Teens

LISA FEIN

Special to the Jewish News

now greeted 44 Israeli
teenagers and their group
leaders when they arrived
here on Sunday to get
acquainted with their counterparts on
Michigan's third teen mission to Israel
this summer.
The visitors, attending the schools
of their host teens, are from the cen-
tral Galilee, Michigan's Partnership
2000 sister region. They will accom-
pany the 275 Reform, Conservative
and unaffiliated teenagers from here
who will tour Israel June 28-July 31.
The get-acquainted mifgash
(encounter) in metro Detroit runs
April 9-16. It's sponsored by the
Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit and its Michigan/Israel office.
"We are continuing to build strong
bridges that have been built and get
along and represent the region of
Israel the best that we can. It is very
important to continue building the
bridges between our two communi-
ties," said David Bitran of Migdal
HaEmek, group leader for the visi-
tors, at a pizza parry held Sunday
before the Sheba Choir of Israel con-
cert at Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
Joining him here are staffers Paula
Lam Haim of Nazareth Illit and Ziv
Ran of Kibbutz Ein Dor.
Trudy Weiss, Federation's youth

mission coordinator, met the Israelis
on their home turf the week before
they came here.
"They are very comfortable with
their home hospitality and feel very
welcomed by the warmth of Detroit,"
she said. "The students are very open-
minded in learning about American
Jewish life."
Their itinerary this week included
a Detroit Pistons game at the Palace
of Auburn Hills and visits to the

Holocaust Memorial Center in West
Bloomfield and the Charles H.
Wright Museum of African American
History in Detroit. The trip, for 13-
to 17-year-olds, wraps up with a
Havdala ceremony and ice skating
party. Trip sponsors include
Federation, its agencies, the Jewish
News and local congregations.
Ellen Sanitsky, 16, of Migdal
HaEmek said she was "looking for-
ward to having a lot of fun this get-

ting-acquainted week and learning
about Jewish teens in Detroit."
Natan Golshmid, 16, of Nazareth
Illit said her family is Orthodox. "In
Israel before our visit, all three regions
of Israeli teens represented here dis-
cussed the topic, 'What is a Jew.'" She
said she was eager to meet Reform
and Conservative Jews and hoped for
"good communication between us
this week."
Elad Shooval, 15, of Kibbutz Ein

LOU

Huntt
oods and Blair
Teeple, 16, of Beverly Hills eat
pizza while shmoozing.

American, Israeli teens

share time here to

prepare for summer

.together in Israel.

Israelis Hagit Zilberman, 16; .Yael Zer ib, 16; and
Ayaniuz Wallwater, 15, enjoy the pizza.