Washington Impact
A one-day mission to the nation's
capital proves invaluable.
JENNIFER FINER STAFF WRITER
LU
(/)
LU
CD
CC
F-
LU
f=1
H-
96
s Burton Aaron sat in
the nation's capital, lis-
tening to key Wash-
ington officials talk
about the peace
process, something
hit home.
He walked away from the ex-
perience with the im-
pression that Israel's
survival will always be at
risk — a thought that
concerns him because his
brother has a family in Is-
rael.
"I've gained important
information about how
secure Israel really is or
isn't with its bordering
neighbors," Mr. Aaron
said. "Based on how you
interpreted the informa-
tion from the speakers,
you have to decide for
yourself if Israel is secure.
The consequences of the
peace accord are yet to be
played out."
On Oct. 4, Mr. Aaron,
of West Bloomfield, and 159 oth-
er Detroiters — all participants
in a one-day United Jewish Ap-
peal's Young Leadership Cabinet
Mission —left Detroit at sunrise
to tour the U.S. Holocaust Memo-
rial Museum and meet with
members of Congress as well as
Israel and Middle East experts.
"We have to understand who
we are, where we came from and
where we're going," said Steve
Schanes, a UJA cabinet member.
"One of the ways to accomplish
this is by getting an education or
a re-education in basic current
events in Israeli politics. When
we come here, we are educating
ourselves. We can't rely on any-
one else but ourselves if we want
to continue to be a strong Amer-
ican Jewish community. I think
people can definitely leave here
feeling proud to be Jewish."
Another objective of the mis-
sion, according to Stacey Crane,
the women's chair of the Detroit
Young Leadership Cabinet, was
to expose young Jewish Detroi-
ters to the power of a strong com-
munity and get them involved.
At a time when events in the
Middle East continue to rapidly
unfold, mission participants
heard various perspectives on the
process. Within days of the mis-
sion, a handful of key events were
taking place. Israeli Foreign Min-
ister Shimon Peres was in Wash-
Far left:
Sen. Carl Levin.
Above:
Congressmen address these Detroiters
during lunch.
Left:
Jonah Sigel and James Jacob at the
Holocaust museum.
ington to meet with diplomats,
Morocco and Tunisia took major
steps toward establishing diplo-
matic relations with Israel and
several Arab nations put an end
to portions of the economic boy-
cott of Israel.
The day's itinerary in Wash-
ington was packed. The morning
included a briefing by the State
Department's Aaron Miller and
a meeting with Shoshana Bryen,
the special projects director with
the Jewish Institute for Nation-
al Security Affairs (JINSA).
After lunch, which was at-
tended by Sen. Carl Levin, Reps.
Dave Camp, Sander Levin, Dale
Kildee, Joe Knollenberg and oth-
er members of Congress, the
group spent much of the after-
noon at the U.S. Holocaust
Memorial Museum.
A dinner at the Embassy of Is-
rael was addressed by Warren
Adelman, chief of public affairs
at the embassy.
Reasons for going on the mis-
sion were as varied as the ages of
the participants — they were be-
tween 23 and 59.
Mr. Aaron, 36, went because
he was interested in seeing the
museum and deciding if he want-
ed to become involved in the com-
munity through the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan De-
troit.
Several participants said they
were also planning to use the trip
as a stepping stone to communi-
ty involvement. They said the
mission was a good place to net-
work with those who are active
and see the impact a strong Jew-
ish community has on the na-
tion's capital.
Jay and Karen Dubrinsky, of
White Lake, went because they
were looking for a way to get in-
volved in the community and
they were curious about Wash-
ington.
"We wanted to see the process
and how it works," Mr. Dubrin-
sky said. "Most people don't know
what to do or whom to talk to.
Coming here today was a good
way to give members of the X-
Generation a sense of what they
are missing."
Some, like 26-year-old Michelle
Cohen, went to learn about the
U.S.-Israel relationship.
"I'd like to get more political-
ly involved," Ms. Cohen said. "I
came here to gain a broad edu-
cation and learn as much as I
could in one day. I particularly
wanted to know hands-on about
what went on behind closed
doors.
"One of the things that made
the most sense is when Aaron
Miller at the State Department
talked about peace being a gen-
erational process. His point was
peace cannot be achieved imme-
diately. It takes time and the out-
come of our efforts will not be
seen until years from now."
Lisa Barson went to Wash-
ington for similar reasons: "To
gain a vision of Israel and politics
you can't get in Detroit."
The same could be said for
Stavit Ben-Ozer, a recent gradu-
ate of the University of Michi-
gan's dental school.
"Now that I'm done with
school, I know have more time
to become better versed, espe-
cially on the relationship between
the United States and Israel,"
said Ms. Ben-Ozer, who spent her
27th birthday on the one-day mis-
sion.
Lisa Barson was fascinated by
the different perspectives of the
speakers. She said Mr. Miller
seemed optimistic about a peace-
ful future, saying there will be
hitches, but over time peace can
be achieved. Mr. Miller also pre-
dicted an agreement between Is-
rael and Syria early next year.
A less brilliant picture was
painted by Ms. Bryen, the direc-
tor of special projects for the Jew-
ish Institute for National Security
Affairs, a non-profit, non-parti-
san education organization. JIN-
WASHINGTON page 98
K
ti