Birthright Israel Foundation Blog

Halley and Joe Lipsky's love story began at JFK Airport on January 1, 2014, waiting to board a flight to Israel. As the entire Birthright Israel group made their way through El Al security, Halley and Joe were held back for a minute. This was when they started chatting and never stopped getting to know each other for the remainder… Read More 

In June 2019, when Mike and Lindsay departed for Israel, they hoped to meet new friends. They each had chosen a Miami-based Birthright Israel trip, hoping to connect with young Jews in their community. However, they each got much more than friendship. Read our interview to learn more about their Birthright Israel love story! Q&A with Mike and Lindsay  What… Read More 

Melissa and Dor Flayshman met on January 9, 2009, a few days into their Birthright Israel trip. Dor was one of the Mifgash (Israeli soldiers) and Melissa remembers he spoke fluent English and was very funny. She specifically remembers being instantly drawn to him and by that first evening, the pair was inseparable. It was hard saying goodbye once their… Read More 

For nearly all 20-plus years of Birthright Israel, Palm Beach area philanthropists and alumni have played a significant role in the organization. Nestled in Florida's Gold Coast, Palm Beach is home to one of America's largest Jewish communities making it an ideal place for nonprofits, such as Birthright Israel to thrive. Since the program's founding, over 4,000 young Jews from our Palm… Read More 

We both fell in love with Israel from our first trips, me at 15 and Matthew at 20. As we got older, we wanted to share that love with others and both began staffing travel programs to Israel, including Birthright Israel trips and we are both Birthright Israel Fellows (from different cohorts). In December of 2016, we were both staffing… Read More 

Are you a fan of the hit reality TV show 90 Day Fiancé? Well, if you are, then you're probably familiar with the most famous Birthright Israel love story ever - Loren and Alexei Brovarnik. In 2013, when Loren (Goldstone) Brovarnik, a Birthright Israel alumna, volunteered to be a madricha (trip staff) and boarded a plane bound for Israel, she… Read More 

Julie and Asher’s love story began in Israel in 2015 on a Birthright Israel trip when a nice American girl met a nice Israeli boy. After the trip, Julie returned to New Jersey and Asher moved to Munich, Germany but the distance couldn’t keep them apart. Asher soon caught a flight to New Jersey to celebrate Thanksgiving and to hang out with… Read More 

When I realized that reading did not come easily to my oldest daughter Yahel, who is now 7, my heart broke just a little. I knew with the right support she could catch up. It was never about her being the brightest in class. Or a competition of who could read fastest. I was sad for the world I wanted… Read More 

In college, Nikki found community in her Birthright Israel family. So much so, when her class voted for superlatives, they named her most likely to be CEO of Birthright Israel. Although Nikki isn't the CEO, she did become a madricha for a Chicago Professionals trip. It was during this trip she met Joey, who she'd soon find out was her… Read More 

In 2014, when Courtney and Shahriar both boarded planes to Israel, they never imagined they'd met their future spouse. Courtney was living in Phoenix and Shahriar was living in Encino when they signed up and despite Operation Protective Edge going on in Israel, they both knew this trip was too important to pass up. After falling in love on Birthright… Read More 

In summer 2017, Tatiana Lundstrom and Haley Harris-Bloom thought Birthright Israel would be a great opportunity to get in touch with their Jewish heritage. Hours into their trip, the two were sitting together on the bus and within days had fallen in love. Check out our interview with the couple to see how their Birthright Israel love story unfolds. What… Read More