“I grew up on a tennis court. My dad, Vic Greenstein, was a football player and tennis player long before I picked up a racket. He later became one of the top stockbrokers in Minnesota, but playing sports was always in his blood. It was mine too. I went on to play for the University of Florida, competing at the highest collegiate level.

After graduating, I started a company called Scholarships for Athletes to help young athletes navigate the complicated world of U.S. college recruiting. In 2006, I took a trip to Israel to see if I could help a few Israeli players do the same. But what I found shook me.

Families were being scammed, paying fraudulent agencies to help their kids play college sports in the U.S. These kids, very often,  were being dropped into rural towns with no Jewish life, no support, and often, no real opportunity. Some faced antisemitism. Most were completely alone. That trip changed everything for me.

I met Dan Aronovic, an American-Israeli with deep roots in the sports world, and we immediately clicked. We shared the same frustration, and the same fire to do something real.

So we started small. Helping athletes one by one. Teaching them NCAA rules, prepping for the SATs, navigating military service. But even more important, we helped them prepare emotionally. Because these young Israelis weren’t just students. They were soldiers, stepping into a completely different world.

And here’s where the story takes an unexpected turn.

My dad, who had always supported me from afar, saw what we were building. And he stepped in. Full force.

He wasn’t just proud, he was all in.

He used his business mind, his network, his energy, and he helped take The Israel Bridge to a level I never could have imagined alone.”