Binat HaLev: Where Healing Meets Responsibility
A Journey for Educators and Mental Health Professionals
Last week we experienced our third Pan-Canadian Binat HaLev Journey.
Nineteen Canadian educators, Canadian Jews and allies, came together from Toronto, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, and Ottawa for a powerful educational experience in Israel.
This diverse group left with a stronger understanding of the events of October 7th and their ongoing impact on Israeli society. The range of perspectives enriched every conversation, fostering a unique space for dialogue, reflection, connection - and catharsis. Participants have returned home with a peer group that ‘gets them’, deep insights and new tools to share what they've learned creating ripple effects throughout Canadian schools and communities. One of the comments repeated during the visit was: ‘I didn’t realize how connected my federation was with Israel and the extent of our communities’ philanthropic impact. I feel proud.’
In March 2025, a group of 27 mental health professionals, Jewish and non-Jewish, from across Canada came together for a previous Binat HaLev Journey in Israel. Co-created with leading Canadian experts including Dr. Cathy Kerzner, Dr. Anna Baranowsky, and Dr. Yifaht Korman, the journey was designed to deepen both professional insight and personal connection in the aftermath of October 7th.
March 2025 Binat Halev Participants
Binat HaLev professional journeys were launched in July 2024, beginning with a group of 27 Canadian educators who traveled to Israel. In March 2025, a separate delegation of 27 mental health professionals visited Israel, followed by a second educational mission in July 2025, when 20 educators arrived, led by Jenna Potash from the Toronto Federation and Ginaya Peters, a volunteer from the Vancouver Federation. Participants from Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Victoria, and Montreal included a diverse group of Canadian professionals—teachers from public and Jewish schools, school principals, counsellors, psychologists, psychiatrists, and social workers.
While all three delegations visited Israel at different times and focused on different professional fields, both the journeys were part of the same Binat Halev initiative, educating and building profound professional and personal ties with the people of Israel.
The educators spent a week gaining insights similar to the mental health professionals, while also receiving practical educational tools through interactions in Israeli partnership regions of Canadian Jewish Federations. They met youth in Kiryat Shmona, learning how they coped over the past two years with returning to the city after evacuation and the lack of continuous educational frameworks. Many participants have described the experience as "life-changing".
These professional journeys were curated by Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA and funded in partnership with The Jewish Agency for Israel, The Azrieli Foundation, a special JFC-UIA subsidy fund, and Jewish federations across Canada.
The Binat Halev Journey for mental health professionals provided meetings with trauma experts, educators, survivors, and community leaders in Israel's regions Canadian Jewry has supported Israel for years, Participants explored both the professional and human dimensions of a nation grappling with unprecedented pain, resilience, and renewal.
Participants met with top Israeli professionals working in the field of education and resilience. These fields have been significantly developed and sustained thanks to the investment of Canadian Jewish communities. Among them was Professor Mooli Lahad, founder of the Mashabim Center, who introduced the group to a trauma-response technique that several participants have already begun incorporating into their practice.
Key Findings from the Post-Engagement Survey
- 100% of participants reported a deeper emotional connection to Israel than before.
- 96% felt a stronger sense of shared destiny with Israelis.
- 96% said they now feel better equipped to engage in difficult conversations about Israel.
- 92% indicated they are more familiar with the complexities of Israeli society.
- 88% shared that they feel a greater responsibility toward Israel and Israelis.
- 88% developed stronger collegial relationships with Jewish and/or Israeli professionals.
Some participants noted that they understood the need and desire to improve and raise standards after October 7th.
They saw how in Israel there is a culture of recovery – there is no time to waste, or at least very little time is wasted on hatred, planning revenge, or complaints.
Time is invested in caring for one another while focusing on moving forward toward the future.
Others spoke about the importance of bearing the experiences as 'memory keepers' to ensure that people do not look away.
They noted that the resilience they saw in Israel opened a completely new category for them regarding what true health, strength, and coping ability look like, which they intend to take back to their professional fields.
Professionals in Israel talk about resilience and recovery capacity, in contrast to the focus on trauma elsewhere, and have even changed the names of trauma centers to resilience centers, which represents a reframing of the situation.
Many participants shared how the journey offered not just education, but emotional refuge and moral clarity in a time of rising antisemitism:
"The only hate I’ve heard in my professional work is antisemitic. This journey affirmed my voice and commitment."
"Though I’m not Jewish, I found strength through the solidarity I experienced with the group. I feel less alone, and more courageous."
"It was life changing. The absence of hate in Israel, despite all they’ve endured, stood in stark contrast to what we see in the media."
From Journey to Action
The journeys did not end upon returning home—quite the opposite.
They served as a launching points for new initiatives and a renewed sense of mission among the participants.
For many, the encounters with Israeli professionals and survivors became a call to action—within their communities.
Dr. Steven Stein, a world-renowned clinical psychologist and expert in emotional intelligence, was particularly moved by the meeting with the Hostages Forum. Candian Jewish federations have provided emergency funding to JFC-UIA, in support of the Hostages Forum meeting needs of family members of hostages.
Drawing on his experience working with families of 9/11 victims, he proposed a new initiative: a strengths-based survey to support both the hostage families and the professionals working with them as part of long-term recovery efforts.
Over the next five years, we plan to lead 12 additional journeys and engage over 250 Canadian professionals within the federations’ communities.
But Binat Halev is not just about the time spent in Israel. It is a platform for change—a living bridge between Canadian professionals and Israeli society, and a driver of lasting impact within Canadian communities and federations themselves.
That is why we are committed to continuing our work in partnership with local federations—to ensure that the connections, insights, and sense of purpose cultivated through this journey translate into meaningful educational, clinical, and communal initiatives back home.