Miami’s young Jewish leaders find a sense of belonging as Israel marks 75-year milestone
As the Russian military offensive continued in his native Ukraine, Gabriel, a 20-year-old soldier in the Israel Defense Forces, shared a story of hope. He emigrated 2 1/2 years ago with the assistance of the Jewish Agency for Israel, which helped him get settled in a place where he has no family.
His poignant story — on the eve of Yom HaZikaron, the Day of Remembrance for fallen soldiers and victims of terror — drew tears from the audience, a delegation of 800 people participating in the Jewish Federation of Greater Miami’s mission on the 75th anniversary of the independence of Israel. The Federation helps fund the program helping Gabriel.
Listening to the soldier, Josh Kligler, a 39-year-old Miami Beach lawyer, pulled out his phone to search for a quote from Hillel the Elder, one of the most influential rabbis in Jewish history, that reminded him of the Ukrainian soldier’s account: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? And if not now, when?”
“That’s why we’re here,” said Kligler, among a group of 86 young professionals, ages 20 to early 40s, on the Miami Mega Mission in Israel this week to learn about culture, tradition, current events, history, connection.
Young professional involvement
Michael Wagner, a 38-year-old financial advisor, is also finding a purpose on the journey. He graduated from the Young Leadership Division and joined the Federation’s Board of Directors. He also is co-chair of the Mega Mission.
“The Federation has been really open and supportive in putting younger people in positions of responsibility,” Wagner said. “There are people in this bus that will get involved and rise within the Federation,” he added, noting the friendships made on the trip. They hope that back in Miami, those friendships among young professionals will promote philanthropy and community engagement.
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Rabbi Adam Gindea of the Center for Jewish Life, who accompanies one of the two buses with young professionals, explained that “the Miami community is uniquely pro-Israel. This ushers in a very exciting energy” to foster a deeper connection to their ancestral homeland.
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Jewish involvement in the U.S.
A 2014 Jewish demographic study in Miami-Dade, commissioned by the Federation, showed that 71% of Jewish households in the county have someone who has visited Israel, and 62% report a strong emotional attachment to Israel. These were the highest percentages of any Jewish community in the U.S., Federation officials said.
Still, young adults are significantly less likely to be affiliated with a religious group, according to a 2018 Pew Research Center study, which found that, particularly in the U.S., “younger people are less likely to claim a religious identity.”
The Federation’s youth engagement model is not synagogue-oriented, Rabbi Gindea said, but philanthropic and social, providing “Jewish experiences” to those who yearn for them, such as connection to the Jewish state.
Israel identity
Karine Nissim Hirschhorn, a 40-year-old writer and entrepreneur, defined the Miami mission as an exploration of identity.
“With the rise of antisemitism comes a hesitation to be Jewish out loud,” Nissim Hirschhorn said. “But the Jewish American story is deeply seated in the escape of hatred. Hatred is not easily unlearned but it can be chipped away at with the expression of our unique stories as Jews and the need for a safe space that protects our right to exist, first, and then to thrive.”
Escape story
Geula Hadarai told the young Miami leaders of her journey on foot, at the age of 8, from Ethiopia to Sudan, and later her arrival in Israel. Hadarai runs Beta Israel Village, an Ethiopian experiential cultural conservation center in Kiryat Gat, which also receives support from Miami Jews through the Jewish Agency.
The center combines farming and activities to educate about the culture, heritage and traditions of Ethiopian Jews, also called Beta Israel, who face discrimination and prejudice because of their race and religious practices, Hadarai said. During centuries of living in Africa, these Jews had no access to the Talmud or the rabbinic codes of Jewish law, making their traditions unique.
Tradition and culture
That fact delighted Julia Pratt, a 24-year-old Brickell resident, who volunteered to wear typical Ethiopian Jewish clothing and participate in a social coffee-making ritual.
“Seeing other Jewish traditions, customs and rituals is inspiring,” said Pratt, who works at a Jewish nonprofit. “We are going to leave Israel as better persons with a stronger sense of Jewish identity and connection to the land.”
Later, they visited The Salad Trail, in the northern Negev desert, where they observed advanced agricultural technologies, and went to the IDF Search and Rescue Training Base at Zikim. At the base, they participated in an exercise with IDF soldiers of the Home Front Command, a “search and rescue mission” in a mobile simulator.
And after visiting a moving English-language Day of Remembrance ceremony attended by more than 7,000 people, mostly Jews from North America, the young leaders from Miami shared their feelings on the return bus ride.
They spoke of pain and anguish, pride and a deep sense of belonging.
And many pledged “to do more for the Federation” when they return home.
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.
This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 3:53 PM.
