MOWS NOTEBOOK.

New Israel Album Promotes
Teen Travel To Eretz Yisrael

T

gan/Israel Connection. A total of
een travel to Israel should
208 Reform and Conservative teens
become a Jewish lifecycle
have signed up for the five-week trip
event, just like bar/bat
June
25 to July 30. They'll tour
mitzvah and confirmation.
Israel
with 32 Israelis from the Cen-
And it should focus more on Jewish
tral
Galilee,
Detroit's partner region.
education and observance than pop-
The
Israeli
teens recently spent
ular beaches and excursions.
eight
days here as part of a
Sure, snorkeling in the
or get-acquainted
mifgash,
Red Sea and camel riding in
encounter,
funded by the
the desert promise fun
Ben
Teitel
Charitable
Trust
times. But observing Shab-
and
by
Federation.
"The
bat in the Old City, praying
most striking thing was
at the Western Wall, touring
how quickly the friend-
Ashkelon, hiking to Masada,
ships between the Ameri-
visiting museums and giving
can and Israeli kids were
some activities a Hebrew
built," said Rabbi Joshua
context offer more indelible
Bennett of Temple Israel.
ROB
ERT
A.
impressions.
It's incumbent we don't
ICLAR
S
At least that's what I
let
controversy over plural-
Ed
itor
believe. And my hunch is
ism
overshadow studies
that lots of others within the
showing
that
a
trip to Israel during
Detroit Jewish community agree.
the
formative
years
has a lasting, pos-
With subsidies and scholarships
itive
impact.
Teen
Mission
2 coordi-
widely available now, teen travel to
nator
Susan
Levin
of
the
Israel is no longer the province of a
Michigan/Israel Connection told me
few.
such travel significantly shapes "the
During this 50th anniversary year
ofIsrael's statehood, The Jewish News lives of kids Jewishly — in youth
group, in college, in whom they
01 is adding a new feature. Called Israel
marry and in raising children."
Album, it will showcase a picture
Rabbi Stephen Weiss of Congrega-
and biography of each local teen who
tion
Shaarey Zedek said: "I don't
journeys to Israel in 1998. Israel
know
of a single teen who comes
Album forms are available through
back
from
Israel and whose sense of
staff member Sy Manello at (248)
Jewish
identity
hasn't been deepened.
354-6060, ext. 261.
The
experience
makes them feel con-
Meanwhile, planning continues
nected
to
the
land
and proud of who
for Teen Mission 2 Israel, co-spon-
they
are.
It
not
only
awakens their
sored by the Jewish Federation of
curiosity
to
learn
more
about their
Metropolitan Detroit and its Michi-
history and heritage, but also

7

be shared with all of those who are
instrumental in our success. We are
most grateful.

Bradley A. Wasserman

President, Hillel of Metro Detroit

Miriam Starkman

Executive director, Hillel of Metro Detroit

Last Edition
A Pleaser

Mazel toy on the April 24 edition!

It was exciting and made me feel
proud of our Detroit Jewish community
when I read the wonderful assortment
of articles containing Jewish content and
interest about our vibrant community. I
look forward to reading more of these
kinds of enlightening articles.

Susan Friedman

President, Congregation B'nai Moshe

PBS Marks
Heritage Week

The program that PBS presented hon-
oring Jewish Heritage Week was
superb. It was a positive, comprehen-
sive overview of the Jewish people.
Danny Kaye, a talented and
remarkable performer, served world
humanity. For 34 years he brought
modern medicine to Third World
children.
The second aspect was the movie
that presented Itzhak Perlman.
Despite the disability caused by polio,
he is involved in every possible aspect
of culture. Seeking a new identity with
Klezmer music, he was able to look at
the Yiddish shtetl before the Holo-
caust.
"Tears, Laughter and Mitzvah" was
a kind and gentle glance at the evolve-

Detroiters Michelle Hutton and Miri Braidman, front row, and Israelis Amit
Yizraeli and Moran Arbel, Detroiter Ilyse.Kaplan, Israeli Noa Ravid, Detroiter Scott
Sadoff and Israeli Ben Levi gather during the Teen Mission 2 Israel mifgash pizza
party at the Max M Fisher Jewish Federation Building April 1.

changes the lenses through which
they look at their faith and tradi-
tion."
Teen Mission 2 chairman Alan
Nachman and his wife, Joy, went
along as observers on the first Teen
Mission in 1996 because they want-
ed to witness what the kids experi-
enced. Said Alan, Federation's trea-
surer: "It validated for me that kids
get turned on to Israel and not just
by having pizza on the street, or
going to discos, or swimming, or
rappelling, but by a myriad of expe-
riences—Masada, the Dead Sea, the

Old City, Yad Vashem. These are
experiences that will stay in their
minds for a long time to come."
Judaism, not a world player
among religions in sheer numbers of
followers, nonetheless has managed
to survive for 4,000 years because the
wisdom and wonder of Torah and
Talmud have been passed down
through the generations.
If survival is to continue, we must
step up to the challenge of winning
kids over early to the beauty, mean-
ing and value of our faith. What bet-
TEEN TRAVEL on page 44

ment of the American Jew.
Hopefully, we can once more
become supportive of PBS which has
demonstrated a soul and a conscience
in responding to the concerns of the
Jewish community.

Ann Barnett

President, American Zionist Movement,
Michigan Region

Contract Breach
Is An Issue

Suppose you and Peabody have a con-
tract, and you start to carry it out.
One day, Peabody announces that he
intends to repudiate — ignore -- cer-
tain conditions in the contract, which
you requested and Peabody agreed to.
Are you still bound to perform your
part of the contract?

Yassir Arafat:
Keeping his word?

5/1
1998

35