Scene

As we enter 5762

HADASSAH, the Women's Zionist Organization of America

BIRTHRIGHT from page 167

prays for the Health, Prosperity, and Peace

of the entire House of Israel.

May the sound of the shofar stir us to renew

our commitment to our beloved State of Israel.

Bonnie Lipton,

National President

Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America, Inc.,

50 West 58th Street, New York, NY 10019-2500
Toll Free: 800.664.5646 • Email: memberinfo@hadassah.o-rg • Web: www.hadassah.org

Local contact: 248.683.5030

AMERICAN HOUSE
5859 Maple Rd.
West Bloomfield MI
48322

A. grade above
the Rest.

Please call

248-538-5283

for a complimentary
lunch and tour

9/14
2001

168

The rnerican ouse
staff wishes all our
residents, their families
and all our friends
a rend healthy and

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ana' **goal

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going," Rabbi Zimmerman said.
If "you lose the sophomore now or
the junior now, you're not going to
have them in another year," Rabbi
Zimmerman said. "Later, they could
be going to medical school or
Cancun." Canceling trips would have
economic consequences for Israel, and
often is perceived as a betrayal of the
Jewish state. When the Reform move-
ment's Union of American Hebrew
Congregations canceled all youth trips
to Israel this summer — and when
the U.S. delegation to the Maccabiah
Games almost canceled — they drew
sharp criticism from Israelis and other
Jewish groups.
Giving up Birthright trips would
"hand Arafat the victory he needs,"
Rabbi Zimmerman said. "It would be
the final nail in the tourism coffin."
Canceling also could stymie
Birthright's future. Birthright needs to
maintain its momentum if it is to sur-
vive over the long haul, Rabbi
Zimmerman said. Putting the trips on
hold or reducing their size could jeop-
ardize the financial support Israel
gives to Birthright and could push the
program off North American Jewry's
radar screen, Rabbi Zimmerman said.
"It's the hardest thing in the world
to energize the North American
Jewish community," he said. "You
drop this, how do you get it moving
again?"
b •
So how to attract 10,000 young
Jews at a time when many consider
Israel a war zone? Birthright hopes
that aggressive marketing, word of
mouth and several special-interest
trips will help.
Among the new offerings is a
cycling trip, one for deaf Jews, a
sports trip and one in which partici-
pants learn Israel's history firsthand by
traveling with veterans of Israel's wars.
"We're trying to appeal to more
active, outdoor-oriented Jewish youth
that's a full market not being
tapped, yet there are tons of Jews
going on cycling and outdoor touring
trips" elsewhere, said Avi Green, who
is coordinating the bike trip. "It's a
traditional Israel experience, going to
all the sites you'd expect, but moving
around the country by bike."
The trip will include cycling along
the Burma Road — which served as
an alternate route to Jerusalem during
the War of Independence — biking
alongside the Dead Sea, in the
Galilee, Golan Heights and the
Negev, and standard sightseeing in
Jerusalem.

BIRTHRIGHT on page 170