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Welcome to Our Community

17, of Bloomfield Hills, a member
of the Teen Mission committee. "I
think the dance was pretty success-
ful."
This group shares a special
bond because they were in the
north of Israel when war broke out
with the Lebanese terrorist group,
Hezbollah. I was one of those teens
on the mission.
On a beautiful Saturday after-
noon in July, we were sitting across
the lake from Tiberias enjoying
Shabbat, relaxing and having fun.
Suddenly, we heard the sound of
the Katushya rockets and, when
we looked across the lake, we saw
clouds of black smoke. To ensure
the safety of all the teens involved,
the Jewish Federation made the
decision that it was time to bring
us home.
Although we returned home
two \\reeks earlier than planned,
Israel had truly changed us naive
Jewish teens into conscientious,
committed and proud Jews. We
returned home more dedicated to
and understanding of Israelis, and
we experienced what life in Israel
entails.
We sat in our homes focused
on CNN, Fox News and the New
York Times, where Israel was all
over the news. However, because
of the alleged confession in the 1 0-
year-old murder case of JonBenet
Ramsey, we are seeing less about
Israel on TV and on the front pages.
It is our responsibility as Jewish
teens to raise awareness and money
for our new Israeli friends we left
behind.
Though the trip was cut short, in
my opinion, this had to have been
the most memorable and effective
Teen Mission ever. Generally, when
teens participate in summer trips
of this type, they return home with
new friendships and lasting memo-
ries. The teens on this mission
returned not only with the bonds
of friendship at home and in Israel,
but also with a sense of under-
standing about what it means to be
a Jew and,.more importantly, what
the State of Israel means to each
and every one of us as Jews.
This was a life-altering experi-
ence that will remain with us for-
ever and we will continue working
together as a team to help those in
need in the State of Israel. Eli

COMMUNITY BANK

.

Hannah Farkas, 17, lives in West

Bloomfield.

NSTAR is proud to be a Community Bank, dedicated to developing and maintaining relationships with customers
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Monday-Saturday 9:30-6:00
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265 Old Woodward

248-642-2555

August 31 • 2006

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