Chess player, gymnast are new Shin Shins

    Why would 18-year-old Israelis leave their family, friends and comforts of home to spend a year in Milwaukee?

   For Yonatan Ben-Ary and Shir Eitan, the answer comes easily: To help children feel more connected to Israel.

   Ben-Ary and Eitan are Milwaukee’s new Shin Shins. They have elected to spend a year in Milwaukee serving as cultural ambassadors before entering the Israeli military.

   Shin Shin is the common name for participants in Shnat Sherut (third year of service), a program for Israeli youth who want to spend a year in community service before their mandatory stint in the Israeli military.

   While Yonatan and Shir agree that their time in Milwaukee will be a success if they can make “one child feel a personal connection to Israel,” some differences between them are immediately identifiable.

   Yonatan, a young man with close cropped blond hair, is expressive and outgoing. Shir is a soft-spoken, petite young woman with a wide smile and brunette hair that hangs in waves past her waist.

   Yonatan lives in Ra’anana near Tel Aviv in central Israel where he enjoys studying chemistry and physics and playing chess. He has successfully completed tryouts for the Israeli navy.

   Yonatan’s mother is a school principal, and his father works for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He has two brothers: Nadav, 11, and Omri, 15.

   Yonatan has travelled with his family to the United States several times and lived in Ottawa, Canada, for three years. He feels prepared for Wisconsin winters, having learned to embrace cold weather — as cold as -42%u02DA C (-44 F) — in Ottawa.

   Shir is unaccustomed to cold temperatures. When asked about Milwaukee’s winters, Shir replied, “I’m cold already!” despite wearing a heavy sweatshirt on a relatively warm summer day. She added, “I’m excited about seeing the snow.”

   Living an active, healthy life is important to Shir, a gymnast whose favorite event is the floor routine. She lives in K’far Tavor in the Lower Galilee where she has volunteered for her school’s student council and worked as a camp counselor.

   Shir’s mother, Shlomit, is a kindergarten teacher. Her father, Ori, is a building contractor. Shir has one sister, Gali, 16, and two brothers, Amit, 11, and Yonatan, 24.

   She has travelled to the United States several times, including an extended visit to Milwaukee. Two years ago Shir participated in the Teen Mifgash program, where a group of Israeli teens and a group of Milwaukee teens visit each other’s communities over the summer.

   The Israeli teens come from the Sovev Kinneret region, which is linked to Milwaukee through the Jewish Agency for Israel’s Partnership2Gether program. Partnership2Gether connects communities in the Diaspora with communities in Israel.

   Yonatan said he wants to dispel three specific myths that he believes Americans hold about his home country. The first is that Israel is dangerous. “It is not a dangerous country; it is very safe.”

   The second is that “we ride camels and live in tents. Israel is very advanced.”

   The third is that Israel lacks culture. Yonatan noted that his homeland is rich with music, literature and poetry.

   “We’re also good at watching sports,” he said. “Not so good at playing them, but we are very good at watching.” He sums up his attitude about Israel by stating, “We are like any other developed country in the world, but with a little bit of spice.”

   Shir said she wants Milwaukeeans to know that Israel is full of warm people and “the best food in the world.” She also notes that Israel offers great geographic diversity for visitors including the sea, beaches, the desert, springs, forests, mountains and snow.

   Yonatan and Shir consider themselves secular Jews. Shir said that she “connects to the values and stories the Torah presents and to the holy days and Shabbat.” She does not consider herself religious, however, because she does not fast, follow the dietary laws or observe similar traditions.

   Yonatan said that “Judaism taught me to be a better person. That’s what I get from Judaism.” He aspires to study Judaism and Talmud in the future.

   The Shin Shins are each living with a host family. They will spend the year working primarily with children at area day schools, synagogues and the Harry and Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center.

    “I want to get children to think about Israel because they want to, not because an adult is telling them to,” Yonatan said.

   Since 2002 the Shin Shin program, as well as Partnership2Gether, has been funded and coordinated by the Milwaukee Jewish Federation through the Jewish Agency for Israel. Additional support comes from the Milwaukee Jewish Day School, the JCC and area synagogues.

   Stephanie Wagner is vice president of communications and strategy at the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.