Israeli Backpackers Cover the Globe
They Go Far, Stay Long and See Deep
by Israel HighWay Staff

This summer, over 20,000 Jewish young adults (ages 18-26) will visit Israel under the auspices of Taglit-Birthright israel. Trips to Israel are becoming a kind of right of passage for young Jews around the world. Ironically, while birthright participants are exploring Israel, many of their Israeli peers are off traveling the world.

In the far-off jungles, mountains and villages of the world you are likely to find young Israeli backpackers. It has become a right of passage for young Israeli men and women after their army service to trek to Nepal, Bolivia, India, Costa Rica, Thailand and other far flung (and inexpensive) destinations. In fact, Israeli backpackers are so numerous in parts of India, Nepal (pictured on the eve of Passover), Southeast Asia and South America that thousands of Israelis participated in Chabad-led Pesach seders last month in places like Katmandu, Bangkok and Dharamsala, India.

Issue of the Week is continued below

World Bible Quiz Champ Is a Winner in Honesty too by Nadav Shragai

The winner of the annual World Bible Quiz on Tuesday asked to share his prize with the runner up after he discovered one of his answers was partially incorrect. Yishai Gaspan, 17, a yeshiva student from Jerusalem and Israel's National Bible Quiz champion, quoted a passage which refers to the Assyrian king Shalmaneser V, mistakenly naming his succsessor Sennacherib instead. After being announced the competition winner, Channel 2 cameras captured Gaspan arguing passionately with celebrity linguist and event host Avshalom Kor, asking him to interevene on his behalf and take points off his score.

Some 64 youths from 35 countries participated in the World Bible Quiz traditionally held on Independence Day. (Ha'aretz)

Holocaust Survivor Who Died Defending Virginia Tech Students Buried in Israel by Robert Berger

The "Kaddish," or mourner's prayer, was recited at a hero's burial in Ra'anana for Liviu Librescu, an Israeli professor at Virginia Tech University. His body was wrapped in a prayer shawl according to Jewish tradition. Librescu survived the Holocaust only to be gunned down in his classroom. He blocked the door as the gunman approached, giving students time to jump out the window and escape. Librescu's wife, Marlena, said she learned of his courageous act from students who sent e-mails. She said they wrote to express gratitude to the professor for saving their lives. (VOA News)

Scavenger Hunt Brings New York's Connection to Zionist History Alive by Michael Lando

80 Jewish students from universities in the New York City area and birthright-Israel alumni traipsed around the New York in search of Israel-related history on Sunday. The "Amazing Israel Race," held in celebration of Independence Day, was the first of its kind.

Although the final clue didn't take them to Israel, it did bring them closer. Each member of the winning group receives $500 toward a ticket to Israel. Second place winners get an Ipod filled with Israeli music, and third place brings a $50 Max Brenner gift certificate.

The scavenger hunt was cosponored by the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish National Fund and the American Zionist Movement. The $20 registration fee will go toward the JNF fund for rebuilding Israel's North. "When people come back from birthright they get the Israel bug, and they are always trying to find ways of getting involved," said Ira Glasser, campus programs coordinator at JNF. (Jerusalem Post)

Edward to be First U.K. Royal to Visit Israel by Charlotte Halle

Just a year ago the British ambassador to Israel stated there would be no official state visit by a member of the British royal family until there was peace, but if reports in last week's Jewish Chronicle are true, Prince Edward is not risking the wait. The Earl of Wessex, as the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II is formally known, will visit Israel in September following an invitation by the Israel Youth Award organization, according to the report in the London Jewish weekly. The group for Jewish and Arab youth encourages community service and physical activities, and is affiliated with the Duke of Edinburgh's international award scheme. Until now, no member of the British royal family has paid an official visit to Israel, although two unofficial visits have taken place. (Ha'aretz)

Michael Levin: Bigger Than Life Itself by Yaakov Katz

In Israel for the first Remembrance Day since her Michael's death, Harriet Levin reminisced on Friday about her son and her feelings about what it was like living in America and turning into a member of the collective Israeli bereaved family.

Michael's story spread like wildfire throughout the Jewish world: A typical American-Jewish boy who grew up in a traditional home but had done the unusual and left behind the comfortable life to serve his country and nation. Now instead of speaking to Michael on Fridays she gets a call from a mother of a soldier buried next to her son who visits Mount Herzl cemetery and lights a candle for her son and Michael every Friday.

To memorialize their son, Levin and her family have established the Michael Levin Memorial Fund for Israel, with the money designated to helping lone soldiers. (Jerusalem Post)

An Amazing Trip to Israel by Jeff Cohen

In March, I was lucky enough to go on a trip to Israel with my 10th grade class at the New Community Jewish High School. We flew from Los Angeles to Tel Aviv and stayed for a little more than two weeks. Each student lived with an Israeli family from Tel Aviv. We got to see what life was like in the city and we also took side trips all around Israel. I had many terrific experiences and saw many amazing sites.

One experience that was a highlight for me was going to Masada. Masada is on the top of a mountain in the desert. We had to get up at four in the morning to ride there on a bus in order to see the sunrise. We saw an outline of all the Roman camps that surrounded Masada thousands of years ago. We also saw the ruins of the Jewish settlement where the Jews took their lives rather than be captured. I took pictures of the sun coming through the clouds that are wonderful.

Another activity we had was Gadna, a visit to an IDF pre–military camp in the desert. We were soldiers for a day, but they did not work us as hard as I thought they would. They showed us how their guns work and how to position yourself when you are shooting. They also had us run and get in formation among other things. One thing that I learned is that I would never like to live in the desert! However, I admire the fact that all 18 year olds serve in the military.

Finally, we all went to the Western Wall in Jerusalem. It is the holiest land to many religions. I wrote a wish on a piece of paper and then I put it inside the Wall. It was amazing to watch all the people praying right next to the Wall.

Overall it was the best trip I have ever taken. I also miss all my Israeli friends that I made and I look forward to visiting them. I loved Israel so much; I am hoping to return this coming summer.

Jeff Cohen is a sophomore at the New Community Jewish High School in Los Angeles. (Special to Israel HighWay)

East Valley Teens Studying in Israel by Rabbi Douglas Kohn

Sarah Reiter - a resident of Highland, a student at Redlands East Valley High School, and one of two Congregation Emanu El girls studying in Israel this semester - and my own daughter, Elena Kohn, also 17 and a student at Redlands High School, each are spending the winter and spring quarters outside Jerusalem in the Judean Hills, participating in the Eisendrath International Exchange (EIE), the premier High School in the Israel program conducted by the Union for Reform Judaism.

Unless they are away on a tiyul - a trip - the girls and 90 other teens on the program - from all across the United States and Canada - have classes in Hebrew and in Jewish History every morning, and then their "regular" high school curriculum each afternoon until dinner.

"I feel Israel calling on me," Sarah said at breakfast, echoing Elena's sentiments from the night before. "Here, the Torah is on the street, and Chanukah is discussed while shooting on the firing range! It will be hard to go home," she added. (San Bernadino County Sun)

An Israeli Flower Among the Weeds by Kelly Hertog

When the hit American cable show Weeds introduced the character of Yael Hoffman - a provocative Israeli rabbinic school administrator - the TV blogosphere went into overdrive.

Meital Dohan is now a household name in the U.S., thanks to the Showtime series. While Israeli actors are beginning to appear on U.S. screens more often these days, Dohan is possibly the first Israeli to have a recurring role on U.S. television where she is actually playing a fully-fledged Israeli character. (Israel21c)

How Do You Say "Israel" in Arabic? by David Adesnik

WELL, how DO you say 'Israel' in Arabic? The wrong way to answer that question is by consulting a textbook for first-year students of Arabic. Those textbooks will instruct you almost immediately how to say 'Palestine' or even 'Mauritania.' Two textbooks for introductory Arabic predominate on American campuses. They are Al Kitaab fii Ta`alum al-`Arabiyya: A Textbook for Beginning Arabic, published in 1995 by Georgetown University Press and Ahlan wa Sahlan: Functional Modern Standard Arabic for Beginners, published in 2000 by Yale.

Teaching geography is a major concern of both textbooks. I was surprised to learn that the capital of Palestine is Jerusalem. Not East Jerusalem. Just Jerusalem. In Ahlan wa Sahlan, there are no fewer than twelve maps that include the Holy Land. Ten of them refuse to attribute to that land any name at all. Two of them use the word 'Palestine,' although in a way that makes it impossible to tell how much of the Holy Land Palestine covers.

Although it may be impossible to discern the motivations of the authors, one should compare their silence with the more direct approach taken by Arab media. On the Al Jazeera homepage, you can find the word 'Israel' in both English and Arabic. The same is true of the homepage for Asharq Al-Awsat, the internationally-read Arabic newspaper headquartered in London. If Al Jazeera and Asharq Al-Awsat can suggest to their massive audiences that Israel does exist (regardless of whether it should), then perhaps introductory-level textbooks written by professors at American universities can do the same. When the next editions of Al-Kitaab and Ahlan wa Sahlan are published, perhaps their authors will make their peace with geographic reality.

David Adesnik is a policy analyst in Washington. (The Daily Standard)

Still Standing, Still Proud by Liat Collins

Life in Israel is an emotional roller-coaster. One of those "Only in Israel" experiences is that incredible combination of sad and happy as the ceremonies for Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers and terror victims fuse back-to-back with the Yom Ha'atzma'ut festivities, this year on April 23.

This year, undoubtedly, was not one of the easiest for this proud nation - but it doesn't mean we have to abandon all reasons to be proud. As we blow out the Remembrance Day candles and prepare for Independence Day's fireworks displays, it seems almost natural this year to add the Shehechiyanu blessing, praising God "for keeping us alive, sustaining us and bringing us to this moment." For after all, we'll still here, battle-scarred but not beaten.

Our very existence is worth mentioning as an achievement - if only for the pleasure of annoying our many enemies. The fact that we can celebrate Independence Day at all, albeit wiping away a tear for those who gave their lives and didn't make it to the country's 59th birthday, is noteworthy. (Jerusalem Post)

Is There Arab Acceptance of Israel? by Aaron Goldstein

Earlier this week I was invited to attend a talk by Afif Safieh (pictured), the PLO Representative to the United States at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. Safieh, a one time adviser to the late Yasser Arafat, has been going around the country promoting both the new Palestinian Authority government and the so-called Saudi backed Middle East peace initiative.

In a talk titled, "The American, Israeli, and Palestinian Triangle," Safieh’s angle proved to be particularly obtuse. "The perpetuation of the Arab-Israeli conflict is due not to the Arab rejection of Israeli existence, but to the Israeli rejection of Arab acceptance," Safieh audaciously claimed. I wasn’t quite sure about the Arab acceptance of Israel to which he was referring.

So I asked him what he meant by Arab acceptance of Israel. Safieh replied the Saudi peace initiative itself constituted Arab acceptance of Israel. Of course, Israel first had to give up all lands gained during the Six Day War and then the Arab world would discuss the terms of acceptance or "normalization" as "a reward for good behavior." In other words, give up your land and we might consider recognizing you.

There is also the small matter that Hamas does not accept the State of Israel nor does it renounce terrorism. Indeed, when asked by an audience member if he would condemn Hamas, Safieh demurred and equivocated. Safieh claimed he condemned every suicide bombing against Israeli civilians but stated, "Whoever does not condemn Israeli military incursions…is not morally qualified to have an opinion on suicide bombings." Sadly this statement drew applause from the overwhelmingly pro-Palestinian audience assembled. In Safieh’s dim view, Israeli soldiers are morally equivalent to suicide bombers whose mission it is to massacre civilians. But moral equivalence is a treasured Palestinian value. Unfortunately, acceptance of Israel is not a treasured Palestinian value, let alone an Arab one. (AOL Journals)