Teens drawn to Israel

Despite violence, Valley students choose year abroad

BETH OLSON
Staff Writer

As Israelis and Jews worldwide cope with last week's terrorist attack at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, two Valley teens are preparing to spend part of their first year of college at the neighboring Hadassah Youth Center.

Located on Mount Scopus between the Hebrew University campus and Hadassah Hospital, the center is headquarters for Young Judaea's Year Course program. Approximately 125 participants, including Arielle Zupnick of Mesa and Synthia Wills of Scottsdale, will spend 10 months living, studying and volunteering in Israel. They leave for Israel Aug. 26.

Program participants will choose from several tracks that will allow them to experience a variety of Israeli lifestyles, ranging from life on a kibbutz to a camp for recent immigrants. Additionally, the teens will study in Jerusalem - earning college credit through the University of Judaism in Bel Air, Calif. - and visit various areas of the country.

Despite unrest in the region, Zupnick, 18, and Wills, 19, are looking forward to the experience.

Zupnick spent two months in Israel last summer in the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program.

"I found a really deep connection to Israel when I was there last summer. I knew I wanted to come back this next year and spend an extended time in Israel at a higher level - at a college level - and be able to really live there," explained Zupnick.

Likewise, Wills selected the Year Course program because it best suited her needs.

"It's a really good program and it shows all aspects of Israeli culture," she explained. "You have the option of staying on a kibbutz. You can do the army experience. You also have the opportunity to get college credits. ... It's pluralistic, so overall it seemed like the best option."

Zupnick has chosen a track that begins with study in Jerusalem, then moves on to a nine-week simulated basic training for the Israel Defense Force.

"We're all going to have our own uniforms and our own M-16 rifle that we're going to learn how to shoot and carry it around all the time," she said. "It's going to be really challenging, both physically and mentally, but I think I can do it."

She also looks forward to becoming fluent in Hebrew and spending time with her brother, Ahron, 20, who is studying at a yeshiva in Jerusalem.

As much as Zupnick and Wills feel similarly excited and determined, their mothers share a mixture of apprehension and concern.

"I'm very concerned, but she's on a mission. She's seeking the truth," said Bonnie Wills.

"I have the underlying attitude that this is an experience she shouldn't miss - that we shouldn't let the possibility that she could be involved in such an attack (like the one on Hebrew University's campus) stop us from sending her," said Jody Zupnick.

While both mothers cite safety issues as their primary concern, they also believe Young Judaea will do everything it can to protect the teens from harm.

"I have to trust that they're more in touch with what's going on over there than we are," Jody Zupnick said. "If for some reason they felt that the kids were in danger, they would stop the program."

Rachael Adler, assistant director of long-term Israel programs for Young Judaea, based in New York City, said safety is a primary goal. The Youth Center is a contained facility, with 24-hour security guards, video cameras at entrances and a fence around the property.

"We feel that we are able to provide the same level of security as we were able to provide in previous years," explained Adler.

Adler said that even though during last year's program, an occasional field trip or activity was postponed due to security concerns, they "were able to keep the program running 99 percent."

Synthia Wills is comfortable with the level of security Young Judaea will provide, and she said she actually feels safer since the Hebrew University attack.

"It happened before we went, so now we know that security is going to be tighter there," she explained.

While the assurances haven't allayed all of Jody Zupnick's fears, she said she is putting them aside to let her daughter go.

"It is a very difficult decision for a parent to make. It's such a wonderful opportunity, we can't see not letting her take it."

Contact the writer at beth_olson@jewishaz.com.

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