Editor's Letter
THE
SALE
Scouting For Peace
EVENT
For Ofir, the army defends and protects Israel
sraeli teenagers Lior Ashkenazi and Ofir Koltun
so
she's eager to give back."It's my duty but also
are both 17 — just one year from enlistment in
something
I really want to do," she said. She wants
the Israeli army. Still, they're perplexed by much
to
work
on
army radio to hone her skills as a bud-
of the Arab world's hatred of the Jewish state. They
ding
journalist.
She also wants to be a counselor
yearn for Middle East peace.
for
Sar-El,.a
wonderful
nonprofit Israel agency
But the girls don't live in fear. And they're proud to
whose
opportunities
include
linking diaspora vol-
be Jewish.
unteers
with
Israeli
army
base
work.
The tragedy of war has singed each. Ofir had an
Lior
wants
to
follow
in
the
footsteps
of her older
uncle die in army pilot training years ago. Lior had a
sister
and
mother
and
become
an
army
social
friend die when a Palestinian suicide bomber explod-
worker.
She
anticipates
lots
of
personal
growth.
ed outside a Tel Aviv disco in 2001.
"The work makes you better in so many ways," she
In a pre-Shabbat conversation, I found the girls
said. "You learn to be responsible and brave, and
thoughtful and articulate with a grip on hope that's
you
learn
how
to deal with bad situations:'
distinctively Israeli. I fear for Israel's long-term security in a
Like many U.S. teens, the girls want to travel, then go to
region riddled with Islamist terrorists. But I left my kitchen-
college and raise a family. Their routine includes walking to
table talk with Lior and Ofir feeling better about Israel's pros
school, going to malls and riding the bus — things that might
pects. These 11th-graders reflect the quality of Israel's future
seem off limits given the threat of terrorist attacks.
leaders.
"If peace were possible, would it already have happened?"
We're One People
wondered Lior, who lives in Ramat Gan, home to Bar-Ilan
These girls don't comprehend the politics of the Middle East
University.
— or the mindset of Arabs who blow themselves up in Allah's
"I think coexistence is the best thing that we can hope for,"
name to murder Jews or who abduct Israeli soldiers thinking
said Ofir, who is from the modern Israeli city of Modi'in.
that Israel would give in to their mindless demands.
Buoyant and engaging, the girls are two of 30 special ambas-
Neither girl hates Arabs; they just don't grasp how the leaders
sadors in the Tzotim Friendship Caravan, part of the Israeli
and people in Arab lands that despise Israel think.
Scouts' U.S. delegation
The girls believe in their government to do what is right.
this summer. They and
"Israel has never been in a peaceful situation so I know that
six other 17-year-old
it'll take longer to get there," said Lior. "I can't know the answer!'
Scouts on a singing tour
Ofir agreed, then added: "When I hear about Haifa citizens
in the Southeast and
having to go into protection rooms to escape rocket attacks, I
Midwest performed
feel terrible. I feel so bad that it has gotten to this point. But the
in Ann Arbor and
attacks must be stopped!'
Metro Detroit from
She added, "We don't see an end."
July 26-29. The Jewish
Neither do I unless the terrorist support networks of
community centers of
Hezbollah and Hamas are crippled, the anti-Zionist sponsors
Washtenaw County and
Iran and Syria are exposed and neutralized, and the democrati-
Metropolitan Detroit as
cally elected governments within the Palestinian Authority and
well as Temple Israel in
West Bloomfield brought Lebanon somehow restore civilized order.
The girls appreciate every Jew who visits. Israel or makes
them here.
aliyah. I was struck when they said they relish visiting Israel's
Israeli Scouts Lior Ashkenazi
Part of the Scouts'
and Ofir Koltun at Temple Israel's mission is to help North
historical and holy treasures with Jewish tourists, who they
Wasserman Pavilion on Friday.
consider extended family.
American Jews deepen
The girls cherish their Caravan opportunity.
their Jewish identity and
Says Ofir: "We get to show our spirit, our life — and connect
their alliance with Israel. In return, the Scouts experience our
Jews
in Israel with those here in America!'
tapestry of ways to be Jewish.
"We get excited when the audience gets excited:' Lior said.
My wife, Beth, and I hosted Lior and Ofir during Caravan
"We help our country by getting our hearts closer — those of
Alon's local stopover.
Israeli and American Jews."
Their most enduring message is that Israeli Jews view
Army Underpinnings
American Jewish support — politically, financially, socially and
As fighting along the Lebanon-Israel border intensified last
emotionally — as priceless.
Friday, both girls told me that they don't fear serving in the
Plainly, Israel's pain also must be ours.
army. Rather, they're passionate about it. It was then I under-
stood one way that Israeli and American teens differ: In Israel,
teens grow up in an army-dominated culture.
How can you get more involved with
0
The parents of Lior and Ofir — all professionals today — are
1 LL supporting Israel?
all army veterans. Ofir has two younger sisters. Lior is the third
tri 14.1
youngest of four kids; her 22-year-old brother has finished three
1— 0 Does Israel as the Jewish ancestral
Z Z homeland resonate for you?
years of required army service. Women serve two years although
c)
they aren't required to face combat. When Lior and I spoke,
a. 0
her 19-year-old sister, an army social worker, was about to be
E-mail: letters®thejewishnews.com
deployed to northern Israel, within range of Hezbollah rockets.
1
OF THE SEASON
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July 27 .2006
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