I World

New Experience

12 Birthright alumni selected for leadership trip to Ukraine.

New York

T

welve young Jews will embark
Sunday on a unique leadership
mission to Ukraine for the first
organized trip outside of Israel open to
Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni in the U.S.
More than 100 people applied for the
trip. The selected participants, ages 23-
30, were chosen on the basis of previous
leadership experiences and their desire
to become more involved in Jewish com-
munal affairs. They will connect with
Ukrainian Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni
and participate in activities that aim to
revitalize the local Jewish community.
The trip, organized by Birthright Israel
NEXT and co-sponsored by the American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, takes
place Oct. 26-Nov. 4. Participants will spend
most of their time in Kiev and Odessa,
touring Jewish sites and doing hands-on
volunteer work in local communities.

Some of the planned activities include:
• Visiting Babi Yar and Independence
Square, the site of the Orange Revolution
• Packaging and distributing food for
needy families at Hesed Nahlat Avot Azriel
• Meeting with three generations of a
Jewish family in Odessa
• Participating in Havdallah with Hillel
students and other young Jewish leaders
•Walk "Jewish Kiev" on Shabbat with
Ukrainian Taglit-Birthright Israel alumni.
"The trip to Ukraine represents a fan-
tastic opportunity for the next genera-
tion of Jewish leaders',' said Rabbi Daniel
Brenner, vice president for education of the
Birthright Israel Foundation and director
of Birthright Israel NEXT. "Not only will it
give participants a profound understand-
ing of Eastern European Jewish history and
present, but it will also allow them to build
global partnerships with Taglit-Birthright
Israel alumni from other nations."
Birthright Israel NEXT enables those

returning from Taglit-Birthright Israel
trips to continue their "Jewish journey"; to
empower them to pursue diverse Jewish
experiences and activities which will connect
them to the Jewish community, perpetuate
their link to Israel, and inspire them to find
personal meaning in their Jewish lives. ❑

Genealogy Lectures

Hear two lectures from New York-based
genealogist-author Ron Arons, pre-
sented by Jewish Genealogical Society
of Michigan, on Sunday, Oct. 26, at the
Holocaust Memorial Center, 28213
Orchard Lake Road in Farmington Hills.
Schedule: "The Kosher Nostra: Jewish
Gangsters and Other Shady Characters,
based on Ron's book The Jews of Sing Sing,
1 p.m.; "Using the Internet to Find Anyone
and Anything:' 2:30 p.m. $7 for one talk,
$10 for both; free for members. RSVP:
programs@jgsmi.org , (248) 496-1324.

Answering
Israel's Critics

The Charge
Harvard Professor Alan Dershowitz,
a strong defender of Israel, notes
that there are three root causes of
most anti-Israel sentiment: Israel's
Jewishness, its alliance with the U.S.,
and Israel's lack of oil sources and
economic clout.

The Answer
In his new book, The Case Against
Israel's Enemies: Exposing Jimmy
Carter and Others Who Stand
In the Way of Peace, Dershowitz
exposes the root causes, the de-
legitimization and the double stan-
dards used by Israel's opponents.

- Allan Gale, Jewish Community

Relations Council

of Metropolitan Detroit

C) Jewish Renaissance Media, Oct. 23, 2008

Thank You to eryo

WHO MADE THE KEHILLAH KICK-OFF
EVENT AT SHAIN PARK
ON OCTOBER 16 A SUCCESS

Our Sponsor:

The Blumenstein Family Young Adult Fund

Our Partners:

AM:Tr

American / Israel
Public Affairs Committee

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Jewish Community Center
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