100 Jewish American Mothers Visit Israel As Part Of Emotional Trip With Momentum

A group of 100 women from eight American cities visited Israel from November 4-11 as part of an eight-day trip organized by the global Jewish organization Momentum, which aims to inspire Jewish women to lead a Jewish future by becoming more connected to their identity, heritage, and Israel.

The eight-day trip was part of the Momentum year-long program known as the Journey of Growth, an initiative that provides women with the opportunity to delve into the spirit of Jewish unity that defines their homeland.

Momentum, which works closely with the Israeli Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, brings Jewish parents from around the world, the majority of whom are mothers, to Israel and empowers them to be change agents in their respective Jewish communities.

Many stops on their itinerary paid tribute to the victims and heroes of October 7, like a tour of the ANU–Museum of the Jewish People and its new exhibition, “October Seventh,” which examines how Israeli culture reacted to the war, a visit to Tel Aviv’s Hostage Square, where participants expressed their solidarity with the families of the kidnapped victims and a day where they traveled to Israel’s South which included a stop at Kibbutz Kfar Aza and the Nova Festival Memorial site.

The women also heard from Dr. Zohar Raviv, Momentum Scholar-in-Residence and the International Vice President of Education and Strategy at Taglit-Birthright Israel, who discussed how each woman can make a difference in advocating for Israel. They also listened to remarks from Lieutenant Colonel (Res.) Yaron Buskila, who confronted more than a dozen terrorists on October 7.

Participants hailed from seven cities; including Cooper City, Orlando, northern New Jersey, Toronto, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New York City and Minneapolis. Native Israelis (who were part of the group) shared accounts of their life experiences since the war broke out.

The educational programming mirrored the trip’s overall theme of acknowledging loss but also underscoring the Jewish’s people’s longstanding tradition of living a prideful and joyful life. Topics discussed during group sessions included delving into the power of memory, learning, growth, prayer, and taking action.

The volunteer activities and emotional meetings are meant to inspire and prepare them to engage in meaningful dialogue so those in their home communities understand why the land of Israel is so integral to the story of the Jewish people. The trip was a powerful display of Jewish leadership in action.

“While the events of October 7 have definitely influenced our Journey of Growth, we want our participants to bear witness to the atrocities of that day, we’re also passionate about showing these women the incredible resilience of the Jewish and Israeli spirit,” said Orit Mizner, Chief Operating Officer at Momentum. “Israel existed before October 7 and will continue much after. As an educational organization, we have a responsibility to foster Jewish identity, reclaim the Jewish and Israeli narrative and celebrate it. We also hope that the Israeli motivation to push forward inspires our community of women as they go home and find ways in which they can be positive agents in their communities.”

The trip is just one aspect of the organization’s comprehensive Momentum Action Network. The multi-pronged initiative was spearheaded in the early days of the war to create a connection to what’s happening in Israel through the lens of the organization, deliver support through educational initiatives and inspire action through opportunities to do something positive for Israel in their own Jewish communities.

This comes in addition to the organization’s campaign called “This Year I Will, This Year We Will,” which encourages all Momentum participants to take on the responsibility of finding ways to come together and give back to their Jewish community either individually or as a collective.

Trip participant Samantha Schepps of Washington, D.C., said, “I wanted to continue to grow spiritually, and this is a great way to do that. The trip has been amazing, and I also appreciated the opportunity to visit the site of the October 7th victims. That experience helped me understand what happened that horrible day. I have young boys and have avoided watching the news, but now I feel confident in sharing what I saw when I got home and letting everyone know Israelis are resilient and the country is safe.”

Momentum is a strong proponent in working with Jewish organizations around the world and has worked with over 300 partner organizations to coordinate its myriad activities. For this particular trip, Momentum collaborated with The Jewish Agency for Israel’s Partnership2Gether (P2G) Program and The Jewish Federations of North America.

Momentum was founded in 2009 and brought 24,000 participants from 36 countries to Israel. Since October 7th, the organization has brought some 800 participants from 15 countries to bear witness to Israel’s story and share what they heard with their own communities when they return home. Momentum is also fully connected to the organizational ecosystem across the Jewish world, maintaining partnerships with approximately 350 Jewish organizations and federations.

The organization was established when Lori Palatnik, along with seven other Jewish mother leaders (known as the Utah 8), noticed that communities were struggling to connect women with Jewish values and Israel, and together with eight women from the Washington, D.C. area developed the concept of a subsidized trip to Israel for Jewish mothers as a transformative investment in the Jewish family.

Formerly the Jewish Women's Renaissance Project, Momentum has seen tremendous success in its mission of inspiring women to not only discover but become enchanted with Israel.

About Momentum (momentumunlimited.org):

The Momentum Year-long Journey is a partnership between Momentum and Israeli’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and fighting Antisemitism launched with a visit to Israel and caters to Jewish women with limited connection to Israel. The program targets Jewish people from around the world with the aim for them to fall in love with Israel and to connect with their Jewish identity. Momentum encourages women to tap into Jewish values and develop leadership in their local Jewish communities. The organization has reached 23,000 women from 36 countries and works with more than 400 Partner Organizations such as Jewish Federations, JCC’s and local communities.