Melissa Berenson, a 56-year-old American and founder of the Heroes for Israel Project, sat down in the lobby of a Jerusalem hotel with a broad smile and an infectious joy that was hard to ignore. During a conversation with Hayom, she spoke constantly about how kind Israelis have been to her, how warm and welcoming. "Really, everyone here is amazing," she said with a laugh. "Except for one incident."
She struggled to understand how to pay for a bus in Jerusalem. "On the light rail and Israel Railways I understood immediately how it works," she recounted. "But on the buses I got confused." The smile didn't fade even when she shared that she received a ticket. One hundred shekels. "Not a lot of money," she said. "But it still surprised me."
Strengthening defense lines in Israel
This is what a first meeting with Berenson looks like. Behind the smile and lightness stands a long personal story that led her from a young American Catholic – through a deep spiritual search – to founding an organization seeking to strengthen Israel's civilian defense lines.
Berenson grew up Catholic in the United States. Her first connection to Judaism was not born from politics or study, but through a youthful relationship. A mutual friend told her one day that the boy she had a crush on was Jewish. When she asked him about it, he became very angry. "He was really offended that they told me," she recalled. "I didn't understand what the problem was at all."
At home, the story passed quietly. "My dad told me it was just a different religion and that's it." But for her, something opened up. For the first time, she was also exposed to old antisemitic statements, ones she had never heard before. "It confused me," she said. "I didn't understand why it even mattered."
"It shook me"
The next significant moment came at university. During one of the courses, she was told for the first time that Jesus was Jewish. "It shocked me," she admits. "I grew up on stories and children's Bible stories, but no one ever told me that." This shock led her to investigate. "They told us to research Jesus, so I researched. The investigation led me to Judaism." It wasn't a sharp transition or dramatic declaration, but a long, intellectual and spiritual process, she said. "The more I learned, the more I understood that what I was looking for was there."
She completed the conversion itself while her mother was still alive in 2023. Only years later, at age 51, after her mother's passing, came a revelation that shook her anew. During family genealogy research, it became clear to her that she comes from an originally Jewish family, without the family members themselves knowing it. "It was a hair-raising moment," she recounted. "Suddenly my entire connection to Judaism took on a completely different color. Not just a choice, but also roots."
The events of October 7 were a turning point for her. "It wasn't just another news event," she said. "It was a moment when I understood you can't stay on the sidelines." Her connection to Israel, she says, is both emotional and historical. Berenson believes Israel has a historical right in Judea and Samaria, and sees Gaza as a complex security arena forced upon the state. But above all, she speaks about the people. "Emergency response teams are Israel's first line of defense," she said. "If we don't strengthen them, we won't be prepared."
Heroes of Israel
From this understanding, Heroes for Israel Project was born, an American nonprofit organization seeking to translate solidarity into action. Most of the organization's activity focuses on fundraising to strengthen emergency response teams in the field. The funds are designated for financing professional training, purchasing cameras and surveillance equipment, protective gear, first aid kits and other essential equipment, as well as upgrading basic security infrastructure in communities near the borders. From Berenson's perspective, emergency response teams are the state's first line of defense, and investment in them is not a luxury but an immediate security need.
Alongside her great love for Israel, Berenson doesn't spare criticism of the political system. "I really don't understand how 120 Knesset members can't listen to each other and cooperate. You see it from the outside." According to her, the internal division also projected weakness to enemies. "I tell Americans all the time, we need to be one people. Because in the end, the first ones attacked are the Jews. Always."
She also had a clear position on what's happening at universities in the United States. "The young people are good people," she emphasized. "They want equality, they accept everyone, they love everyone." The problem, she says, is not with them but with the system above them. "There are professors and foreign elements interfering, who insert hatred and racism under the guise of justice."
Berenson doesn't see herself as a politician. She sees herself as someone who acts, who connects, who strengthens. Perhaps that's why even a small ticket on a Jerusalem bus couldn't bring down her smile. "I'm here because this is my people's home," she said. "And if it's home, you need to protect it."
