"You are the first ones from Israel to come to our community since October 7. Until today, we haven't met or spoke to anyone from Israel." This is what Chana, the head of the Jewish community in Cancun, Mexico, told Liron and Peter (pseudonyms), two Latin American reservists, a paratrooper, and a Spokesperson, who arrived as part of a special delegation from the Department of Zionist Activities in the Diaspora of the World Zionist Organization.
Chana also shared that while many Israelis have come to the shores of Cancun in the past year, none of them, nor any other Jewish organization, have visited the Jewish community. This small encounter describes the unique journey the reservists experienced over the past two weeks.
The delegation visited Peru, Mexico, Guatemala, and Miami, focusing on smaller Jewish communities that have not encountered Israelis face-to-face and heard their testimonies from the war this past year.
The idea of the delegation came from Major (Res.) Nerya Meir and his department. Nerya Meir is the head of the Department of Zionist Activities in the Diaspora of the World Zionist Organization, who spent over 200 days in reserve duty during the past year. "We fought in Khan Yunis and Lebanon," Meir says.
"When I was first released in February, after 150 days, I felt that the Israeli society had changed. We witnessed the birth of a very special generation. Brave, extremely committed, and dedicated. We are living through history and writing a new chapter of the Jewish people. And together with this new generation, the Jewish diaspora has come together in an incredible way to support Israel. But there is still more to be done to grasp the special spirit here in Israel, 'The Victorious Generation.'"
"Therefore," he said, "the first thing I did when I discharged from the army was to turn to my excellent team and think about how to bring this spirit to Jewish communities in the diaspora. Our team began to develop innovative projects showcasing the unique Israeli spirit to Jewish communities worldwide."
They gathered reserve soldiers who spoke different languages and had special stories, sending them to communities worldwide. The delegations visited South America, Central America, the U.S., and Europe, bringing firsthand stories of heroism.
Later, they began developing interactive products that communities worldwide could create events and deeply connect to Israeli individuals and heroes who through their sacrifice and legacy have taught us extremely important values.
"We personally were inspired by so many individuals who have fallen this past year," said Meir, "and wanted to bring their stories front and center, as something we can learn from, to honor their memory, share it, and be responsible to never forget who they are, what they represent, and the values they have left for us to hold onto forever."
"Taste of Memories," the first interactive project, highlights the individual heroes by sharing their favorite recipes and inviting families and communities to connect to them through the power of food. In Judaism, food is such a big part of what brings us together.
Even such moments of remembering and connecting to the fallen, can be done through food, creating a powerful, intimate and meaningful moment shared between the fallen individual, their families, and communities worldwide.
At the time that "Taste of Memories" was being distributed, families and friends of the fallen had begun a project throughout Israel placing bumper stickers in public spaces. These bumper stickers included pictures of the fallen, and a quote that either they wrote before they fell or that the family chose to represent them.
It is a powerful thing to walk through train and bus stations, central roads in cities throughout Israel, outside apartment buildings, and see these bumper stickers, reminding us about the fallen and their spirit that we have lost but will continue to carry with us forever.
This inspired the creation of the "Wall of Heroes." "By combining many of the bumper stickers together, we created a designed 'wall' brought to communities to discuss the unique concept of the bumper stickers in Israel, the method of memory that this represents, and of course also the particular values their quotes represent," said Meir.
"Similar to 'Taste of Memories', the focus is to highlight the heroism and the lessons that we can learn from these individuals, honoring their memory and keeping it alive. By interacting with the 'Wall of Heroes' and learning from these individuals, their memory is remembered and the values they represent a lesson for all to be inspired from."
The most recent project the department developed from the "Wall of Heroes" with the idea that these heroes are our modern-day Maccabees is the Hanukkah project titled "8 Nights 8 Heroes." The booklet highlights and shares about eight individuals who have fallen this past year, including Rose Lubin, an Olah who served in the border police and was killed in a terror attack in November 2023.
The booklet is a supplement to candle lighting, connecting Israel and Israelis to the celebration of Hanukkah in Jewish communities worldwide. At a time when families gather together every night around the candles to come together, to celebrate, to bring light, was chosen as a perfect time to highlight the Israeli heroism. The booklet has been distributed to Jewish communities throughout North America, South America and France.
"All the projects have one common denominator," says Meir. "Our goal is for every Jewish child in the world to dream about the superheroes of the IDF, not just Spider-Man and Wonder Woman. We are living through a historic period of time, and these heroes of the IDF are the Maccabees of our time. The more we understand this, the more we will strengthen Jewish identity and Zionism in an era where Anti-Semitism has reached a new height worldwide. This is a tremendous opportunity to strengthen the connection between the diaspora communities and Israel, and we believe that supporting the IDF is the best way to achieve this."
Liron and Peter experienced a week that reminded them of basic training in the army. Every day they had a flight to another destination. With very few hours of sleep and meeting thousands of Jews with tearful eyes, they shared the spirit of Israel we have seen during this past year.
The world is changing before our eyes. Initiatives like these are making it a better place, and creating a future of Jewish people who will live and follow in the footsteps of heroes.
To Learn more about the Diaspora department's projects: https://www.wzo.org.il/department/diaspora-activities/en/en
To download and see the Hanukkah booklet: https://www.wzo.org.il/department/diaspora-activities/Hanukkah24