Jewish Teens Invited on a Spiritual Journey

A student suspended from a rock by climbing ropes is the image in a snappy new advertisement for a national campaign to entice young Jews into making their first visit to Israel. Below it is the tease: “Instead of hanging at the mall this summer, you could be rappelling in Israel.”

Orange County is one of 10 North American communities targeted in a pilot program run by Birthright Israel, an organization founded by Michael Steinhardt, a former Wall Street money manager, and Charles Bronfman, co-chairman of the Seagram Co.

The ad campaign is meant to lure young students, ages 15 to 26, from other summer gigs--like camps or leisurely time off--to sign up for trips to Israel, an experience that the organization considers, indeed, to be the right of every Jewish teenager.

“My goal is to have every Jewish teenager go to Israel,” said Hal Kravitz, chairman of the Orange County Birthright Israel project. “It instills Judaism in the kids.”

The philanthropists have deep pockets to accomplish that goal: Bronfman and Steinhardt together donated more than $210 million to the project. In its first year, the program will help send more than 6,000 Jewish teenagers from around the world to Israel. Orange County’s goal is to enlist at least 100 students--who each will receive $500 off any recognized teen summer travel program to Israel.

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The $50,000 needed for the Orange County Birthright Israel program is a joint effort of the Jewish Federation of Orange County, the Bureau of Jewish Education, the Community Foundation of the Jewish Federation, Hadassah and local synagogues.

“Kids who make a trip to Israel are more likely to stay connected to the Jewish community,” said Bunnie Mauldin, executive director of the Jewish Federation of Orange County “They bring back an enthusiasm for their religion and an connection to their heritage. They realize they’re links in a chain.”

Mauldin had a similar experience when she first went to Israel at 17. She said her sojourn to the wind-swept hills and stretches of dusty desert in Israel indeed changed her life. She returned to the United States devoted to working in the Jewish community professionally.

Local teenagers who have traveled to Israel say their trips have meant a lot the them.

David Khalili of Irvine, 19, said his 1996 visit with a group of Orange County teens helped him rediscover his religious roots. Sponsored by the Bureau of Jewish Education, the excursion prompted Khalili to commit during the 6-week trip to living a Jewish life and finding a Jewish wife.

For many Jewish community leaders, Khalili’s experience is exactly what they hope for when they send Jewish teenagers to the Middle East.

Jay Lewis, assistant director of the bureau, said he has even had phone calls from non-Jews hoping to send their children on the Birthright Israel-sponsored trip. But he said the program is strictly for Jewish teenagers.

“[The program] can’t be seen as a panacea for intermarriage or enculturation,” said Lewis, who said that the Birthright Israel program is intended to help counter the trend of assimilation. “No one program is that powerful.”

But Tanya Desatnik of Irvine, a recipient of the $500 stipend for this summer, said she’s already dreaming of Israel and standing in front of the Western Wall to place tightly-wrapped prayers in the worn crevices.

“I heard that you feel at home the second you step off the plane,” said Desatnik, 15. “I can’t wait to experience that for myself.”