11011 k4e k k4, trt,, WEB SITE page 16 to hook up with each organiza- tion's Web site (often the nation- al one). When I signed on, Young Ju- daea's site was missing an "offi- cial description" of the group, and B'nei Akiva's site was not acces- sible. BBYO's colorful, bright site was the easiest to access, and NCSY's was sophisticated. Press the "university connec- tions" button, and you'll find in- formation about college scholarships, universities and study abroad programs in Israel and Hillels around the world. At the "discussion groups" con- nection, individuals can chat with other users about what the coun- cil calls "hot issues." Because I signed on in the middle of the day, when most youngsters are at school, I was alone in the chat room. The site informed me that I was user No. 11 to the system. When a few teens are online at the same time, Mrs. Yost says they discuss everything from Mid- dle East politics to 'the December dilemma." 'What do you do if you are a Jewish high-school student, for ex- ample, and you are asked to sing religious songs as part of a reli- gious pageant at your school? We had another one on there at the time of elections — What do you think this means for Israel and for American Jews? Obviously [top- God Online Orthodox Union, Aish HaTorah make it easy to e-mail a note to the Western Wall. W ant to leave a note in the Western Wall without the hassles of overseas travel? Not to worry. Just e-mail your holy message to cohorts in Jerusalem and they'll do the legwork for your literally. Courtesy of Aish HaTorah --- http://www.thewall.org-- or the Orthodox Union — http://www.ou.org — you can e-mail a note to Jerusalem and have a fellow J#w place it be- tween the cracks of the Western Wall for you. ics] change because the times change," says Mrs. Yost. But the site does not give a plethora of factual information to help the teens debate, admits Mrs. Yost. `There is [information] from the Michigan-Israel Connection," she notes. While most of the site's in- formation "has to do with oppor- tunities for kids to study and travel in Israel, I think from time to time there have been news NOW THROUGH SUNDAY, JANUARY 26 At the Aish site, you will be connected to a current picture of the Kotel, which is updated every 60 seconds, by a camera (located at the Dan Family Building, Aish's world head- quarters) positioned directly across from the Wall in Jerusalem's Old City. The Aish site has been up since Chanukah. About 3,000 people sign onto it each day, ac- cording to Rabbi Kalman Pack- ouz, who manages the site Since its debut, the site has received about 40,000 visitors. From there, you can click on a number of options, including one that allows you to leave a note in the Wall. Direct your mouse to this option, and you will see a note with "Dear God" at the top and room for your re- quest underneath. Apparently, your e-mail is picked up by Aish officials, printed out and given to an Aish student to place in the Wall for you. Same at OU online "the Cyber Home of Torah." Talk about technology. LI items on there. And I know that there are other sites on the Web that have a lot of news." At the discussion link, teens can connect to CNN, Arutz 7's daily news reports from Israel, and Jerusalem One, which provides items and pictures from and about Israel's capital city via "Virtual Jerusalem." The site went up around the end of October, Mrs. Yost says. A University of Michigan fresh- man, Jeremie Kass, manages the site. Mr. Kass brings to the task "an enormous amount of comput- er experience and [he is] very knowledgeable about the [Jewish] community, having grown up here," says Mrs. Yost. A graduate of Hillel Day School and Berkley High School, Mr. Kass grew up in Huntington Woods and was involved in Jew- ish youth activities, Mrs. Yost says. — Lynne Meredith Cohn The Council is "in the process of getting the word out to the com- munity," says Mrs. Yost. "I think that kids are starting to learn about it. We sent out a news re- lease to all of the temple bulletins. We sent fliers out to all of the youth groups, congregations, or- ganizations. "It's a matter of people know- ing that it's there. We have had a number of hits on the site, and we've been pleased with that. We've had a nice response from the youth groups and organiza- tions wanting to put their infor- mation on the site. Jeremie seems to be pleased with the cooperation he's gotten." The idea for the site arose out of the Council's continued in- volvement in Jewish youth pro- gramming, says Mrs. Yost. "One of the things that this agency does is community coordi- nation, and I think that this was just sort of a natural outgrowth of that activity, using the new tech- nology. We knew the Internet was getting to be big and kids were into it, and this was a useful way for kids to hook up with each oth- er. This is a way for them to be- come part of the community." 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