It was in Jerusalem, one of the oldest cities in the world, that I decided to use perhaps the newest method of meeting girls – Tinder. Visiting from Tel Aviv, where I had recently settled after making Aliyah once my Masa Destination Israel program had ended, I thought I felt something special when I swiped right on Emily that day in 2016. Little did I know that three years later, in the streets of that same ancient city, I would be proposing to that same woman in that same Tinder profile, proving my premonition correct and initiating a grand new stage in mine and Emily’s lives.
Being born in Tel Aviv but raised in Belgium, I had always felt that it would be in Israel, not Europe, that I would start a family. Now living with my fiancée in Jerusalem, I am just one step closer to realizing that dream.
Even after 24 years in Belgium, I still felt a connection to Israel. Masa gave me the opportunity to start building a network in Israel, where I eventually met Emily. I never really mentally left Israel – and I never actually left Masa, either. Now an employee at Masa’s Jerusalem office, not only do I manage Masa’s social media, I also work to connect students in Europe and the United States with opportunities in Israel, where maybe they too can meet their Emily.
Shelley Zuckerman is a Masa alum and the Masa Social Media and Content Manager.
