Dustin “The White Tiger” Fleischer’s First Two Days on Birthright

Image by Courtesy Dustin Fleischer

By Dustin Fleischer August 15, 2016

Undefeated pro-boxer Dustin “The White Tiger” Fleischer is in Israel with Birthright and sharing his experiences with the Forward.

DAY 1

On our first day of Birthright, we visited Jaffa, the ancient port city of Tel Aviv, Nahalat Binyamin Market and Rothschild Boulevard. As someone who is interested in the history of our nation, Rothschild Boulevard stood out to me in particular as it was where the State of Israel first declared its independence. Afterwards, we observed Shabbat and prepared for Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning.

A Jaffa keepsake. Image by Courtesy Dustin Fleischer

From what I have seen of Israel so far — the land is beautiful, the people are friendly and the falafels are amazing. It’s only the beginning of my trip and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

DAY 2

Tisha B’Av is an annual fast day which commemorates tragedies in Jewish history, most notably the destruction of the First and Second Temples. Being that, a lot of places were closed so we spent the day at the beach where I utilized the time for some deep reflections… Where I came from, where I am today and what lies ahead.

I took this time to begin writing my letter for the Western Wall, which is said to be the closest place to God’s aura. I believe that there is something very powerful in that. I am already feeling an immediate surge of increased motivation and inspiration to take into my career — as some of you may already know, I am on quest to be the first World Boxing Champion who is the descendent of a Holocaust survivor, in the honor of my grandfather.

I am on vacation but am still waking up at 6:00am, doing my strength training and running at night. Most of the members on the trip have no idea how I have the energy to do all of this after all of the walking we do during the day but I think God is giving me strength to prepare for what lies ahead.

Image by Courtesy Dustin Fleischer

Taking advantage of this basketball court to stay on course with my strength training —pull-ups on the soccer goal, box jumps on the steps, burpees, push-ups, dips, etc.

Dustin “The White Tiger” Fleischer is currently undefeated at 6-0 with five knockout victories in the sport of professional boxing.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you move on, I wanted to ask you to support the Forward’s award-winning journalism during our High Holiday Monthly Donor Drive.

This year, we have stood together in strength and sorrow. Our Forward team has worked around the clock to help you find clarity amid the chaos.

If you’ve turned to the Forward in the past 12 months to better understand the world around you, we hope you will support us with a gift now. Your support has a direct impact, giving us the resources we need to report from Israel and around the U.S., across college campuses, and wherever there is news of importance to American Jews.

Make a monthly or one-time gift and support Jewish journalism throughout 5785. The first six months of your monthly gift will be matched for twice the investment in independent Jewish journalism.

— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO