Middle East

TEENS

'S houting Out
For Israel

Rally
unifies teen
community
and offers
tools for
advocacy,

Brad Margolis, 16, of

West Bloomfield o •

guitar during one of

the band sets

Kallie Alpiner
and Jacob Allen
Special to the Jewish News

1 5 by

hat were 250 local
teens, four bands,
a New York doc-
toral student with an Australian
accent and French fries doing at
the Jewish Community Center
in West Bloomfield last Sunday
night?
SHOUTING OUT FOR ISRAEL!
As part of the newly formed

Enjoying music
and refreshments
are Melanie Betel,
Lilah Clevey, and
Marissa Ceresnie, all
of Farmington Hills,
Emma Cohen of West
Bloomfield and Maria
Azcuy of Farmington
Hills; all are 14.

Israel Teen Advocacy Committee,
we joined our friends as a com-
munity to show our support for
Israel. Speaker David Bryfman,
a native Australian, rallied teens
from Orthodox, Conservative and
Reform backgrounds; and four
local teen bands played Israeli
and rock music in between
speakers. This community-wide
teen rally for Israel was for teens,
by teens — possibly the first of
its kind ever organized. And par-
ents were not allowed to attend!
A teen committee was formed
to plan the event. The committee
met prior to the event and again
immediately before the rally
began for a pizza dinner with
David, the speaker they selected
for the program. The teens also
decided it was important to have
resource material available and
to let their friends know about
this Israel Advocacy Committee,
which will continue to recruit
their peers after the rally.
The first band played as the
teens started pouring through
the doors at 7 p.m. The room
started to fill as photos of Israel
were shown in the background
on a huge screen. The smell of
french fries quickly filled the
room, and the teens were eager to

wash down the fries with pop —
what more could a teen want?!
The teens stayed focused on
the message David brought. He
emphasized that we, as teens, are
part of history. He brought our
attention to the fact that we are
the "iPod generation:' We create
our own playlists on our iPods
and should make that same
connection to Israel. Israeli rap
songs were played as translated
words appeaied on the screen.
David explained how these
Israeli musicians spoke of pain
and hope, the tikvah that exists
in Israel.
He suggested 10 ways to get
involved with Israel and asked us
all to do at least one:
• Stay Informed. Change
your homepage to Israeli news.
• Shout! Don't be quiet; let
people know what's going on.
• Become Eyes and Ears.
Listen and watch what is being
said and done iii the media.
• Strength In Community.
We have strength when we act
together.
• Give of Yourself. Your time
is as important as your money.
• Go Blue And White.
Choose Israeli products
Shouting Out on page 14

August 31 • 2006

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