Birthright Israel Participants’ Resilience and Deep Love of Israel During Evacuation

This article appeared in The Jerusalem Post on June 20, 2025.

When a group of young Jews landed in Israel with expectations of volunteering in their ancestral homeland and enjoying a milestone trip many in the Diaspora partake in, they hadn’t anticipated Israel launching an attack on Iran and the resulting war that would follow.

Many would assume these young adults would have desired nothing more than to flee the country out of panic and dread without so much as a backward glance. However, three participants from the Birthright Israel group that was forced to be canceled spoke to The Jerusalem Post to share their experiences.

Eli, Sam, and Daniel didn’t speak of trauma, anxiety, or dread. Instead, they spoke of resilience, connection, love, and heartache over having to leave their beloved homeland.

The group’s scheduled week-long trip was based in Tel Aviv, with an emphasis on volunteer work and visiting the sites of the October 7 tragedies.

The group spent the first two and a half days of their trip bonding and traveling in the South. They visited Sderot and the site of the Nova music festival, and participated in volunteer farming. On Friday, they were scheduled to volunteer with the Hostages and Missing Families Forum and the Aguda (Israeli LGBTQ+ association).

In the early hours of Friday morning, the group was abruptly awoken to the sounds of sirens in Tel Aviv.

Daniel described the chaotic but warm environment in the shelter, saying that “the group was generally helping each other lift spirits, keeping everyone calm and safe in the shelter areas. Families calling from home, worried about hearing the news and the unknown of the situation, probably added to the toll. For the most part, I think people were just mostly upset at the lack of sleep.”

In another shelter, Sam described how there was one participant from the group who was in Israel on October 7. All of the sirens were very triggering for him, and he was panicking and worried that they wouldn’t be able to get out of Israel now.

Birthright Israel reached out to their unsettled participants in a message giving them security updates and letting them know that “all Birthright Israel groups currently in Israel have paused their programming until further notice.” It then went on to reassure the participants that the organization was in continuous contact with Israeli security authorities.

The youth Israel program group ended its message on an optimistic note, saying, “We are monitoring the situation in real time and will resume regular programming as soon as it is deemed safe.” Unfortunately, the Iranians were not in agreement with these plans.

The group was excited to spend their Friday volunteering at the Pride preparations in Tel Aviv. But, with the march and related activities having been canceled, they no longer had anything left to do with their day aside from sitting anxiously and waiting for the next siren. They quickly realized that the situation was much more serious than a siren or two.

After a Shabbat in Tel Aviv, there were more sirens, and a missile impacted the major central Israeli city. “Our apartment was next to ‘the Kirya’ [urban military base]; we felt the building shake,” Eli recalled.

Sam described how it felt to be in Tel Aviv while hearing rockets fall. Even though “it was kind of nerve-wracking… you hear how Israel is good at rockets, that’s chill – everything will be fine, no one dies from this,” she recalled.“

The Home Front app has its own sounds, and it makes these crazy rocket sounds, and has its own sirens,” she told the Post. “Your phone is making noises, too – the phone scared me the most actually.”

Saturday night, the participants received another message from Birthright. Based on the security situation, the group decided to relocate participants to Mitzpe Ramon, where they would be able to relax in the desert and continue their educational programming.“

All participants have been instructed to pack all of their belongings,” the message said. “Our goal is to support them in securing a return flight home as soon as conditions allow and commercial flights become available.”

At this point, all air travel to and from Israel had been halted, and many parents of the volunteers were panicking as to how their children would return home amid the threats from Iran.

The Birthright Israel letter continued, “Participants who have chosen to stay with family instead of joining the group have been issued a waiver. These individuals are no longer considered part of the program. However, should outbound flight options become available for the group, these individuals will still receive guidance to help facilitate their return as well.”

Many with friends and family in the country were mulling over whether or not to leave the program. The idea of going to the desert was not what the participants had signed up for.

“When they told us we were going to the South, I was thinking they were talking about the area next to Gaza,” Emily recalled. “When we were in Sderot, we heard the bombs dropping. I didn’t want to be there, but then they told us that no, the Negev is different, so we went.”

The participants were told on their group chat, “We will go there tomorrow at 9. We will be in a hotel with three meals a day (full board). We will be there until Thursday, and then we will decide what to do. The moment the airport is operating, we will book you a flight back home.”

They were sent further messages saying, “In case you choose to stay with family here in Israel and not join the group as we head South, please make sure you understand that you are officially removing yourself from the program. For those who choose to do so, a waiver will be sent out. Due to the situation, your security deposit will be refunded.”

They were also told that any participants who chose to stay with their family would still be included in any flight home that became available.

The group arrived in Mitzpe Ramon on Sunday and was told that they would be there until Thursday.

In the end, everyone decided to remain with the group and see what the desert had to offer. The participants did volunteer work and spent their time at the hotel, enjoying the accommodations and the delicious buffet spread for each meal.

Eli described the lively scene in Mitzpe Ramon. “The whole hotel is different Birthright Israel groups; it feels like a mix of summer camp and an extended Shabbaton here.”

Daniel said, “Mitzpe Ramon at first wasn’t so exciting, but once we arrived, we definitely felt the trip got an upgrade! Unfortunately, it had to be because of a war.”

They also went and did some volunteering, digging trenches for a fence on a farm nearby. When they returned from their volunteer work, the group was given an update from Birthright Israel. They had found an option to get the participants home safely.

“I had mixed feelings about this news, because on one hand, we were really enjoying ourselves at the new hotel in Mitzpe Ramon, and on the other hand, a lot of people wanted to go home due to the war, and also due to the lack of continuation of a lot of the Birthright Israel trips,” Daniel explained.

On Monday afternoon, the group was offered a boat ride via Ashdod Port to Cyprus, where they could catch flights home. Any onward programming would be canceled. All expenses were to be covered by Birthright Israel.

If any participants wished to remain in Israel, they had the option of signing a waiver to leave the group. However, unlike the other waivers, they were not offered the option of Birthright Israel again ensuring their return home. This was the only return option they would be providing.

Sam, who was scheduled to join the Onward internship program in Israel for the rest of the summer after her volunteer work ended, felt very torn. Due to the security situation, however, Onward canceled all accommodations, and she felt the only option that made sense at that point was to get on the boat.

She had to be convinced to leave. “I was really ready to stay, my heart was pulling me to Israel. I really wanted to stay, but Israel isn’t going anywhere, and I’ll be back,” she said.

“What happened was all crazy timing, but we really got to experience the real Israeli situation,” Sam said. “I feel bad leaving when people can’t even leave.

”On the bus ride to Ashdod, Eli described with a laugh how an IDF soldier came onto the bus and said, “Shalom to everyone. There are no bathrooms here, and you can’t get off the bus, so anyway it is not relevant. If there are rockets, you get off the bus, lie on the ground, and pray to God. Am Israel Chai [the nation of Israel lives].”The group then had an impromptu certificate ceremony on the bus for their volunteer work during the trip once they reached the Ashdod Port.

Everyone was sad to leave, but they all insisted they would do it again. And then everyone from the group, except Daniel, boarded the boat to head to Cyprus.

When asked about his feelings on leaving the country, Eli said, “There was this overall spirit of resolve to return to Israel. It didn’t feel like an escape but a temporary leave to return again.”

Sam poignantly described it as being “a bittersweet feeling, truly, but we had an amazing, amazing group of people, we all actually fell in love with each other, we call it trauma bonding for life. I’m telling you: we all would do it again.”

Daniel, who stayed in Israel, said, “Everyone was sad to see it end, even though they were mostly excited to go back home.”

When asked about their overall feelings about the whirlwind trip, Eli said that “everyone on the program was really thankful for the experience, even with all the evacuations and surprises. It was a good bonding moment.”

Daniel said, “Personally, I would absolutely do it again. Being in Israel is great, but there’s something special about being a ‘tourist’ on a group tour.”

Sam told the Post that it was the “craziest trip of our lives, but I wouldn’t take it back for the world: I would do it ten more times if I could!”

These young adults showed that resilience is not just within the bones of the citizens of Israel, but within the blood of the Jewish people, from wherever in the world they may be.