Next Year
in Israel
The Jewish Federation Plans
Community-Wide Mission for
75 th Anniversary
An unyielding commitment turned a dream into reality – the creation of a
Jewish homeland on May 14, 1948. Today, Israel has flourished into a safe
haven for the Jewish people as well as a leading country in innovation.
With next year marking Israel’s 75th anniversary, members of the Greater
Philadelphia community will have the opportunity to travel together to the
country that defied all odds.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia’s Israel 75 Mission will take
place from May 14-21, bringing along hundreds of people for an unparalleled
journey to celebrate a historic achievement.
The land cost of the mission starts at $5,499 per person for a double room.
In an effort to make this a multigenerational experience, there is a $1,000
subsidy for participants under 45 years of age who need it.
Included with the cost are accommodations at five star hotels, a tour guide
and luxury bus, most meals, activity and entrance fees, and gratuities
and taxes. Participants will be expected to arrange their own travel
accommodations to Israel.
Beyond the tangible amenities, missions have the ability to motivate leaders
to rise and have life-changing impact. This influential quality a mission can
have is something that Susan Schwartz, Israel 75 Mission
co-chair, knows all too well.
"The experience I had on my first mission 25 years ago was truly
transformational. Not only did I get to share a unique and meaningful
experience with fellow community members, but I was inspired to make
a difference in a way I had never been before,” Schwartz reflected. “This
inspiration ignited in me a desire to learn more, get involved and become a
leader in an organization that I have come to care for deeply."
Registration will remain open through October or until capacity is met.
People are encouraged to register as soon as possible to secure their
preferred track. Interested community members can also attend an in-
person or virtual information session to learn more about the mission.The
next information session will be open to all and in person at Green Valley
Country Club on August 11 at 6:00 p.m.
"We are thrilled to be able to work with our lay leaders and partners to
provide this incredible opportunity for the community,” said Jewish
Federation’s President and CEO Michael Balaban. “Israel’s 75th anniversary
is an important landmark for the country and for the Jewish people, and it
will be a quarter of a century until you can celebrate its next major milestone
of 100 years."
“Traveling to Israel on a community mission gives you unique access to
the best sights, speakers and experiences,” explained Gail Norry, Jewish
Federation’s board co-chair. “You will also make the most wonderful
friendships and have the opportunity to make a difference in people’s lives
in Israel and back in Philadelphia upon your return.”
Over the course of eight days, participants will explore the country through
highly curated activities as they visit Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and the Jewish
Federation’s partnership region of Netivot and S’dot Negev.
Kicking off this journey will be an opening party on the roof of the newly
constructed ANU Museum with a welcome from the Mayor of Tel Aviv
Ron Huldai. From there, participants will enjoy a wide-variety of activities,
including taking a graffiti tour in Tel Aviv, participating in a joyous Shabbat
gathering overlooking the Old City Walls, giving back to those in need by
harvesting produce at the national food bank Leket and much more.
Ready to sign up for the Israel 75 Mission? Learn more and register
at jewishphilly.org/Israel75Mission or contact Erica N. Miller,
Mission Manager for Domestic and Overseas Travel, at
erica.miller@jewishphilly.org. Want to learn more?
Find out details about the Israel 75 Mission,
including the itinerary, specialized tracks and more,
at an information session. Sign up for one of the
below sessions at: jewishphilly.org/Israel75Mission
Info Sessions
In-person: In addition to group programming, there will be four customized tracks
to provide a personalized experience of the vibrant country: adventure;
food, wine, and culture; tech and business; and people, places, and politics.
Whether rappelling in salt caves, touring the northern vineyards, visiting
hi-tech accelerator programs or engaging in intimate conversations
with members of the Knesset, these tracks offer unique and exciting
opportunities for first-time as well as repeated travelers to Israel.
• Thursday, August 11 at 6:00 p.m. at
“Each time I visit Israel I come away with something new. Whether I’m
exploring a new region, trying new food or having a new experience, I
always come home feeling fulfilled yet at the same time feeling like I haven’t
had enough,” said Jessica Katz, co-chair of the Israel 75 Mission. “What I’m
most looking forward to on this journey is getting to experience Israel with
my Philadelphia community and making connections that I hope will last a
lifetime.” • Sunday, September 18 at 10:00 a.m.
Providing spiritual “connections” to Israel is the mission’s Rabbi-in-
Residence Eric Yanoff of Adath Israel. During the trip, Rabbi Yanoff will be a
resource to foster deep self-reflection and thought-provoking discussions.
12 AUGUST 4, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Green Valley Country Club
Virtual: • Wednesday, August 24 at 7:30 p.m. Hosted by Beth
Sholom and the Old York Road Kehillah
• Monday, October 24 at 7:00 p.m.
YOU SHOULD KNOW ...
Michael Fabius
SASHA ROGELBERG | STAFF WRITER
Courtesy of Ballard Spahr
W hen Michael Fabius’ grandmother died in January, his
3-year-old son began to have questions about God and
spirituality. Fabius, 40, took his son to Congregation Rodeph Shalom to give
him a Jewish perspective on death, but he also reached out to an
imam, a leader in Philadelphia’s Muslim community.
As co-chair of the Circle of Friends, the Philadelphia chapter of
the Muslim-Jewish Advisory Council co-founded by the American
Jewish Committee, Fabius is committed to giving his two children
a strong Jewish foundation but also opportunities to meaningfully
engage with other Abrahamic religions.
“It will be important to me that they know their Jewish heritage; it
will be ultimately their prerogative as
they grow to develop and uncover their
own identities,” Fabius said. “Part of
the mitzvah of parenting is being able
to see that growth.”
As part of Circle of Friends since its
2016 founding, Fabius, an adminis-
trative law attorney at Ballard Spahr,
views his work within the MJAC chap-
ter as a chance to build a world for his
children that embraces a diversity of
ideas and spirituality.
“This work is really being part of how
I want to parent: trying to influence
the world where they grow up, so that
they can be who they are, and there’s
a measure of self-determination,”
Fabius said.
In practice, Fabius’ work with Circle
of Friends looks like finding ways
to identify and mitigate hate crimes
against Jewish and Muslim commu-
nities by building interfaith solidarity.
On July 20, AJC Philadelphia/Southern
New Jersey honored Fabius with the
2022 Human Relations Award for his
work in “fostering Muslim-Jewish
ties in the community,” an AJC press
release described.
Fabius is raising his children and
building interfaith relationships with
his childhood in mind. Growing up
attending Friends’ Central School, a
Quaker school in Wynnewood, Fabius
only knew one Muslim kid; he vaguely
remembers the child not eating during
the month of Ramadan. Despite
growing up with one Jewish and one
Christian parent and embracing plu-
ralism from an early age, Fabius and
his classmate were not close.
In hindsight, Fabius recognized, also
as a religious minority, that not hav-
ing a strong understanding of Islam
was an oversight.
“There’s some merit to knowing
when you’re ignorant, rather than just
acting from a place of being ignorant
of your ignorance,” he said.
When Circle of Friends co-founders
Tom Tropp and Amid Ismail invited
him to dinner in early 2016, Fabius
reflected on this idea. After almost six
years as part of the group, Fabius has
noticed how he, as well as the political
and social landscape of interfaith soli-
darity, has changed.
“It’s made me a better ambassa-
dor for myself, my community, for
the Muslim community,” Fabius said.
“I did not speak intelligently about
Muslim Americans, or Muslim com-
munities in general, before Circle
of Friends.”
On a broad level, his work in Circle
of Friends helped build on a national
initiative to address hate speech and
crime. As part of the national MJAC initia-
tive, Fabius helped lobby and organize
grassroots efforts to pressure Congress
to pass the Jabara-Heyer National
Opposition to Hate, Assaults, and
Threats to Equality (NO HATE) Act.
The legislation followed an FBI report
that, despite steady levels of hate crimes
in 2017 and 2018, 87% of law enforce-
ment agencies did not report any hate
crimes to their jurisdictions. The legis-
lation would increase resources for data
reporting on hate crimes. Fabius said
that Jews experience the largest pro-
portion of religious hate crimes, and
Muslims experience the fastest-grow-
ing number of hate crimes.
On an interpersonal level, Fabius
feels he has the tools to challenge
misinformation or bigotry against
Muslim communities. Through Circle
of Friends events, he’s been able to
learn more about Islam and share more
about Judaism.
This past spring, the organization
hosted an interfaith Iftar, the meal
eaten after sunset of Ramadan. They’ve
hosted ceremonies and celebrations of
holidays at City Hall. State Sen. Sharif
Street, a Circle of Friends member,
sponsored state legislation protecting
religious institutions from vandalism
and desecration.
Though Circle of Friends has helped
to create lasting tangible change in
religious communities, Fabius asserts
that the impact of the group has also
created a feeling of safety and com-
fort in the wake of Islamophobia and
antisemitism, such as following the
2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life shooting.
“We’ve been able to build solidarity,
project solidarity ... there’s some com-
fort in knowing that there are allies to
help support in times of crisis,” Fabius
said. JE
srogelberg@midatlanticmedia.com JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
13