather in a Tel Aviv hotel for the foreseeable future. We were later then informed that we would be sent to Eilat until further notice, and during our time in Eilat we were told that we would be evacuated by boat to Cyprus. During the evacuation, it almost felt fake. We were told that cutting our time in Israel short would happen only in the most extreme and dangerous situations, and there I was on my way out of Israel. I think it took me and many of my peers a while to understand both the gravity and significance of the situation until we had stepped foot back in the United States. Many of us had travelled to 4 different countries within the span of 3 days. I felt like every time we had a second of peace, it was surely interrupted by a new and shocking detail about our evolving situation. 

I felt that when I got home, I most definitely wanted to continue working with ENP. Now, after everything that has happened in Israel it seemed extremely important to support the state and its people in any way I can. Regardless of how far away I am, ENP gives me the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of Israeli-Ethiopian communities and youth, a cherished privilege. 

- Micayla Horowitz