Jewish Mothers’ Israel Journey

August 10, 2017

by: Itamar Eichner

Friday, 11 August 2017 | A new trend of American Jewish mothers who decide to visit Israel for the first time in their lives has gotten significant coverage in American media. “MOMentum” is an eight-day subsidized journey in Israel. More than 11,000 Jewish mothers from 26 countries around the world—most coming from the United States—have already taken part in the project. To be eligible for the journey, women must have children under 18, not observe Shabbat, and have never been to Israel before.

According to the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project (JWRP), the “MOMentum” trip stretches from the mystical Galilee city of Safed to the ancient desert mountaintop fortress Masada. Among other things, the mothers climb Masada, bathe in the Dead Sea, travel to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, pray at the Western Wall, and get photographed against the backdrop of the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock.

The trips inspire women to connect deeply with their Jewish heritage, and transform themselves, their families, and ultimately their communities and the wider world.

During the journey, the Jewish mothers meet with mothers from Israel and from all over the Jewish world—meetings aimed at creating friendships across the continents. The mothers also meet soldiers and young Israelis who are about to enlist in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), and some of them receive Hebrew names during ceremonies in the Judean Desert.

“The ‘MOMentum’ trip emphasizes the Israeli government’s commitment towards the Jewish Diaspora and provides an unprecedented opportunity for Jewish women from different backgrounds to strengthen their Jewish identities and connections to Israel,” said Dvir Kahana, director general of the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs.  

“Women often express concern about leaving their children for eight days for a MOMentum trip,” said Lori Palatnik, JWRP’s founding director. “I explain that they are not leaving their kids, they are going for their kids. What they will gain on this life-changing trip will spill over into their homes in the most beautiful and profound way.”

Posted on August 10, 2017

Source: (Excerpt of article originally published by Ynetnews on 01 August 2017. Time-related language has been modified to reflect our republication today. See original article at this link.)

Photo Credit: Facebook/JWRP