Getting
To Know
You

A dozen Israeli teens meet their
Detroit counterparts.

KAREN KAPLAN

Special to the Jewish News

T

welve Israeli teenagers visit-
ed Detroit March 26-April
1 to meet the local teens
who will, in turn, visit them
in Israel this June on the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit's
Teen Mission to Israel.
During this mifgash (encounter), the
Israeli teens were hosted by Detroit
families whose teens will go on the
mission.
Leah Moss, 16, of Southfield, whose
family hosted two Israeli teens, said the
week was an unbelievable experience.
"It was amazing how similar I was to
the two Israeli teens we hosted — even
though they live on the other side of
the world," said Leah. "I could not
believe what good friends we became
in such a short amount of time."

Karen Kaplan is a project coordinator

with Federation's Israel d' Overseas
Department.

The Israeli teens — along
with their madrich (counselor)
Yoav Raban — came here
from Michigan Jewry's
Partnership 2000 region in
Israel, the Central Galilee. The
Top. Israeli girls join
missions since they
teens were chosen to represent
two U-M students for began in 1996 and
that region's three municipali-
Irish dancing on the
called this group "one
ties: Jezreel Valley, Migdal
Diag.
of the most spectacu-
HaEmek and Nazareth Illit.
lar."
The goals of the mifgash are
Above: The Israeli
Ronit Erez, the
twofold. One is to give these
teens mug for the
mother of Neta Erez,
Israeli teens a better under-
photographer at
one of the Israeli teens
standing of Detroit and its
U-M Hillel.
in the mifgash, wrote
thriving Jewish community —
to Federation that Neta
and the important place that
was
surprised by how
Israel holds in the communi-
rich
Jewish
life
in
the
Diaspora is and
ty's heart. Another goal is to facilitate
how people love Israel and its people.
the introduction of the Israeli and
She said that Neta feels even prouder
Detroit teens so that they can form
relationships prior to meeting in Israel. to be an Israeli.
The Israeli teens had a busy itinerary
Before arriving in Detroit, the Israeli
during the mifgash, with events
teens were required to study different
including a Shabbat dinner with host
aspects of American Jewry. Rabbi
families, a community mitzvah project,
Joshua Bennett of Temple Israel has
a tour of the University of Michigan
been involved with Federation's teen

campus in Ann Arbor, visits to
local Jewish communal agencies
and the Henry Ford Museum in
Dearborn. The week came to an \
■
end with the teens attending a
Detroit Pistons basketball game.
Beth Margolin of Orchard Lake, one
of the hosts whose two daughters Amy,
17, and Judy, 14, are going on the teen
mission, said, "having the Israeli teens
here in Detroit was so exciting and
important. Their visit flew by, and
when it was time to say goodbye, Amy
and Judy began to count the days until
they would all be together again in
Israel."
The 2004 Teen Mission Mifgash was
co-sponsored by the Detroit Jewish
News and was made possible by a
donation from Samuel and Jean
Frankel. The mifgash was brought
about by its co-chairs Trudy Weiss and
Betsy Heuer as well as Nancy
Schostak, chair of the Teen Mission.

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2004

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