Bombings Fail to Shake Travelers to Israel

In the yeshivas and synagogues of Los Angeles, they are talking about the frightening killings in Israel. They also are talking about traveling to the Holy Land.

Despite bombings in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv that have left nearly 60 dead and hundreds more injured during the last two weeks, many in Los Angeles’ Jewish community say the violence has only strengthened their resolve to see Israel.

“To keep Jews out of Israel is letting the terrorists win,” said Ari Moss, 17, who leaves next month with about 30 other Los Angeles teenagers for a two-week trip through Poland and Israel sponsored by the local Bureau of Jewish Education. “They will not win, if I have something to say about it.”

About 800 high school students from Los Angeles are expected to visit Israel this year--living on kibbutzes, touring the country and studying the Torah at yeshivas. Several hundred more adults are expected to take similar tours organized by synagogues and Jewish organizations.

Those who have refused to cancel trips say they hope to lend political and moral support to a country that has been rocked by one attack after another in recent weeks.

“You don’t distance yourself from the Jewish people because there is danger,” said Rabbi Nachum Braverman, whose orthodox synagogue, Aish HaTorah on Pico Boulevard, is preparing to send 15 Jewish adults to Israel on Sunday. “On the contrary, the Talmud [a code of Jewish laws] says if you don’t expose yourself to risk with the Jewish people, then you cannot rejoice with them either.”

Andrea Harris, a member of the Aish contingent who lives in Santa Monica, says she gives little thought to the potential danger of her upcoming trip, even though family members and friends have urged her to delay the visit.

“You can get killed on the streets of Los Angeles just as easily as in Israel,” said Harris, 30. “I mean, Nicole Simpson was at her house when she was killed. When your number is called, your number is called.”

Harris said she is seeking a cultural and religious tie to Judaism.

“I grew up in a ham-and-Christmas-tree household, but I want to have a family that understands what it means to be Jewish,” she said. “I can’t do that unless I know what it is myself.”

But the prospect of their children venturing into a troubled land worries many parents.

“I feel deeply concerned about Andrea’s safety,” Joe Harris said of his daughter. “But I admire her resolve.”

Many families say they understand--and even support--their children’s decision to visit Israel.

“I’m extremely concerned, but I’m absolutely not pulling out. I’m committed to him going on this trip,” Jody Moss said of her son, Ari. “What could be better than to feel at home in another country and to know that it’s a Jewish country?”

Those who have children already in Israel say they live with a sense of uncertainty. Reggi Hulkower’s 21-year-old daughter settled in Jerusalem about a year ago. Hulkower said she is proud of her daughter for planting roots in Israel, but she also struggles with the decision every day.

“We teach our children to have a commitment to Israel,” Hulkower said. “We hope one day they will make aliya [settle in Israel]. Yet we fear for their lives. It’s nice to be idealistic, but it’s hard for any parent to say it’s no problem.”

Questions remain about how dangerous Israel has become. Many local rabbis and educators who frequently visit the country describe it as a peaceful place, saying that terrorist acts are an exception.

“If I thought about a child spending a year in Los Angeles or a year in Israel, I’d pick Israel,” said Mordecai Finley, a Reformed rabbi at Ohr HaTorah Congregation in West Los Angeles. Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein and his wife, Reena, remain convinced that Jerusalem is the best place for their 19-year-old daughter, Shevi, who is studying the Torah and computer science, and plans to eventually make Israel her permanent home.

Their daughter has lived in Jerusalem for three years and rides a bus line that passes close to the route that has been bombed twice in the last two weeks.

The Adlersteins said they warned their daughter to avoid the buses whenever possible. But they say that a strong belief in God will help protect her.

“The Jews are a survivor people,” said the rabbi, director of the Jewish Studies Institute at the Yeshiva of Los Angeles on Pico Boulevard. “God has seen us through more turbulent times than this.”