First of two parts

Our cousin Melissa Goldman is staying with us for several days after finishing her 10-day Taglit-Birthright trip. ("Taglit" is the Hebrew name for Birthright.) The program was originated by Charles Bronfman and Michael Steinhardt as a way to spark an interest in Israel and Judaism by bringing Jewish youth here on free, dynamic visits. Over 190,000 young adults from all over the world have been to Israel on Birthright Israel trips - 25,000 visits this summer alone! [see www.birthrightisrael.com] I asked Melissa to describe her feelings about the experience. This is what she had to say:

I have to admit that the free flight was my biggest incentive to come to Israel this summer. Kudos to the Birthright organizers for recognizing a truly American motivation! However, over the past few years I'd of course heard about Birthright trips from my friends and my sister Risa. Everyone said they had a fabulous time and told me how much they wanted to come back, so that didn't hold me back at all either! In fact, one of my sorority sisters even came to Hebrew University in Jerusalem for a semester abroad following her fabulous Birthright experience, and this year she led a Birthright trip filled with our fellow Washington University in St. Louis classmates. Anyway, now that I've become a Birthright alum I too plan to come back to Israel. Further, Birthright has certainly opened my eyes to the possibility of moving here (despite my parent's protests about living so far away).

But what does it mean to feel like a Jew and belong to the Jewish nation? At home, when people find out I'm Jewish (and let's face it, with a surname like "Goldman" it doesn't usually take that long) they're often surprised by my looks. I'll admit, the reverse has often been true for me as well. But on this trip with forty others in our group, there were only two "Jewish" noses and three "Jewfros" to boot. So what does "looking Jewish" mean? Ninety per cent of the kids on the trip didn't appear stereotypically Jewish, especially the darkcomplexioned ones. One very Persian-looking guy, Kaveh, only emigrated to the U.S. from Iran a few years ago. (His family had to "convert" to Islam just so he could go to high school, but it wasn't for real. I couldn't believe that was his background. He really appreciates being in Israel and thinks he might even come to live here one day.) Traveling in Israel has really impressed me because everyone I see around me is almost sure to be a Jew (statistically-speaking) despite what they look like. And if they're not, they're certainly familiar with the Jewish faith. This is what it means to feel part of a Jewish community. Regardless of whether make aliyah in the long term or not, I'm very interested in serving others as part of my career. Throughout my life I've had many experiences helping impoverished kids in my hometown of San Diego and near my college campus in St. Louis - kids who come to school hungry, if they come at all. After spending some time in Israel, I've become aware of the same problems in Israel. Unfortunately, it seems that although some people back home know a lot about these issues in Israel, the rest of us who know little end up being intimidated rather than enlightened by their concerns. For example, some people in my group were so insistent that; one girl even yelled at me in our hotel lobby about "my duty" to help Israel instead of helping others. I had to reply, "Don't lecture me, just teach me." It's not that I haven't cared about helping Israel before; the problems in my own backyard have just been predominant.

But after being here on Birthright and seeing Israel's problems for myself, they do loom larger for me. True, want to help people regardless of whether they're Jewish (and I will do this for twenty-seven months when I move overseas with the Peace Corps as a Health Extension volunteer later this year), yet helping someone Jewish will be more significant now. Ultimately, don't need to be convinced about my duties as a Jew, I just need to be pointed in the right direction. But because of my Birthright trip, I've definitely reinforced my Jewish identity and my sense of duty to Israel.

Being part of a Birthright group made up of open-minded Jewish-American youth and having a wonderful guide, Reut, who gave us her perspective on growing up here - things like knowing since childhood that you will one day serve in the army to protect your country - did really open our eyes. Even though we came to have fun, which we certainly did, things got a lot more serious as we traveled around Israel, especially after our visit to the Mt. Herzl Military Cemetery. This was my most emotional experience as well as the one that made me feel proudest to be a Jew and most appreciative of Israel.

Stephen Kramer resided and worked in the Atlantic City area until 1991, when he moved to Israel with his wife, Michal Langweiler, and two sons. His book "Meandering Through Israel" can be purchased by calling the Jewish Times at 407- 0909. He can be reached at Sjk1@jhu.edu.