JLE returns from whirlwind Israel tour ‘inspired’ and ready to defend community

Tears, singing, dancing and praying, all within the span of 48 hours. A delegation from the Jewish Learning Exchange UK has just returned from a highly emotional but also inspiring whirlwind tour to Israel.

The group visited sites of the Hamas massacre on October 7, sang with soldiers, prayed with strangers, and met people, such as President Isaac Herzog and Douglas Murray, leaving them “fired up” as Rabbi Benjy Morgan described it to Jewish News.

Morgan recalled meeting IDF spokesperson (reserve) Jonathan Conricus and a reservist in Shin Bet intelligence who interrogated Hamas terrorists after October 7, both of whom shed invaluable insight to which kind of enemy Israel is facing in the current war.

The group also visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the places where one of the most brutal massacres took place on October 7. The group was shown around by a man named Ofer Baram who told “heart-wrenching stories of heroism and bravery.”

“But what really brought it home for the whole group was that Ofir lived on the kibbutz and was able to point at each house and tell personal stories about the victims. We passed the homes of  two boys who were kidnapped to Gaza and then later killed in a friendly fire accident. It brought out a lot of tears,” Morgan said.

The group also visited the Nova music festival memorial where they met “all kinds of Jews, both religious and secular. Israel has been very divided in recent years, but for those previous moments it did feel like a family. We were looking for a minyan to pray and a guy, who said he never prays, wanted to join us. ”

One of the most uplifting experiences was meeting some 400 Israeli soldiers at an army base where they sang, danced and prayed together, despite many of them not knowing English or Hebrew. “It transcended all the differences that we have,” Morgan said.

But perhaps the most powerful moment of the trip was at a private dinner with Douglas Murray, who has become one of the best-known defenders of Israel.

Morgan described how Murray “shook” the whole group. “He told us that he is in our corner, fighting for us, but asked us if we are doing enough. He really pushed the group, and I would say it was one of the most powerful moments of the trip.”

The rabbi also spoke about how October 7 affected Jews. “We might live in England but Jews and Israel are inseparable. I told the soldiers that we are one family and that we will win together”.

The group shared a breakfast with President Herzog at a special reception, where he told them about his “deep admiration of Anglo-Jewry and its many achievements” as well as his appreciation of the British government’s “steadfast support of Israel at this difficult time.”

Philanthropist Andrew Wolfson, who joined the group tour to Israel, told Jewish News that after spending an incredible 36 hours in Israel he could honestly say “how moving and important it was to be there.

“What I realised was that the trip was not about me but about standing in solidarity with our Israeli brothers and sisters and showing that we care. Ironically, people actually thanked us, just for being there. So for anyone who thinks like I did, believe me, go to Israel, see first-hand the resilience of the Israeli people, and remember hugs mean more than words,” he added.

Morgan described how the group returned to UK “deeply inspired and encouraged to stand up for the UK Jewish community, to fight antisemitism and to do more to support Israel. We can do more and we should do more.

“People didn’t walk out downtrodden and beaten but rather fired up. We felt the spirit of Israel. The message of the trip is that we are facing dark times but we are a different generation today from what we were 100 years ago. We should do everything we can to protect the Jewish people,” he added.