170 Jews Join JLI in Largest Israel Solidarity Trip Since Oct. 7

170 Jewish men and women from 26 communities across the United States arrived in Israel on Monday, 22 Adar II, April 1, for The Land & the Spirit. They had come on JLI’s weeklong solidarity mission to stand with the Jewish people in a time of hurt, to give back, and to reconnect with the beating heart of their Jewish heritage.

The program was packed with volunteer work, visits to devastated Gaza border communities and moving encounters with bereaved parents and hostage families. It brought participants face-to-face with the full scope of October 7th’s horror and the Jewish people’s indefatigable spirit.

“Our hearts were shattered into a thousand pieces,” said Rivka Rabinowitz of Chabad of S. Monica, California. “But the program never allowed our pain to become despair—we emerged with hope, faith, and trust.” Wherever they went, the group heard one message from the everyday Israelis they met: “We’re so glad you’re here; your presence proves we’re one people.”

Shortly after landing at Ben Gurion airport, trip-goers rolled up their sleeves to pick vegetables at farms impacted by the war. The group toured Magen David Adom’s national blood bank—a stirring reminder of Israel’s preparedness—before heading to Jerusalem, soaking in the city’s beauty, and settling in at the David Citadel Hotel.

That night, the group marched to the Kosel with the Romi family to celebrate 13-year-old Osher’s bar mitzvah. Displaced from their home near Lebanon for six months, and with Osher’s father, an IDF officer, defending Israel in Gaza and unable to celebrate in person, the family was delighted to dance, sing, and celebrate with the JLI trip participants.

The group also celebrated a special bat mitzvah with the family of Sderot’s slain police chief, who was murdered on October 7th. Israel’s minister of Diaspora affairs, Amichai Chikli, also addressed the group that evening. And that was just day one—with six days to go.

The Land and the Spirit gave participants a powerful way to stand with their brothers and sisters in Israel during hardship and witness October 7th’s devastation firsthand. The trip’s second day brought the group face-to-face with the horror of Hamas’s attack in emotional visits to Kfar Aza, Nachal Oz, and the site of the Nova Music Festival.

At the Nova Festival site, the participants sang emotional songs surrounded by images of those who lost their lives and met survivor Millet Ben Haim as she reunited with Rami Davidian, the man whose heroic actions saved her and dozens of others. Trip-goers also enjoyed a chance to give back, hosting a barbeque dinner for IDF soldiers stationed on the Gaza border—complete with music and dancing.

Later in the program, the group prayed for the safe return of the hostages in Chevron, enjoyed a beautiful Shabbos in Yerushalayim, and a special Havdalah ceremony in the Mamilla mall. On Sunday, participants joined an emotionally charged funeral for a fallen IDF soldier on Mount Herzl. “So many types of Jews came together there,” recalls Rabbi Yitzchok Teichtel of Chabad of Nashville, Tennessee. “We cried together, and even if most people didn’t know the family, we felt we were one big Jewish family.”

“The solidarity mission exceeded our every expectation,” said Rabbi Yochanan Goldman, director of Lubavitch of Center City, Philadelphia. “We are left with so many unforgettable, intense, and powerful memories; my community remains inspired by the heroes we met, the settings we met them in, and the seamless trip that brought it all together.”