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Dry Bones fr; A sz cAmmv,
Weaving A Tie To Israel
T
he covenant was explicit: If the Jews would
accept and follow the laws that God gave
Moses at Mount Sinai, they would have the
land of Israel. But for much of the last 2,500 years,
since Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem in 586
B.C.E., the land has been ruled by others — the
Romans, the Ottomans, the British. Only since
1948 have Jews been able to return freely to visit or
live in the land that they were promised.
A majority of the world's Jews haven't felt the bus-
tle of the markets in Tel Aviv, haven't paused to
remember either at Yad Vashem or at the fortress of
Masada, haven't climbed in the hills of Galilee,
haven't touched the waters of the Dead Sea or the
Red Sea, or haven't prayed at the Western
Wall.
An ambitious new program approved by
the Israeli government last week intends to
help fix the problem by bringing 20,000 young Jews
annually from around the world for four to 12
months of all-expenses-paid study and volunteer
work in Israeli universities and communities. The
program, named MASA or "journey," is a welcome
addition to the range of efforts already under way to
make sure that the next generation of Jews stays in
touch with its deepest roots.
The government and the Jewish Agency for Israel
have pledged to start spending $10 million on the
project next year, with the total mounting to $50
million by 2008-09. That puts it on the scale of the
breakthrough Birthright Israel, which has spent
$150 million in the last five years to bring 70,000
young Jews for 10-day trips. MASA planners say
that, like Birthright, the new program will provide
an immediate boost to the Israeli economy while
serving the long-range goal of cementing partici-
pants' ties to the Jewish state.
A Brandeis University study of Birthright partici-
pants, also released last week, affirms that effect. It
found that two to four years after the trip, at least
half the visitors described themselves as very con-
nected to Israel, a substantial change from their pre-
trip emotional linkage to the state. Similar visitation
programs under the auspices of Reform,
Conservative and Orthodox movements also seem
to cement the ties and may contribute to later deci-
sions to marry Jewishly and raise children within
the faith.
The timing of the program is about
right. The Palestinian violence against
Israel that has raged for four years appears
to be easing, lessening the worry for would-be visi-
tors. Some secular American colleges are even
responding to student demand to renew their study-
in-Israel offerings that were canceled because of the
terrorist risks; Michigan State University hopes to
resume such study by 2006. Birthright Israel offi-
cials say they continue to get more requests for par-
ticipation than they can afford to provide.
The philanthropists who first conceived Birthright
had to struggle for years to get the Jewish Agency
and the federations to contribute financially. The
agency, already facing fund-raising problems, has
not been explicit about where it will find money for
MASA. Its new commitment is welcome, but it
should not mean reducing support to Birthright or
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www.drybonesproject.com
other important existing programs. The need is clear
for additional philanthropic support.
The three powerful strands from which Jewish
identity is woven have always been God, Torah and
Israel. The first two we approach with our hearts
and our minds. The third we need to see for our-
selves. We applaud the fact that MASA, like
Birthright Israel, will make that possible for another
generation of young Jews. ri
Are We There Yet?
A
recent study ranked the Detroit area 10th
worst in the country for the amount of time
stuck in traffic. The number was about 51
hours a year.
That sounds about right. This is the eighth most
populous metro area in America, so by coming in
10th in the bad traffic poll it seems to me we're
ahead of the game.
There was, of course, the predictable media teeth-
gnashing about how this proves the need for better
public transit. I don't know about that. Cities that
made huge investments in rapid transit over the last
25 years —Atlanta, Washington, San Francisco —
ranked even worse than Detroit for traffic delays.
If you've ever driven in Los Angeles, number one
on the list, you'd realize there is little to complain
about here. There are pockets of congestion in this
area, but in L.A., it's all brake lights all the time.
I also wonder how much of that delay is caused by
the inability of the Michigan Department of
Transportation to get it right the first time. If it did-
n't have to put out the orange barrels for repaving
George Cantor's e-mail address is
gcantor@thejewishnews.com
That's more than two days. Think of all that
jobs every few years, traffic would certainly
you could do with two extra days a year at
move better.
your disposal — catch up on your reading,
But this all seems to presuppose that there
clean out the garage, write a symphony.
was a time when traffic in Detroit ran without
But that isn't how the time dribbles in.
a hitch. I wonder when that might have been.
When you figure vacations, holidays and sick
The only reason the freeways were built
time off, it actually comes to about three
was because traffic on surface streets was so
extra minutes on each commuting trip. That's
congested that there was a huge demand for
the difference between the time in which you
relief. With 2 million people once living
GEORGE
could make the drive if unencumbered by
south of Eight Mile Road, and all of them try-
CANTOR
traffic and the time it takes in reality.
ing to get through red lights and stop signs
Reality
Three minutes is a lot less time in which
together, it couldn't have been a joy ride —
Check
to fit something in — although you proba-
not even on Joy Road.
bly could if you used your imagination.
Sprawl is nasty stuff. But one positive thing
Besides, when it comes to wasting time I think
you can say for it is that it does spread out the
parking has become a much greater factor than con-
congestion.
gestion on the roads. How much of it is squandered
The study I cited measured time lost in gridlock,
trying to find a nice, close place to park on a winter
not total time spent commuting. That total figure
day in one of the huge regional malls and then wind-
certainly has risen substantially over the years. If
ing up on the fringes of Siberia?
people choose to put as much distance as possible
That has become a trek many shoppers are increas-
between the city and their families, that's inevitable.
ingly unwilling to make, and it's one of the reasons
But the percentage of time caught in traffic has
big box stores in smaller strip malls are regarded as the
remained a constant, no matter how long the overall
wave of the future. Thus adding even more sprawl.
commute may be.
Tell me, was driving ever fun?
Fifty-one hours a year sounds like a long time.
12/31
2004
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