Ben Mernick, Brandeis University '09
“ImpactAliyah forced me to face the gravity - in a very positive sense – of my plans and realize what it means to pick up and move across the world. I think that was very dignifying in its more alarming or surprising or even stressful moments, when I realized what it means to make such a big change. But it also brought me a lot closer towards realizing that vision, taking it from the level of hopefulness or ‘cuteness’ to something more practical and more serious.” – Ben Mernick, Brandeis University ‘09
Abe Roisman, Brandeis University '10
“ImpactAliyah helped me understand what I need to do, in terms of education, to pursue what I want to do in life. The best thing was being able to talk to people who made Aliyah, one-on-one, not as someone who wants to visit Israel, but as a person who wants to become part of the society. Most of the time when I go to Israel, I am treated like a visitor, and I wasn’t treated like that on ImpactAliyah.” – Abe Roisman, Brandeis University ‘10
Casara Nemes, Brandeis University '08
“I was really impressed by many of the programs – specifically meeting with Aylon Slater [about inter-cultural differences] – that tried to give us more of an understanding of what Israeli society and life is like, to really have a more realistic view of what my life might be like. Also, spending Shabbat at the moshav, I appreciated their honest stories. The families we stayed with were so great and so welcoming and willing to share their experiences with us. I left ImpactAliyah with so much more of a full sense of what making Aliyah might be for me.” – Casara Nemes, Brandeis University ‘08
Avi Bieler, Brandeis University '09
“The best part of ImpactAliyah was the camaraderie and the shared experience. It helps to know that other people also have similar worries and working out similar problems as you are. You know that when you make Aliyah, you will have friends who you bonded with on this trip, that they will help you out and vice versa.” – Avi Bieler, Brandeis University ‘09