Wednesday, June 10, 2009

When Zionism and Marketing Writing Meet

A recent writing project got me reminiscing about the summer of 1983 in Arad. I had come from Washington, DC to take part in the WUJS Program, which promised six months of Hebrew ulpan in a development town in the Negev, followed by six months of work/volunteering in one's "profession." Little did I know then, as a young man just one year out of college, where I would be and what I would be doing in 25 years. Granted, I had a serious interest in Israel, which developed over the course of my junior year abroad at Hebrew University, pro-Israel campus activism and then a year working at AIPAC in Washington, DC. I knew aliya was an option - maybe more of a dream than a goal - but it depended on so many other things falling into place that it was too hard to really know.

Fast forward to 2009. I'm sitting at my computer in my home office in Herzliya. My wife, Iris, is cooking lunch for my three children who will be home from school any minute. The smells wafting from the kitchen make it difficult to concentrate but I reluctantly plod ahead. After working for 15 years at a number of Israel's leading technology companies as a marketing writer, I decided a year and a half ago it was time to start my own freelance writing business. Through a combination of networking, leads from my modest home-grown website and some old-fashioned elbow grease, I have built up enough business to make an honest living on my own. One of the best parts of freelance writing - other than Iris' lunches - is the chance to meet fascinating people and work on exciting projects that I never would have been exposed to as an in-house writer for a high tech company.

Recently, I received a call from a business acquaintance who was building a website and asked whether I'd be interested in writing the content. The timing couldn’t have been tougher – I was in the middle of a couple of big projects – and I wasn't particularly enthusiastic in my response. However, as soon as he told me what his customer's organization does, my answer quickly became an emphatic "yes." The customer was Budokan Israel, a non-profit organization that has developed a unique program designed to bring young Jewish adults to Israel for five months to train in the martial arts, as well as learning Hebrew, Jewish history, touring and volunteering.

After my first meeting with the customer, I was hooked. The notion of reaching out to young people through their bodies and minds, and offering them a unique way of looking at themselves and Israel, was captivating to say the least. Inspired by this sudden infusion of Zionism into my daily work routine, creating the website content became much more than another writing gig – it turned into a personal and nostalgic journey. As I wrote, I felt myself drifting back to my time in Arad and feeling the thrill of experiencing Israel with new friends from around the world.

When Budokan's participants return to London, Philadelphia or Melbourne after five months, they will undoubtedly go back as stronger people and have a deeper connection to Israel and their home communities. And who knows – maybe one or two will decide one day to make Israel their home – and even write about it.

Do you have a personal writing experience you'd like to share? Comments and guest posts are welcome.

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