Honeymoon Israel: Sustained Impact and New Innovation

When Honeymoon Israel launched in 2015, its premise was relatively simple: Open the door to Jewish life for young couples through a shared Israel experience that deepens their connection to Israel and sparks belonging. By running trips for about 20 couples from the same city, those couples could return home as a cohesive community ready to navigate questions about Jewish life and support one another through every stage of their Jewish journeys.

Evaluation shows that even multiple years after their Honeymoon Israel experience, couples are more engaged in Jewish activities, are more connected to Israel, and feel a part of the Jewish community. Beyond merely staying connected, the couples build lives together as Jewish families. Friendships formed on the trip evolve into tight-knit circles of young families who celebrate holidays, host Shabbat dinners, and create meaningful Jewish experiences for their families side by side.

Meeting other interfaith couples helped us see the different ways we could incorporate Judaism into our lives as we prepare to grow our family. We became incredibly close friends with these couples and we plan to keep hanging out with them–including for Shabbat dinners and services with our rabbi! – Jon, HMI Boston, January 2026

Yet while HMI’s formula was proving effective, beginning in 2020 the organization frequently needed to pivot and delay trips. From the pandemic, to October 7^th, to subsequent wars, Israel travel has been heavily impeded. Despite this, HMI continued to see demand from couples wanting to build friendships and community at such a formative moment in their lives. Particularly since October 7^th, couples are eager to explore what it means to be Jewish or love someone who is Jewish right now, and have nuanced conversations around Israel and where, how, and why it fits into the Jewish story. To provide opportunities until Israel trips can return in full capacity, HMI launched trips to Argentina, creating yet another immersive experience for couples to connect with each other, explore Jewish identity, and learn about Argentina’s Jewish history and modern day thriving Jewish community.

We’re putting a lot of thought and intention into the design of our Israel and Argentina experiences around the current barriers to accessing Jewish life and the shared family identity that couples are bringing to us post-October 7. Our couples want more space to process, and we’re providing clearer guidance to our educators leading those moments, and providing more training so they are prepared to hold a group through challenging conversations. – Lynnley Miller, Director of Innovation, Honeymoon Israel

Amid challenges and travel postponements, HMI couples have maintained their desire to travel to Israel, to share this powerful experience with their partner and to find community. HMI couples, like so many others, want to develop a vocabulary and personal connection to Jewish peoplehood. Whether in Israel or Argentina, HMI’s trips include more time with Israeli “mifgash” peer couples, who join for half of the trip, participate in group conversations on identity and Jewish life, and share their stories during both informal conversations and more structured panel conversations. More narratives are also shared on the trip around modern Israeli triumphs and challenges, with a commitment to including diverse perspectives on politics, history, identity, social change, and activism, as well as non-Jewish and Arab voices to help participants understand different identities and beliefs. For many participants, being able to volunteer in Israel with organizations and communities impacted by wars helps to foster a sense of familial responsibility to each other and is an expression of their Jewish values.

I think a lot of people, including ourselves, are struggling with the moral complexities of what’s going on right now; or have struggled with what they have seen online or on the news. It’s a lot easier to tune out what’s happening in Israel when you’re living in the USA, so I think it’s important to go to Israel and see what’s happening for ourselves. We’re both really interested in hearing stories from Israeli families who have been impacted by the war and to help in whatever way we can. – Houston December 2026 participant

Meeting Israeli couples became one of the most significant parts of our experience, turning simple conversations into ongoing dialogue we value deeply. These relationships feel especially important now, offering perspective, clarity, and connection that we look forward to continuing.” – LA November 2025 participant

When couples return home, HMI offers numerous opportunities for them to stay connected and experience Jewish life together: Co-developed with the Lippman Kanfer Foundation for Living Torah, its Friday Circles program help couples feel confident shaping Jewish life in ways that feel meaningful to them, bringing Shabbat into alumni homes through small, peer-led gatherings. Couples host, learn, and create rituals together, supported by thoughtful tools and guides that make it feel approachable and doable. The Let’s Talk Israel program, developed in consultation with the Shalom Hartman Institute, provides space for couples to learn more about Israel and share their views.

The series fostered great collaboration among people with a similar background and encouraged us to share our perspective regardless of the limits of the perspective. It helped to shape a dialogue around the complications of the politics of Israel and what that means to Jews living there and Jews not living there. It was also a great reason to get back together with our HMI community. – Chicago Let’s Talk Israel participant

Moving forward, HMI will work with M²: Institute for Experiential Jewish Education and other peer Israel travel organizations to help design its programs and train staff so that HMI’s core mission and values are interwoven with Israel education that meets the current moment. By supporting couples to lean into the complexities not only of modern Israel, but of their own identities and Jewish life, Honeymoon Israel fosters a more honest and resilient Jewish future.

The Jim Joseph Foundation is a supporter of Honeymoon Israel. Visit honeymoonisrael.org for more information.