Written by Nili Schreibman
For 19-year-old Carmel Renas, Israel and Judaism have always been at the core of her identity. The New York City native took countless trips to the Holy Land growing up, and she’s now taking a gap year in Israel before returning home this fall to begin taking classes at Columbia University.
Yet, before starting on her college journey in a few months, she’ll be putting her familiarity with Israel to good use as an Accommodations Manager with Maccabi USA. She’ll be one of several dozen volunteers that will help lead a delegation of nearly 1,200 people during their three-week experience at the 2025 Maccabiah.
Renas was part of the inaugural Maccabi USA U18 Girls’ Water Polo team in 2022 and during that time, she bonded with Accommodations Manager David Robertson. Now Renas wants to provide this year’s athletes with a smooth, unforgettable experience, just like she had three years ago.
The former Maccabi USA water polo player is excited to share her love of Israel with the group coming to join her in July. She is currently a part of Mechinat Dror, a gap-year program founded after October 7th. Renas has now been in Israel for nine months and has adjusted to the occasional siren that she hears while living at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in the Gaza Envelope. Time and time again, she is pleasantly surprised at the resiliency of her neighbors.
“They just go on with their lives,” Carmel explains. “They have to continue and won’t allow the sirens to disrupt their day. It is so powerful that they won’t let everything that’s happened affect their lives to the point where they decide, I am afraid, I will no longer continue on with my life. It shows that once they stop continuing on with their life, the bad people win.”
While Renas has always considered Israel home, she feels even more grounded here after watching her community uplift, support and be there for one another.
“I have one adoptive family here at the kibbutz, but every family acts as though they are my adoptive family,” Carmel exclaimed.
As the only American on her program, Carmel and her peers have been overwhelmed with support and a sense of community within the kibbutz. When she and the other girls moved in, they put out a message in the WhatsApp group saying they needed household appliances. “We eventually had to say okay, we don’t need anything else, everyone was so kind and kept bringing us stuff,” Carmel joked.
As an Accommodations Manager, Carmel will be responsible for helping Maccabi USA’s athletes, coaches, and staff settle into their new environment. It’s very similar to the spirit she senses from all the people around her.
“Through everything they’ve been through, everyone is so kind and welcoming, I wish more people knew that,” Carmel said.
Renas believes she has grown immensely this past year, and there’s plenty more to come. After finishing her role with Maccabi USA this summer, she’s looking forward to attending Columbia, a school overwhelmed by discrimination against Jewish students in recent months, and engaging in conversations with people about antisemitism and Israel.
“I want to give people a perspective they may not have seen or heard about the Israeli people,” she explains. “I had the opportunity to have a first-hand experience.”
Nili Schreibman is a freshman at Temple University studying sports media. You can follow her on Instagram at @Nili.photos.