At the Burj Khalifa in Dubai during the 2022 delegation trip.

True, Israel Bonds is an investment. But over the last six years, it has given me much more than interest rates! Through my involvement with Israel Bonds as a lay leader, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from inspiring people around the world, make new friends, experience historic moments, and grow as a person by meeting exciting challenges.

It all started at an Israel Bonds breakfast in Berlin on November 8, 2017. A member of my synagogue had invited me. But the experience that really ignited my passion for Israel Bonds was the organization’s one-week delegation trip to celebrate Israel’s 70^th birthday in Israel in 2018 – the best trip of my life. We traveled through Israel and gained fascinating insights into the country’s economy, politics, education, and security situation. Speakers included Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, then-President Reuven Rivlin, IDF Brigadier-General Amos Ben Avraham, and former Senior VP at Intel, Shmuel Eden. My absolute highlight: the day of Yom Ha’azmaut in Tel Aviv. It started with a powerful address by awe-inspiring Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau at breakfast. At noon, our delegation was privileged to watch the spectacular IDF show on the water and in the sky, together with Israel’s then-UN Ambassador Danny Danon, and a group of around forty other UN ambassadors from Europe, Latin America, and Africa. I will never forget singing birthday songs for Israel with this international group of top diplomats. The celebration culminated in a gala dinner, after which I took off with a friend from New Leadership to go from one home party to another. I had never seen a whole city so happy before.

My involvement with Israel Bonds also led me to the darkest place of Jewish history, Auschwitz. I was part of an Israel Bonds delegation for the 2019 March of the Living, a shocking experience and, at the same time, very impactful because it has given me even more determination to ensure “Never Again.”

My greatest challenge at Israel Bonds was to deliver the opening remarks together with Chairman of the Board Howard L. Goldstein at the 2019 International Leadership Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. I felt very honored to speak in front of so many outstanding leaders, including one of Israel’s most prominent TV presenters, Yonit Levi, Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, former Member of US Congress Barry Goldwater Jr., and Elan S. Carr, at the time the United States Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. The conference was very fruitful because I gathered many new ideas in numerous workshops, speeches and mentoring sessions on how to promote Israel Bonds.

Israel Bonds gave me the valuable opportunity to participate in the organization’s Shimon Peres Mentorship Program as a mentee.

Talking about mentoring, Israel Bonds gave me the valuable opportunity to participate in the organization’s Shimon Peres Mentorship Program as a mentee. Over the course of one year, my mentor, Jonathan Lewis, and I had several one-on-one meetings, in which we discussed ways to serve the organization even more effectively. I also gained a lot of precious input from Mr. Lewis on how to improve as a leader in general.

A truly historic experience was the 2022 “Footsteps of the Abraham Accords” delegation trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, and Israel. We had to wait about five decades from the date of independence of Bahrain and the UAE until the wonderful normalization of relations with Israel occurred and the phenomenal Israel Bonds trip that followed.

With this long wait in mind, high-ranking dignitaries of Gulf States speaking to us from behind Israel Bonds podiums seemed to me like a mirage in the Arabian desert. Moreover, I was very impressed by the inspiring, can-do-attitude that is exemplified in Dubai’s omnipresent creed: “The sky is no longer the limit!” It is a way of thinking that blends well with Israel’s famous start-up culture and American vision. This phrase also describes the number of prominent speakers and guests that Israel Bonds managed to assemble for our trip. In the Gulf States, my personal highlights included talks from HE Shaikh Salman bin Khalifa Al Khalifa, Minister of Finance and National Economy in Bahrain, Safra Catz, CEO of Oracle, and Amir Hayek, Israel’s first ambassador to the UAE. In Israel, my favorite speakers were President Isaac Herzog, Avigdor Liebermann, and Benny Gantz.

My involvement with Israel Bonds has been much more than an investment.

Israel Bonds has not only offered me great delegation trips, but also many great events in Germany. With Israel Bonds, we got a tour through the impressive headquarters of Europe’s biggest publishing company, Axel Springer, in Berlin and had an inspiring talk with Israel’s ambassador to Germany, Ron Prosor. Moreover, Israel Bonds was the main sponsor of the spectacular Maccabi Games in Düsseldorf in 2021, and I was privileged to represent the organization together with another lay leader. The Israel Kongress 2018 in Frankfurt belongs among my highlights as well. Our group of Israel Bonds leaders had a booth to present the work of our organization and we met Ziv Aviram, Israel’s most successful start-up founder.

What an incredible six years – hopefully with many more to come! My involvement with Israel Bonds has been much more than an investment. It has truly been a life-changing experience. Also, I consider my time with Israel Bonds the best belated birthday present ever because my first event was on Nov 8 – one day after my birthday.