ALE"LIF I

Steve Perlman plays basketball with a young Israeli at
the Ramla Sports Center.

Some mission members went tubing in the Jordan River.

A group of Detroit young
adults visited Israel to get
the low down on what makes
the Jewish State upbeat

HEIDI PRESS

News Editor

we, surprise, a
choked-up feeling
of emotion was
what a group of
13 Detroit members
of the Young Adult Division of
the Jewish Welfare
Federation experienced this
summer upon arriving in
Israel. Joining more than 300
of their peers from around the
U.S., the Detroiters were
participants in the United
Jewish Appeal National
Hatikva Mission.
The ten-day mission was
designed to introduce — or re-
introduce as in the case of
some — the young adults to
Israel, its people, its
landmarks and its history,
and to the UJA-funded
institutions there.
, What were the group
members' impressions? What
did they come away with?
Will any of them return?
Upon their return to Detroit,
four of the members were
anxious to spread their
enthusiasm about their
experiences.
"I was impressed by the
military bases," said Steve
Perlman, a 28-year-old
residential and commercial

ii

builder and developer.
"They're telling you 'look at
what we have to do to survive:
You got a great sense of
survival when you saw the
military?'
Laurie Frankel, 26, a
residential builder, was
moved by her experiences at
the Western Wall. "The Wall
stands out in my mind:' The
emotional impact of being at
the Wall is so great, she said,
"you can't explain it!' Added
Perlman, "for not being
religious, at the Western Wall
on Shabbat, a lot of people in
the group cried!'
But the trip was not all
military bases and religious
sites. There was a visit to
Detroit's sister-Project
Renewal city, Ramla; a tree-
planting trip; visits to
kibbutzim; meetings with
government officials; tube
floating on the Jordan River;
parties; Shabbat observance;
visits to settlements; hiking
and museum visits.
"It was so packed every day,
but the people loved it," said
Nathan Leader, 26. "Believe
me, you didn't have a minute
to get bored:' Taking his first
trip to Israel, the retail
packaging and apartment
management specialist said
he felt a duty to go on the

Sylvia Sherman plants a tree at
the UJA forest near Modiin.

Nathan Leader tries his hand at camel riding near the Mount of Olives.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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