R VE 0 A S Making An Environmental Difference 0 ur planet Earth is at serous risk for loss of life, land and resourc- es; and we as citizens of this life- giving planet have a moral imperative to help heal the planet, which has sustained us for more than 250,000 years. Scientific evidence is now overwhelming in agree- ment that our planet is "warming" at an alarming rate, causing great harm to all its inhabitants. The report released this spring by the United Nations, backed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, is the most far-reaching study on the subject to date. It states that there is now "overwhelming scientific evidence" that humans are a significant factor in global warming. The combination of our world population growth to 6 billion (the largest incremental growth in history) coupled with the rapid growth of indus- try and technology (the largest incre- mental growth in history) has produced the most serious crisis ever encountered in humankind. We are releasing carbon dioxide into our environ- ment at an alarming rate. We are already witnessing the devastating consequences: viruses and insects, never seen before in North America, attacking our plant life, food sources and ourselves; loss of popula- tions in coastal areas around the world from severe flooding; extreme storms, like Katrina, spreading throughout the world. I had the honor and privilege to be selected by former Vice President Al Gore's Climate Project Team to be trained in Nashville April 8-10.1 am now among 1,000 presenters, personally trained by Al Gore, a masterful educator, passion- ate, articulate and willing to engage his audience in discus- sion. I spent three days with 175 trainees from around the world, the most diverse, engaging mix of human- ity, which included a visit- ing professor at Brown University from Cameroon, to a young exchange student from Kazakhstan, to the head of the Australian Global Warming Environmental Office. I have been given the tools, a 300- slide presentation developed by Al Gore in cooperation with the academic and scientific community, enabling me to graphically and skillfully communicate the scientific facts, communicate a strong sense of urgency and inspire hope, offer- ing many solutions within our grasp. I stand proudly, among 1,000 fellow "global warming missionariee As 175 fel- low trainees from around the world return to their communities around the world, I return home to Bloomfield Hills, proud to be a Jew and proud to have the skills and opportunity to make a difference. This is a global opportunity, unlike any I believe we have ever encountered, to bring the people of the world together to help sustain and heal our planet. I look forward to your calls and will be happy to present the "Global Warming" slide show to your group or organization, at no cost — only the commitment to be part of the solution. I1 Linda Zlotoff of Bloomfield Hills can be reached at (248) 855-3465 or miljz@aol.com . Please write "Global Warming" in the subject line. Showing Off Israel Ramat Hasharon, Israel I always knew that before my army duty, I would like to do a year of com- munity service. I just didn't know where. At the end of the 11th grade, while visiting the United States with a delegation from the Israeli Scouts youth movement, Tzofim, I became exposed to the subject of diaspora Jewry. It was a subject that fascinated me. Returning to Israel, feeling I had not explored the subject deeply enough, I dis- covered Garin Atid and knew it would be my community service. But I had no idea how much the year was going to change my life. Meeting and living with Jews my age from Israel, the United States and England for nearly a year not only allowed me to expose them more to Israel, but also changed my opinions, my perceptions and my life decisions. It also reinforced the ties between Israel and the diaspora. The program's purpose is not to intro- 26 May 10 2007 duce these young people to my country. Rather, it's to make clear that Israel is also their country. Throughout the year, my main goal was to make them stop feeling like tourists and begin to feel at home. I wanted them to see beyond the Kotel, Masada and the Kinneret, to take them to the restaurants I like, to teach them the up-to- date slang, to share my opin- ions about Israel and politics with them, to bring them home to meet my family and my friends. Nothing is more fulfilling than seeing your partners leave behind the Israel they thought they were going to see and begin to view your Israel — the Israel that you and the members of your Garin show them. The fulfillment comes from watch- ing them know exactly where to shop and what to buy in the supermarket, or wash- ing the floors "Israeli style" in your shared apartment, or listening to them sing the songs from your Tzofim troop at the top of their lungs. It comes, too, from hearing that they want to meet your family and friends again, not to be polite but because they enjoyed spending the weekend with your family. Gratifying feelings in the Garin are end- less, like when your apartment mate, who arrived in Israel not knowing anything in Hebrew, gets the prize for the best Hebrew. You know you played a part; it's a moment you will never forget. Garin Atid led me to redis- cover myself, the people around me, my country and my Judaism. Thanks to the tours, the field trips and pro- gramming in the framework of the Young Judaea Year Course and the Federation of Zionist Youth, I had the oppor- tunity to visit many places in Israel for the first time. Life in the Garin allowed me to look at things I had taken for granted — my country, the Israeli people, the govern- ment, the army, the culture and the Hebrew language. Most notably, I looked at my Judaism anew. Living in the same apartment with Jews from abroad, you learn to discover a Jewish way of life much different from yours. You meet people who are proud of and fight for their Judaism, who know much more than you about Judaism and maintain a Jewish life. Suddenly, the holidays take on a little more meaning. Suddenly, you take a little more interest in liturgy or blessings or customs and discover that observing kashrut is not that bad. For Jewish youth in the diaspora, the greatest and most Zionistic thing they can do at the age of 18 is to make aliyah. Answering Israel's Critics The Charge Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal blamed Israel last week for the continued cap- tivity of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit and also for the economic crisis in Gaza that, he said, could lead to another intifada. The Answer Meshaal's first charge is outrageous as it justifies the international crime of kidnapping; his second charge follows a long history of Arab leaders blaming Israel for their people's internal prob- lems. — Allan Gale, Jewish Community Relations Council of Metropolitan Detroit For me, a young Israeli, the most Zionistic thing I could have done after high school was to sign up for Garin Atid. This is my personal Zionism. 17 Amir Even, 18, was one of 10 Israeli high school graduates performing community service in the Garin Atid, part of the Young Judaea Year Course program, through Tzofim, Young Judaea's sister movement in Israel. The teens lived together for nine months.