Who would have thought that Birthright Israel would offer a Mediterranean Sea cruise as part of this summer’s programming?
On June 13, Israel began “Operation Rising Lion,” destroying key nuclear development sites in Iran. The Iranian regime retaliated swiftly, sending barrages of ballistic missiles toward Israel beginning that Friday morning. All flights were grounded, leaving the hundreds of young adults who were on Birthright programs stranded. Birthright soon came up with a plan to bring 2,800 of their participants home swiftly and safely.
“That was one of, if not the best, experiences in my whole entire life,” Tali Pak (SCW ‘27), a volunteer staff member on Yachad Birthright, told the YU Observer.
Birthright is an international organization that provides free trips to Israel for Jews ages 18 to 26 who have never visited Israel before, giving them a life-changing experience to learn and connect to the Jewish homeland and nation.
One of this summer’s Israel Free Spirit, a Birthright organizer, programs was Yachad Birthright, a partnership between Israel Free Spirit and Yachad, an organization that assists people with developmental disabilities.
Zicey Hollander (SCW ‘26), a staff member on Yachad Birthright alongside Pak, told the YU Observer, “This was a really cool opportunity to go with participants who are less religious or not religious at all, who have never really experienced Israel, to give them a taste of what Israel is.”
Joelle Dayan (SCW ‘28), a participant on a Sephardic Community Alliance (SCA) all-girls trip in partnership with Birthright and educational institute Mayanot, had never been to Israel before. Dayan told the YU Observer, “I was dreaming about Israel and I started planning for it a while back.”
Yachad Birthright and SCA Birthright’s trips were supposed to run from June 8-19. Birthright trips typically travel across the whole of central Israel, visiting iconic cities like Tel Aviv and Jerusalem as well as sites like the Dead Sea and Masada.
The first five days went as planned for both groups. However, everything changed in the early morning of the sixth day when Iran sent ballistic missiles all across Israel.
June 13-16
JERUSALEM – The first round of sirens went off around 3:00 AM Friday morning. “There definitely was some fear for some people but we really tried to keep spirits high,” Hollander said. Yachad participants distracted themselves by playing music and games in the bomb shelters.
In the days that followed, there were sirens almost every night in Jerusalem, and consequently, Yachad and SCA’s itineraries changed drastically. “The missile attacks definitely affected everything,” Dayan said.
Everyone had to stay in or around the hotel lest there was another siren. While many of their trips around Israel were canceled, Yachad and SCA provided their participants with a makeshift boot camp run by Israeli soldiers, a drum circle and workout classes. SCA even brought in a co-author of One Day in October, Oriya Mevorach, to speak.
“It was really hard to come to terms with the fact that I wouldn’t see a lot of Israel even though I was finally going for the first time,” Dayan said. SCA had only arrived in Jerusalem on Thursday and had not gotten to visit the Kotel or the shuk before the sirens began.
As participants busied themselves with other activities, Birthright worked to ensure everyone could get home. On Monday night, June 16, all Birthright programs were informed they would be taking a cruise ship from Ashdod, Israel to Larnaca, Cyprus the following morning. Participants would then catch flights home, at no expense.
“With the logistics, you really just have to roll with whatever they tell you,” Pak said. “[Birthright] did an amazing job. Everything was so seamless on our end.”
June 17
ASHDOD – An email sent out by Birthright Tuesday morning confirmed that the Birthright Israel Foundation was coordinating with Israeli authorities to execute a “secure travel plan to return all participants to the United States.” Birthright was calling the plan a rescue mission, Pak said.
“I was very grateful that Birthright took the reins and really helped us get out of there,” Hollander said.
Around 6:00 AM, buses departed the hotels to the Ashdod port. There were several other Birthright programs at the dock ready to embark the boat, as well as hundreds of news reporters and soldiers, according to Pak. The cruise eventually departed from the dock around 10:30 AM.
From waterslides and kosher dining to a magician and blasting music, the cruise was a party for many participants. “We really went out in style,” Pak said. “Birthright and Israel Free Spirit really pulled it off, I can’t even describe it.”
June 18
LARNACA – The boat docked in Larnaca, Cyprus the following morning, with travel time totalling about 20 hours, including embarking and disembarking from the boat. However, only one of the chartered planes scheduled to take participants to Tampa, Florida showed up to Larnaca International Airport, according to Dayan.
“It was one of those moments where everybody’s looking to the staff to see what their reaction is going to be,” Pak said. Whether it was the sudden decision to take the boat or the possibility of having to sleep over in Cyprus, the staff set the tone and treated every new piece of information as if it were wholly positive.
Dayan said some participants began panicking when they got to Cyprus because they were unsure how they were getting home from there. “Israel is your home,” Dayan said. “When you’re there you don’t feel so nervous, but now we were in Cyprus, this random country, and we didn’t know how we were getting home.”
While staff members got direct updates from their program directors, Birthright participants were left in the dark about information.
Dayan said she and some other participants approached a volunteer who helped organize SCA’s trip and asked to be updated directly on the plans, even if they were not set in stone yet, instead of getting only bits of information from their parents. “It was difficult not knowing,” Dayan said. “That was one of the hardest parts.” From then on, the volunteer openly shared information with the participants.
The Birthright programs headed to the Chabad of Cyprus for the rest of the day, where they were provided with food, drinks and assistance. There were so many Birthright participants that their suitcases had to be left in the street outside the Chabad since there was not enough room inside. “I’m extremely thankful to the Chabad of Cyprus for welcoming us with such open arms so last minute,” Pak said. “We took up their space and they did it with smiles and so much warmth.”
Yachad’s tour guide, Pak said, came with them to Cyprus to help out, not knowing when she would get back to Israel with Ben Gurion Airport shut down. “You could tell they really cared about every single person on that ship,” Pak said.
June 19
MILAN – After a two-hour stop at a hotel at midnight, everyone was driven to Larnaca International Airport once again. Many of the programs, including Yachad and SCA, caught flights to Milan, Italy, where they then took flights to New York, followed by connecting flights for those from outside the tri-state area. Some of the other programs managed to go directly to Tampa, Florida, while others stopped in Warsaw or Dubai.
Reflections
The trip of a lifetime may have been cut short, but every moment stuck with participants and staff alike. “It was one of the best experiences of my life. It was Yachad and it was their first time in Israel and it was a lot of their first times really delving into their Jewish identity,” Pak said. “[It was] everything that comes along with a typical Birthright program.” Pak said it was very special to witness a lot of Yachad participants put on tefillin for the first time.
“[Birthright’s] response was very quick, I would say,” Dayan said. Birthright Israel trips resumed on July 6 after the Israel-Iran ceasefire was established.
“Everybody was just so happy and friendly and caring and giving and selfless the whole entire way,” Pak said. “If I could do this trip again exactly the way it happened, I’d 100% do it all over again.”
Photo Caption: Birthright Israel Emergency Boat
Photo Credit: Tali Pak