By Rabbi Lee Diamond “What we bargained for was an illuminating trip; what we got was a magnificently choreographed walk through the path of the Jewish people from Abraham to the foundation stones and institutions of the modern Jewish democratic state.
Every chapter of our path was narrated by a resident scholar, witness, survivor, expert including one of the surviving captains of an Aliyah Bet ship and a member of Ariel Sharon’s cabinet, to name but two…” Alexandra Reich
“However, the most incredible effect of the trip has been the affect it had
on Louisa, my Chinese wife Since she has got back she has not stopped talking about it, sending photos and e-mails to her friends, and reading one book after
another, particularly about modern Israel and the Zionist struggle. She
even took the initiative to suggest that we go to Synagogue tonight. I hope
she’ll write herself, but she was having a hard time putting her thoughts
into words…” Jonathan Ross
These and many more are the comments of interfaith multi generational families who participated in one of the many Israel Experiences prepared specifically for them by Rabbi Lee Diamond and Israel Celebration Tours. Rabbi Diamond defines himself as an educator committed to the concept that the Israel experience has the power to change lives and most especially for an interfaith family. ICT is dedicated to this principle.
What is it about an Israel experience that can be so impactful and indeed life changing for so many interfaith families? Is it just a tour of another country? Is it a travel experience together as a family that creates this affect? Clearly there is more!
The secret of the power of this experience lies in the amazing potential in Israel to serve as a stage upon which the drama of Jewish Ethnicity may best be presented. Although many today down- play Jewish ethnicity for the American Jew as at all relevant; although many Jewish leaders prefer to discuss and educate toward Jewish “Spirituality” and faith; although many will claim that Israel has little to offer an interfaith family, the fact is that Ethnicity indeed survives as one of the most powerful drives in the Jewish soul, keeping Jews connected in more ways than the leadership of the Jewish community is willing to recognize.
“Jewish Ethnicity” may be defined as connection to the Jewish people and the Jewish drama; Ethnicity may be related to Jewish memory; Ethnicity may be expressed even in such simple ways as love of Jewish foods or love of Jewish jokes; It may often express itself in the form of strong sensitivity to the Holocaust or to continuing forms
of anti Semitism; but more than all of the above ethnicity factors is the source of the uncanny desire of Jews for their own personal continuity and for the Jewish continuity of their children.
The choice of a life’s partner has little affect upon this deep and almost mystical sense of belonging that so many Jews feel and express in varied ways. Often the non- Jewish partner has difficulty understanding this inner urge in their Jewish partner. How many times have we heard non Jewish partners married to Jews complain that their spouse does little or nothing “Jewshly” and yet s/he wants their next generation to be Jewish?
It makes little logical sense and indeed is difficult to explain this urge, and yet there is no doubt that it exists and often burns as a bright flame. 
The organized Jewish community of North America also has great difficulty relating to and understanding this urge or flame of ethnicity that burns in the souls of all Jews. So many Jewish leaders, rabbis and educators dismiss these inner feelings as irrelevant and not at all serious. How can one be in an intermarriage and still feel connected? How can one be a Jew and not identified with institutional Judaism, such as Synagogues, JCCs or other Jewish institutions? This same leadership although often adopting an open and welcoming approach to the interfaith family fails to understand the profound power of a burning Jewish soul, of ethnicity, of connectedness that defies all institutions all definition and all logic.
However this urge, this soul flame burns brightly despite all the misunderstanding, all the criticism, and all too often the rejection.
It is the claim of Israel Celebration Tours that we must not only recognize this love of “belonging” but it is a “mitzvah” (the command of our time) to fan this flame; to allow it to burn; to strengthen it and indeed to add fuel to this inextinguishable fire. Not to do so is to misread the nature of the contemporary Jew and to miss the moment and to fail the future.
Dos Pintele yid:
the little spark of Jewishness that
remains alive – indestructible
Sunset over the Sea of Galilee
Israel is about Jewish Ethnicity. Israel is about belonging. Israel is about Jewish history. Israel is about Jewish future. Israel is about connections. Israel, for the interfaith family, is about understanding and creating Jewish memory. Israel is an authentic non- threatening environment for simply releasing the Jewish soul. Israel at its very core is the natural environment to feel and express Jewish pride and peoplehood. Despite all claims to the contrary by so many, who miss the real soul of Israel, she welcomes all and her people open their hearts and homes to the searching, and caring visitor.
Israel is about children. 
It is simply fun to be a Jew in Israel, even for a short visit. Be it swimming in the Med, the Dead or the Red Seas; be in kayaking on the Jordan River; be it a jeep tour in the Golan Heights, skiing on the Hermon, snorkeling in Eilat, camel riding in the Negev desert. All of these experiences strangely enough come across to children as “it’s fun to be a Jew.” It is this feeling that often allows the child to connect as a Jew after years of not feeling comfortable.
Israel provides an amazing insight for the non- Jewish partner in a blended or duel heritage family into the soul of his/her Jewish partner and into the soul of parents and grandparents. Understanding is promoted and gaps are often closed.
While many may miss this truth, Israel Celebration Tours is dedicated to promoting such experiences as the command of the hour. ICT is convinced that more and more interfaith families need to have such an experience and that such experiences will impact them forever.
The flame must be fed and Israel has an unlimited wealth of this natural energy.
Natural “Soul” Energy
Israel’s natural resource
Perhaps these words of a non-Jewish partners express it best:
Louisa Ross:
“Ever since we got back, I have been reading books about Israel and feeling very Jewish!! Also I have seized every chance to share the experience and the photos on this trip with my friends in Hong Kong as well as China. As a result my friends in China got so interested in my stories and photos through e-mails and internet, they even set up a dinner gathering so that I could show them the photos and recount my experience and feelings in person! I felt that I became the ambassador for Israel!
I grew up in China and couldn’t help making comparisons between the Kibbutz in Israel and the “people’s communes” in China in the 50s and 60s. I can easily understand why the Kibbutz has succeeded but the “communes” couldn’t even survive! The difference is people’s mind and willingness! While the pomelo man(the guy from Long Island) represented a hardworking man, a loving and caring father and a peace maker with great dedication, the young soldiers we met near the western wall as well as the handsome pilots in the air force base portrayed a very healthy and strong image of Israel.
I love Israel, its people. I will be back!”
Israel Celebration Tours is pleased to invite all readers to contact us with comments or requests.
www.IsraelCelebrationTours.com
