But there wasn’t, and the bureau was forced to cancel.
“Obviously we felt responsible to the community’s need, and people told us they wanted us to do something, but we don’t have an answer” as to why enrollment remained so low, said Nechama Tamler, director of the BJE’s teen initiative.
Tamler did not know why the trip did not generate more excitement among area teens, but hinted that both the impending war on Iraq and the increased threat of terrorism at home made parents more fearful of being separated from their kids.
She sensed that “everyone is kind of holding their breath right now” but didn’t know for certain.
She did feel the trip was publicized in the proper channels.
“We worked with our partners, the synagogues who have the 10th-graders and Jewish community centers; they all knew about it,” she said.
Traditionally, the Israel trip afforded the opportunity for hundreds of Bay Area teens to meet each other, and without it, educators are looking for other means.
“Everybody is trying to respond to the need for Jewish teens to be together in large groups,” said Tamler, citing an upcoming dance for teens offered at the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco as one example.
— Alexandra J. Wall