30 | JULY 21 • 2022 

continued from page 29

Another “cool” highlight was the boat 
tour in the Gulf of Aqaba off Eilat. “The 
best part was the dance party on the boat 
in Eilat,” said Jamie Hertzberg, 15, of 
Huntington Woods. “I’ve gotten to know 
new people,” he said.
Ben Faber, 16, of Bloomfield Hills, 
concurs. “The highlight of this trip has 
been making a lot of new friends. I made 
friends with Jamie [Hertzberg], whom 
I knew but never hung out with before. 
Now, he’s one of my really good friends.”
Ruth Shikanob, 16, of Ann Arbor, con-
curs, adding, “I only knew two people 
coming here.” 
She also enjoyed meeting her local 
counterparts. “I met a bunch of Israeli 
girls — they’re kind and caring. One time 
we were trying to find [another camper] 
and just kept laughing together.”

ISRAELIS GET TO KNOW THEIR 
AMERICAN COUNTERPARTS
Grand noted how getting to know the 
Israeli teens is a two-way street. “I’ve got-
ten to know some of the Israelis on our 
bus and gotten to know the culture better. 
And some of us Americans taught one of 
the Israelis a high-level English word, and 
now she says it all the time.” She said the 
particular word is “indubitably.”
Ziv Margalit, 16, of Kfar Baruch in the 
Central Galilee, has enjoyed “… going to 
the places important to the Israelis and 
introducing the Americans to it. One 
was Mount Herzl, Israel’s equivalent of 
Arlington National Cemetery outside of 
Washington, D.C. One of our guides told 
us his personal story of loss in war and all 
of us were crying.
”
She said the Israelis have been actively 
interviewing the Americans, who outnum-

ber them nearly five to one, to better get 
to know them. It is part of her leadership 
training program in Detroit’s Partnership 
region. “I’m a part of the Manhigut 
[Leadership] program, which includes 
some kids from my neighborhood and 
meets every two weeks,
” she said.
“I was surprised at how many people 
came on the trip whom I already knew,
” 
said Abby Samson, 17, of Berkley. “I’ve 
made so many new friends, both Israeli 
and American. It’s crazy how close we’ve all 
gotten,
” she said. 
“I shared a room with two Israeli friends, 
getting to know each other, talking about 
our days, what life is like at home.
” 
Samson pointed out how similar the 
lives of Israeli and American Jewish teen-
agers are. Yet, she noted, “our schools are 
different. They have to wear uniforms — 
T-shirts with the school’s name.
”

ERETZ
FROM THE 
PARTNERSHIP2GETHER REGION

There was a dance 
party on the boat in 
Eilat after a tour in 
the Gulf of Aqaba. 

