For nearly 19 years, Tara Brown was a fixture of AIPAC’s Mid-Atlantic region, running between fundraisers, the halls of Congress, AIPAC Policy Conference and all the coffee meetings in between — until last year, when she was appointed CEO of Momentum, a Jewish nonprofit that seeks to empower Jewish mothers to connect with their Jewish identity through trips to Israel and post-visit engagement. 

Brown stepped into the role at a fraught moment: Antisemitism continues to rise globally as more Jews feel disconnected from their own identity and from Israel, and the cost of Israel travel has climbed roughly 90% since 2019. Brown’s answer is to think bigger and bolder. 

Speaking to eJewishPhilanthropy, Brown said that her dream is to grow Momentum’s flagship Israel program fivefold, from about 2,000 women a year to 10,000. 

In a wide-ranging conversation, Brown broke down what it means to be in her role at this Jewish moment, addressed the complexities and cost of Israel travel today, debunked misconceptions about Momentum and laid out a vision for American and global Jewry, as well as the role Israel and Momentum seek to play in that future.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Justin Hayet: What is the biggest misconception about Momentum’s role in Jewish engagement?

TB: This biggest misconception is that we are trying to make people more observant. We constantly hear that we’re more religious and observant than we actually are. Look at our board, our staff, our trip participants — we’re one big tent. One of the core goals in our mission statement is unity without uniformity: we want a unified Jewish people, but that doesn’t mean one size fits all, so we have representation from every part of Judaism. 

We want people to connect however works best for them and their families. [New York Times columnist] Bret Stephens gave a talk at The Streicker Center where he said the Jewish community should do 10% more — not 10% more financially, but 10% more Jewishly. That’s our philosophy too. Every mom who infuses a little more Judaism and Jewish values into her home gives her kids a little more strength and confidence to be proudly, securely Jewish. We’re not trying to make everyone observant; we want people moving at their own pace, toward stronger, more courageous Jewish identity.

Another misconception is that we’re just about trips. After the trip, participants return to their communities as part of a Jewish sisterhood and spend the next year learning and working together, which not only strengthens their own Jewish identities, but also their local organizations. When Jewish women in leadership, and moms in leadership, come to Israel and catch that spark, it reignites something in them to do more, feel more, connect more and be part of this global Jewish sisterhood and community. When that happens, the whole alphabet soup of Jewish organizations gets stronger. 

We do plenty beyond Israel. We run leadership summits around the globe throughout the year, rooted in Jewish values, to help women lead more effectively in their homes, communities, businesses and organizations. Israel travel is our flagship program, but it’s far from the only thing we do.

JH: Critics say immersive Israel experiences are most impactful during “formative years” teens and college years. How do you respond to that?

TB: We focus on moms specifically, but moms aren’t actually our target audience. Their kids are. We focus on moms because the greatest social influencer of all time isn’t TikTok, isn’t Noa Tishby — it’s the Jewish mom. When a mom decides she wants to raise her kids a certain way, or think differently about her own family’s Judaism, it happens. 

If we want strong, connected kids who understand Jewish values and grounded pride in and connection to Israel, this must be reinforced at home. Most of the women who come on this journey are religiously unaffiliated. When we survey them a year after they return [after the trip], 25% have since enrolled their kids in Jewish day school. That’s a transformational, generational ripple effect and it is a direct outcome of their experience with Momentum.

JH: Israel travel costs are up 90% since 2019. Couldn’t everything you just described be done in America? Why does it have to happen in Israel?

TB: Our mission is to empower a woman to change her family, her community and to strengthen Jewish communities around the globe. Israel is the birthplace of the Jewish people and the Jewish religion — the words “Israel” and “Jerusalem” appear more than almost any other word in Jewish scripture. You cannot separate Israel from Jewish life; people try and it’s impossible. 

When a woman is taking her first step, or her next step, in her Jewish journey, we believe it should start in the birthplace of Jewish life. The cost is real, especially now, in the middle of a war, with the shekel strong against the dollar. 

And still, our data shows that a year after the trip, our women are more engaged, more philanthropic, taking more action regarding Israel, talking to their kids about Israel and Judaism, enrolling their kids in Jewish day school and Jewish day camp. These are exactly the things we all should want for Jewish continuity,  things these women wouldn’t have done without this journey. 

The stakes are simply too high. People are turning away from Judaism and from Israel at the exact moment we need strong Jewish communities, both in the diaspora and in Israel. I’ll take that investment any day of the year.

JH: After 19 years at AIPAC, you stepped into this role at a hard moment — for Israel, for American Jews, and for you personally. How does all of that shape how you lead?

TB: I’m still a proud AIPAC activist, and I believe all American Jews should be involved in AIPAC and pro-Israel politics. And at the same time, we’re facing a crisis, not just in American Jewry, but in Jewry across the globe with levels of hatred and violence against Jews are rising, at a time when many Jews feel as disconnected and uninformed about their Judaism and about Israel. 

But as I thought about my own Jewish journey and the legacy I wanted  to leave for my daughter, and this opportunity — to empower Jewish women to strengthen their Jewish communities as well as Jewish communities across the globe — this felt like a natural next step. I want there to be generations of people, in America and beyond, who understand why we’re a special people, and who understand Israel is the backbone of who we are as a people. 

We want to show our participants there’s more to being Jewish than fear. We have thousands of years of resilience and strength behind us, and an obligation to show that to Jewish women across the globe, so they can pass that legacy on to their kids. 

JH: Where do you see Momentum in five years?

TB: This isn’t just about trips. We’re transforming individuals, families and communities, and we believe that the ripple effect can eventually reach a tipping point that transforms the Jewish world. We think that the tipping-point number is 10,000 Jewish moms a year reengaging their journey and traveling to Israel through Momentum. 

Right now, even before the war affected our numbers, we’re bringing a little over 2,000 women a year — so we’re talking about scaling fivefold. It’s a lofty goal, but we are living in a pivotal part of Jewish history that demands big dreams. We’ll need to do some things differently, and we’ll need more funding, but we’re committed to hitting that mark. Will it happen in five years? I hope so, because I don’t think time is on our side. 

JH: Momentum recently started bringing Jewish educators to Israel. Can you tell us more about this, and what does that reveal about your strategy?

TB: We found that even in Jewish day schools, teachers were often talking about Judaism and Israel in ways that could be stronger. So we started bringing educators to Israel — we ran a pilot last year and learned a lot from it. 

Because these educators also have to meet the “mom” criteria, the impact doubles: They bring what they learn home to their own families, and they bring it into their classrooms, amplifying the effect for their own kids and their students. 

With antisemitism rising, we found that a lot of teachers don’t know how to talk to students about hatred and violence toward Jews. Before the trip, when we surveyed educators, only 19% said they felt confident discussing antisemitism with their students. After the trip, that number jumped to 70%; this is a 51-point increase. Given everything happening right now, having teachers who feel equipped to have that conversation matters enormously.