How Ramah Impacted Our Zionism & Exciting Israeli Hockey Event!

Ramahniks Jeremy Gross & Ziv Deener-Chodirker asked us to spread the word about this exciting event at at UBS Arena on March 23, 2025 — they’re both playing for the Tel Aviv team! — while also sharing how powerfully they both felt their Ramah experiences affected their Zionism!  They wrote to us: “For us both, it was the Zionism we built at Ramah that led us to visit Israel and play for this league in the first place, so we wanted to reach out about involving the next generation of the Ramah community!”

What’s the event?  On March 23rd, the Israel Elite Hockey League (IEHL) is bringing Israeli hockey to North America for The Challenge Cup – a community-focused exhibition match between the league’s two top teams, The Jerusalem Capitals and HC Tel Aviv, hosted right here in New York’s UBS Arena. Here’s a viral news feature announcing the event that has received over 600k views across our social channels!

Jeremy shares: “For me, it was the bonds I developed with Israeli friends and staff both as a camper and a counselor and learning about their culture at Ramah that served as the foundation for my Zionism. And years later, in my 20s, to be able to travel to Israel and spend time with those friends, whether spending Shabbat or holidays with their families or them showing me around Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, and be able to make new friends from other Ramah camps, were truly special and life-defining experiences. It was those experiences that led me to spend 3 full summers in Tel Aviv where I began playing hockey in the IEHL in the first place.”

Ziv shares: “Ramah built my Zionism’s foundation for eight years and this ultimately led me to spending two consecutive summers in Tel Aviv interning for various companies and playing in the IEHL. Ramah’s connection to Israel runs so deep that everytime I go to visit I text my Magshimim and Bogrim mishlachat counselors to meet up. It was those very years at Ramah that solidified by connection to Israel and has now led me to grow my Zionism in various ways.”

Todah, Jeremy & Ziv, and thanks for passing on this great opportunity!  For anyone interested, please use this link to order tickets and get more info.