When Richard and Suzanne Swift decided to spend several weeks at Alexander Muss High School in Israel (Muss) in 1975, they each had a different idea of what it would be like.
Then Suzanne Breit, she had never been to Israel and was eagerly anticipating her first visit. Richard, who had already seen the country, was more relaxed. “This was my second time,” he said. “I was finishing high school, so for me, it was just another trip. I wasn’t going with deep aspirations or anything.”
As it turned out, both Suzanne and Richard had transformative experiences at Muss, where they discovered their Jewish identity – and each other.
Suzanne and Richard Swift
Now operated by Jewish National Fund-USA, the college-prep study abroad in Israel experience was only three years old when the Swifts attended. Yet, they were immediately blown away by its unique experiential learning curriculum, which uses the land of Israel as a living classroom.
“It was amazing,” said Suzanne. “I was so in awe being able to walk the steps where King Solomon walked, learning and understanding texts in a way we never had before.”
Meanwhile, Richard found it moving to see Israel still recovering from the Yom Kippur War, a particularly relevant atmosphere given the country’s post-October 7 resilience efforts over the last year.
“Our bus driver was a very jovial, comical guy, always cracking jokes,” Richard said. “But the day we went to the Golan, he was silent. He had been a tank commander in the Yom Kippur War, and it was very painful to go back to the scene of the battle where he lost so many friends. It was sobering, as a naïve kid, to see the change in his demeanor.”
On the lighter side, the Swifts noted that the Muss campus, now significantly updated and filled with all the amenities and comfort a teen could ask for, was much more bare-bones when they attended. Richard even recalled not having heat for several days because the person in charge of the gas tanks got called for army service.
“It was very different than it is today for the kids,” Suzanne quipped. “My kids would never go for something like it.”
However, one constant is students' ability to immerse themselves in Israeli culture, and the Swifts were no exception.
“We were these twenty Americans in this larger group of Israeli High School students,” said Richard, with Suzanne adding, “We got to hang out with the Israeli kids. We would try talking to them in Hebrew, and they would practice their English with us, so it was a very interesting experience.”
It was a chance to see the country in a very different way,” Richard said. “And clearly, it shaped our future.”
Indeed, it shaped their future in more ways than one. In addition to the lasting connection made between the Swifts and the land and people of Israel, they also found each other. “I don’t think either of us went planning to meet someone, that’s for sure,” said Richard. “It just sort of happened.”
They started dating and stayed in touch, writing letters and scheduling calls. “In those days, there weren’t cell phones,” Suzanne noted. “You had to plan a time to use the phone in the dorm, plus lots of letters.”
Unhappy at her current school, she transferred to Mercer University, where Richard was attending college, and the rest is history. They married in 1978, and now have three adult children. This September will mark 46 years.
Throughout their marriage, they have remained involved in their Jewish community. Suzanne works at the Jewish Book Council and taught religious school for years, while Richard has sat on multiple boards, including his synagogue several times. They also have advice for anyone planning to go to Israel.
“People who study in Israel should learn all that they can learn and bring home as much as possible,” Suzanne said.
And if that includes a future spouse, even better! “We’ve been blessed with an incredible family,” Suzanne said.
Added Richard with a wry grin, “It worked out.”
To learn more about Jewish National Fund-USA’s Alexander Muss High School in Israel, visit www.amhsi.org.