Editor's Letter
26TH ANNUAL FALL FUNDRAISER
Embracing Our Teens
0
ur teenagers are precious in so many ways, not the
least of which is one that we don't appreciate as
much as we should: As time goes on, they will play
a central role in Jewish continuity, in the passage of our heri-
tage from one generation to the next. Given the triple threats
of assimilation, intermarriage and apathy, we stand to lose big
as a community if we don't assure that teens relish that role.
So our staff is busy strategizing about how to make the
JN more relevant and inviting for
teen readers, who are at a critically
formative stage where peer pressure,
parental influence and Jewish identity
converge. It would be shortsighted to
ignore the impact that teenagers could
have on the Jewish communal land-
scape if given the proper motivation
and training.
This backdrop matters in the
wake of the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit's announce-
ment of the new Diller Teen Fellows
Program. The intriguing program involves an intensive year
of acquiring Jewish communal leadership and service skills.
Jewish ethics and a summer seminar in Israel will be high-
lighted. The program is highly subsidized so affordable.
Federation's 2005 demographic study reveals 17,000 kids
age 17 and younger among Metro Detroit's 72,000 Jews. More
than 16 percent of the Jewish population consists of
kids age 10-19, meaning teens are a huge percent-
age of who we are. Some of our teens attend day
schools. Others are enrolled in synagogue schools.
Still others only participate in Jewish youth groups,
like BBYO. But all have a part in the grand script to
dispel the illusion that it's not cool to be Jewish.
Their embrace of what it means to be Jewish is
essential if they're going to anchor the timbers that
make Jewish Detroit a vibrant community despite a
declining population. A glaring shortcoming, how-
ever, is the loss of so many young adults after college to urban
hotspots like Chicago, New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles.
Imagine the prospects for reversing that troubling trend if we
had a stronger pool of teen leaders instilling pride in Metro
Detroit as a place to live as a young adult — and spotlighting
how the community is cool and how it can become cooler.
We have lots of young adults who stay here or who move
back. Their experiences diminish the impression that Metro
Detroit is a wasteland for younger Jews. This scenario, of
course, hinges on more career opportunities emerging.
Federation is in the best position to match quality job open-
ings with quality job seekers. Without the match making, teen
and young adult leaders alike will find little success seeking
to turn skeptics into believers about Detroit's Jewish future.
The Detroit version of Diller takes its cue from the original
program in San Francisco. The program has since spread to
Cleveland and Baltimore. Other targeted cities include Atlanta,
Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and MOntreal.
Diller is en route to Detroit thanks to the San Francisco-
based Helen Diller Family Foundation, with support from our
Federation's Stephen H. Schulman Millennium Fund, which is
aimed at building Jewish interest among teens. Time will tell
if the Diller program fulfills that promise. A diverse, driven
teen talent pool should heighten the chances of fulfillment.
of music and dance!
NOVEMBER 1st & 2nd
7:30 pm
FISHER THEATRE
TICKETS FROM $60
Fighting Hate
Contrast upbeat North American initiatives like the Diller
program with the Palestinian Authority's new, dangerous
school textbooks. The curriculum teaches a new generation of
Palestinian kids to despise Jews and seek Israel's destruction.
At the same time that President Mahmoud Abbas is seek-
ing a national unity government that vows to recognize Israel
(I'll believe that when I see it), the Authority's school system
presents Zionism as the enemy. Israel is "Palestine" on school
maps. In fact, the texts teach that ancient Israel only had Arab
inhabitants, according to a new study by the Intelligence and
Terrorism Information Center in Herzliya.
Surely, strong Jewish teen leaders imbuing a zeal for Israel
advocacy on this side of the Atlantic will help sustain support
for Zionism in America and thus counter Palestinian student
hatred of our ancestral homeland.
It would be shortsighted to ignore the
impact that teenagers could have on the
Jewish communal landscape if given the
proper motivation and training.
Enter Diller
The 20 high school juniors selected to participate in the Diller
program each year must be highly motivated and creative
— and eager to discover the depth of their neshamah, their
Jewish soul. Not much is more pivotal to the Detroit Jewish
community than nurturing our future leaders.
The program demands a time commitment, so teens will
have to really want to do it. You can bet that the teens who
survive the rigorous application process will have the raw
tools capable of being fashioned into leadership skills.
Diller arrives none too soon. Yes, it will take a few years to
build a graduation base. But over time, the program has the
wherewithal to be a prudent investment, yielding teens tied .
to the community and better prepared as Jews as they head
off to college. Diller's Israel component will help strengthen
the effectiveness of these teens as Zionist advocates in high
school and later on campus. As a result, these young people
will be more adept at countering pro-Arab propaganda.
As we lament the flight of so many young adults from
Metro Detroit, let us not overlook the preponderance of teens
one rung below on the generational ladder. They hold the
keys to a richer Jewish Detroit
one that not only serves •
our cherished older adults, but also fosters a stable, actively
engaged younger segment of the population. El
Diller application details: page 11
0 :
What kinds of teen programs is the
Detroit Jewish community lacking?
Z 3 z
Does Detroit Jewry do enough to encour-
age teens to return here after college?
ca
a,
0
CI-
E-mail: letters@thejewishnews.com
eur
TICKETS
ONLINE!
www.jarc.org
CHAIRS
Lori and Robert Nusbaum
ASSOCIATE CHAIRS
Lindsay and Ryan Dembs
Sherri and Jimmy Ketai
Nancy and Howard Luckoff
Barbara and Irving Nusbaum
Marla Tapper and Brian Young
CORPORATE GIFTS CHAIRS
David Carroll I Jeff Eisenshtadt
Helping people with disabilities be
fully included in their community —
all through their lives.
•
248.538.6610 x418
jam
September 28 • 2006
5