LAST DAY: Subscriber Drive: Help Me Visit Jerusalem, Israel?

Edit: 5/25/2025 — Surpassed my goal! Any extra money will go towards extending my trip and visiting other Israeli cities.

TLDR: If you would like to support my upcoming trip to Israel (a wish: not a need), I’m asking for 24 more paid annual subscribers (58$) to my blog as a conversion gift for those who enjoy my blog, or if you would like to make a one-time donation: 917-363-4172 (Venmo), and Paypal (tonimaeairaksinen@gmail.com).

RAISED SO FAR: $18(CC), $25 (The Personal Holist), $72 (JM), $58 (Kathy), $58 (Mary) as of 3:47pm 5/13. $58 (JH), $58 (TCLang), $58 (CDG), $15 (Surry), $15 (Nadav), $58 (Stacy), $58 (LV), 58$ (Jack), $58 (Aaron), $58 (Tom), 58 (Judith), 58 (Robert M), Bill M (1000$), $55 (Andrea), $55 (Melissa)

RAISED: $1823
UPDATE (5/25/2025) — I have surpassed my goal! Thank you everyone! 🎉🎉🎉
GOAL: $1300 (any extra subscriptions after the goal will either go towards spending more time in Jerusalam or perhaps splitting the trip between two cities).

Now that my goal has been surpassed, I will leave this open to honor all the donators. Now that I’m a bit past my goal, I will likely visit Tel Aviv as well as Jerusalem.

Hi everyone! My name is Toni Airaksinen, I’m 28, and I’m officially scheduled for my conversion mikveh in Boca Raton to Judaism on May 30! In 18 Days! I’ve been trying to keep this under wraps for the past two year but I’m sure some of you have figured it out.

If you haven’t been following me, I started writing about antisemitism and SJP on while a student at Barnard College when I was 18, after I was called a “ZIONIST” in the Barnard College class of 2018 page multiple times. This was YEARS ago, before the Hamaniks on campus today.

But just like Jewish students today —I was harrassed by SJP and JVP members — who were my dormmates for at least a year, for my failure to condemn Israel.

Nevertheless, sticking to my guns about Israel got me stalked and harrassed; people showed up angrily to my job, and at grocery stores, I’d get hunted by girls through the ailes of Morton Williams. It was also likely the reason I was left out of the Barnard 2018 Yearbook (true story) but it also showed me a side of society I didn’t know about: Judiasm and Jews in America.

I rebuked that hate mail by writing even more about antisemitism and Israel supporting students on elite colleges afterwards.

Very quickly, Jewish people stood up for me, invited me to their homes, and showed me a world I couldn’t ignore. They showed me love like I never had growing up. “Call me when you get home, I want to know if you got there safe” was something I never heard growing up, except for my best-friend’s Jewish mom.

But from all that what I really learned is that, after having had a “foster care upbringing,” is that Jews basically become my chosen family and continue to be.

They are my “sisters”, “my mother figures” my mentors, professors, editing buddies and more. They are who I call when I have my big joys, and big sads. They pick me up when I need help and I love helping them when I can.

Since October 7, I realized that being Jewish was something that I should pursue formal conversion in. I moved to South Florida, but before moving I passed out over 7,000 “missing from Israel” hostage flyers in my former Arab neighborhood, which got me followed; an act of intimidation, it seemed.

When I settled in Boca Raton then later Delray, I later spent hundreds of hours in temple studying, taking classes, going to services and volunteering and have found an amazing Jewish community in Boca and Delray these past two years.

If you would like to support my journey to Jerusalem (a wish: not a need), I’m asking for 24 more paid annual subscribers (55$) to my blog as a conversion gift, for anyone who would like to subscribe or donate a subscription.

55x24= ~1250 , enough for accomodations & 4-7 day tour of Jerusalem. (I have the flight already covered, as I’ve been saving up my air-miles for over 3 years for this).

If you subscribe, resubscribe, or send a donation, I’ll put your name as a Premium Supporter on my “About Page” to honor your support for helping me on my journey closer to God, the Jewish people, and Israel (please let me know if you’d prefer to stay anonymous.)

You can also Venmo me @Toni_Airaksinen or Paypal tonimaeairaksinen@gmail.com or Zelle 917-363-4172. Happy to answer any questions! I will also accept giftcards/tickets to places in Jerusalem you think I should visit <3

In other news: I have also been documenting the horrors of October 7 on my X page, where I post tributes to the fallen soldiers and those killed and abducted on Oct 7. So consider following me on Twitter and Facebook as well, “Toni Airaksinen.”

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And any advice you may have on travelling to Israel for the first time, I’d love to hear it, either in my inbox or as a comment on this article. Shalom <3

I am also willing to keep an itemized report of my expenses to show to donors after I visit Israel, so you know it all went to a good educational cause and some good hummus of course ;)

Thank you everyone for being supporters. My analytics say over 70% of you, about 700 people, see my emails when I send them out. I hope you see this too, and I hope you’re having a blessed evening <3 This has been one of my life’s dreams since I was in college, and now I would like to extend my hand for any help or advice you may have.

My phone is open to anyone who may have a question about this, please just text before calling: 917-363-4172 otherwise I will probably assume it’s spam (I get like 13 spams a day). Thanks!