A minimum philanthropic fundraising requirement, a positive attitude, and a deep love for the Jewish people and Israel—that was the primary criteria for participating in the 2nd Annual Jewish National Fund-USA Brotherhood Mission to Israel.
The 45 men from across the country, ages 35-77, who participated in the mission—held Feb. 26-March 4, 2025—brought that and more, ultimately raising more than $2 million to benefit the land and people of Israel.
“It was mind-blowing—a very mission-driven experience,” Steve Katz, the mission’s founder and chair said in an interview after returning home from the recent trip. “We had the right people on the bus; everyone knew what they were getting into and knew it was about something bigger than themselves—that is, the Jewish people.”
Each participant was responsible for paying for their own airfare, meaning 100 percent of the funds that were raised benefited Jewish National Fund-USA and other causes in Israel.
Traveling around Israel by bus, the group was comprised of physicians, lawyers, insurance and finance professionals, a school safety advocate, a general contractor, and even a Chabad rabbi. Some had previously visited Israel. For others, the mission was their first trip to the Jewish homeland.
“It was a very diverse group of guys,” Katz said, speaking by phone.
Katz, a South Florida-based emergency room doctor who spearheaded recruitment is active at Chabad of Central Boca Raton, and he encouraged several others from that community—including Rabbi Moishe Denburg, Director of that Chabad—to come along.
Their itinerary was jam-packed, beginning each day at 6 a.m. and going until 11 p.m.
The guys—who stayed at a hotel in Caesarea—brought the tikkun olam vibes. They barbecued with Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers, donated blood, assembled care packages, and painted and beautified a kibbutz’s kindergarten just two kilometers from the Israel-Lebanon border.
They also toured obscure sites. In the south, the group visited a Jewish National Fund-USA-supported Rehabilitation Village in southern Israel. This world-class facility has become a sanctuary of healing, providing cutting-edge care for disabled Israelis, as well as wounded IDF soldiers and civilians recovering from devastating injuries sustained in the October 7 attacks. They also stopped at the massacred kibbutz Kfar Aza, located near the Israeli border with Gaza, and they spent time in Ofakim, a town in the Western Negev Desert that was attacked on Oct. 7 by hundreds of terrorists with rockets and RPGs.
From the first day, the participants felt the emotional heft of the trip. Immediately after the group landed at Ben Gurion Airport, they joined thousands of Israelis for the funeral procession for Shiri Bibas and her two young sons, 9-month-old Kfir and 4-year-old Ariel, who were taken hostage by Hamas terrorists and murdered in captivity.
Katz recalled seeing Yarden Bibas, husband to the murdered Shiri and father to the two slain children, as he rode in one of the cars in the procession. As Yarden faced the sea of onlookers, he made a heart shape with his hands.
On the second day of their trip, the men met with two former Hamas hostages—Clara Marman, who was released after 129 days of captivity in Gaza, and Luis Har, who was rescued by Israeli special forces during a mission inside Gaza.
This was the second time that Katz, Chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Memorial Hospital West, led the Jewish National Fund-USA Brotherhood Mission. Last year, the inaugural Jewish National Fund-USA Brotherhood Mission, held in the spring, drew nearly 40 participants and raised more than $1 million for Jewish National Fund-USA.
This year’s mission double-downed on expressions of love, action, and Diaspora-fueled Zionism, according to participants.
“We took the vision from last year and built upon that, maximized the two goals of the trip—acts of loving kindness for our brothers and sisters in Israel, and to raise as much money as possible for them,” Katz said.
Despite everything the Israeli population has faced since Oct. 7, 2023—from mourning loved ones, facing forced evacuations, and managing the daily uncertainty over the remaining hostages—the current mood in Israel was one of strength.
“The mood in Israel, if I had to pick one word, is ‘resilience,’” Katz said. “There’s a sense of unity, a sense of trauma, but it’s been channeled in a direction of hope, not despair,” he said. “The Jewish National Fund-USA 2nd Annual Brotherhood Mission to Israel celebrated that unique Israeli resilience while demonstrating the way American Jews have the backs of our brothers and sisters in Israel.”
Additional participants on the mission included Max Schachter, of Parkland, Florida. In 2018, Schachter’s son, Alex, was killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Alex, just 14 years old at the time, was one of 17 students and school faculty members killed on that tragic day. After his son’s death, Schachter founded Safe Schools for Alex, a nonprofit focused on school safety best practices.
Visiting Israel on the recent Mission, Schachter offered an empathetic ear to those grief-stricken over losing their children on Oct. 7 and during the subsequent wars Israel has fought in Gaza and Lebanon—because, unfortunately, Schachter could relate to those grieving parents’ feelings of sorrow and loss all too well.
“A lot of people in Israel, they were like, ‘What are you doing here?’ And they really didn't understand,” Schachter said in a recent Zoom interview. “But when we told them we were there to thank them and give them a hug and tell them we support them, they were like, ‘Oh my G-d, that's amazing.’”
This was Schachter’s second time participating in the Jewish National Fund-USA Brotherhood Mission. A highlight, he said, was meeting the freed hostages, Marman and Har, as well as observing the joy on Israeli soldiers’ faces as they played pickleball—yes, pickleball—for the first time.
The soldiers had one of the mission’s participants, Lonny Anger, to thank for being introduced to the increasingly popular sport. A general contractor from Parkland, Florida, Anger had brought along mobile pickleball courts during the group’s first mission.
Because of how successful the previous pickleball-soldiers shidduch was, the guys decided to do it again this year.
On the Hatzerim Air Force base, in the Negev desert, Anger and the guys from the Brotherhood hurriedly set up the portable nets, laid down tape, and marked the boundary lines. Meanwhile, the Israeli soldiers, unfamiliar with the game, looked on, somewhat mystified.
“It’s the most popular sport in America,” one of the Brotherhood participants assured them. “It’s kind of like mini-tennis.”
Soon, the soldiers had more than a handle on the game.
Schachter, who found pickleball to be a therapeutic outlet after the deadly shooting in Parkland, was happy to see how the sport brought a similar respite for the soldiers.
“It was just amazing to see them having fun and playing a game we love and to bring some joy and laughter to the soldiers—that was our main goal,” Schachter said. “So that was really cool.”
As for next year, plans are underway for the 3rd Annual Jewish National Fund-USA Brotherhood Mission, scheduled to take place from Feb. 24-March 4, 2026.
The hope for next year’s mission is to exceed this year’s fundraising goal—$4 million perhaps—while continuing to bring the love, support, and joy to Israel.
“It’s a completely selfless trip,” Katz said. “There’s no ulterior motive. Everyone is there for Am Yisrael.”
“The Jewish National Fund-USA Brotherhood Mission to Israel is the most impactful trip to Israel you will ever go on!” added Schachter.
If you are interested in joining the next Brotherhood Mission to Israel, email travel@jnf.org. This article was written in collaboration with JNF-USA.