JERUSALEM—As the sun began to set in Israel, 40 young Jewish professionals from across the United States, who traveled to Israel for their holiday break, somberly walked through what was once the bucolic town of Kfar Aza, one of the devastated communities along Israel’s southern border.
The group was part of the Chabad Young Professionals (CYP) Mission to Israel. CYP is the world’s largest network of young Jewish communities, with 218 CYP chapters serving like-minded young Jews around the world.
In addition to visiting the destroyed towns of Kfar Aza and Be’eri, their jam-packed itinerary included visits to an army base, where they put together care packages for soldiers, volunteering at a farm that now lacks employees. They also heard from parents who have lost children, met with those injured in hospitals and talked with family members of hostages.