Open during Passover Chol HaMoed Hours of Shopping and skating event at the Farmington Hills Ice Arena "could not have been better in terms of turnout, cama- raderie and obvious friendships that have been formed this past week." Most of the visitors, who attended school with their host teens, were making their first trip to the United States. Many pointed to the variety in streams of Judaism here. "The community here in Michigan is a very united one — it is very warm and accepting," said Hagit Zilberman, 16, of the Jezreel Valley. "It is not like that in Israel. "Here in the United States, Orthodox accept Reform and Conservative Jews. This is different in Israel. There aren't many Reform and Conservative Jews in Israel. The Orthodox in Israel deny the others and those who are not observant." She said she enjoyed every moment here. "I will be sad to leave, but I miss Israel. I love my country very much. I want to thank the Federation for organizing this lovely experience for all of us." Also commenting on religious plu- ralism, Ronit Hartmann, 16, of Nazareth-Illit, said, "In Israel, the Orthodox are religious and are very strict. Here in the U.S., most Jews seem to be Reform and Conservative. I love the way Jews here express their religion. I love Reform Judaism. It is more open, happy and liberal. "The family that I stayed with, the Robinsons, were very interested in Israel and what is going on there. It made me feel very happy." Jennifer Robinson, 15, a Temple Israel member, said Ronit told her that "Israel is a lot different than the U.S. in that everything is a lot less modern. Buildings are older and smaller than here. I also learned a little Hebrew." Dan Peterman, 17, a Temple Shir Shalom member, and his family were hosts to two Israeli students. Sharing what he learned from his two new friends about Israeli life, he said, "Kibbutz work is not as hard as I heard it was. We also went downtown to a Tigers game and the students were amazed by the buildings and the game. Their lifestyle is different from ours." Elad Shooval, 15, of Kibbutz Ein Dor, said, "People in the U.S. are close to their religion in different ways from Israel. Visiting Temple Shir Shalom was very unique and special for me. Rabbis in the United States make people like the religion. Rabbis in Israel make the service uncomfortable. It is a much less open service in Israel." Natan Golshmid, 16, of Nazareth- Illit, said, "Every morning here we spent in a different synagogue. It was very interesting, like a new religion to me. I saw women wearing kippot and reading the Torah and men and women together. It was a very inter- esting trip. I am looking forward to this summer." Mariel Ostrower, 15, from Kibbutz Ein Dor, observed that "Judaism seems easier here in the United States than in Israel. Temple is great. There is singing and more fun." Helen Sanitsky, 16, of Migdal HaEmek said, "There is a lot more freedom in Judaism in the U.S. Jews in Israel are either Orthodox or non- religious. I enjoyed learning about Reform Judaism." But many of the students talked about the similarities, even though the two countries are thousands of miles apart. Jared Goldberg, 16, a Temple Beth El member, said that Israeli teens "are just like us, the only difference being they speak a different language. I bonded with them just like I bond with American kids." Jennifer Robinson said she and Ronit Hartmann have a lot in corn- mon, including siblings and parents who are the same ages. "We love the same music and TV shows, even though in Israel the shows are a little bit behind us." Dan Peterman agrees. "The Israeli teens are just like us," he said. "They like the same stuff we do. We take life for granted. We don't realize how much we have." Rob Gordon, co-chair of Teen - Mission 2000, said, "The week went fabulous. It was a wonderful group of Israeli students. I am looking forward to seeing Israel. It was a very success- ful week of bonding." Summing up the week, David Bitan of Migdal HaEmek, group leader for the Israeli teens said, "The trip was fun and educational for the kids. Everything was taken care of. Home hospitality was wonderful and the kids were treated as if [they belonged to the family]. The kids learned about the community and it was nice meeting the Americans before their trip together this sum- mer. "The kids became friends with each other. It was very successful. The real reason we came was to form rela- tionships. 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