One night in July, I was hanging out around the CIT (counselor in training) lodge, a.k.a. ha bayit, at Camp Harlam. For the past couple of days, we had been hearing about the situation with Israel and Lebanon, and my Israeli friends were desperately trying to get in touch with their friends and family. Anyway, my cell phone rang, and it was my friend Rachel Gerber. She wanted to know what we could do to help out even though we couldn't go to Israel, so, we put our heads together and came up with the idea of having a benefit concert. We made a list of all of the different Jewish musicians that everyone would enjoy, and finally decided on one of our personal favorites—Blue Fringe!

Before we could put on the concert, we got in contact with kids from every youth group in the area (NFTY, USY, BBYO, Young Judaea, and NCSY) and put together a committee of representatives and began to plan the concert for December 3rd. Rachel, myself, and the rest of the committee worked tirelessly to put together an amazing event. A generous member of my synagogue even donated the money to hire Blue Fringe. And the band even helped out by giving us a reduced rate.

After five long months of committee meetings, writing letters to sponsors, and publicizing the concert all over the area, on December 3rd, over 200 people from all over the South Jersey and the Philadelphia community came to support Israel and see Blue Fringe perform!    

Being on the committee definitely had its advantages the night of the concert, especially when it allowed me to hang out with the boys of Blue Fringe. Before the concert, I was able to sit down with the band and ask them a few questions. Dov Rosenblatt (vocals and guitar), Hayyim Danzig (bass), Avi Hoffman (lead guitar) and Danny Zwillenberg (drums) surrounded me, and I began to take extensive notes on every answer they gave me.

My first question to them was about how they got started as a band, and Hayyim jumped right in: "Basically, we were all going to Yeshiva University, met through a mutual friend who needed music for a concert at the University of Pennsylvania, and we clicked. The gigs kept coming, and eventually we recorded our first album."

Dov and Avi had a lot to say when I asked about their musical inspirations. They listed to people like Amos Lee, Death Cab for Cutie, The Beatles, Dirty Dozen Bass Band, Radiohead, John Mayer and Elliott Smith. Avi took us all by surprise when he confessed to watching American Idol reruns "because Kelly Clarkson's voice is sick!" Unfortunately, we had to cut the first interview short because it was time for them to go on for their first set.    

Before the band could start to play, Rachel got up on stage and explained what we were all doing there and exactly what our money was going toward. The money was going straight to two causes. One was Magen David Adom, which is Israel's National Emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service. It is officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross as the national aid society of the state of Israel. All of the ticket sales in addition to T-shirt sales, raffles and donations went to Magen David Adom, raising a total of $10,000 in the end!

The other fund that we benefited hit closer to home for our community. At 16 years old, a boy named Michael Levin shocked his family by announcing that after he graduated high school, he was going to settle in Israel and join the military. When he was 22 years old, First Sargent Michael Levin was killed in action on August 1st, 2006. He was very involved in Hagesher USY, Camp Ramah in the Poconos, USY High, and Nativ. Michael lived and breathed Israel, and when he died for Israel, his family decided to set up a scholarship fund for high schoolers who wanted to go on programs to Israel such as USY High and Nativ. Applause filled the room, and Blue Fringe finally took the stage.

The first song of the night was “Sh'ma Koleinu” followed by “Generations” and “Eitz Chayim” from their new album. After a few more songs, they ended the first set with The Shidduch Song. Avi ripped it up with a mean guitar solo, which brought the first set to quite a memorable end. During the break, we raffled off all kinds of gift baskets, sports tickets, and prize packages which brought in $500 toward the Michael Levin Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Blue Fringe took the stage again for their second set, playing songs like “City of Gold” and “Kacha Lo” that had every single fan singing along. They also did an awesome cover of Dispatch's “The General,” where Hayyim stopped playing for a little dance break of his own. We were all "Flippin' Out" when they had to go back to New York, but like I said before, being on the committee had its perks. Dov and Avi did a private acoustic version of Ayn Mayim for me, Rachel, my sister and a few other committee members after everyone else left.    

Before the guys went back to New York, I sat down with Dov to get a few more responses, this time about what Blue Fringe has done, and what else we can do to benefit Israel. I asked him about his own experiences in Israel, and what I learned moved me. "I've gone several times with my family, I studied there in  Yeshivat Har Etzion for a year and a half, and I've gone with Blue Fringe many times to perform. The last time we played in Israel was Sukkot of '05 and the most memorable part of the trip was being able to sing our song "Hineini," which is about akeidat yitzchak (the binding of Isaac) right in front of ma'arat hamachpelah, where our forefathers and mothers are buried. It was an extremely powerful, personal moment." Dov also has some advice for the aspiring musicians out there "practice, practice, practice."

As Jewish teenagers living in America, it is easy to feel like we are unable to do anything for Israel. However, by putting together a fundraiser, concert, or even just talking about the situation and educating others, we're doing more than we realize. I have done a lot of programming, fundraising, and community service of all kinds, but being a part of the Blue Fringe Benefit Concert for Israel is definitely one of my most memorable experiences.

If you haven't had the chance to visit Israel, I suggest going. My trip in the summer of 2005 opened my eyes to the land, culture, and people of Israel more than I ever thought it would. Another thing I highly suggest doing is seeing Blue Fringe live in concert! Remember, ani v'atah neshaneh et haolam: together you and I will change the world.

Allie Cogan is from Cherry Hill, N.J., and is a member of the JVibe Teen Advisory Board. She's a senior in high school, and can't wait to go to Indiana University next year. She's the Eastern Membership Vice President of NFTY-PAR and is a counselor at Camp Harlam. She also loves to sing, act and do community service.