An Opportunity

Michigan college students overwhelmed by Birthright Israel experience.

MONICA SKLAR

Special to the Jewish News

0

n one of the last nights
before the May 2001
Birthright trip to Israel
ended for Michigan college
students, we sat in the moonlight out-
side of the Knesset, the Israeli parlia-
ment, and silently analyzed what we
had accomplished.
Using the art supplies provided,
some drew pictures, many wrote heart-
felt words and one made an abstract
cutout.
Others quietly thought about their
time in Israel, and what it could possi-
bly mean. "The trip was a great oppor-
tunity for me to learn more about my
Jewish heritage," said Brian Pollack,
24, of Wayne State University in
Detroit.
With the 33 people from Hillel of
Metro Detroit, Eastern Michigan
University and Western Michigan
University, and a diverse mix of per-
sonalities and styles, everyone became
fast friends. "I thought that the gift
Birthright gave me was one of the
greatest things anyone has ever done
for me, and I will cherish the friends
and memories I made on the trip for-
ever," said Chad Silver, 25, of Oakland
University in Rochester Hills.

New Friends

A standout component was the inclu-
sion of six Israelis as travel compan-
ions. They spoke about living on a kib-
butz or moshav, shared pictures and
stories from the army, taught us about
culture from Israeli folk songs to pop
music, and, most of all, provided us
with the insight that we had more sim-
ilarities than differences.
"The only difference that we
encountered between us and the Israeli

Monica. Sklar, 24, of Ferndale is a
fashion and English student at Wayne
State University in Detroit. She took
part in Hillel of Metro Detroit's 1O-day
Birthright Israel experience for young
people ages 18-25.

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'As hoP:

oun tion
to the Detroit bus w the participati
unded by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan etipit's Partn
steering committee and Gesher Ekesher subcommittee, these six Israe s u
dents from Detroies Partnership 2000 region joined their Detroit counter-
parts throughout the tour of Israel; they will visit Detroit in September to
learn about the local Jewish and campus communities.
The purpose of this exchange is for each group to better understand the
other's community and for the individual participants to develop a connec-
tion with peers through this experience and ongoing dialogue.
—Miriam Starkman, executive directov; Hiliel ofMetro Detroit

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students was that when they turn 18,
they go to the army and when we turn
18, we go to college," said Erica Parr,
20, of Eastern Michigan University in
Ypsilanti.
Polina Zionts, 23, of EMU, said, "I
think it's amazing the Israelis are so
close with one another physically.
Because Israelis are forced to go into
the army, these people die for each
other. This may explain why their
friendships are like this. By the end of
the trip, I was hugging and kissing my
friends regularly.
"I'm not really a touchy person, but
now I try to hug my friends as much

