resource areas, military volunteering,
agricultural work, living and working
on kibbutzim or youth villages, and
hikes and tours of the country.
Of the eight Detroiters who trav-
eled with 50 other American young
adults on Otzma 13, two have
remained in Israel. Jay Raben, 23, is a
Pardes Yeshiva student in Jerusalem
and Sarah Walker, 24, works as a
counselor for the Alexander Muss
High School in Hod Hasharon.
Otzma participant Gordon Eick,
23, is a B'nai B'rith Hillel Foundation
Jewish Campus Service Corps fellow
at the University of Minnesota.
Harwin said Otzma brought him
"a different view of our Jewish com-
munity, with an importance in daily
life." Hoping to work as a Web
designer, he is currently a substitute
teacher in the religious school of
Temple Beth El.
Tracy Roth, 23, of Bloomfield
Hills is working in the Detroit-area
marketing industry. Mark Blitz, 23, is
studying for a master's degree at
Columbia University Teacher's
College in New York.
Jeff Aronoff, 22, of West
Bloomfield, attended Otzma 13 fol-
lowing his graduation from Michigan
State University. While applying to
law schools, he now works with the
elderly at the Fleischman Residence
in West Bloomfield. He said his expe-
rience in Israel influenced his deci-
sion, and put him "more in touch
with, and conscious of, the Jewish
community."
Whatever they are involved in,
Myers said, "The vital spark lit inside
them for Israel will go a long way in
their sense of who they are."
And as for Allison Rabinovitz, liv-
ing and working in Israel has helped
her focus on a career path. She is a
staff associate, working as Mark
Myers' assistant for Israel programs at
the Michigan/Israel Connection.
Project Oztma is a joint project of
the Israel Forum and the United
Jewish Communities, in cooperation
with the Education Department of
the Jewish Agency for Israel. Locally,
it is sponsored by the Michigan/Israel
Connection of the Jewish Federation
of Metropolitan Detroit. fI
For information on Project
Otzma, call 1-877-GO-OTZMA;
or contact Mark Myers at (248)
645-7878, www.projectotzma.org
or e-mail otzma@ujcna.org
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10/1
1999
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