From “boutique” to traditional Federation-sponsored missions, Magbit Canada organizes and implements dozens of visits of Canadian adult groups to Israel throughout the year. Serving as a powerful fundraising tool for Jewish Federations and UIAC, these missions enable participants to experience Israel together with fellow Canadians, thereby creating a sense of belonging to both their local community and a connection with the Israeli people.

Our adult missions entail much more than a typical tourist trip to the Holy Land. Participants meet with Israel’s most influential political, military and cultural figures, go to popular and off-the-beaten-track sites, and visit Magbit Canada programs to see how their support and effort make a real impact on Israel and its residents. We also offer special interest, or “boutique” missions, in which attendees spend part of their time participating in activities in which they have particular interest such as the arts, cooking, scuba diving, or the environment.

Mission participants come from all across Canada: most of the country’s 15 Jewish Federations organize at least one annual mission, and the larger communities run several each year.

Standing out among these trips are our solidarity missions, which take place during the country’s most trying times. During the peak years of the intifada, when tourism to Israel dropped to a trickle, Magbit Canada brought in a larger-than-average number of missions – some lasting just 2-3 days. Participants visited victims of the violence, and walked through Israel’s metropolitan centres, giving Canadians the chance to appreciate life in Israel “when the going gets tough.” Just as important, however, these missions gave Israelis the sense that they are not alone, and as a result, Canadian visitors were genuinely embraced time and again.