It is common for college students to secure summer internships, maybe even one in a different state. What is not common is to have your internship site become a war zone almost overnight.
For 22 University of Miami students, their summer in Israel has been spent waking up to missile sirens, running to shelters to escape rocket fire and preparing for emergency evacuations.
The young travelers were three weeks into their eight-week Onward Israel internship program when they were caught in the crossfire of a war in the Middle East. Now, they are unable to evacuate the country because of a complete closure of the Israeli and Iranian airspaces. All flights at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International Airport are cancelled indefinitely.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reported that he believed Tehran was “marching very quickly” towards the development of a nuclear weapon. In response, Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran last week to prevent further development of uranium-based infrastructure.
Iran and Israel have since traded repeated strikes, including strikes on the cities of Tehran, Tel Aviv and Haifa.
At the time of publication, at least 24 Israelis and 639 Iranians have been killed, according to NBC News.
The Onward program initially housed participants in Tel Aviv, but relocated them to a more secure location in the Negev Desert after Iranian missiles struck Israel. After the young adults, including the author of this article, were sheltered in place in a hotel there for five nights, they left Israel on a cruise ship to Larnaca, a port on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The students will fly back to the U.S. from there.
As of Friday, June 20, Birthright Israel has not given the Onward Miami cohort information about their upcoming flight.
Ethan Goetz, a junior and chair of programming at UM Hillel, said that it was jarring going from the center of the conflict in Tel Aviv to a more remote location in the Negev.
“When we got to the [desert hotel] and we didn’t wake up from sirens after the first night, it felt really weird. In Tel Aviv, we woke up late at night, 1 a.m., 2 a.m. [and] 5 a.m. from sirens,” said Goetz. “Going to the [desert hotel], I felt safer but less connected to the reality of the conflict.”
Before the conflict erupted, the students hoped to further their professional development, build friendships and form a connection with Israel and their Jewish identity. The Onward program operates under the umbrella of Birthright Israel, a larger nonprofit that brings Jewish people ages 18-26 on a 10-day free trip to the Jewish homeland.
UM Onward participants have spent more than a month in Israel, initially as a part of UM Hillel’s Birthright trip, then accepting Onward’s internship placements. More than 2,800 students on Birthright Israel programs have been affected by the evacuation.
The Onward cohort from the Miami-Dade area included 33 participants, composed of students at the University of Miami and Miami residents who attend other Florida schools.
“The University of Miami continues to monitor the situation in Israel and is in constant contact with the facilitators sponsoring the student’s visit to Israel. We are also continuing close communication with state officials to ensure the safe return of the students,” the University of Miami said in a statement.
“The University was notified on June 13 that approximately two dozen University students are currently in Israel, participating in educational programs, including Birthright and Onward Israel, that are not sponsored by or operated by the University. However, the University immediately engaged with campus partners, including Hillel, and state officials to ensure that safe travel for our students back to the United States has been secured.”
University of South Florida junior Noam Benartzy said the program’s cancellation is a massive letdown.
“I’ve been planning to do Onward this summer since I was a senior in high school,” said the Aventura native. “I’m devastated because the program meant so much to me, and to be in Israel is a feeling that we can never take for granted as Jews.”
Benartzy’s sister, who currently lives in Tel Aviv, went into labor while the group was in the Dead Sea.
“My sister gave birth and I had to miss it because the program said it wasn’t safe to be in Tel Aviv anymore. And she gave birth in a hospital basement,” the junior said. “The attacks have already taken so much from me. I feel like everything I had worked for was for nothing.”
Other students faced similar disappointment and fear.
Ava Perloff, a junior at the University of Miami, was working as a research assistant for the Regenerative Biology and Immunology Department at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, a city 12 miles south of Tel Aviv. Perloff said that following drone attacks, she was shocked to learn that the research center was targeted by Iran.
“I woke up to the news of my work being bombed. The place that became my home for the summer had been destroyed from ballistic missiles,” Perloff said. “What if I was in the building?”
Perloff is a Persian Jew whose family is from Iran. She expressed the dangers of the Iranian regime as echoes of a familiar past.
“The same regime that forced my mother and her family in 1978 to flee from Tehran, Iran has threatened our lives once again,” she said. “Truthfully, my family never fully escaped the dangers of the regime.”
Sydney Bederman is a junior at UM and has been documenting her journey in Israel since the beginning of the program. She says that social media is a strong way to stay connected and educate others.
“None of my home friends are Jewish, so I hope that my platform informs them and other non-Jews about what’s happening in Israel,” she said.
From bomb shelter footage to beach days, Bederman’s TikTok page, @sydney_bederman has garnered more than 700,000 views and 500 comments on her travel-style posts. She said that her content attracted pro-Palestinian users, turning her apolitical content into a breeding ground for political engagement.
“People have been leaving comments like ‘Free Palestine’ even before the conflict with Iran started,” the junior said. “There are so many, and my content is not political at all.”
The Miami Hurricane’s TikTok reporting on the developing crisis drew similar responses.
“Lol why would they even go there… anyways free Palestine,” one user commented on The Hurricane’s TikTok page.
Zander Rappaport, the IACT coordinator at the University of Miami Hillel, says that this political environment is exactly why bringing young Jews to Israel is important.
“People see what’s going on and ask, ‘Why would anyone go to Israel right now?’ But that question misses the point. Students don’t go just for a vacation – they go because Israel is part of who they are,” Rappaport said. “They’re not tourists; they’re young Jews looking to build a real connection to their heritage, their history and their people. That connection doesn’t disappear when things get complicated – if anything, it becomes more real.”
“These programs aren’t just about seeing a place. They’re about helping young Jews understand what it means to be part of something bigger than themselves,” Rappaport said.
Florida Gov. Ron De Santis has arranged one chartered flight from Cyprus to Tampa, Fla. for Birthright participants that landed Thursday. This comes as U.S. diplomats were already evacuated Wednesday via land routes to Jordan and Egypt. No UM students were on this flight.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management said in a Facebook post that they are “actively coordinating efforts to assist Americans seeking evacuation from the hostile situation in Israel.”
Birthright Israel has said it will cover all costs associated with accommodations, transportation and travel.
Despite the uncertainty, the Miami Onward group remains optimistic for the future. Goetz said that he feels closer to his peers than ever.
“I think this trip has bonded us,” Goetz said. “As American Jews, we don’t really know any of this firsthand. Experiencing it and living it has shown me and the group what Jewish resiliency really means and how strong of a people we are.”
Birthright CEO Gidi Mark issued a statement when the organization initially sent its first fleet of students on the ship bound for Cyprus.
“Today we witnessed the true spirit of Birthright Israel – not only as an educational journey, but as a global family committed to the safety and well-being of every participant,” Mark said in the statement. “Our team continues to work around the clock to secure solutions for the remaining participants still in Israel.”
These students may be facing uncertainty, but Benartzy said these lived experiences aren’t simply setbacks, but a way for students to connect and resonate with their Jewish identity.
“We’re escaping this country in fear the same way our ancestors have in their homes time and time again,” Benartzy said. “This is a moment in history that won’t be forgotten by me, my family or any Jew.”