NFTY Trip Is Nifty

Temple Israel teens are eager
to learn about their history
as they explore Israel

CARL SCHRAG -

-

Special to The Jewish News

li

k lright, everyone," Rabbi
Paul Yedwab said to the
busload of teenagers,
"Let's see who's here."
Thus began the count-
down. One! Two! Three! Four! By the
time they heard the 45th voice, all
participants in • the Temple Israel
NFTY Israel Trip were accounted for,
and the bus could continue its route
through a never-ending exploration of
the Jewish state.
For five weeks in July and
August, Detroit-area members of the
National Federation of Temple Youth
(NFTY) stretched their horizons and
broadened their experiences through
an exciting, educational and fun trip
to Israel that combined hiking, tour-
ing, studying, learning, acting, swim-
ming, seeing and doing. And, oh yes,
there were occasional breaks for
relaxation.
The Temple , Israel group stands
out for- a number of reasons. For
starters, among dozens of NFTY
groups, it was the largest one to draw
nearly all of its participants from just
one temple. But then, with the largest
religious school program in the
United States, Temple Israel
members are used to leading the
pack.
All but two of the participants
were first-time visitors to Israel. They
got a dramatic, unplanned introduc-
tion to the complex relationship bet-
ween religion and state which exists
in Israel when they found the tour
beginning with a day in . . . London.
El Al flight 002 from New York
was scheduled to touch down in Tel
Aviv at 4:30 on Friday afternoon, Ju-
ly 3, but there was a slight delay.
The plane arrived at the break of -
dawn on Sunday, nearly 40 hours late,
after an unexpected stopover in Lon-
don en route from New York.
Instead of greeting the Sabbath at
the Western Wall, Rabbi Yedwab and
his wife, Wendy, improvised with a
whirlwind tour of the British capital.
After flying through the night to

42

FRIDAY, SEPT. 25, 1987

Chad Zamler, Gerry Levin and Seth Golden in the Israel Museum's sculpture garden.

Lindsey Jacobs, Cathy Sosnick join madrich Jonathan Karp.

reach Israel first thing Sunday mor-
ning, 45 tired NFTY troopers rolled
out of the plane and into- the arrival
terminal. They didn't really expect
anyone to greet them with bright,
wide-awake faces, but the three
madrichim (group leaders) who
_ assisted the Yedwabs hadn't been
travelling for two full days.
Tania Sommer, Iris Siman Tov
and Jonathan Karp were ready to
take over from the exhausted Yed-
wabs. Many Temple Israel families
already know Iris, because two years
ago, she accompanied the group led by
Rabbi Harold Loss. As sabras —
native-born Israelis — she and Tania
were instrumental in showing the
group aspects of Israel that many
visitors never get to see. Jon, a college
student from Dallas, Tex., joined the
group after spending six months liv-
ing and working on Kibbutz Yahel,
the first Reform kibbutz.
All of the madrichim hoped to
• help introduce the young Temple
Israelites to the wonders and realities
of the Jewish state. Living with them
24 hours a day, seven days a week,
they had -many opportunities to do so.
The first few days of the trip were
a whirlwind of recovering from jet lag
and making up for lost time. It was
a powerful experience for the group.
"We've been here le.ss than -a
week," Francie Paull, 15, noted with
amazement, "and I've already learn-
ed so much." Like many of her friends,
Francie did not hesitate for a moment
to call her visit to the Western Wall
"the strongest experience of the trip."
Bonnie Char, also 15, said "I've
always wanted to come to Israel." Ear-
ly in the trip, she was enjoying seeing
the sights and hearing about Israeli
life. "It's interesting to hear about
how people live here and how all of
the 18-year-olds get drafted into the
army?'
Sixteen-year-old Bryan Schneider
was also interested in the Israel
Defense Forces: "I like seeing soldiers
walking around the streets with