A group of twenty-eight Israeli youths who have lost a parent killed in the country's security services undertook a three-week cross-continental journey across North America, beginning in Chicago earlier this month. The journey, organised by the IDF Widows & Orphans Organization, paired the young people with local host families for a weekend before transporting them to a retreat setting in Wisconsin.

The programme forms part of the organisation's ongoing annual Bar and Bat Mitzvah initiative, which aims to provide structured mentorship and community engagement for children grieving military losses. Through combining traditional Jewish coming-of-age ceremonies with peer support and family connections, the initiative seeks to help bereaved youth find meaning and belonging whilst acknowledging the service and sacrifice of their deceased parents.