Visiting Israel on a national Jewish federations mission, Maxine Murnick said she was disappointed when her group was discouraged from visiting Ofakim, in Israel’s beleaguered South.
“Can you imagine if somebody advised you against going to Millburn or Morris Plains?” she asked.
New Jersey residents visiting Israel during its current clash with Hamas got a close look at what it means to be in Israel when Hamas missiles pour in from Gaza, as air raid sirens sound frequently, and dashes to missile shelters interrupt the mundane activities of daily life.
Murnick, campaign chair for the Jewish Federation of Greater MetroWest NJ, said the overwhelming impression she was left with was “the resiliency of the Israeli people, which is just something to behold.”
Murnick was one of several local leaders — including federation president Leslie Dannin Rosenthal and assistant executive vice president Jeffrey Korbman — visiting Israel on the July 7-13 Campaign Chairs’ and Directors’ Mission of the Jewish Federations of North America. They briefed local Jewish leaders on the situation via a conference call on July 13, as the Greater MetroWest federation launched an Israel Emergency Campaign (see related story).