During a visit to a Bedouin tent are MetroWest Business and Professional mission members, from left, front row, Gary Aidekman, Jeffrey Cohen, Kenny Mandelbaum, Carey Pack, and Jeffrey Punia; and, back row, B.J. Reisberg, Elliot Chodoff (guide), Susan Solomon, and Kurt Olender.
At Har Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem are, from left, Elliot Chodoff (guide), Jeff Cohen, Carey Pack, Kenny Mandelbaum, Jeffrey Punia, and Susan Solomon.
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April 9, 2009
In the late 1990s, Gary Aidekman, president of United Jewish Communities of MetroWest NJ, recognized a problem. His generation, the baby-boomers, had put off their commitment to Jewish philanthropy for a number of reasons; they thought their parents were “taking care of it” and that giving to Jewish causes was somehow outdated.
Then, in 2005 he had a brainchild — the Business Professionals mission — aimed at maximizing the limited time of established professionals and highlighting their philanthropic passions. Aidekman constructed a mission that would allow participants to leave on Wednesday and be back in the office the following Tuesday. He added an emphasis on face-to-face meetings with major figures in Israeli business and industry.
This year, despite the economic downturn, a group of eight arrived in Israel for a March 24-30 Business Professionals trip, the fourth annual mission.
Explaining the model’s success, Aidekman said that while the missions provide “a lot of fun,” they above all offer “a meaningful experience.”
“Whether it’s going to Yad Vashem or sitting with a family who has lost somebody in one of Israel’s wars, there’s that ‘I get it’ moment, when you ‘get’ why Israel is important, why Diaspora’s important, and the connection and interrelationship,” said Aidekman, who lives in Madison.
Jeff Cohen of Short Hills, who cochaired this year’s mission together with B.J. Reisberg of Roseland, said this dual focus guided them as they found original ways to interweave the categories of the itinerary: visits to sites of programs funded by UJC MetroWest and places related to Judaism and Zionism and, finally, activities that are just plain fun.
For example, said Cohen, the group spent time in the Negev’s Ramon Crater, rappelling, taking jeep tours, and having dinner in the desert. But joining them throughout the day was a group of “hayalim bodedim,” lone soldiers (immigrants without families), who receive help through the Jewish Agency thanks to the generosity of MetroWest donors. The soldiers appreciated the much-needed break, while the mission participants had the opportunity for a fruitful dialogue with young people making an extraordinary commitment to Israel.
The group also visited the Galai Winery in Merchavim (part of MetroWest’s Partnership 2000 region of Ofakim-Merchavim) and tasted fine Israeli wines, while at the same time providing critical support to the desert region.
Perhaps closest to the hearts of the participants was their visit to areas suffering in the wake of Operation Cast Lead. The group went to Kibbutz Erez, which, along with the rest of the Sha’ar HaNegev, is partnered with MetroWest and has suffered from heavy fire from Gaza. They had a chance to see what MetroWest has done to ease the pain and increase safety for the beleaguered residents — from bomb shelters decorated in a child-friendly way to a recreation room for the soldiers in the Nachal Oz Army Base, made possible by donor dollars.
“You look out the window of the recreation room and see the gate into Gaza. It brings home the reality the soldiers are living in, and the different ways UJC supports them,” Cohen said.
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