Upper Schoolers and Alumni Team Up for an Impactful Mission to Israel

Upper School volunteers went on an absolutely amazing mission to Israel. They joined up with Ramaz alumni currently on their gap year in Israel, and together they participated in meaningful activities and made a big impact. Their chesed took many forms, including building a pergola at an IDF base, packing hydration bottles and snacks for chayalim with Revital’s Hamal, and serving pizza, crepes, and ice cream to hungry chayalim. That wasn’t all: They sponsored a barbecue at an IDF base, where the soldiers were leaving to go back into Gaza as new recruits were arriving, and even planted trees with the family of Shachaf, a young man murdered on October 7, 2023, in memory of fallen soldiers.

Students and alumni learned a great deal and made meaningful connections with Israelis. For example, they visited national medical center Magen David Adom and toured its fortified underground blood center, which stores blood for the entire country. They gained a deeper understanding of disability—and how life can change in an instant—by participating in a basketball game while only using wheelchairs. They also spoke firsthand with alumim and survivors of October 7, hearing their stories and learning about their communities. This included seeing GoPro footage recorded by an IDF soldier on October 7, as well as meeting Amit, a mother from Kfar Aza, who told the group how she spent 34 hours in a shelter with her three children. The group expressed their condolences and their admiration of her resilience, and bonded deeper with Amit’s family at her husband’s hummus restaurant in Sderot.

The students and alumni emerged from the program truly proud of the impact they had on Israelis, and feel certain that the trip had just as profound an impact right back on them.