Several Silver Spring teens were among the nearly 1,000 Jewish students who traveled to Israel in July through the National Conference for Synagogue Youth’s first set of summer programs since Oct. 7. The teens, who participated in different NCSY programs, said they made friends, explored the country and gained new experiences, deepening their appreciation for Israel.
NCSY aims to connect teens with their Jewish roots, a mission the organization has held since its inception in 1954, according to NCSY’s website.
Hatzalah Rescue
Sylvia Fine, 16, went to Israel from June 30 to July 29 for Hatzalah Rescue. Fine was one of more than 40 teens from across the United States and Canada to become first responders and volunteer with United Hatzalah, an Israeli volunteer-based emergency medical services organization. The program was directed by Moshe Zharnest, an emergency medical technician and firefighter.
Fine participated in eight-hour training sessions at United Hatzalah’s Jerusalem headquarters, which taught the teens how to take blood pressure, use an oxygen tank and glucometer, administer an EpiPen, transport patients on a backboard, dress wounds and deliver a baby. Fine and her teammates were assigned to ambulance shifts in either an ambulance or a car and responded to emergency calls.
“A 70-year-old man who was on blood thinners sliced his leg, so he needed to be transported to the hospital to get stitches,” Fine said. “My last call was very intense. It was a woman who was 62 and had special needs who had fallen on the ground, and she was just so scared to get up. I don’t know if she was in pain, but she called Hatzalah and we showed up. Once we got her standing, we pushed a chair behind her, said she could sit and … she was still scared to sit down. That was my most intense call because I think it shows why Hatzalah is so needed. You find all these people in their worst moments, one of the scariest moments of their lives and you go and comfort them.”
When they weren’t on ambulance shifts, the teens participated in tourist activities such as ziplining, rappelling and water sports.
Fine said she wants to pursue medicine after a hospital stay introduced her to the field.
“I became interested in eighth grade when I had a skateboard accident. I was in the hospital for two weeks,” Fine said. “I found everything that was happening around me really interesting. Since then, I’ve had more of an interest in medicine.”
She said she is glad she chose to participate in Hatzalah Rescue due to the hands-on experience and the opportunity to become EMS-certified with Israel.
Next Step
Ozzie Hollander, 16, went to Israel with an interest in finance and business. He has taken electives in these subjects at Berman Hebrew Academy, where he is a rising 11th grader, and community college classes.
Hollander completed a finance internship for three weeks in Israel through the Next Step program, sandwiched between days of touring Israel. He worked with the owner of a law firm who works in private wealth management, and did research and data analysis, created spreadsheets and helped start a small business — a travel website — with a peer.
He said the trip strengthened his professional skills and connected him to the 40 other teens in Next Step.
“It was the best program of my life. I had the most fun I’ve ever had,” Hollander said. “Everyone got really close and we’re all friends.”
Hollander said the summer before 11th grade is a time for teens to mature and expand their worldview, which is why he chose to try something new.
“I wanted to experience something I’ve never experienced before; I wanted to have a job in a completely different country,” Hollander said. “I was working with people I’d never met. I was making a difference.”
Kollel
Akiva Kranzler, 15, found a new interest in studying Torah during Kollel, a six-week boys’ program in Israel that combines learning with competitive sports.
“It’s about six [to] eight hours a day of Torah, four hours of basketball and trips twice a week,” Kranzler said.
Kranzler, a Berman Hebrew Academy student who has attended Jewish day school his whole life, said Kollel is “definitely a step up” from his prior experiences. He said his relationship with Torah has grown over time.
“I think for a lot of kids, it comes as a burden. It can get technical; sometimes it can get boring,” Kranzler said. “But as you grow, you learn to love it. You get into it; it feels great. You feel connected to your spirituality. You feel like you’re growing, getting smarter, learning about how God works and how to bring righteousness to the world.”
Kranzler said he had a positive experience bonding with the other boys in the program.
“It’s an incredible vibe,” Kranzler said. “I walked in on the first day and felt like I had 100 friends.”
Euro Israel
Ozzie Hollander’s twin, Amy Hollander, went on a trip with Euro Israel, which takes teens on a tour of Europe and Israel to explore their Jewish heritage, from July 1 to Aug. 1. The group spent the first 10 days in Europe with stops in Scotland, London, France and Amsterdam.
After landing in Israel, the group visited the site of the Nova music festival and heard from Eden Shmuel, a survivor of the Oct. 7 attack. Amy Hollander said her favorite part of the trip was when she came up to Shmuel after and Shmuel recognized her from when she had spoken at Amy Hollander’s school and synagogue.
“I was able to hear her story and actually see everything that happened,” Amy Hollander said. “Back in Maryland, I only had my imagination and pictures … but to be standing there and seeing where the first attacks happened, where she was when her friends got lost and the bomb shelter she stayed in was really powerful.”
She added that hearing Shmuel speak and seeing the Nova festival site made her feel connected to Israel: “Hopefully when I’m older, I’ll make aliyah.”
Although Amy Hollander heard “a couple of” bombs in the distance from the Nova festival site, she said she felt safer in Israel than she had in the European countries.
The group visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv and heard from Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son, Hersh, was kidnapped on Oct. 7 and is held captive by Hamas. The group went to Masada, Moshav Tekuma, the Western Wall, Eilat and Haifa, where the teens learned to surf.
She saw Ozzie at some points throughout the trip. Their flights back to the U.S. fell on the same day, so she introduced him to her new friends at the airport.
“I didn’t realize how much I missed him,” Amy Hollander said of her twin. “I saw him, and he looked like he was having such an amazing time. Being able to experience both worlds, seeing how much of a good time he had and him seeing what my program was like was really amazing.”
