Israel Trip Background

BHS began offering this extraordinary trip in May 2007, thanks to Rabbi Lippe’s vision and partnership with Carol Ziegler. Carol had established the fund in 1995 in memory of her son, Matthew Eli Puccio z”l, whose life came to a sudden and tragic end during his high school years but who so loved his Jewish educational experiences beyond bar mitzvah here at BHS.

In 2014, as the Puccio Fund disbursed the last of its funds, the BHS Board of Trustees voted to undertake the financial commitment of running the Trip as part of our annual operating budget, ensuring that the Trip would continue into the future. Beginning in 2016, a small group of BHS families made personal financial commitments to additionally ensure that the Trip’s funding would continue.

Studies make it clear that developing an early love for and relationship with Israel is one of the primary factors in nurturing and maintaining a vibrant, individual, and ongoing connection with the Jewish community. Our students return with a deeper understanding of the cultural, religious, and national ties we, as American Jews, share with Israel and its people. Our trip also fosters powerful and lasting connections among the students, between the clergy and the students, and with our larger BHS synagogue community.

For those who may be blessed with the resources to do so, please take this opportunity to consider making a contribution to help continue to ensure that every teen who wishes to go on this trip may do so without finances being a barrier. Such donations will allow us to continue the commitment that we at BHS have been making for over a decade to our students.