12 Jewish mothers from the Falls Church-area were recently selected to participate in the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project Momentum trip to Israel, which started on Monday, Dec. 4 and will last through Wednesday, Dec. 14.

The Falls Church-area women include Cindy Lips of Arlington; Lygia Mandell, director of congregational engagement at Temple Rodef Shalom; Sherri Sirotzky, North America portfolio marketing manager at IBM, of Falls Church; Heather Glick, preschool director at Congregation Adat Reyim; Michelle Sandler, communications coordinator at Temple Rodef Shalom; and Kelly Treibitz of McLean.

“Our philosophy from the beginning has always been: inspire a woman, you inspire a family. Inspire enough families, you can change a community. Inspire enough communities, you can change the world,” said Lori Palatnik, the Jewish Women’s Renaissance Project’s founding director.

Momentum trips, which stretch from the Galilee city of Safed to the desert mountaintop fortress Masada, feature extensive itineraries and curated curricula encompassing everything from Jewish values to contemporary Israeli society. For more information, visit jwrp.org.