Young Judaea, founded in 1909, is the pluralistic American Zionist youth organization. The Federation for Zionist Youth (FZY) is the British equivalent. Students from both youth groups, and students with no past experience in either youth group, can attend a year-long volunteer and study program in Israel. Volunteer options include Kibbutz, Moshav, Sar-El (army assistance), Marva (basic training), Magen David Adom, and many more. This year, we've asked current participant Daniel Keebler to write about his own experiences with the program.

On January 20th , 2004, I was privileged to meet with representatives from the Israeli government, including Prime Minister Sharon's personal advisor, Leor Shvinkelshtein, and Government Secretary Yisrael Maimon. This opportunity came about because of a budget the Israeli government hopes to pass in the Knesset. The problem they hope to solve with their new budget is the lack of Jewish American college students coming to Israel. The government specifically requested to meet with students from my program, Young Judaea's Year Course in Israel, which with its record 250 students makes up 10% of the Jewish American college students in Israel this year (outside of Yeshiva students).

I was one of five students chosen to meet with the representatives. The five of us waited outside the room for 15 minutes. Ten minutes after the meeting was supposed to have begun, we were finally ushered into the library. It is our Young Judea building's only library, and it is more like a small room with bookshelves for walls. We sat in blue business chairs surrounding the large, oval conference table. All the other chairs were filled with unfamiliar faces.

Two large men in black business suits sat together on the right side of the table. They were the source of all the questions. Everyone else just listened. The two were Prime Minister Sharon's personal advisor, Leor Shvinkelshtein, and Government Secretary Yisrael Maimon.

Essentially, the representatives came to ask us why our friends are still in America and are not spending time in Israel. They wanted to know why we came to Israel while the majority of our friends stayed in American colleges. Obviously there is no single answer, but the general answers all relate to security issues in Israel, or at least the perception of "security issues."

Seth, a fellow student on the trip, explained to the representatives that his 2001 summer Israel program was cancelled because "they thought Israel was too dangerous for us." I saw the sadness in Secretary Yisrael Maimon's eyes. It seemed to be a mixture between embarrassment and disappointment. They came to ask us what they could do to get Jewish American students to come to Israel. And we told them that American students (or often their parents) see the Jewish Homeland as "too dangerous" to visit.

It was like seeing a child tell his friend, "I can't come to your sleepover because my mom thinks your house is in a bad neighborhood." So therefore we should stop being friends, stop spending time together? Of course not, but that's how Israelis see the American Jewry reacting to the intifada.

Israelis are not proud of the conflict. No one I have met here wants this conflict. Finding possible solutions is perplexing enough on its own, but then Israelis have to cope with the fact that so few Americans come to Israel anymore. Israelis feel abandoned by Americans.

Currently, there are about 2,500 Jewish American college students on long-term programs in Israel (not including Yeshiva students). Out of the millions of Jews in America, over five million, that's a pathetic number. And even more pathetic is our excuse for that tiny number... Fear .

Israel has had few moments where it was perceived to be completely safe to visit. Some even believe that the only time when Israel will be completely safe is when the Messiah comes and there is World Peace. Other people believe the Messiah simply will not arrive until we are all in Israel.

The point is, the best time to come to Israel is not "when it's safe." Maybe for non-Jews the right time to come is "when it's safe." But for Jews, the best time to come is now. Things are safe for visitors here if you follow a simple guideline that an ex-CIA officer once told me, "Don't Be Stupid." For me, not being stupid means following the security guidelines of my program, which are as follows:

We do not ride public buses in the city; We do not visit the West Bank or Gaza Strip; We do not walk in East Jerusalem (the Arab Quarter); We do not go to restaurants or clubs unless they have a security guard at the door; We do not stand in big lines for restaurants or clubs; and so on.

The simple guideline of "Don't Be Stupid" has allowed my program to bring students to Israel every year, for a whole year, for the past 48 years. Young Judaea's Year Course has continued through the 1967 Six-Day war, the 1973 Yom Kipur war, through the Oslo Accords and Rabin's assassination, may he rest in peace. By "not being stupid," students have come here through the first intifada, and I write these words to you today in the midst of the second intifada, fearless and loving it.

If you're reading this article right now, you probably don't need someone to explain to you the importance of coming to Israel. On the contrary, it is you who needs to do the explaining. You need to explain to all your friends and family, to your entire community, that Israel feels abandoned and that we should not be afraid to visit the Jewish State.

There are two ways to explain to your community Israel's need for your visit:

Oral Message . Speaking and writing.

• That means sharing this article and the hundreds of articles similar to it (check your local internet).
• Write your own articles for Jewish newspapers.
• Organize school clubs, or even organize your own trips to Israel.
• Make, sell, and wear t-shirts about Israel ( www.zazzle.com click "Create A Product"). One program made shirts that said, "I care," above a big Israeli flag, and beneath the flag it said, "And I'm going."
• Make and buy bumper stickers about solidarity with Israel.
  (make: www.makestickers.com ) (buy from Israel: www.judaicaheaven.com )
• Create fundraisers to help you get to Israel.
• And most importantly, talk to people. Start conversations at dinner, at parties, during car rides, while you wait in line for a movie.

Living Message . My favorite quote from Mahatma Gandhi, "We must BE the change we wish to see in the world."

• Find a program (these are helpful www.studyabroad.com/content/portals/Israel_port.html and http://www.wzo.org.il/en/programs/ )
• Make your own trip
• Bring people with you
• If you can't afford a trip, find people to sponsor your trip. All you have to do is organize your plan well and then present it to those who support your mission.
• When you get back, or even during your trip, continue sending the message to your community about your trip. Inspire people with the inspiration that Israel will give you.

If you do these things, and the far cooler things you'll come up with on your own, going to Israel will become contagious.

Hopefully our conference with the government representatives gave good ideas and new perspectives for the Israeli government while they consider their new budget. If the budget passes, visiting Israel might become more affordable for college students. However, we should not be waiting for the Israeli government to help us visit. Visiting the Jewish State is our right as Jews. If you have a right, exercise it, lest those who fight and die for that right go in vain.

Daniel K. attended Seattle Academy of Arts and Sciences high school, where he was a student journalist for his school magazine. His hobbies include writing (He brings his journal wherever he goes), singing, reading, and collecting cool quotes. He hopes to major in Sustainability and Systems studies, beginning at the University of Washington in Seattle.