Over the past year, the Badin family traded their home in Israel for a journey across North and Central America and the Caribbean. From the glaciers of Alaska to the beaches of Costa Rica, they combined adventure with a mission: to lecture about October 7 and to share Israel’s natural treasures with communities abroad.
Noam, 43, a journalist and environmental photographer specializing in Dead Sea conservation, his wife Adi, 39, who heads an international network on Holocaust education innovation and their sons Lavi, 8, and Itam, 5, embarked on what they called “Agents of Hope.”
Their talks focused on the legacy of October 7 and the story of the Dead Sea, while along the way they studied the healing power of nature-based tourism. The idea had been brewing for years.
Noam founded “Dead Sea Revival,” an NGO promoting awareness of Israel’s water resources, while Adi built a global activist network dedicated to Holocaust remembrance through technology and the arts. The war in Gaza pushed them to turn their vision into reality. They canceled leases, sold belongings and told the boys: this isn’t just a trip—it’s a mission.
Their lectures reached not only New York and Los Angeles but also remote Jewish communities. At the same time, they explored the outdoors. In Alaska, the boys kayaked through icy fjords and spotted grizzlies.
In Costa Rica, Itam was the first to stand on a surfboard. In the Dominican Republic, they all dived 40 feet (12 meters) beneath the surface. They picked coffee beans in Central America and learned how cocoa becomes chocolate.
The family lived in 80 different places—homes, resorts and eco-lodges. They kept to routines: morning prayers, nature walks, limited screen time, and homeschooling. The cost of their year, they say, was about NIS 100,000 ($27,000). Lodging was often free or discounted thanks to collaborations linked to their lectures.
Challenges were plenty—fatigue, heavy luggage, missed family and little time for their relationship. Yet, they said, faith and perspective carried them through. “A friend told us, ‘God is the best travel agent there is,’ and it kept us going,” they recalled with a laugh.
The encounters shaped their children’s identity as well. At a Passover Seder in the Dominican Republic, they celebrated with descendants of Jews expelled from Spain and Portugal, who sang in Ladino. “In the middle of all the differences, our kids discovered who they are and the people they belong to,” Adi said.
After a year abroad, the Badins recently returned to Israel, moving from Tekoa to Sderot. Noam is now working with the Jerusalem Post on a project to present Sderot as a global hub of resilience and innovation, while continuing to study therapeutic tourism in Israel. Adi has begun guiding tours in Sderot about October 7 in cooperation with the National Digital Agency.
Looking back, they say the trip gave them lifelong memories and a deeper sense of mission. “We set out to give communities strength during wartime, but the journey also strengthened us as a family,” they said. “It taught us that if you follow what your soul tells you, everything falls into place.”