This July has marked the journey of a lifetime for several groups of Baltimore teenagers, who traveled to Israel with different community organizations.
The Baltimore cohort of Diller Teen Fellows, a 4Front program, and participants from Baltimore Zionist District who participated in the Gadna military program had very different experiences, but both involved developing leadership skills and cultivating a love of Israel.
The latest Baltimore cohort of Diller Teen Fellows consisted of 20 teenagers from the area. These teens are just a small part of a group of 700 fellows from across the world, half from Israel and half from other countries, who will be gathering together at the end of the Israel Summer Seminar.
“At a time when our world can feel more divided than ever before, Diller Teen Fellows from across the globe are uniting to build understanding across differences, create connections and use their leadership actions to help repair the world,” said Jen Smith, executive director of the Helen Diller Family Foundation Programs. The foundation established Diller Teen Fellows in 1998, with Baltimore housing the second-oldest version of the program.
Diller Teen Fellows is a signature program of 4Front, the Baltimore Jewish community’s comprehensive teen initiative, managed by the JCC of Greater Baltimore and supported by The Associated: Jewish Federation of Baltimore, the Jim Joseph Foundation, the Joseph & Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds and others.
“We look for applicants who are invested in growing their leadership skills and want to step into a lot of different worlds, people who volunteer and people who have made a difference in their community and who are interested in continuing to make a difference,” said Sophia Varon, 4Front’s assistant director.
The 20 Baltimore fellows have a long list of accomplishments. One fellow, Adrian Maydanich, created an initiative to help families in Ukraine have Passover dinners. Another, Harrison Fribush, founded the Music United nonprofit organization, which works to support music and performing arts programs for Baltimore-area students. Ultimately, though, they were all selected based on their applications and individual and group interviews conducted by 4Front.
Currently, the fellows are being hosted by local families in Ashkelon, Baltimore’s Israeli sister city.
“It’s really immersive, since they’re actually staying in locals’ homes,” Varon said. “Ashkelon teenagers stayed in Baltimore last spring, so it’s an exchange experience. But the leadership aspect is special in helping cohorts create their own experiences.”
In the past, Diller Teen Fellows have continued to participate in their local Jewish communities in a leadership capacity far into adulthood. Justin Hayet, a Baltimore native who made the Forbes Israel 30 Under 30 list in early 2023, cited his experience as a fellow as being particularly formative for him, having helped him form a deeper connection to the Jewish community and led to him living and working in Israel.
“You don’t often work with teens who have this true passion for personal growth. It’s really inspiring to see them step into these leadership roles throughout the year, and the transformation is truly incredible,” Varon noted.
Fellows currently in Israel also attested to the transformative power of the trip.
“This time last year, I did not think I was going to take anything away from this experience,” said Brandon DeMattos, one of the Diller Teen Fellows. “Man, was I wrong. From this experience, I have gained friends and knowledge that will last a lifetime.”
The Diller Teen Fellows were not the only group of Baltimore teenagers to touch down in Israel this month. Baltimore Zionist District sent several of their teenage members to participate in Gadna, an Israeli military program meant to give young people a taste of what it is like to serve in the Israel Defense Forces. Participants take part in several military-themed activities and meet actual IDF soldiers.
Similarly to Diller Teen Fellows, the program focuses on developing leadership skills among teenagers, but is more focused on utilizing those skills in a military context.
“It was all very physical,” said Ayden Leven, who participated in the Gadna program. “We had field training, which was fun. We learned a lot about the weapons the IDF uses, and their code of ethics.”
The course lasted for a week, with the participants having since returned to Baltimore. BZD has been sending teenage participants to Gadna for over a decade. The program has been a staple for BZD as its annual summer teen trip.
“It was a hard, long week, but in the end it was really fun,” Leven said. “It was always in my mind, the possibility of joining the IDF, but this really gave me a taste of what it’s actually like.”
Caren Leven, BZD’s executive director, said that planning is already underway for the 2024 Gadna trip and that all teenagers are welcome to join. They offer two scholarships that participants can apply for — a $3,000 subsidy from BZD, and an additional grant courtesy of RootOne.
“The Gadna experience is utterly unique and offers a valuable perspective for the teens involved. As they reach the end of high school and prepare for college, it is important for them to understand that their peers in Israel will be taking a different path,” she said. “We want them to understand that while their peers in America may be focused on college, parties and making plans for their future, these Israeli teens will be dedicating themselves to serving and protecting their fellow citizens. They will put their lives on the line to ensure that the Jewish people have a homeland to call their own. By exposing our teens to this reality, we hope to foster a sense of gratitude, empathy and understanding that will stay with them for years to come.”
