Becoming Israeli: The Hysterical, Inspiring and Challenging Sides of Making Aliyah (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780692899885)

Akiva Gersh first visited Israel in 1998 at the age of 22. Within days, he knew that he wanted to make Israel his future home; a dream he fulfilled when he made aliyah with his wife Tamar in 2004. Since 2007, he has been teaching Jewish History and Modern Israel at the Alexander Muss High School in Israel, where he guides visiting high school students through the story of the Jewish people, mainly through tiyulim (excursions) to historical, cultural, religious, and ecological sites around the country. He is also a contributing blogger at the Times of Israel as well as a musician. In 2010, Akiva created Holy Land Spirit, an uplifting and spiritual musical experience for Christian groups visiting Israel that fosters interfaith celebration, understanding, and dialogue. Akiva holds a BA in Religious Studies from Brown University and an MA in Jewish Education from Yeshiva University. He and his wife live in Pardes Hanna with their four children.