metro >> Detroiters in Israel

ChaseIrosett and

Cooper Bellinson,

both 16 and from

Bloomfield Hills,

at the Dead Sea

Cousins Melissa Porlick, 16, of Brighton and Michaela Cotellese, 16, of North Carolina at Kfar Hanokdim for
Bedouin hospitality

Decision
Made

Rachel Zuckerberg, 15, of West Bloomfield; Naama
Eshal, 17, Central Galilee; Ellery Isenstein, 17, of West
Bloomfield; and Justin Hamburger, 16, of Birmingham at
Ein Gedi spring

Federation decides to
bring Teen Mission 2014
back home.

Keri Guten Cohen

Story Development Editor

D

espite an upbeat meeting July 10, where
parents of the 96 local teens in Israel on
Federation's Sue & Alan J. Kaufman Family
Teen Mission were reassured that their children were
being rerouted to safe locations, a decision was made
Tuesday morning to bring the group home.
"I sat in front of those parents and said our No.
1 priority is safety:' said Scott Kaufman, Federation
CEO. "They had 15 amazing days in the country, saw a
lot and bonded with their Israeli peers on the mission.
The goal of the trip is accomplished.
"But then we realized there was a chance of things
escalating when Hamas rejected the cease-fire pro-
posal. It is profoundly sad on many levels, but we are
certain it is the right decision for staff, parents and the
kids. It's a challenging thing.
"After talking to all the rabbis, staff and experts in
Israel, we were all unanimous that this is the right
time to bring them home," Kaufman said.
Parents were notified Tuesday and staff was work-
ing to secure plane tickets home. Federation is hopeful
all the teens and staff will be home by the end of this
week.
This page showcases some of the many adventures
the teens had in Israel.

❑

14 July 17 • 2014

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