May 28, 2025

Hillel Birthright Trips

Nearly 150 students from UM Hillel, Hillel at FIU and Hillel at FSU recently participated in Birthright Israel and explored Yerucham, Federation's partner city. The cohorts, who traveled separately, visited MindCet, an innovative education technology center, where they met with the wife of an IDF reservist who served 350 days. While there, they wrote letters to other Yerucham reservist families and assembled care packages. In addition, they learned firsthand about the continued impact of the October 7 attacks through sobering visits to the Tribe of Nova Music Festival site and Israel's national cemetery at Mount Herzl. Kicking off the Birthright season, the Hillel at FIU group arrived only one day after an attempted attack by the Houthis on Ben Gurion Airport. Federation supports eight Florida campus Hillels through the Annual Campaign that provide vibrant centers of Jewish life at universities throughout the state.