One of the effects of the massacre on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 and the war with Iran in 2025, has been the cancellation of trips to Israel, leading American Jewish youth to pivot to what are known as alternative trips, visiting Jewish communities and historical sites in the diaspora. As a professional in the Jewish travel space, I have seen the disappointment of cancelled Israel trips and the devaluation of diaspora travel. I understand this sentiment first-hand. I made Aliyah in 2024, because no place in the world feels like Israel, where being Jewish is being free. I strongly believe in the opportunity for Jewish youth in the U.S. to visit Israel and strengthen that bond.
At the same time, I strongly believe in the importance of Jewish youth to travel outside of Israel because of how it shapes Jewish identity alongside Israel travel. It is time we stop treating travel to countries outside of Israel as the sideline to our story as a peoplehood and start approaching it as essential to Jewish identity development.
Alternative trips hold so much weight for Jewish youth not because of the freedom of being Jewish, but on the contrary, because of the understanding they build of Jewish fluidity – finding ways to be Jewish anywhere in the world. While visiting Israel provides youth a grounding to their Jewish roots, visiting diaspora countries teaches us not to take for granted our access to practice Judaism. The discomfort of feeling alienated in our country of birth or being a guest in a culture where there is not a strong Jewish presence, is a lesson in navigating how to fit your Jewish self into that time and place.
We should be teaching Jewish youth that while our existence outside of Israel might feel fragile, it is also empowering. We cannot fully appreciate Israel without seeing how the freedom to practice Judaism has morphed through time and location globally. This is an especially important lesson today, amid an alarming explosion of antisemitism before our eyes — the swastikas and hate speech that deface synagogues, the protests targeting Jewish institutions, and the blood libel spread on social media, to name a few examples.
Alternative trips teach us how to celebrate the contributions of Jewish peoplehood, scholars, and events of the diaspora. The next generation can learn about the once prominent Jewish cultural center of Thessaloniki, Greece, or the well-known scholar Shlomo Ibn Gabriol and his life in Spain. In Madrid they can stand in Plaza Mayor, a site of sentencing and executions during the Spanish Inquisition. In Germany, Jewish youth can see how Jewish life has been rebuilt and see the importance of landmarks that honor the victims of the Holocaust.
I spent a year in Spain, an experience starkly different from the one I had living freely as a Jew in Israel for a year after finishing college. In Madrid, I learned my Jewish identity needed to be malleable as I recreated my Jewish identity in a culture and country where being a minority meant I lost access to Jewish resources and community. I had to make very specific choices about how to maintain my Jewish identity — such as attending Hebrew classes, or understanding how to navigate a culture where ham is a common cuisine. I learned to appreciate the ease of Jewishness in Israel and the access I had to choose a Jewish life in the United States.
In an ever-evolving world, Jewish community leaders should urge Jewish youth to visit countries beyond Israel. As a people who have been largely nomadic for millennia and still managed to sustain our identity across continents and eras, we should teach Jewish youth what is means to be Jewish beyond their country of birth and outside of Israel – because that has been essential to our enduring strength and survival.
Rachel Horowitz (M.Ed.) is the Director of Operations for BBYO Passport Europe/ROW. She has worked in the Jewish non-profit space for 10 years, with a focus on immersive experiences such as Birthright, Onward, and global teen travel. She has traveled to over 20 countries and resides in Israel. She enjoys yoga, reading, and exploring new places.
