Laurin Jacobson, second from left, with the participants of Jewish National Fund-USA’s educator’s mission, feeding soldiers
In July 2026, Jewish day school teachers became the students, thanks to the Jewish National Fund-USA’s Educator’s Mission to Israel trip. Laurin Jacobson, Hebrew teacher and youth leader at Congregation Rodeph Sholom in Tampa, was among 24 participants who spent eight immersive days exploring Israel, while gathering the tools and knowledge they can bring back to their home schools and communities.
“I had no idea that JNF was involved in so many projects in Israel,” said Jacobson, who lived in Israel for 10 years. “When we think of JNF we think of trees, but I was able to see that JNF does so much more than planting trees. The organization is vital to the state of Israel. I love that the next group of educators were able to see it.”
Jewish National Fund-USA-supported initiatives support underpopulated communities, such as students and young adults with physical, cognitive and developmental disabilities, and handicapped and wounded soldiers who need rehabilitation and care.
A high point for Jacobson was going to Noor, a kosher restaurant in a Druze village, where she and the other participants had the opportunity to mingle with soldiers and hear about their lives since October 7, 2023. “Basma, an amazing Druze widow, cooks for our tired and hungry Israeli soldiers. We, the JNF volunteers, cooked a meal for them. It was an incredible experience,” said Jacobson, who grew up in Indiana. Mission participants volunteered alongside Alexander Muss High School in Israel (HSI) students to prepare lunch for Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers.
“Jewish National Fund-USA’s missions to Israel give participants the opportunity to experience Israel firsthand, connect with the land and people of Israel, and strengthen their Zionist identity,” said Marc Silver, Jewish National Fund-USA Director in Tampa. “Through the educators’ mission, they can take their experiences, thoughts and ideas and translate them into Jewish values and meaningful lessons that they can bring back to their students, families and communities.”
Other highlights, says Jacobson, included the opportunity to lead a memorial ceremony at the 9/11 Living Memorial in Jerusalem, to tour JNF’s Galilee Culinary Institute in Gonen, to visit the National Memorial Hall for Israel’s Fallen on Mount Herzl, and to see an exhibit of synagogue replicas from around the world at the ANU Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.
In Sderot and Eshkol, two communities near Gaza, educators visited a recreation center supported by Jewish National Fund-USA and GrooveTech, two secure facilities where children can play safely despite the threat of rocket attacks.
Since coming back from Israel, Jacobson has been using what she learned to educate her congregation and students. An easy feat for a morah (teacher) who carries her educational materials in the trunk of her MINI Cooper, nicknamed the “mitzvah mobile.”
The annual summer mission was organized in collaboration with Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael (KKL-JNF) as part of its Worldwide Education in Israel.