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Essay

A Noble Mission

Teens reveal the powerful attraction of Jewish state.

T

hey were devastated when news
came they had to leave Israel
to return to Detroit because
safety concerns cut short their planned
four-week sojourn to the ancestral Jewish
homeland.
But lest there be doubt: Participants on
the 2014 Sue & Alan J. Kaufman Family
Teen Mission to Israel came home a fam-
ily, 96 strong.
That theme echoed in the uplifting
messages shared by two mission-goers at
the "Detroit Stand with Israel Evening of
Solidarity" held last week in the wake of
Israel's struggle to defend against Gaza
Strip-based Hamas' rocket and missile fire
— and its weapons-smuggling and sur-
prise attacks via sophisticated tunnels.
Leora Bernard of Birmingham strode
to the bimah at Congregation Shaarey
Zedek in Southfield on July 23 amid a
jam-packed sanctuary of more than 2,000
Israel supporters, including hundreds of
young people — from teen mission-goers
and U.S. and Israeli campers at Tamarack's
Camp Maas in Ortonville to Birthright
Israel alumni and Jewish young profes-
sionals. Here's how Leora described this
summer's two-week teen mission, hosted
by the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan
Detroit:
"There, we ran up mountains, gazed
under the stars, rode camels, got sun-
burned, screamed like little girls in the
Dead Sea and ate a lot of ice cream.
"Being there, we also created families,
got in touch with our spiritual side and
had an upfront look at the conflicts in the
Middle East"
Just 15 years old, Leora certainly had an
adult take on the clashing journey, which
began July 1, when dreams of a month-
long Israel experience were most vivid. She
participated as a member of Congregation
Beth Ahm and Temple Israel, both in West
Bloomfield.

The Back Story
Federation faced a no-win situation in
deciding along with parents whether to
bring teen mission-goers home early. Keep
them out of rocket and missile range and
let them live for a time like Israelis in one
of the most dangerous regions of the world
— that was one perspective. Err on the
side of security and caution, and remove
them from harm's way as soon as pos-
sible given the collapse of attempts of an
Egypt- or U.S.-brokered ceasefire — that
was another.
Ultimately, the decision was made to
end the mission early.
The teen mission was advertised as a
way to discover the wonder of Israel in a

48

July 31 • 2014

safe, monitored environment alongside
peers. It included 15 Israeli teens from
Michigan Jewry's partnership region in the
Central Galilee to help nurture and fortify
trans-Atlantic friendships.
Parents of mission-goers, Leora told the
throngs at Shaarey Zedek, don't necessarily
expect their teens to return "as young men
and women with a flame inside that shines
just as bright as the Shabbat candles we lit
in Jerusalem:"
But that flame provides a bonus.
"Being in Israel and watching these
flames within us spark:' Leora said, "was
the highlight of my trip:'
That's an impact with
sizzle.
Here's a teen breaking
down the stereotype that her
age group is more apt to view
the teen mission as a summer
vacation than an opportunity
to grow spiritually.

talked about the rude awakening of fac-
ing terrorist projectiles against the earlier
backdrop of gaining what he called "a
new appreciation for Judaism, spirituality
and hummus." He talked about relishing
the Israeli exuberance for life in contrast
to Hamas' outsized use of its own people
as expendable shields to protect arms
stockpiles hidden shamelessly in neighbor-
hoods.
The Islamist screed calls for achiev-
ing "martyrdom for Allah" (translation:
death in battle with the infidel is more
precious than life) through the process
of "resisting" (translation: seeking to kill,
maim or at least terrify Israelis)
and through repelling Israel's
"occupation of Palestinian land"
(translation: the State of Israel
plus all Palestinian-controlled
areas). Of course, the Hamas
Charter calls for Israel's destruc-
tion as a Jewish state.
Many tears and sullen faces
Fiery Vigor
followed the announcement the
Helping ignite her flame was
teen mission was ending abrupt-
Robert
the sheer goodness of what
ly as rockets and missiles contin-
Contrib
Leora experienced — "wheth-
ued to rain on Israel, Ben said.
Ed it
er it was watching someone
"We were aware of the grow-
put their arm around a friend
ing conflict between Israel and
who was getting emotional at the Western
Hamas; we lived through it even. But
Wall or during services because they never we still did not want to leave Ben said,
felt the spirituality of their religion until
underscoring this was a tougher bunch of
now or watching an athlete cheer on and
teens than we might have imagined.
go the same pace as their less-able friend
on a hike up Masada."
Lasting Impression
For others, flames danced from the first
Maybe war has a way of hardening teens
blare of the emergency sirens. Said Leora
that grow up in suburbia, generally shel-
as a hush overtook the Shaarey Zedek
tered from evil.
crowd: "In that moment, your children
"I had to run to a bomb shelter three
did not panic; they did not demand to
times in Israel:' Ben said. "It's not every
go home. They were calm and waited for
day a 17 year old from West Bloomfield is
answers. A lot of them were outraged
shot at with missiles. One missile landed
— not because we had to change our
within a mile of where we were staying.
schedules around, but because we were
That is when I realized that this isn't just a
disgusted by the realities of war and what
news story; this is real life:'
our new Israeli family has had to experi-
Ben, journeying as a member of Temple
ence too many times:'
Shir Shalom in West Bloomfield, grudg-
Yes, the sirens caused fright. Some teens ingly left the drama and danger that
Israelis confront every day with steely
cried. Others wanted to cry, but stayed
composed in hopes of galvanizing strength determination. Yet the image of reality
from the vantage point of his new Israeli
to persevere. Many sought friends to hug
— or sought peers they hadn't yet gotten
friends — that the prospect of war is ever
to know, but who seemed to need comfort- present — stuck with him.
"It is their reality all the time Ben said.
ing. Leora related how our teens grew up
quickly in trying to extend hope to Israelis
"They can't be evacuated like us. Israel is
whose relatives or friends were now man-
their home. And it should have been our
ning the war's front lines.
home for two more weeks:'
In their confusion, anger and fear, our
As versed as Leora and Ben are in that
teens belied their youth and came together daunting reality, they both grasp the mor-
courageously.
tal threat llamas and all terrorist organiza-
tions aligned with the tenets of Islamism
Harsh Context
— the radical, renegade, political spinoff
Ben Reinheimer, 17, of West Bloomfield
from Islam the religion — pose to Israel

Leora Bernard

Ben Reinheimer

and Western allies.
In closing, Ben, an incoming senior at
West Bloomfield High School, stirred the
communitywide rally, declaring: "Israel is
also the only Jewish state in the world. We
cannot let it be destroyed:'
We sure can't.
Leora, set to begin her sophomore year
at the Roeper School in Bloomfield Hills,
pledged unbridled Israel support, saying:
"So I look to the future with excitement
because today I know I am a part of a
Jewish people that will not let Israel be
vanquished:'
Nothing was settled at the rally, co-host-
ed by Federation, the Jewish Community
Relations Council, the Anti-Defamation
League and the American Jewish
Committee. But there's something noble
and invigorating in coming together to
express what Israel and its citizenry means
to diaspora Jews 6,000 miles away.
The rally's immediate benefit was being
reminded once more what a supportive
Jewish community we in Metro Detroit
have toward the Jewish state, whatever
disagreements each of us might have with
a particular political or military action
of the Israeli government. The rally also
reminded us how articulate our younger
ambassadors for Israel can be in times of
crisis.
A longer-range benefit will derive from
what Jewish Detroiters now do to not just
stand with Israel, but also to show support
for it. Ways to show just that are available
at jewishdetroit.org/Israel.
Am Yisrael Chai. The Nation of Israel
Lives!
Along with Torah enlightenment, that
vow is what binds Jews with unflagging
resolve as a people.

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