A Maryland Background, A Jerusalem Present Dovie Shimoff grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland, and attended Yeshiva of Greater Washington for high school. After graduating, he spent two years learning at Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh, an experience that played a significant role in shaping both his religious growth and the direction of his future. That time
When Ellie Steiner says something didn’t feel right when she started her college career America, she doesn’t mean she was lost. On paper, everything was right. She had come to Israel at 17 to learn at Darchei Bina Seminary. She returned to the U.S. and began studying pre-health sciences at a religious college near her
A New York Background, A Jerusalem Present Zack Moskowitz grew up on the Upper East Side, surrounded by a strong Jewish community, and attended Frisch for high school. Israel was always part of the atmosphere he grew up with, not necessarily as a concrete plan, but as something meaningful in the background. Summers at Camp
Medicine with a Mission: Sara Erblich’s Commitment to Healing and Home An Unexpected Turn Toward Aliyah Sara Erblich grew up in Los Angeles and attended Jewish day school. Aliyah was never part of her plan. If anything, she assumed her future would unfold in America. That assumption began to unravel during her year at MMY
From New York to Ramat Aviv Ella-Rose Feldman grew up in Manhattan. Now, she lives in Ramat Aviv, on the Tel Aviv University campus. She’s part of the dual-degree program between Tel Aviv University and Columbia University, studying Middle Eastern Studies at TAU and planning to study Biology when she continues at Columbia. “For a
Ever wonder what daily life looks like for a grad student at Ben-Gurion University (BGU)? Meet Devo Silberfarb — a master’s student in social work, dog mom to Dakota, and an active part of the JLIC @ BGU community. Devo’s day starts early with a bit of grounding: she wakes up, davens (prays), and takes
Meet Beto Valt, a second-year student at Reichman University. He reflects on his early days in Israel, sharing that when he first arrived, he felt a bit lost. The transition from a yeshiva environment to the academic and social world of a university was challenging. But then Beto found JLIC Mizrachi Herzliya—and everything began to
A Heart in Two Places: Growing Up with Israel in Mind Esther Franklin may have been born and raised in Los Angeles, but her heart was always set on Israel. Raised in a proudly pro-Israel home, she internalized from a young age that her future belonged in the Jewish homeland. Already as a middle schooler,
Jacobo’s Journey: From Mexico to Medicine in Israel Jacobo Alfie grew up in Mexico and now lives in the dorms at Ariel University, where he’s part of the The International Medical Sciences Program (Pre-Med). His path to Israel wasn’t direct — but it was intentional, rooted in a strong desire to build a meaningful future.
From a young age, Hodi S. knew that her future was in Israel. What she didn’t yet know was how her passion for engineering, love of community, and drive to give back would shape that journey in remarkable ways. From South Africa to Israel: A Dream Realized Hodi grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa, in
