Uncategorized
For one group of friends separated by geography, a single Israel experience builds lifelong bonds
When Ashley Inbar of Portland, Maine, got married in a traditional Jewish ceremony at the Jamaican beach resort of Ocho Rios in early January, there were five very special names on the guest list.
Just half a decade earlier, they were all complete strangers.
But then they met in Israel on an unusual Birthright trip geared toward “older participants” — those ages 27 to 32 — and forged bonds that have only grown over the years. When that 2018 trip drew to a close, six of them resolved to hold annual in-person reunions, despite the vast geographical distances that separate them.
“Pretty much right when we got home, we started planning to meet up somewhere,” said Inbar, who heads fundraising for the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine. “Our first trip was to Denver, then we traveled north to Redstone, Colorado, and stayed for the weekend. As soon as we end one trip, we start planning the next one. We see each other as often as we can, and we talk every day through group chats on Instagram.”
The tight bonds established by the six friends — Inbar, Tim Campbell, Max Staplin, Carly Herbst, Simon Muller and Jared Glassman — are part of the goal of Birthright Israel, which seeks to offer participants a “life-changing experience.”
While forging bonds between Diaspora Jews and Israel is the main purpose of the trips, which are given to participants at no cost to them, the 10-day Birthright experience also aims to strengthen both participants’ Jewish identity and their connection to fellow Jews (including Israelis). Countless long-lasting friendships and romances that started on Birthright have blossomed into marriages and Jewish families.
From Inbar’s group five years ago, the vast majority of participants are still in touch, she said.
“There were 38 of us, and our entire group got along really well,” Inbar said. “We were all at similar places in life, and all of us already had careers. Even today, 95% of us are still connected through social media.”
During the pandemic, when the six couldn’t meet up in person, they held biweekly Zoom chats where they’d talk for hours on end, playing games and discussing the ups and downs of their lives — including engagements, illnesses, deaths of family members and job promotions — as well as their shared memories of their Israel experience.
Ashley Inbar, third from right, with her Birthright friends celebrates her January 6, 2023, wedding on the beach in Ocho Rios, Jamaica. (Courtesy of Ashley Inbar)
The group also stayed in touch with the Israeli security guard, Gal, who escorted them on the trip. Gal video-chats with the group at times of conflict in Israel to share his experiences on the ground — and at other times to practice his English. “He just became an integral part of our collective experience, and I think it was as impactful for him as it was for us,” Inbar said.
Staplin, 36, a franchise attorney in Philadelphia, says the 2018 Birthright trip was one of the best experiences of his life. While the tours to the Dead Sea and Masada were amazing and the vibrancy of Tel Aviv unforgettable, he said, what remains with him most are the friendships he formed during those 10 days.
“We’d stay up till 1 a.m. every night talking. We knew then that we’d be friends for the rest of our lives,” Staplin said. “We decided to have a reunion every year. The first was in New Orleans, then the next year we visited Ashley in Maine. As we were figuring out where to do the next reunion, Ashley got engaged.”
Since 1999, more than 800,000 young Jews from 68 countries have visited Israel on free 10-day trips offered through Birthright, known in Hebrew as Taglit (Discovery). The vast majority were 18 to 26, but from mid-2018 until recently some 13,000 Jews in the 27 to 32 age bracket got to visit Israel as well, according to Noa Bauer, Birthright’s vice president of global marketing.
Now that the pandemic has ended and trips to Israel are back in full force, the organization is seeing its highest demand ever and can’t accommodate all would-be participants without raising additional funds.
“Given the limited spots, we went back to the original age group of 18 to 26,” Bauer said, “though we did allow those who missed out during Covid to participate this past summer as a last chance even if they aged out during the pandemic.”
On Inbar’s trip, the cohort of older Birthright participants included two married couples and several people with children, including her.
Visiting Israel at an older age made all the difference to Glassman, a 36-year-old firefighter in New Orleans. He cited “a much higher maturity level” as one of the advantages of doing Birthright when he did.
“At 18 or 19, I wouldn’t have appreciated it as much,” Glassman said. “Everyone on our group really wanted to be there. In my case, as a young adult, I became much closer to my local Jewish community. I’m a pretty active member of my temple, Touro Synagogue, so when Birthright opened that slot for my age group, it was almost like it was meant to be.”
Staplin said that what really stood out from his experience was the 360-degree view of Israeli life and history that the Birthright trip gave him – not something he could have gotten on a typical vacation.
Six participants of a 2018 Birthright Israel trip gather for their annual reunion in 2022 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Courtesy of Ashley Inbar)
“The most meaningful part was gaining an understanding of what day-to-day life is like in a country with so much history but still in the middle of so much conflict in present times,” he said. “Watching the people of Tel Aviv just going about their regular work days despite the announcement of the largest rocket attacks in years. Taking a bus ride through the middle of nowhere to Masada and learning about what happened there centuries before America was discovered, and then seeing the daily struggles of the Bedouins the next day. Going from the Western Wall to the Mahane Yehuda Market. Eating schnitzel in a kibbutz and then eating fancy Thai-fusion food at a restaurant in Tel Aviv.”
Herbst was 32 when she went on Birthright. Until then, she said, her travel priorities were to visit countries other than Israel, even though her older brother had gone on Birthright and had a positive experience.
“I wasn’t that interested at the age when you’re supposed to go,” Herbst said. “But our group had a different perspective. We weren’t looking just to get a free trip. Even my Jewish identity was certainly different for me in my 30s than in my 20s.”
Now 37, Herbst works in business development at a New York City tech startup.
“For me, what’s special about Israel is the enduring history of religion, and not only of Judaism,” she said. “Even seeing how strong of a presence Islam and Christianity has there was really fascinating for me. There’s no other place in the world where you see that.”
Muller, 37, grew up outside Rochester, New York, and was supposed to go on Birthright in his mid-20s. But a month before his planned trip, Muller lost his job after the congressional office where he was working in Washington, D.C., suddenly closed. He never got around to rescheduling the Israel trip, and then he aged out.
Nearly six years later, he said, he got an email that Birthright was doing a pilot program for older Jews.
“It was just before my 32nd birthday, I didn’t know anybody else,” Muller recalled. “It was a shot in the dark. I had low expectations.”
The trip turned out to be one of the milestones in his life.
“I found people I really clicked with,” said Muller, now an international trade consultant in Seattle. “We all live in different places and have different interests, but Birthright really bonded us. It’s been a wonderful experience.”
—
The post For one group of friends separated by geography, a single Israel experience builds lifelong bonds appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Uncategorized
US Military: ‘Locked and Loaded’ to Strike Iran’s Power Plants, Energy Industry if Ordered
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth speaks during a briefing on the Iran war, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC, US, April 16, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
The US naval blockade of Iran is just an example of “polite” behavior during the ongoing ceasefire and US forces are ready to strike Iran’s power plants and energy industry if ordered, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Thursday.
Standing alongside two of the US military‘s most senior officers, Hegseth said Iran needs to choose wisely as it prepares for negotiations with the United States.
“We are reloading with more power than ever before, and better intelligence,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. “We are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation, and on your energy industry. We’d rather not have to do it.”
President Donald Trump’s administration expressed optimism on Wednesday about reaching a deal to end the Iran war, while also warning of increasing economic pressure against Iran if it remains defiant.
That has included a blockade of Iran that went into effect on Monday, with the US military forcing 14 ships to turn around. Dozens of US warships and aircraft, including about 10,000 military personnel, are enforcing the blockade.
Trump is hoping the effort will force Iran to accept US terms for ending the war, which was launched by the US and Israel on Feb. 28, including opening up the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which roughly one fifth of global oil and gas exports ordinarily transits. Trump has said that was also a condition of the ceasefire due to expire next week.
The war has resulted in a major disruption of global oil and gas supplies.
Analysts have said that Iran can withstand a complete halt in oil exports of up to two months before being forced to curb production.
Hegseth, in comments aimed at the Iranian leadership, said that the blockade “is the polite way that this can go.”
READY TO RESUME OPERATIONS
Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, which oversees military operations in the Middle East, said the military was adjusting tactics, techniques, and procedures, but he did not provide any details.
During the same briefing, General Dan Caine, chairman of the US military‘s Joint Chiefs of Staff, added that American forces are “ready to resume major combat operations at literally a moment’s notice.”
US Navy ships would pursue any Iranian-flagged vessel or any vessel attempting to provide material support to Iran, Caine told the briefing. He added that could take place not just in the region, but also the Indo-Pacific.
Ships trying to break the blockade would be intercepted and warned that “if you do not comply with this blockade, we will use force,” and enforcement would occur inside Iran’s territorial seas and in international waters, Caine said.
No ships have been boarded so far, Caine said.
The US military has widened its blockade to include cargoes deemed contraband, and any vessels suspected of trying to reach Iranian territory will be “subject to belligerent right to visit and search,” the US Navy said in an advisory on Thursday.
“These vessels, regardless of location, are subject to visit, board, search, and seizure,” the Navy said in an updated advisory.
Contraband items listed included weapons, weapons systems, ammunition, nuclear materials, crude, and refined oil products as well as iron, steel and aluminum.
Sources briefed by Tehran have told Reuters that Iran could let ships sail freely through the Omani side of the Strait of Hormuz without risk of attack under proposals it has offered in talks with the US, providing a deal is clinched to prevent renewed conflict.
Uncategorized
Trump Says Lebanon and Israel Have Reached 10-Day Ceasefire
Smoke rises following an airstrike in Lebanon, as seen from Israeli side of the border, April 11, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Israel and Lebanon had agreed to begin a 10-day ceasefire at 5 pm EST (2100 GMT), signaling a pause in Israel‘s conflict with Iran-backed terrorist group Hezbollah that has raged in parallel to the war with Iran.
A US official said the ceasefire would start on Thursday.
After announcing the deal on social media, Trump told reporters that leaders of the two countries could meet at the White House over the next week or two.
“It’s very exciting. I think we’re going to have a deal where we’re going to have a meeting, first time in 44 years, and Lebanon will be meeting with Israel, and they’re probably going to do it at the White House over the next week or two,” Trump said, adding that he spoke with both leaders as the ceasefire was announced and was working on a longer term deal.
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry had earlier said that peace in Lebanon was essential for talks it is mediating to end the war between the United States and Iran.
Trump said he had held excellent conversations with both Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
An Israeli cabinet source said Netanyahu’s security cabinet had convened for an urgent discussion on the Lebanon ceasefire.
An Israeli security official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Israeli military had no plans to withdraw forces from southern Lebanon during a ceasefire.
In its first comment after Trump‘s announcement, Hezbollah said any ceasefire must not allow Israel freedom of movement within Lebanon. In a statement issued by its media office, the terrorist group said the presence of Israeli troops on Lebanese territory granted Lebanon and its people the “right to resist.”
‘BUFFER ZONE’
Lebanon was dragged into the war in the Middle East on March 2, when Hezbollah opened fire in support of Tehran, prompting an Israeli offensive in Lebanon just 15 months after the last major conflict between the Shi’ite Islamist group and Israel.
Israeli attacks have killed more than 2,100 people in Lebanon since March 2 and forced more than 1.2 million to flee, Lebanese authorities say. Most of those killed have been Hezbollah terrorists, according to Israeli tallies. Hezbollah attacks have killed two Israeli civilians, while 13 Israeli soldiers have died in Lebanon since March 2, Israel says.
Israeli forces have entered areas of southern Lebanon and vowed to maintain control over territory extending all the way to the Litani River, which meets the Mediterranean some 30 km (20 miles) north of Israel‘s border. Israel ordered residents out of the area south of the Litani during the war.
Israeli troops have since destroyed Lebanese villages in the area, saying their aim is to create a “buffer zone” to protect northern Israeli towns from Hezbollah attacks.
Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah, speaking to Reuters minutes before Trump‘s announcement, said the group had been informed by Iran’s ambassador to Lebanon that a ceasefire could begin on Thursday evening. After the announcement, he said it would be for 10 days.
Asked if Hezbollah would commit to the truce, Fadlallah said everything depended on Israel halting all forms of hostilities, and credited Iran’s diplomatic efforts for the possible ceasefire.
BEIRUT AT ODDS WITH HEZBOLLAH
The Lebanese government has been sharply at odds with Hezbollah over its decision to enter the war, having spent the last year seeking to secure the peaceful disarmament of the group founded by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in 1982.
Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors held rare talks in Washington on Tuesday, despite objections from Hezbollah.
Trump said he had directed US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine to work with the two countries to achieve lasting peace. “Both sides want to see PEACE, and I believe that will happen, quickly!” he said in a post on Truth Social.
In another social media post, Trump said he would be inviting Netanyahu and Aoun to the White House for “meaningful talks” between the two countries, which have remained in an official state of war since Israel was established in 1948.
Trump had earlier said that Lebanese and Israeli leaders would speak on Thursday for the first time in decades. However, Lebanese officials said Aoun did not speak with Netanyahu on Thursday, and that Lebanon‘s US embassy had informed Washington he would not speak to him in the near future.
BATTLE FOR BORDER TOWN
Speaking to Reuters again after Trump‘s announcement, Hezbollah lawmaker Fadlallah said Lebanese displaced from the south should wait for the ceasefire to take hold and be extremely cautious in villages occupied by Israeli troops.
Fighting continued to rage in south Lebanon on Thursday, notably in the border town of Bint Jbeil, a Hezbollah stronghold and strategic prize. A senior Lebanese official said Lebanon believed Israel wanted to secure a victory in Bint Jbeil before diplomatic progress could be made.
An Israeli strike destroyed the last bridge over the Litani River into the south, a senior Lebanese security source said, fully severing the area from the rest of the country after Israel destroyed other crossings during the war.
Uncategorized
Three Arrested After Attempted Arson at Persian-Language Media Office in London
A Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) car. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
British police said on Thursday they had arrested three people in connection with an attempted arson attack on the offices of a Persian-language media organization in northwest London, which followed two similar incidents in the British capital.
An ignited container was thrown toward the premises of the parent company of Iran International, Volant Media, on Wednesday evening, landing in a car park where the fire extinguished itself. No damage was reported and there were no injuries, the police said.
Two men, aged 19 and 21, and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of arson endangering life. The arson attempt was not being treated as terrorism, but counterterrorism officers were involved in the investigation, police said.
Iran International said a suspicious vehicle was denied entry to its London site shortly before incendiary devices were thrown into a nearby car park.
It said it viewed the incident in the context of “growing threats and intimidation” directed at the organization and its journalists.
The incident comes a day after police arrested two suspects following an attempted arson attack on a synagogue, also in north London.
JEWISH COMMUNITIES AND IRANIAN DIASPORA INCREASINGLY TARGETED, POLICE SAY
Last month, several ambulances belonging to the Jewish volunteer emergency service Hatzola were set alight while parked near a synagogue in the Golders Green area of north London.
Matt Jukes, a deputy commissioner for London’s Metropolitan Police, said in a statement on Thursday he understood why conflict overseas and heightened tensions in Britain would be “deeply worrying.”
“London’s Jewish communities and the Iranian diaspora in London have, in recent years, been increasingly targeted by individuals, groups, and hostile states intent on spreading fear, hate, and harm,” Jukes said.
British authorities have previously warned that there is a threat to journalists working for Persian-language outlets that are critical of Iran’s government. In 2024, a journalist working for the television news network Iran International was stabbed in the leg near his home in south London.
Britain’s MI5 spy boss said last October that his agency and British police had tracked more than 20 Iranian-backed plots to kidnap or kill British nationals or individuals based in Britain who were regarded by Tehran as a threat.
“We are dealing with an unprecedented level of national security investigations, some with suspected links to foreign states and many of those have dangerous and often reckless intentions,” Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing, told reporters on Thursday.
She added that the incidents had taken place against a backdrop of “global instability within which we’re seeing sustained and increasing aggressive and hostile activity.”