‘Invigorated, educated, inspired’: 800 Miami Jews strengthen faith on a visit to Israel

Elie Wiesel, the famous Auschwitz survivor, author and Nobel laureate, once said: “One does not go to Jerusalem, one returns to it. That’s one of its mysteries.”

For a delegation of 800 Jews from Miami, their historic visit to Jerusalem this week — for the 75th anniversary of Israel’s independence — has been just that. Not an arrival, but a sort of return. And they are here to uncover that mystery.

Among them are 88 people who have never visited Israel. Others have come again and again. The group includes people from all across the spectrum — some practice liberal Judaism, others traditional Judaism, still others are believers with no religious affiliation.

But all have come together, on a mission with the Greater Miami Jewish Federation, to share a connection and affinity with their ancestral homeland, the Land of Israel.

They have traveled to Israel to strengthen their Zionism, reconnect with their traditions, culture and religion, strengthen old friendships and forge new ones, solidify their sense of belonging and community.

The Miami Mega Mission experience will leave participants “invigorated, educated and inspired,” Jacob Solomon, president and chief executive officer of the Federation, told the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald.

“By going on this mission, we are strengthening our community, the Federation, our individual synagogues, schools and agencies; strengthening the bond with the eternal spiritual homeland of Israel, and the health, well-being and security of the Jewish people for the generations to come,” Solomon said at Safra Square, the site of the Jerusalem Municipality complex and of the opening night program.

A challenging start to the mission

Being in Israel for the 75th anniversary of its independence is, as the slogan of the mission states, “the celebration of a lifetime.” But it also represents a challenge given protests and strikes since the beginning of the year, a reaction to the Israeli government’s proposal to change the judicial system. After the massive outcry, the plan has been put on hold.

Likewise, recent weeks have seen a wave of violence with terror attacks, one of which claimed the life of an Italian tourist, and airstrikes against Lebanon and Gaza following a barrage of rockets.

None of this, however, inhibited the travelers from Miami. In fact, no one canceled the trip because of the internal tension or the external threats, according to Solomon.

“The way we think is that Israel is part of our family, and when we have family that is ailing, we show up for them,” Solomon said.

Steve Brodie, co-chair of the mission, acknowledged that many on the trip “had anxiety because of the unknown.” However, he assured, “it’s amazing once you are here, it goes away.”

Hearing from the leaders

Brodie leads one of the 20 buses that make up the mission. Each bus, organized by synagogue or by affinity group, has a customized itinerary. But everyone was at opening night, attended by the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog, and the mayor of Jerusalem, Moshe Lion.

Herzog served as the chairman of The Jewish Agency for Israel from 2018 to 2021, one of the Federation’s beneficiary organizations, and saw its philanthropic impact up close, he said.

“You are extremely special, your support and love of Israel is unbelievable, your powerful moral clarity in so many issues are impressive,” said Herzog, highlighting the diversity of the Miami Mega Mission.

According to the Federation, the group includes people from at least 21 countries of origin, many of them from in Latin America, as well as 121 participants who are children or grandchildren of Holocaust survivors.

“I have seen how much you help immigration to Israel and social impact in Israel and Jews around the world. This is what you call Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Bazeh (All of Israel Are Responsible for One Another). So, you have a beautiful diversity and incredible power,” Herzog noted.

During the opening program, the keys to the City of Miami and Miami-Dade County were handed to Mayor Lion. The celebration included singers, musicians and DJs, as well as a children’s choir and a fascinating acrobatic show.

Absorbing history

Israel’s independence holiday is preceded by Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembrance of fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism, and Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. They are the national patriotic holidays that lead from tragedy to rebuilding.

One of the groups visited Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Museum, to learn about the background to Nazi terror and its consequences. In front of one of the wooden carts where Jews had to take few belongings to the ghettos when they were expelled, the guide asked, “What would you take?” Photographs, warm clothes, jewelry, good shoes, some answered.

In addition to the guided tour, the Miami delegation met with Amos Hausner, the son of Gideon Hausner, the prosecutor in the trial of Nazi criminal Adolf Eichmann. Amos revealed personal details of how his father, newly appointed Israel’s attorney general a few weeks before the trial began in 1960, faced this great challenge that posed “the embodiment of independence, not only of Israel but of the Jewish nation,” the guest speaker said.

Cuban-American philanthropist Tony Argiz, one of a few non-Jews accompanying the mission and visiting Israel for the first time, was shocked. “Hate is a problem we have to solve,” he said, referring to the rise in global anti-Semitism and Holocaust denial.

A spiritual side of the journey

One of the most memorable experiences of the trip so far has been an inspiring non-religious Shabbat preparation service featuring Miami rabbis and liturgical cantors, headlined by the official chazzan of the State of Israel, Shai Abramson. It was held very close to the Kotel or Western Wall, where participants went to pray afterward.

“As a woman, being able to sing with the cantor of Israel, it shows inclusiveness,” said Rabbi Julie Jacobs, from Congregation Beth David, the oldest in Miami, and one of the organizers of the Pre-Shabbat Experience. Some 20 rabbis from Miami, belonging to the main religious movements, joined the mission.

Israeli singer Shuli Natan sang one of the most iconic Hebrew songs, Yerushalayim Shel Zahav (Golden Jerusalem), accompanied by Violins of Hope, musicians playing violins, violas and cellos that belonged to Jews before and during World War II.

During the performance, the organizers brought boxes full of white doves, and upon opening them, the birds flew out one after another.

With this symbolism of serenity, joy and peace, in front of the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, the mission’s participants nourished their spirituality.

Daniel Shoer Roth, an editor for el Nuevo Herald, is participating in the Greater Miami Federation’s mission to Israel and is reporting on the delegation and events.