Ben Birndorf recalled one of his favorite memories of Israel — walking barefoot across a baking pavement with 50 pounds of equipment on his back. He was on a scuba trip in Eilat with Masada Maccabi, an organization that runs sports tours to Israel. “Part of the training is to toughen your mind so that you won’t be scared of anything you come into contact with under water,” said Birndorf, of San Francisco, who is now a representative for the organization.
When he walked into the Gulf of Aqaba, he said, “the pain and hardship leaves you and you’re immersed in another world, in an absolutely gorgeous environment. I have nothing but fond memories of this trip.”
On Sunday afternoon, Birndorf and others shared their memories and experiences at the second Israel Program Fair, held at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco.
Billed as a “One Stop Shop” for adults 18 and over, the event drew some 250 people. It featured more than 30 organizations, representing educational and leadership programs, volunteer and work opportunities, loan institutions and travel agencies.
Meirav Yaron, program director of the Israel Center of the S.F. Jewish Community Federation, one of the sponsors, said the fair was inspired by successful events in other cities. The fair was also sponsored by the Israel Center of the Jewish Federation of the Greater East Bay and the JCC of S.F.
Observing the blue and white balloons, audiovisual presentations and exchanges in Hebrew, Yossi Offenberg, the JCC’s Adult Jewish program manager, said: “The whole auditorium has been transformed into a virtual Israel. Everything anyone would want to know before they venture out and spend time in Israel is here.”
Crowds milled around the tables talking with representatives from the Kibbutz Program Center, Hebrew Free Loan Association, Isralight and Tel Aviv University, among others. Brochures outlined possibilities such as volunteering on a military base, touring Israel by bicycle, studying classical Jewish text and holding a bar or bat mitzvah at the Western Wall. For those more comfortable gathering information by phone, there were free copies of Israel’s Tourist Yellow Pages.
“We want people to come away with good programs that they can participate in, ways to fund them and ideas that they can share with friends, children and family,” said Shlomi Ravid, executive director of the San Francisco Israel Center. “The whole idea is to strengthen the flow of people who go and spend time in Israel.”
Throughout the afternoon, people sat down at the two computer terminals hooked up to a live chat with participants in Project Otzma, a leadership development program in Israel for college graduates. Ted Kahn, president of DesignWorlds for Learning, set up the Otzma Web site and live chat as part of an education and outreach program with the Jewish Museum of San Francisco.
“We want to show how technology can build different community bridges between people here and abroad,” he said. “The Otzma program is an ideal opportunity to document in a living way their experience and bring that experience to people in real time.”
Kate Speizer of San Jose, who spent several minutes at the keyboard, agreed. “It’s great to be able to ask someone who’s on the program some questions right now and get a first-hand account.”
A dozen enthusiastic Otzma participants logged on despite the late hour — 1:30 a.m. in Kiryat Shmona — to field inquiries and share feedback. When asked about the highlights of their stay in Israel, such comments as “time with my adoptive family,” “seeing an Israeli bar mitzvah,” and “the falafel in the Tel Aviv bus station ” scrolled into view. Eight-year-old Eric Maltiel from Saratoga wanted to know how cold it was. Seconds later various responses popped up on the screen: “It is cold.” “Freezing.” “Very cold.” and “It’s warmer than Chicago, colder than Cuba.”
Josh Wozman, public affairs officer with the Israeli Consulate General in San Francisco and himself a graduate of Project Otzma two years ago, recalled the value of his time in Israel. “This fair is a great opportunity for those who don’t have much knowledge about Israel,” he said. “My experience…was instrumental in my moving to the job I have now at the consulate.”
Meanwhile, Bernard Kaufman of San Francisco, an 11-time visitor to Israel, gathered a stack of brochures in preparation for his 12th trip. “Being at this fair makes me feel my youthfulness again,” he said.
Israel occupied a soft spot for many people in attendance. Rachel and Paul Jacoby Rosenfield of Berkeley met eight years ago in Israel as students at the Pardes Institute of Jewish Studies. Rachel, who had participated in three programs represented at the fair — Pardes, Otzma and Hebrew University — said, “coming to a fair like this reminds me of those incredible experiences I had there, and makes me wish there was another opportunity for me to go back and look around.”
San Francisco resident Betty Naftaly visited Israel as a Hadassah volunteer and was “looking into the older programs, for people over 50.” She spent some time at the B’nai B’rith table talking with Carol Harris, the regional director, about the Active Retirees in Israel program. The year-round program incorporates volunteer work, touring and an ulpan.
The fair wound down around 5 p.m. after the Otzma group signed off. But not before transmitting one more promotional message, “Tell the world to move to Israel.”