Because she didn’t feel connected to her Jewish heritage, senior Lisa Erhartic decided to visit Israel during winter break.

Erhartic said her grandfather had always encouraged her to embrace her religion, and she hoped to gain a new outlook to share with her ailing grandfather.

“Because I was raised a very reformed Jew, I didn’t feel like I belonged in the temple or deserved to pray, mostly because I didn’t understand what I was reading [in the Torah],” Erhartic said.

“I learned I was Jewish by blood and that makes me part of a special, intricate web that I deserve to be a part of.”

Erhartic went to Israel with 15 other Ithaca College students through Taglit-Birthright Israel for 10 days.

Taglit-Birthright Israel offers the trips, which are funded by an anonymous donor, to young Jewish students between ages 18 and 26. Since the organization was started nearly six years ago, it has sent 98,000 young people to Israel. The 16 Ithaca College students were among 10,000 who went through Birthright this winter.

The students enrolled in the trip, through Hillel, a Jewish-culture group present on college campuses across the nation. The goal of the trip was to build a stronger Jewish community through immersion in Israeli culture.

Michael Faber, Jewish chaplain and director of the college’s Hillel group, interviewed and selected students who applied online for the trip.

Ithaca College students joined participants from colleges and universities including Brandeis, Clark, Bucknell, Lehigh and Santa Clara.

“I met all kinds of Jews, some who taught me that being Jewish does not mean only praying, wearing a kippa or learning the Torah,” Erhartic said. “Being Jewish means establishing a connection with one of the richest cultures in the world — Israeli culture.”

The student’s trip was entirely organized by the national Hillel and included tours through Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and visits to landmarks such as the Western Wall.

The students were then guided south to the Judean desert to see the desert oasis, Ein Geti, the Dead Sea, Mount Massada, the Golan Heights, Ein Gev and several nomadic communities.

“We saw a whole lot of diverse parts of the state in terms of biodiversity and cultural diversity,” junior Matt Rotjan said. Students also became involved in the Israeli political climate when on Jan. 4, Deputy Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a massive brain hemorrhage.

The incident served as a topic for discussion among the different groups of students and adults.

“It was a devastation for myself and the majority of Israel because [Sharon] was the leader in the upcoming election,” Rotjan said.

“That was the central issue that was discussed all within the Israeli population, and it was interesting to be a part of that.”

Senior Alexandra Lerman said she gained insight by interacting with the 50 other students who traveled on a bus with her to the sights.

“Coming from all different Jewish backgrounds, we experienced Israel together from the same perspective,” Lerman said. Lerman said one of the most significant moments was when eight Israeli soldiers joined the students. They were the same age as the visitors and spoke English.

“These Israeli soldiers, both male and female, became our mentors, our roommates and most importantly, our friends,” Lerman said. “After meeting them and conversing with them about the differences in our culture, I realized that we are not different at all. Once you get past the language barrier, you can see that a Jew is a Jew, no matter where in the world you have traveled.”

One night, the Birthright travelers from 29 different countries came together for an event in the Jerusalem Convention Center.

“As I stood on line for a falafel, I talked to Jewish students from France, Uruguay, South Africa and Australia,” Lerman said. “And in my head I was thinking that I will never in my life experience something like this again.”

Freshman Diana Cowdery said though she didn’t feel more religious after the trip, her connection to Judaism was reaffirmed.

“I definitely felt closer ties to the culture of Judaism after being in Israel,” said Cowdery.