metro

Israel Emissaries

Ties to Metro Detroit keep them coming back.

"The Detroit
community is
family. There is
no other word to
describe it."

Vivian Henoch

Special to the Jewish News

I

t must be beshert (meant to be).
The intertwining paths, the close
ties, the circles of friends and fam-
ily that have brought Eviatar Baksis and
Liraz Cohen back to Michigan to serve
together as Israeli emissaries to Jewish
Detroit are far too numerous to be mere
coincidence.
"It's a dream come true for us," says
Eviatar on the day of his arrival. Noting
that it's been raining intermittently all
afternoon, he laughs off the weather. "In
Israel we see rain so rarely. It's God's way
of smiling on us."
Come rain or shine, for the duration
of the summer, Eviatar will serve as lead
for Federation's Israeli Camper Program
delegation at Tamarack Camps, super-
vising a total of 84 young teens. Liraz
arrived with the campers attending the
second session in July.
Come September, Eviatar and Liraz
will take their post as emissaries, divid-
ing their community service between
Federation and the Hillel Foundation
campuses. Eviatar will work at Hillel
of Metro Detroit, dividing his time
between campuses at Wayne State
University, Oakland University, Oakland
Community College, University of
Michigan-Dearborn, Lawrence Technical
University and University of Detroit
Mercy. Liraz will be based on the
University of Michigan campus.
Eviatar, 27, and Liraz, 26, first met
in Ortonville in the summer of 2011.
Eviatar was coordinator and liaison for
Federation's Israeli Camper Program,
and Liraz was the head of the Israeli
delegation from JAFI (Jewish Agency for
Israel) to Tamarack Camps.
From Migdal HaEmek, Eviatar
grew up in the heart of the Michigan
Partnership2Gether region of the
Central Galilee in Israel. Liraz hails from
Kfar-Saba, a town about an hour south-
west, near Herzliya.
A graduate of the Hebrew University
with a degree in political science and
international relations, Eviatar has
nearly completed his master's degree
in public policy at the Interdisciplinary
Center (IDC) Herzliya.
With a strong background in mentor-
ing youth at risk and developing young
leadership programs, Liraz is a recent
graduate from the IDC, with a bachelor's
degree in law and government, majoring

32

July 24 • 2014

- Eviatar Baksis

Liraz Cohen and Eviatar Baksis

in diplomacy.
Since their first summer togeth-
er, Eviatar and Liraz have been in
step on their career path with the
Partnership2Gether program. Beside
their work at Tamarack Camps, both
have served as facilitators for the Teen
Leadership Program in the region
and as bus counselors on Detroit Teen
Missions.
Returning to Michigan now for
his sixth visit and fourth summer at
Tamarack Camps, Eviatar needs no
introduction to the hundreds of Jewish
Detroiters whose hearts he already has
won.
"Coming all the way from Israel"
for his first camp experience in 2002,
Eviatar was just 14 when he came to
Tamarack as part of the first delega-
tion of campers in Federation's Israeli
Camper Program.
The magic of that first summer at
camp has never worn off.
With his kilowatt smile and gentle
manner, it is obvious how well-suited
Eviatar is for his current "tour of duty:'
"They call me 'poster boy' at home,"
says Eviatar laughing it off, "literally,
because my face appears on a poster
promoting the Partnership2Gether
Program:'

Sharing Resources

The opportunity to bring Eviatar and
Liraz to the community to serve as
shlichim (Israeli ambassadors) originat-
ed from conversations between Miriam
Starkman, executive director at Hillel
Metro Detroit, and Amy Neistein, direc-
tor of Federation's Israel and Overseas
Department.
"In a perfect world, every campus and
every Federation community would have
a full-time Israeli emissary," Neistein
says. "So we decided to pool our
resources and collaborate:'
Adds Starkman, As we explored
the prospect of sharing an Israeli staff
member to work on our local college
campuses, Amy suggested that we also
could coordinate with the Israeli Camper
Program. A grant we received this year
from the Davidson Foundation made this
all possible. We are thrilled to welcome
Eviatar to our staff and for our students
to benefit from an ongoing relationship
with an Israeli staff member:'
According to Tilly Shames, executive
director of Hillel Foundation-U of M,
"Having an Israel Fellow on our campus
has been critical to recruiting students
for Taglit Birthright Israel trips, deepen-
ing their understanding and knowledge
of Israel, and combatting anti-Israel
activity on campus.

"Our Israel Fellow worked tirelessly
last year to support our students in their
efforts to combat the divestment resolu-
tion in Central Student Government and
counter the anti-Israel claims put for-
ward in the resolution:' she adds.
"When we chose Liraz, we knew that
she would be able to engage students
from all backgrounds, answer their
questions, support them with advocacy
tools, and help them build their own
relationships with Israel. Additionally,
Liraz already has a deep connection
to the Michigan Jewish community,
Tamarack Camps and Federation pro-
gram alumni," Shames says. "Whenever
we tell a counselor from Camp Tamarack
that Liraz is working at our Hillel, their
eyes widen, they usually shriek and then
they tell us how lucky our students are
to have her on campus:'

In A 'Magic' Endless Circle

Reflecting on his 13-year journey from
wide-eyed camper to shaliach — engag-
ing students on campus, fostering
person-to-person relationships in Jewish
Detroit — Eviatar describes an "endless
circle:'
"Thirteen years ago, I was given the
opportunity to join this circle, and now,
having found so many friends here
(especially Liraz), I can say with cer-
tainty that this circle embraces the story
of our partnership between the Central
Galilee and Michigan, always growing
stronger together.
"The Detroit community is family:'
Eviatar adds. "There is no other word to
describe it. I have the same number of
friends now in Detroit that I have in Israel.
I have come to love this place, as much as
I love my own country. I feel home when I
am here, and when I am there. I don't feel
split; I feel complete:'

❑

Vivian Henoch is editor of myjewishdetroit.

org where this story first appeared.

