diller trip/ experiencing Israel together
by Grace Klein
his summer, Detroit's Diller Teen Fellows spent
three crazy, jam-packed weeks traveling around
Israel. The 10 of us are part of a yearlong leader-
ship program with counterparts in San Francisco, Cleveland
and Baltimore who joined us on the trip.
From the Negev to Jerusalem to the Galilee, we experi-
enced so much and learned immeasurably valuable lessons.
During the very first week, we found ourselves hiking,
camping out and generally roughing it in the desert for three
days. This was an incredibly unique experience and through
it we were truly able to forge a connection with one of the
very roots of Judaism: the idea of the wanderer.
That yveek we all found ourselves grappling with our own
relationship with the desert. For some of us, it was one of
love; for others, it was dislike; and for most of us, it was
a bittersweet mix. The girls also discovered that the area's
complete lack of humidity makes for very, very happy hair.
We spent our second week in Jerusalem. Although what
is commonly mentioned about Jerusalem is how ancient of
a city it is, it's also truly an incredibly dynamic place. The
city is almost bursting with culture, beauty; religion and con-
flict. For some it was the first time in Jerusalem; others of
us had been there once or many times before. The range of
different qualities of the city allowed for each of us to learn
something new
"Walking into the Old City of Jerusalem for the first time
... it made me stop and think," says Sharon Silber, 17, of
West Bloomfield High School. "Even though I had never
been there before, I felt like I was somewhere in which I be-
longed. I connected to the place and to the people."
Overall, I think I can speak for all of the Detroit Dillers
when I say that the most valuable lessons we learned this
summer came from the last week, when we traveled with
and stayed at the houses of our Israeli counterparts.
`Although we come from very different walks of life, it
was amazing to be a part of such an incredible summer to-
gether — it really showed me how alike we really are," says
Michael Baum, 17, who attends the Frankel Jewish Acad-
emy in West Bloomfield.
Through experiencing their day-to-day lives, we now all
are able to better understand what it means to be an Israeli
teenager, including how they feel about the army. Converse-
ly, we were able to teach them about growing up as a Jew
when it means being a minority
Diller Teen Fellows hike in the Israeli desert
"I have bonded with Israelis my age," says Kale Davidoff,
17, who attends West Bloomfield High School. "It's given
me even more reason to go back to Israel as soon as possible
... I have family here, now."
This summer was somewhat of a whirlwind. Now,
with the sports practices, part-time jobs and mind-blow-
ing amounts of homework each of us are once again en-
gulfed in, it's hard to believe that it wasn't much more than
a month ago that we were praying at the Western Wall in
Jerusalem or touring a kibbutz.
As far away as it seems, however, none of us will soon
forget the experience or the profound effect it has had on us.
It is an effect that will show itself, I think, in our dedication
to the community service projects that are the
next step in our Diller Teen Fellowship expe-
rience.
Sharon Silber of West Bloomfield gives tzedakah
at the Western Wall.
}-
Grace Klein, 17, is a senior at Birmingham
Seaholm High School.
(The Diller Teen Fellowship program is coordinated by the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, funded nationally by the Helen
Diller Family Foundation and co-sponsored locally with additional
funds from the Stephen H. Schulman Millennium Fund.)
Relaxing in Israel: Grace Klein, Birmingham, with Lindsey
Schwartz, Allie Gold, Avery Newman, Sharon Silber and Mike
Baum, all of West Bloomfield.
I
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diller trip/getting into Israeli tunes
by Kale Davidoff
- . t's no secret that popular music in America is going
I
nowhere at an incredibly fast rate. So, when I was in
Israel this past summer on the Diller Teen Fellows
program, I decided to take note of the differences and
similarities between the music that the Israeli teenagers
listen to and the music that American teens listen to.
The first thing I noticed was that all the Israelis on
our trip seemed more interested in music and singing
than the American teens. During the course of our Is-
raeli experience, I would use my mp3 player's speakers
to play music throughout the bus so that we could all
listen on our way to our destination. The Americans
weren't really interested in listening to music. At times,
all the Israelis wanted to do was listen to some music
that we could all sing along to.
When it comes to what each culture of teens listens
to, the big difference is that the Israeli teens knew both
Israeli and American popular music while most of the
Americans had not been exposed to Israeli pop music.
I was ecstatic about the opportunity to learn about and
listen to the music that my Israeli friends liked. I have
been a fan of some great Israeli music, but never had I
really dived into the world of Israeli pop culture like I
got a chance to on this trip.
Now, as I said before, pop music today in America
isn't exactly the best music we've had the chance to lis-
ten to; and I was hoping to find that maybe it is the
opposite in Israel. After listening to the songs that were
given to me by my host family, I can say that I per-
sonally enjoy the Israeli music more than the music I
would hear on the radio at home. However, there are
plenty of similarities. In Israel, there is a popular song
On the bus in Israel enjoying music are Avery Neuman, 17, West Bloomfield;
Argaman Zunz, 17, Ahuzat Barak; Hagay Asaban and Almog Yamin, both 17,
Migdal HaEmek; and Kale Davidoff, 17, West Bloomfield.
called "Att Yaffa" (You're Beautiful) that is popular to
the same extent as James Blunt's pop hit,
"You're Beautiful." I think "Att Yaffa" is
better, but maybe that's because it's in
Hebrew
Kale Davidoff, 17, is a senior at West
Bloomfield High School.