It’s not every day that people get the chance to explore Jewish communities around the world and combine their passion for travel with the Jewish value of tikkun olam.
But JDC (the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee) is giving young adults the chance to do just that.
In the past year, several young adults from the Kansas City Jewish community have explored Jewish communities in Uruguay, Argentina and South Africa through JDC Entwine’s Insider Trips.
JDC Entwine Insider Trips are seven-to-10-day journeys designed to help young professionals in their 20s and 30s connect with their Jewish peers, JDC, the local community and the larger global Jewish world. Participants visit Jewish communities abroad while learning about global Jewish issues.
“I was excited at the opportunity to travel with a group of Jewish young adults and have a new shared experience together,” said Greyson Rubin, who visited Cape Town, South Africa, with Entwine in August. “It is such a wonderful way to explore a new place and create a more meaningful travel experience than you would as a regular tourist.”
Tricia Uhlmann, a JDC board member and past chair of Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City, is passionate about the Entwine program, the opportunities it provides, and how it connects global Jewry.
“I have supported JDC Entwine since its inception and continue to do so because I believe that it is the best tool to get the top Jewish young adults attracted to, educated about and involved in Jewish life, and to train them as our future leaders, advocates and stakeholders,” Uhlmann told The Chronicle in a previous article. “Young people today live global lives, and JDC Entwine connects the global to the local, building community at home through service abroad. It is a gift that JDC gives to the Jewish people, and a gift that the Kansas City Jewish Federation can give to our Jewish community that it serves.”
JDC is one of Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City’s two “core” overseas partner organizations. Federation supports JDC’s work in other communities via an allocation of several hundred thousand dollars annually.
Spurred by Uhlmann, Federation is making an effort to encourage young adults in the community to participate in Entwine trips. Becca Levine, who oversees Federation’s Young Adults Division (YAD), arranged for an Entwine staff member to visit Kansas City earlier this year and meet with YAD members so they could learn more about the program. As a result, multiple people applied for trips. Federation provides a subsidy for Entwine trips to help make them more affordable.
Rubin and community member Brian Goodman, who traveled to Uruguay and Argentina with Entwine in August, both had the opportunity to tour historic Jewish sites, meet with Jewish community members and leaders, and see firsthand several local programs that are supported by JDC.
"I found it especially interesting when we met with some Jewish leaders and young adults at the University of Cape Town to discuss some of the challenges they faced as a community,” Rubin said. “I began to see many parallels between their experience as Jewish young adults in Cape Town and my experience as a Jewish young adult in Kansas City.”
For Goodman, meeting local Jews reinforced the idea that all Jews are connected.
"Having the chance to connect directly with members of those communities confirmed the reality that we are a global community and have a responsibility to maintain and grow that community through our values, especially in times of great need,” he said.
Goodman’s trip included an opportunity to meet JDC CEO Ariel Zwang, who was visiting Buenos Aires, Argentina, at the same time. The group attended several events with Zwang, including a Shabbat service and dinner at a local synagogue. His group also met with Marc Stanley, the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina (who is Jewish), and toured the ambassador's historic residence.
“He was extremely gracious with his time and touched on key points of U.S.-Argentine relations, including those that impact the Jewish community,” Goodman said.
Along with connecting young Jews on a global level, one of the goals of Entwine is to inspire participants to share their experiences when they return home, and to get involved with their Jewish community. For Rubin, who serves as chair of Federation’s YAD committee, his Entwine experience in South Africa did just that.
“This trip has reinforced my desire to stay involved and create a positive and inclusive community for Jewish young adults in Kansas City,” he said.
