Meet your #Bus217 Staff
Get ready for an amazing adventure! #Birthright #Shorashim
*All pictures are either from your staff’s first trip to Israel, in general or as a staff person, or one of their favorite places*
Omer Ziv
Why is it important to you to have Israelis on the trip for all 10 days?
Having Israelis for the entire tour making the experience much more warm and unique. first, more Hebrew phrases and music are being thought. second, and most impotent, Israelis and Americans have more time to know each other and not getting just a glimpse.
What's a fun fact about yourself?
I will do every thing for a good joke!
What's the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?
Just be and behave as a human being.
What's your favorite Shorashim memory?
The Icebreakers in the evenings.
What's your favorite place that you have ever travelled to and why?
Machtesh Ramon. sitting quietly at sunset time around the Machtesh lookout and feeling how strong and abstract our Negev desert is.
What are your words of wisdom for your future participants?
If you have the opportunity for a life time experience, don't let it get away
Jessica Ost
Where are you from originally and where do you live now?
Skokie, Chicago.
What do you do for a living?
I work for the Jewish United Fund's Young Leadership Division.
When did you go to Israel for the first time?
I went to Israel in August 2000 when I was 10 years old with my family.
What’s a fun fact about yourself?
I can read and write Arabic.
What's your favorite place to visit in Israel?
The outdoor theatre at Hebrew University.
What's your favorite place that you've ever travelled to and why?
Peru, I loved hiking in the Andes Mountains!
What's your favorite Israeli food and where is your favorite place in Israel to get this dish?
Kubeh, restaurant in the shuk (I can't remember the name).
If there was one aspect of Israel that you could bring back to America with you, what would it be?
The feeling that the whole country is coming together during Shabbat regardless of where you are.
What's the #1 reason that you recommend that your friends and family should go on Birthright Israel with Shorashim?
Being with the Israelis for 10 days is truly amazing. I am still friends with the Israelis from my Shorashim trip from 2009!
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
Listen to your gut, it's always right.
What are your words of wisdom for your future participants?
Take chances!
Jonathan Eisen
Where are you from originally and where do you live now?
St. Louis, MO // Chicago, IL.
What do you do for a living?
Community Manager at OneTable at onetable.org.
When did you go to Israel for the first time?
Birthright Summer 2007.
What’s a fun fact about yourself?
I didn't start eating vegetables until the age of 21. Now, you'll see me eating Israeli salad at every chance I get.
What's your favorite place to visit in Israel?
The desert or the beach. Depends on the season. I am a midwest guy so the ocean is always a nice place to visit.
What's your favorite place that you've ever travelled to and why?
Brazil! My family hosted four foreign exchange students there during my middle school and high school years. Finally had a chance to visit this past March (2015) to see some of them and their families.
What's your favorite Israeli food and where is your favorite place in Israel to get this dish?
The lamb shawarma at Miznon in Tel Aviv. I also love the bagel and lox and XoHo.
If there was one aspect of Israel that you could bring back to America with you, what would it be?
I love how people open up their homes for meals and a place to crash for the night. The hospitality I experience in Israel, whether it's on an organized trip or visiting friends, is incredible.
What's the #1 reason that you recommend that your friends and family should go on Birthright Israel with Shorashim?
The connection to Chicago when you come home :)
What /who is your spirit animal and why?
Dolphin - it's a social and friendly animal!
What's the best piece of advice you've ever been given?
Just be yourself - my parents are so supportive of what I love to do in life and in my professional career.
What are your words of wisdom for your future participants?
Take this gift of Birthright and use it as a milestone in your Jewish journey. Know that when you come home it's not the end of the trip - rather it's the beginning to a way for you to own your own story and experience community in a way that brings meaning and authenticity to your life.
Anything else you want to share?
I'm stoked to be staffing with Jessica Ost and Omer Ziv!
