Growing up, first in Nashville and now in Voorhees, NJ, Tristan Schneider always felt close to his Judaism. That Judaism just didn’t include much about Israel.
“Israel just didn’t play a big role in my life,” he said, noting that he had never visited the country before.
All that changed this past summer when he spent five weeks in Israel on Alexander Muss High School in Israel’s (Muss) “Explore” summer program, igniting his passion for Zionism and support for his ancestral homeland.
Jewish National Fund-USA’s college-prep, study abroad in Israel experience at Muss blends accredited classroom studies with a unique experiential Israel studies program that uses the land of Israel as a living classroom. However, as one of the school’s several summer programs, Explore eschews the classroom to focus on the land, offering teens the opportunity to explore all the rich history, traditions, and culture that Israel has to offer, learning about the land and people of Israel while becoming a part of it.
Tristan (second from left) on a tiyul with classmates
“It was incredible,” Schneider said. “It gave me a chance to visit all types of places, and we got to see everywhere that was available in Israel.”
Following in the footsteps of his father, Justin, who attended in the summer of 1997, Schneider’s biggest highlights were visiting Masada and spending Shabbat in Jerusalem where he visited the Kotel on Friday night. He said of Masada: “The hike and the view and just being able to learn the story of the Jewish Rebellion where it happened was really cool,” while in Jerusalem, “there was a lot of energy, the kind I had never really seen before.”
Even more importantly, Schneider got a firsthand view of Israel in the midst of a war, seeing both the resilience and generosity of the Israeli people during crisis. “I can definitely now say that I’ve seen the real side of Israel, and it’s not at all what the media portrays it to be,” he said. “Israelis are very kind about everything, and they care about each other so much.”
Tristan (right) on an IDF base
That attitude marked a shift in what Schneider was accustomed to. “Here in the United States, people smile to each other, but the culture is more individualized,” he noted. “In Israel, everyone genuinely cares about one another, and they’ll go out of their way to make a random person happy.”
Schneider and the class also had the opportunity to give back, as several days on Explore involved volunteering in Israel. “One of the first things we did was go to a kohlrabi field to help out,” he said. “And during the last week there, we helped make care packages for families in need.”
Now back in Voorhees, Schneider feels like he took a piece of Israel with him. “It was a memorable trip,” he said. “I definitely feel more connected now than I did before.”
Tristan (second from right) on the Muss campus with classmates
The impact has extended beyond Schneider; his mom, Emily, recently became the South Jersey Muss Chair. “He has already demonstrated various ways he feels connected to his family legacy,” she said. “He has become bolder in projecting not just his pride in being Jewish, but his love of, and attachment to, the State of Israel and the part he plays in its history.”
As college campuses become increasingly hostile to Jews, Muss’ ability to prepare students for life away from home has never been more important.
“With the current climate of antisemitism, understanding and appreciating Israel and what its existence means for every Jew in this world matters more than ever,” said Emily. “Muss provides the opportunity to live and witness modern-day Israel, while learning and seeing the depths of our profound history. Experiencing these moments and events of history is vital for our teens to pick up and carry the torch for Israel.”
Or, as Tristan says to his fellow teens, “Just do the program. It’ll change your life.”
Alexander Muss High School in Israel offers both semester and summer programming for American teens, and spring 2025 slots are still available. To learn more, visit amhsi.orgor contact Sunny Cohen at [email protected]or 847.656.8880 x753.
