Momentum from tour leaves Pittsburghers with unified message: Visit Israel
'There is no replacement for being in a place and actually talking to people there'
Before last week, Tara Surloff had never been to Israel. The Richland Township resident and mother of two ventured to the Jewish state after a spot opened on Momentum’s Unity Trip.
Momentum, a group that defines itself as empowering women to “change the world through Jewish values that transform communities,” pairs mothers, wives and other women from across the U.S. on trips to Israel, where participants engage with residents of the Jewish state and bolster identity by developing advocacy skills.
Though Momentum dates to 2008, Pittsburghers began formally participating in 2017. Since then, Chani Altein, co-director of Chabad of Squirrel Hill and a community leader hired by the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, has led four of Pittsburgh’s five contingents, including the recent Dec. 2-8 experience.
In years past, Momentum’s trips brought 650-700 women to Israel; this year, because of the war, only 50 women went, Altein said.
Last week’s trip was planned before Oct. 7, 2023. Once the Israel-Hamas war began, however, the trip was postponed. Of the 16 Pittsburghers who registered, 10 backed out.
Surloff heard about an available spot and decided to join, even though it would differ from other Momentum programs.
Previously, cohorts traveled to Israel and then spent almost a year back in their own communities, gathering for programs, studying together and continuing what Momentum calls a “Journey of Growth.” This year’s Journey, because of the timeline and the trip’s postponement, occurred before visiting Israel, Altein explained.
Reason to go
Jumping in so late left Surloff with fewer months to prepare for the excursion.
Still, meeting other women with similar interests was valuable, she said.
For years, Surloff has felt connected to Judaism and the Jewish state. Those feelings grew post-Oct. 7: “The rise of antisemitism in this country, and around the world, is appalling to me. And I just want to speak out, because I feel like that’s the right thing to do.”
Surloff’s dedication is driven by her personal history.
“I was raised Catholic and converted to Judaism more than 20 years ago,” she said. “I went through the whole process of a Jewish wedding, raising Jewish kids, two bat mitzvahs, but I felt like I was missing a part of me.”
Surloff and her family observe the High Holidays, “and some of the smaller ones,” she continued. “We don’t keep a kosher home, but I felt like we do all of the cultural aspects of Judaism, not necessarily as much of the religious aspects.” Every Friday night she lights Shabbat candles, “but I feel like we allow the secular world to dictate how Jewish we are — that sounds terrible, I know, but if it’s Shabbat, and my daughter has a lacrosse game, we go to the lacrosse game.”
Visiting Israel at this point, alongside women from diverse Jewish streams, was significant, she said.
“What drew me to it, honestly, had a lot to do with my connection to Judaism and being a Jewish mother and raising Jewish kids, specifically post-Oct. 7,” she said. “I feel responsible. I chose Judaism for my children. I made the decision before I got married that I wanted to be Jewish. I went into this conversion, and I went into my marriage, with the understanding that I was going to raise my kids Jewish. And I feel like I can’t allow my kids to grow up in a world where they are treated differently because they are Jewish.”
Lauren Lieberman, a Squirrel Hill resident and Momentum participant, said she joined the trip because of the “unique opportunity” of visiting Israel now.
“I wanted to see, with my own eyes, and hear firsthand stories from people living there,” she said. “I have gotten to the point where I feel like I don’t know how to sift through all the media to determine what is real.”
Lieberman’s assessment isn’t unusual, as faith in the Fourth Estate has reached historic lows. In October, Gallup reported that only 31% of respondents have a great deal or even a fair amount of trust in the mass media’s ability to report the news fully, accurately and fairly.
Going to Israel wasn’t only a chance to glean understanding of a situation, but of herself.
“Being a Jew in America and defining both that identity and my connection to Israel isn’t straightforward,” she said. “When it comes to Israel, Gaza, antisemitism being so front and center right now, I wanted to gain experiences firsthand.”
Sounds from the ground
For nearly a week, Lieberman, Surloff and Altein toured Israel, met with residents and spoke to fellow U.S. travelers.
Bus rides between sites were opportunities to sit beside other women and hear their stories, Altein said.
Some of the women were mothers of lone soldiers. Other women lived in Karmiel/Misgav, Pittsburgh’s sister city, Altein continued.
“For me, personally, since Oct. 7, I have never felt as strongly about how fortunate we are and blessed we are to have Israel as our homeland, and to have it there, to be a safe spot for all of us, especially as antisemitism is rising all around the world,” she said. “I’m even more drawn to Israel out of gratitude and out of a sense of belonging, and you do feel it when you get there.”
Speaking with shop owners in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv was particularly affecting, Surloff said.
“They were so grateful for us being there because their economy is struggling,” she said. “They don’t have the tourism. And every Israeli that we talked to, whether it was a student while we were picking sweet potatoes or meeting people in cafes, was so grateful for us being there.”
In July, The Times of Israel reported that 46,000 Israeli businesses had closed since Oct. 7.
And as of September 2024, the war had already cost the Jewish state about $95 billion — or almost 18% of Israel’s annual gross domestic product, according to the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs.
Included within the economic toll of Oct. 7 and its aftermath is Israel’s waning tourism.
Earlier this month, Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics reported that 61,500 people visited the Jewish state in November 2024. The number marks an increase from the 38,300 who visited in November 2023, but a sizable decrease from the 330,700 who visited in November 2022.
“Businesses are closed, hotels are closed, restaurants and shops are struggling. There are very few tourists there right now. It was hard to see the impacts of the war in so many levels of society,” Lieberman said.
“Wherever we went, whether they were the tour guides, the soldiers, the shopkeepers, the cab drivers, everyone was thanking us so much for coming,” Altein said. “People were so grateful, and it just made us feel so good about being there.”
Get going now
Altein wants others to visit Israel now, even if they’ve gone before.
“It’s quite different,” she said.
Conversations can offer insight into the reality many Israelis are facing, she continued.
Altein referenced discussions with young female soldiers about “why they chose to enlist or even go back after Oct. 7.” She mentioned conversations with wives of soldiers, who spoke about “how the divorce rate has increased since the war,” as well as talks with young mothers about the challenges of raising “three kids under the age of 4.”
Conversation after conversation was impactful, but so were site visits, Altein continued.
Momentum took the group to the Nova Music Festival memorial near Kibbutz Re’im as well as Mount Herzl, Israel’s national cemetery.
One of the Israeli women on the bus was a teacher and pointed out where several of her students were buried, Altein said.
“I think one of the biggest impressions I’ve left with is the example of a country that’s both broken and whole, fragmented and unified, joyous and sad all at the same time. I was reminded of how much our lenses are shaped by what’s closest to us,” Lieberman said.
In the week since returning from the Jewish state, Lieberman has begun processing some of her experiences.
“There is no replacement for being in a place and actually talking to people there,” she said.
Yes, there are people who say that organizers curate tours and purposely select sites and individuals to best articulate a narrative, but “even so, even if they are only a small segment of the people there, it doesn’t make those stories untrue,” Lieberman said.
Since returning to Richland Township, Surloff also has given considerable thought to the trip. She’s posted on social media, journaled about her visit and repeatedly told others how safe she felt in Israel.
“I have never been in a place where everybody was like me, where I wasn’t afraid to wear my Star of David,” she told the Chronicle.
“Going to Israel is one of — if not the most — significant ways we can support Israel during this time,” Lieberman said. “Most things worth doing take some courage, risk, vulnerability and this was no different. I’m so glad I went.” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
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