Authentic Israel

Wonderful Heart breaking at times but fantastic at others.

It was an awesome experience to help serve the people in Israel! Authentic Israel did a great job of setting up projects to help with. We also got to hear from various speakers to learn about the truth of what is happening in Israel. When such tragic things are happening, it makes you feel helpless. Serving gives the opportunity to feel like you get to ease the pain of those hurting if even in a small way. I also love that it is open to everyone and not just Jewish people. I am not Jewish, but I love the Jewish people and wanted to help. This trip offered the best opportunities to serve.

I and many of the other members of our Authentic Israel tour plan to return for another trip, because we had an extraordinary experience that went beyond the joys and fascination of travel. Every day we had meaningful opportunities to volunteer and to engage with Israeli communities, soldiers, workplaces and farms, as we were guided and serviced by a caring and passionate team of exceptional leaders from Authentic Israel. Our travel and days were comfortable and extremely well planned, and at the same time flexible. It was a special time for deep and extended conversations and for spiritual and cultural insights.

My husband and I feel that our volunteer mission in Israel was most meaningful and rewarding. Our group of twenty plus volunteers experienced a sense of unity in our desire to help our brethren and were moved by the appreciation of those with whom we interacted. We remain in touch several months after our time together, valuing our shared emotions and experiences in our homeland.

Every visit to Israel has been amazing - but this was by far the most meaningful experience of all. Our wonderful guide, Nitsan, added so much warmth, and referred to us as “our little mishpacha” as we all shared experiences as one. The trip was well organized, with someone greeting us at the airport, until we returned home. The volunteering activities were so much more than what we actually did - making schnitzel and serving our wonderful soldiers on the Gaza border; harvesting and packing tomatoes; cooking meals; preparing boxes of food for displaced families and lone soldiers; etc. The connections we made with our Israeli brothers and sisters, the warmth, the spirit and the love we felt, being there at this critical time to support our Jewish nation physically and emotionally, is so impactful. Bearing witness and honoring the precious lives of those we lost on October 7, the fallen soldiers that defend our nation, the hostages and families that continue to suffer - all these give us the determination and strength to make sure that our beloved Israel will remain as our Jewish homeland. Am Yisrael Chai!