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Crisis and Response:
Post-High School Yeshiva Programs in Israel and the Matzav

by

Dodi F.Tobin, Ph.D.

Project Mentor:

Rabbi Dr. Shalom Berger

ATID Fellows

2000-2001

Crisis and Response:
Post-High School Yeshiva Programs in Israel and the Matzav

Dodi F. Tobin is the Director of Student Affairs at the Pardes Institute in Jerusalem. She received a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Fairleigh Dickinson University and a B.A. in Psychology from Barnard College. Dr. Tobin spent her post-high school year studying at Machon Gold in Jerusalem. She made aliya with her family in 1998 and currently resides in Beit Shemesh.

Project Description
This project examines the impact of the “Al Aksa Intifada”, commonly known to Israelis as the matzav, upon the post-high school yeshiva experience in the academic year 2000-2001. Based upon anecdotal data obtained from administrators, students and parents, the author describes the impact of the matzav upon various aspects of the Israel experience, including parental concerns; student concerns; communication between administration and parents; student and parents satisfaction with how the yeshivot have responded to the matzav; and Zionism. The author makes suggestions to yeshiva programs about important measures which should be undertaken to respond to the matzav long-term.

 ABSTRACT

	The “Al Aksa Intifada”, commonly known in Israel as “the Matzav (situation)” refers to the tense security situation that began on Rosh Hashana 5761 (September 2000) and unfortunately continues to the present day. This matzav has consisted of recurrent incidents of stonings, shootings, and bombings by Arab terrorists throughout Israel.	The aim of this project was to examine how the one-year yeshiva programs have dealt with the matzav, and the impact of the matzav upon the students’ Israel experiences, based upon feedback from students and their parents. The author offers recommendations, which may be useful to programs in the event that the matzav continues.  
	The author conducted interviews with administrators and distributed questionnaires to students and parents. The student sample consisted of 29 females and 13 males, and the parent sample consisted of 13 parents. The small size of the sample limits the generalizability of the findings. Nevertheless, the observational information obtained is valuable in that it provides an initial read on how students, parents and programs are functioning in light of the matzav.
	The questionnaire responses in this study indicated that the primary concern of parents regarding the matzav was the physical safety of their children. Their concern was not reported to be excessive. The author suggests some possible explanations as to why parents are relatively calm, including the fact that the matzav is not a “war”; that at the time of the study, parents had already adapted to idea of the matzav; and that they had more frequent contact with their children via cell phone and email. Additionally, regular emails from the yeshiva to the parents were greatly appreciated by parents who received them, and seriously missed and needed by parents who did not.
	The responses indicated that shana aleph students were concerned about their own safety, but also about the future of the country and the well-being of other Israelis. Students admitted being less scared about the matzav with the passing of time, and felt that learning in Israel during the matzav was a way of showing support.
	How did the one-year programs safeguard their students during the matzav? According to student and parent responses, the female yeshivot generally implemented more specific interventions such as travel restrictions and requiring parental consent to travel to certain destinations, than did the male yeshivot. Other measures taken by yeshivot included disallowing or strongly advising against riding buses; providing phone numbers of “safe” taxi companies; establishing an emergency calling system to account for every students’ safety in the event of a bombing; daily news updates and informative lectures; and frequent emails to parents to keep them informed and reassured. 
	Shana aleph students and parents were generally satisfied with the safety precautions taken by their yeshiva programs. One salient point that emerged from the responses was that students were appreciative when their yeshivot related to them as mature adults when establishing safety policy. Female shana aleph students in particular were grateful when their programs provided frequent and updated information about the matzav. The author points to sex-role socialization as an explanation for the gender differences in the approaches taken by yeshivot vis-א-vis safety.
	The matzav impacted the students experience in Israel by limiting the extent to which they could travel the country. These restrictions often resulted in the student spending a greater amount of time in the Beit Midrash, with their learning becoming more intense earlier in the year than is typical. Despite travel limitations, students reported that the matzav had instilled their year with meaning, and engendered a strong connection between them and the country and people of Israel. Many students reported that they planned to, or were considering aliyah.
	In sum, while the matzav was a concern for students and parents, it was not one that ultimately elicited panic. How yeshivot responded to the matzav vis-א-vis their students varied from institution to institution, and between genders. Overall, students and parents were satisfied with the measures taken by their yeshivot to ensure their safety, with females finding provision of updated information particularly useful. The matzav has had a powerful impact upon the students’ connection to Israel and its people.
	Crisis intervention literature suggests that schools must prepare to deal with crises if they are to do so effectively. The author suggests that one-year yeshiva programs approach the matzav as a crisis and respond accordingly. Based on the findings reported above, the author recommends specific measures administrators should take to prepare for another matzav year. These measures include sending information about the school’s security policy to students and parents in advance of the year; frequent emails to parents; heeding parental suggestions regarding security; consistently updating students regarding the events in Israel as they transpire; and keeping in mind the maturity level of the students when setting safety precautions. The author suggests that these recommendations are useful in dealing with any crisis the yeshiva program may encounter.

Foreword

	In my first year as an ATID fellow, I had examined the parent-child relationship within the context of a year of study in a post-high school yeshiva program. Among the many things I found was that modern technological trends, such as cell phone and email communication, had impacted upon the Israel experience in various ways. While parents and students seemed to enjoy the ease of communication, some administrators felt that that ease negatively impacted upon the students’ ability to become independent adults. The nituk from parents was simply not happening to the same extent as it did even ten years ago when people cam to study in Israel. My plan was to examine the impact of these technological advances upon the student’s Israel experience. As I began my interviews, it became readily apparent that the matzav had turned the academic year 2000-2001 atypical, in terms of the security threat and challenges it posed. I started to suspect that the negative aspects of cell phone use, at least in the eyes of administrators, had to be outweighed by the positive aspects, namely, the parents ability to reach their children any time and verify their whereabouts. I recognized that any practical comparisons between today and years past would not be possible.
	Therefore, I changed the direction of my research. While last year’s paper examined the relationship between students and their parents, this paper would examine the relationship between the administration, students and parents within the context of the matzav. I felt this was an important endeavor for two reasons. Firstly, it was important to provide schools with some objective feedback as to how they were doing in light of the matzav, and provide suggestions for what can and should be done. Secondly, I felt there should be some documentation of how students, parents and programs were functioning in light of the matzav. When I tried to find some information about Israel programs during the Gulf war, there was none. I felt it was important to have some record about the matzav for research done in the future.

INTRODUCTION
	One Friday morning in the Spring of 2001, I was carpooling home from Jerusalem with friends, one of whom was an assistant director of a girl’s post-high school yeshiva program. Halfway through our ride, someone called the Rabbi’s cell-phone to inform him that a suicide bomber had blown himself up outside a major mall in Netanya.  As it was Friday, most of the girls were not to be found in the Yeshiva’s beit midrash, and some were on their way to their Shabbat destinations in various parts of the country. Throughout the remaining fifteen minutes of the ride, the Rabbi used his cell phone to issue directives to his dorm counselors. He had one of them check the sign-out list to see if any students were going to the Netanya area for Shabbat. Three students were listed as doing so. “I want a full count,” directed this Rabbi to his counselor, “Everyone!” Within the hour, he expected to hear from this counselors that every one of his students were safe so that he could promptly send out an email to parents assuring them that all were OK. The email would reach the parents even before they woke up to hear the tragic news.	Such has become an unfortunately familiar chain of events during the academic year 2000 -2001 for administrators of post-high school yeshiva programs in Israel. The “Al Aksa Intifada”, commonly known in Israel as “the Matzav (situation)” began on Rosh Hashana 5761 (September 2000) and continued through the academic year. Stonings, shootings and bombings, initially considered to occur primarily in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, quickly spread to within the Green Line, and in major cities including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Netanya and Kfar Sava. 
The goal of this project was to examine and describe the impact of the matzav upon post-high school yeshiva programs in Israel. Based upon information obtained from students, parents and administrators, suggestions are offered which may be useful to programs as they prepare to deal with the matzav in the future, or crises in general. 
Profile of a Student in a Post-High School Yeshiva Program
The presence of the matzav has served to turn a “typical” study year into an “atypical” one. Before we can examine the impact of the matzav upon the Israel experience, it is important to familiarize ourselves with where the student is at as he/she embarks upon the post-high school year of study in Israel.
Indeed, it has become an accepted practice for Modern Orthodox high school students to spend a full year studying Torah in a yeshiva in Israel following graduation, and up to 90% of these students do so (Berger 1999, p.5).   Berger (1999) explains that the “Jewish schools in America look to programs in Israel as a means of strengthening the Jewish identification of their students; as an experience which affirms and strengthens the bond with the Jewish people; as an opportunity to create some sort of relationship with the Jewish state; and as a source of motivation for the continued study and activity at home (p.6).” Throughout the year in Israel, students are submerged in an environment of intensive Torah study. Students form meaningful relationships with teachers who serve as personal examples, and go on tiyulim (field trips) to familiarize themselves with the history, land and people of Israel. 
Developmentally, the students who attend post-high school yeshiva programs in Israel are engaged in a process of separating and individuating from their parents.  According to Rice (1992) separation-individuation refers to “the process of creating one’s sense of differentiation from parents and achieving some degree of self definition. The process involves moving from dependence on parents to increasing independence from parents.”  According to Miriam Schachter (1999), students at this age embark on a journey “to find out who they are in the context of their communities, their families and the ideas they are exposed to.” Part of this journey includes looking for alternative authority figures and a set of values that uniquely reflects who these students are. Some of these figures or values may be separate or different from those of their parents and the communities within which they grew up. Additionally, dress and body are often the external manifestations of this identity struggle (Miriam Schachter, 1999).  Additionally, current research has shown that the most well adjusted young adults are those who have achieved autonomy and independence within the context of a positive and supportive, rather than a conflictual relationship with their parents (Taub, 1997; Kenny and Perez, 1996). 
In his study of the impact of the post-high school Israel experience, Berger (1997) found that a large majority of students reported changes in their religious ritual observance and attitudes while in Israel.  Students generally reported an increase in behaviors such as prayer and fasting, modest dress and commitment to Torah study, as well as a more negative attitude toward secular pursuits such as R rated movies.
Prior research (Tobin, 2000) indicated that some modern Orthodox parents are concerned that their children will become too religious while in Israel. In light of the research cited above, the religious changes these students undergo should not necessarily come as a surprise. Considering the intersecting of the students’ developmental stage, in which a shift in attitudes and values is expected, with the all-encompassing religious and non-materialistic environment of the yeshiva, one would expect the search for identity and independence to be expressed in the form of religious behavior. The extent to which these religious manifestations are authentic, healthy, reasonable and lasting will depend primarily upon the psychological health of the student, particularly with regard to the quality of his/her relationship with his/her parents. 
Indeed, communication between students in Israel and their parents has changed radically over the past two decades, thanks to cell phones and email. A recent study (Tobin, 2000) conducted the year before the matzav, reported that a significant portion of students speak to their parents at least three times a week. This study also indicated that some program administrators believed the easy access students had to their parents impacted negatively upon the students’ developing independence, and fostered parental intrusiveness. Still, the study found no evidence supporting students’ frustration, intrusion or annoyance about frequent contact with parents. Some described the easy access as enabling a high level of sharing and quality communication. Additionally, some of the parents expressed relief at having had the ability to speak to their children often.
In sum, a typical post-high school year of study in Israel can be characterized as one in which high school graduates enter an intensive environment of Torah study and Zionism. Developmentally, these young adults are in the process of becoming independent from their parents and forming their identity.  Considering the interaction of the developmental process with the yeshiva environment, intensification of student religiosity should be expected.  During an ordinary year, student-parent communication is frequent, thanks to cell phones and email. This ease of communication has been viewed by administrators as a potential impediment to the students’ healthy independence, but has also been viewed as a comfort to both parents and students. 
The matzav posed a new challenge in the academic year 2000-2001. Never before have administrators of post-high school programs had to deal with a tense security situation of the kind created by the Al Aksa Intifada. How the matzav has impacted the Israel experience of students and their parents will be discussed presently. 	

METHOD 
	
	The data for this study, collected from students, parents and administrators, is anecdotal in nature.  Four post-high school program administrators were interviewed directly (see appendix A). Students and parents completed a questionnaire containing open-ended questions about the matzav (see appendix A). 
A total of 29 female and 13 male students from a variety of yeshiva programs participated in the study. Students completed the questionnaires upon a visit to the KEDMA office in Jerusalem, or via email. The email was sent to a comprehensive list of students studying in Israel this year. Student questionnaires were completed between January and March 2001. 
	One of the items on the student questionnaire asked respondents if they thought their parents would be willing to complete a similar version of the questionnaire, and if so, to provide their parent’s email. Sixteen students provided parents’ emails. Subsequently, a revised version of the questionnaire was emailed to those parents. Additionally, a copy of the parents’ version was sent to all the one-year students on the comprehensive email list, who were asked to forward it to their parents. The parents’ questionnaires were completed in April and May of 2001. Twelve parents participated in total. 

FINDINGS
	As mentioned previously, the information gathered for this study was observational. Therefore, the inferences put forth in this paper should not be generalized beyond the current sample. Nevertheless, I believe the data obtained reflects certain trends that can be useful in helping to understand the impact of the matzav upon the post-high school Israel experience.
Parental Concerns about the Matzav
Information provided by students, parents and administrators indicates that the onset of the matzav has generated parental concern about the students’ physical safety. Statements made by students such as “They are concerned I will be blown up or shot”, “They just want me to stay safe and not do anything foolish,” and “My parents are mostly concerned with the buses and if the places that I go for Shabbat” are indicative of this concern.
Still, the impression one receives both from the parents’ and students’ responses to the question of “parental concern” is that many parents are not excessively concerned about their children’s safety. Several students mentioned that their parents are “relaxed” or “calm” or “not that concerned” considering the situation. Further, some students mentioned how despite their parents’ concerns about the matzav, they were supportive of their child remaining in Israel. Finally, several students stated that their parents trusted them to make the right decisions, or trusted the schools decisions regarding security. Their statements included, “They are just concerned that I don’t do anything stupid ...Pretty much they know I’m the one here and I know what to do and what not to do,” and, “I’m pretty sure that if real war broke out I would have been hauled back to America, but as it is, my parents trusted me to follow all the safety concerns that X Yeshiva suggested.”
Considering the images parents see on CNN, and the travel warning issued by the U.S. State Department, what has mitigated parents’ concerns in this regard? When considering the impact of the matzav upon the one-year programs, one may look to the Gulf War in 1990 for comparison. At that time, Israel was under the threat of bio-chemical missile attack. According to one Israel program administrator, the Gulf War affected the students more directly, in terms of threat to life, and by requiring them to don gas masks and flee into sealed rooms. Sirens constantly interrupted daily programming, and some schools sent their students to stay in teachers’ homes. Cell phones were not yet available; parents had less contact with their children and thus, were more dependent upon news reports for information. Being deemed a “war” made the situation in Israel much scarier for all concerned, and many parents brought their children home midyear (Danny Rein, Tova Rein, Linda Derovan, personal communications, see appendix A). In contrast, the matzav, while scary in its own right for the unpredictability of terrorist acts, still is perceived as affecting individual victims at random. There is a sense that if one simply follows appropriate safety guidelines, one is relatively safe. 
Considering the time of the year when the data for the current study was collected, at least four months after the start of the matzav, students and parents may have already become accustomed to dealing with the matzav. If the data had been collected within the first few weeks of the matzav, parental apprehensiveness may have been more intense. The fact is that many parents brought their children home for Sukkot vacation, which fell out two weeks after the matzav began. Still, in contrast to the Gulf war, most students in yeshiva programs during the matzav returned to Israel after Sukkot.
Further, with the proliferation of cell phones and email today, parents can know where their child is constantly as well as how their child is faring emotionally and psychologically. In addition, the parents’ sense of everyday life in Israel is more accurate because they are receiving information from their child on a regular basis. Indeed, the current study indicated that 38% of the female student sample spoke to their parents via cell phone or email every day and 34% spoke to their parents 3-4 times a week. Of the male student sample, 61% spoke to their parents once to twice a week and 31% spoke to their parents 3-4 times a week.  That female students spoke to parents more frequently than males is consistent with previous studies of gender differences in sex-role socialization and gender differences in the need for parental contact during separation-individuation (Tobin, 2000; Rice 1992; Taub 1997; Wilson & Stokes, 1983). 
While the current study does not allow for comparison between the frequency of parent-child contact during a matzav year to a non-matzav year, I would suggest that cell phones and email, which may have been considered in some way a bane to administrators pre-matzav, is considered a boon during the matzav. Indeed, the comfort provided to parents by knowing where their children are at all times should not be underestimated, nor should the time it saves administrators, who would otherwise be fielding countless calls from worried parents. 
	In sum, we can say that the overriding concern of parents vis-א-vis the matzav was the security of their children. The concern was strong but not overly so, and many students felt that their parents trusted them or their schools to protect them. That the matzav has not been deemed a “war” has undoubtedly influenced the majority of parents to allow their child to stay in Israel.
Student Concerns About Studying in Israel During the Matzav 
	While the concern of parents was focused squarely upon the physical safety of their children, the concerns of yeshiva students regarding the matzav included personal safety, the safety of other Jews and the plight of the country. Responses reflecting these concerns included, “My main concerns have been the following: 1. Tanzinim shooting at the Tunnel Road, 2. Trying to blow up the buses to Jerusalem 3.Arabs killing people around the Gush Etzion junction,” “I have many family members in this country, some of whom are in the army, and some of whom live in places where there have been frequent shootings. I worry about them more than I do myself.” and “I feel pain for the settlers and for all the citizens of Israel. I am not afraid for myself though.”
In the context of their concerns, several students commented that the passing of time had made them less scared about the matzav. For instance, one student wrote, “At the beginning it was a little scary when I would go on a bus, but I never stopped doing my regular daily things and as time went on I stopped being scared. Everything feels like normal these days, except you just know that its not,” and “Sometimes its scary but you don’t feel the fear as much when you are actually living here and experiencing everything.” 
Finally, a recurrent theme that emerged in the students’ responses was the importance they felt about staying in Israel and supporting it during this trying time. For example, one student wrote, “It’s a scary time but I never once reconsidered going home. I show my support by staying. The situation does make me very sad, though” and another wrote, “The more dangerous Israel becomes the more support we have to give by staying. This is the time to show that we are serious and a most imperative time to be here.” Clearly, learning in Israel during this year of the matzav has engendered strong feelings about Israel in many of the students. This will be discussed in more detail further on in this report.
How Yeshiva Programs Have Responded to the Matzav
	As would be expected, administrators, students and parents all reported that the yeshivot placed a high priority upon the physical safety of their students. Early on in the matzav, the yeshiva programs participated in a meeting to discuss creating joint programs to occupy the students busy and keep them safe during Sukkot vacation.  Each school had its own philosophy of the balance between safety and ideology, and as a result, few joint ventures materialized (David Katz, personal communication, see appendix A).
	 This result, while perhaps disappointing to the participants of the meeting, is an understandable one. In their book on crisis management in schools, Lichtenstein, Schonfeld, Kline and Speese-Lineham (1995) assert, “There is no ideal crisis preparation and response plan that will work best in all schools and school districts. Crisis preparation and response procedures must be variable and flexible, in recognition of the differences among communities and among schools  (p. 9).” Indeed, variations in the yeshivot’s ideological differences, attitudes towards students vis-א-vis independence and recreation, the sense of responsibility for the students well-being, and the value placed on communication with parents may all influence the safety precautions schools take.
	In the current study, the student responses seem to indicate that, in general, the girl’s yeshivot took concrete steps to ensure the safety of their students. Examples of the measures taken include restricting or strongly advising against traveling to certain “unsafe” destinations, such as the West Bank or the Old City; disallowing or strongly advising against riding buses; providing phone numbers of “safe” taxi companies; establishing an emergency calling system to account for every girl’s safety in the event of a bombing; requiring parental consent for girls to travel to certain “unsafe” places for Shabbat; daily news updates and informative lectures; and frequent emails to parents to keep them informed and reassured. The extent to which these measures were employed varied from program to program.
	The data also suggest that in general, the boy’s yeshivot offered fewer safety guidelines for their students than did the girl’s yeshivot. While some male students listed specific safety interventions, such as signing out, parental permission to travel, and calling in after a bombing, two male students reported that they were not aware of any actions taken by their schools at all. Still others indicated that their school was “laid back” about the matzav, in responses such as, “They give us news updates and during bein hazmanim told us not to go to Chevron, but that’s about it.”
	Research (Wilson & Stokes, 1983) suggests that the “socialization of males emphasizes independence and de-emphasizes expression of feelings”, in contrast to “our culture’s tendency to provide emotional and cognitive support to females (p.8).” This may help explain why boy’s yeshivot have set fewer safety parameters than the girl’s yeshivot, as our society views males as needing less support and more freedom than females.  
	Gender socialization may also help explain the differences in administrative attitudes toward emailing parents. An administrator of a girl’s yeshiva shared that in the early days of the matzav, he sent out a daily email to parents informing them of the security situation and the safety of their children, and that the parents were greatly appreciative. In contrast, an administrator of a boy’s yeshiva shared that his administration did not initiate much contact to the parent body at the onset of the matzav, nor did they receive many concerned emails from parents. This administrator felt that the frequency of cell phone contact between students and their parents negated the need for emails from the administration. 
	In sum, while the findings in this study indicate differences in the extent of safety precautions taken by male versus female yeshivot in response the matzav, they are understandable in light of societal norms.
Satisfaction with the Measures Taken by Yeshivot
Students
	Feedback from students indicated that they appreciated the precautions their programs took to ensure their safety. Some students expressed sympathy for the challenge their yeshiva faced in trying to keep them safe, in statements such as, “Mostly they’ve done what they can,” and “There isn’t so much they can do.” 
A salient theme in the students’ evaluations of their schools’ actions was appreciation of being dealt with in a mature way by the administration. Responses such as “I feel very well protected and cared for and still giving me my freedom, I think they did a great job,” and “They have been very mature in their dealing with us, treating us like adults, but also keeping us aware of what is going on…” are just two examples. Developmentally, students attending one-year yeshiva programs are entering adulthood, and thus are particularly sensitive to the importance of being related to as independent young adults. 
This point is further evident when one looks at the responses categorized by institution.  It is common knowledge that certain female yeshivot have set more stringent travel restrictions than others. Regarding this, one student wrote, “I think they are a little bit overprotective-at one point we were not allowed to go to the old city for six weeks. I think there are certain areas where we should be allowed to use our own judgment.” Another felt that “not being allowed to go past the green line restricts a lot of my cultural and social exposure to Israelis and my family and friends who are there.” In contrast, students at a less restrictive yeshiva wrote statements such as, “I am satisfied but a little disappointed that they put up the map only because we begged them to,” and “Good. Not overly restrictive.” The most uniformly positive evaluations came from students attending a particular school that seems to have struck a good balance between respect for the students’ independence and protecting the students. Responses such as “Perfect!” “I feel very well protected and cared for and still giving me my freedom, I think they did a great job!” and “They gave great advice,” are examples of the enthusiasm for and satisfaction with this school’s actions vis-א-vis the matzav. 
When asked to delineate the most helpful measure their yeshiva had taken to deal with the matzav, female students overwhelmingly expressed that of being continuously informed and updated on what was happening. Daily newspapers, updates, discussions and emails were all of vast importance in aiding the students to cope with the matzav. Male student responses did not point to specific measures, but rather emphasized appreciation that they had been dealt with in a mature manner. Two such responses are, “I feel they are good about it, treating us like mature responsible young adults” and “I am glad they haven’t restricted us. We are old enough to listen to the radio and only go where it is safe to go.” 
The gender difference in terms of what was considered helpful can again be seen as consistent with the socialization tendencies of our culture, namely, that boys are socialized to be independent and girls are socialized to need and receive support (Wilson et.al. 1983). In other words, the female students needed and appreciated the active steps taken by their schools to provide them with protection and support. The male students, in general, were grateful when the programs respected and fostered their sense of independence. 
Parents
Parents were grateful for the heightened security measures put forth by the various yeshivot. An administrator of a program employing stricter safety measures reported that as the year progressed, there was some frustration among parents and students that girls from other yeshivot were allowed to travel more freely than they. This administrator explained his dilemma as one of being “afraid to ease up. Whatever we say (regarding safety) is divine.” He added, “There’s a burden that whatever we now allow is considered safe.” Ultimately, educators and parents must keep in mind that “there are humbling limits to what we, as educators can control, and the extent to which we, as parents and responsible adults, can keep children safe and secure (Lichtenstein et al. 1995, p.3).” 
In the current study, parents expressed feeling reassured when the schools communicated with them about what was transpiring in Israel and about the safety of their children. For example, one parent wrote, “Parents are informed frequently and in detail regarding issues and provides a sense of responsibility and security that is very reassuring.” Another parent stated that the best thing their child’s yeshiva did was to provide, “Reassurance, security, safety, communicating to family.” 
	That parents appreciated contact from their child’s yeshiva is further validated by the words of one unsatisfied customer, “I was not happy with the limited communication from the yeshiva to the parents. I would have expected much more email communication….Regular messages throughout the year just saying that everything was all right would have been appreciated.” Clearly, communication with parents on a frequent basis was calming to them, and reassured them that the administration had things under control.
The aforementioned parent further shared that “When one of the yeshiva administrators came to our city to recruit for next year, he was complaining about how the matzav was making their job so difficult because now they had to plan more for the girls. What else should they have been doing? They acted like it was an annoyance to deal with rather than that they were caring about he girls and their concerned families.” 
I believe the matzav has had significant impact upon the nature of communication between yeshiva program administration and parents, and I believe the implications of that impact will affect upon that communication for years to come. Namely, it has been imperative that yeshiva programs, and girl’s programs in particular, be in communication with parents on a frequent basis. If administrators had ever enjoyed a certain freedom from parental influence, the matzav obligated administrators to consider parental concerns at all times. Consistent email contact with parents was a crucial response to the crisis at hand, providing information and comfort to parents and consequently, to the students themselves. I would suggest that whether the cell-phone/email phenomenon caused dependency in students upon their parents became a non-issue. What was most important was, quite simply, the physical safety of the students. Within those contacts, it is clear that imparting the message to parents that the yeshiva genuinely cares about the welfare of its students is not only appreciated, but also necessary. 
The Impact of the Matzav Upon the Student’s Israel Experience
	Yeshiva programs were most noticeably impacted by the matzav in terms of tiyulim. Students simply were not able to travel the country to the extent they would have liked, nor to the extent students have toured Israel in years past. Still, the data give the impression that students were accepting of the reality of their situation. One student wrote, “We didn’t get to travel and see Israel as much as I would have liked but it wasn’t bad. I don’t really have anything to compare it to,” and another wrote, “It restricts me culturally and socially, but the school tries to compensate and take us on trips within the boundaries.” 
Since, in the early days of the matzav, students were limited in terms of where they could travel, they wound up spending more time in the Beit Midrash, and were learning Torah intensively at an earlier stage in the year than is typical (Danny Rein, David Katz, personal communications, see appendix A). This was echoed in some of the students’ responses, such as, “It also meant that we couldn’t really hang out in the Old City, the shuk and what not. This also means that we ended up spending more time in the beit midrash for lack of anywhere else to go,” and “I probably learn more than I would if the matzav wasn’t this way.”
	The matzav also served to intensify students’ connection to Israel and Israelis. This is evident in responses such as, “It has made me more socially and culturally attached to Israel and Israelis. Educationally, I find myself more interested in Israel and Hebrew and learning with Israelis than learning in shiur with Americans,” “ It has helped me understand the way people act here in everyday life,” and “hard to describe but it has made me realize how much I am attached to being here and that I don’t want to leave.”
	Learning in Israel during this tense time made students feel that they were doing something important. They articulated things such as, “I have seen many people’s reactions, our ability to bond together even more through times of struggle, and the lack of tourism during the matzav. I am glad I’m here because if I were in America I wouldn’t feel a part of the struggle or know what to do,” “I realize that things aren’t as easy as I may have previously thought. I’m proud to be here in support of my country in its time of need,” and “This year which was very turbulent because of the situation, but I was insistent not to leave the country and to stick it out. This is my country where I belong and I am not going to leave in times when Israel needs us here even more…” 
	Many of the students conveyed strong Zionistic feelings, and some students conveyed that living through the matzav had reinforced these sentiments. One student wrote, “I was Zionistic before, but being emerged in the actual matzav, especially living in the Old City and experiencing how Israelis live each day, enhances the Zionistic feeling,” and another shared, “ I went to a Bnei Akiva Zionistic high school but there is nothing like living here especially during the matzav when we are all united as a nation.”  
	Did the matzav deter students from returning for shana bet? In this study, approximately half the female and male students expressed a desire to stay for shana bet. Of those, 36% of female students’ and 14% of male students reported that their parents were “not at all supportive” of that wish. When asked to explain why their parents were unsupportive, none mentioned the matzav as a reason. Rather, they all expressed that their parents expected them to begin college. As suggested earlier, this implies that the matzav, while worrisome to parents, is not an overwhelmingly so.
	In sum, while the matzav has placed limits upon the extent to which students could tour the country, it has nonetheless had a powerful impact upon the students’ Israel experience. The unfortunate reality is that since the beginning of its history, the State of Israel has had to defend itself against its enemies, and armed conflict with its Arab neighbors is nothing new.  While the academic year 2000-2001 may have been perceived by administrators, parents and students as tense, frustrating or at the very least atypical, the matzav has afforded another way for students to undergo an authentic and meaningful Israeli experience. 
The Matzav and Post-High School Programs in Israel: Planning Ahead
	While early on in the academic year 2000-2001, it was hoped that the matzav would be resolved quickly, it is apparent now, at the close of that year that it has the potential to continue indefinitely. While we all hope and pray that the matzav will end “speedily and in our days”, the post-high school yeshiva programs in Israel must be prepared to deal with the possibility of an extended period of tense national security.
	Overall, the number of applications for post-high school yeshiva programs for the academic year 2001-2002 has not declined significantly. This may be a function of the fact that spending the post-high school year in Israel has become such an inherent part of Modern Orthodox Jewish education in the Diaspora that the matzav is not strong enough to diminish this educational phenomenon.  It may also express a hope among Diaspora students and parents that the matzav will in fact be resolved before September 2001. Finally, the normal flow of applications may indicate that parents have been satisfied, or at least not overly disappointed by the measures taken by the one-year programs to deal with the matzav during the academic year 2000-2001. 
	The matzav took administrators and staff by surprise during 2000-2001, but it is no surprise now. Yeshiva program administrators can use their experiences of the past year to guide them in preparing for and responding to the matzav in the coming year. 
	In the book How to Prepare for and Respond to a Crisis, Lichtenstein et al. (1995) put forth several basic assumptions regarding crisis management in a school setting. These assumptions include:
1.Crisis situations are inevitable in a school setting
2. A crisis involves people and their personal reactions to the situation. Dealing with a crisis concerns both the physical and emotional well-being of individuals.
3.One of the goals of crisis intervention is to minimize the trauma that students, staff and parents will experience. To that end, timing is crucial. A prepared crisis team needs to move quickly to set a tone of compassion and support for the school community….If school leaders prolong or thwart the process, students and teachers…may feel less safe and more alienated in the school environment (p.3-4)
	The crisis response approach of Lichtenstein et al. (1995) also includes the following key concepts:
a)	Preparation is absolutely essential to ensure effective response to a school crisis…The issue is not whether a crisis will occur, but when it will occur, how serious it will be, and what the response should be.
b)	There is no ideal crisis preparation and response plan that will work best in all schools…Crisis preparation and response procedures must be variable and flexible, in recognition of the differences among communities and among schools.
c)	To whatever extent feasible, every school should develop the capacity to deal with crisis situations…a school-based team can react quickly, respond in a personal and individualized manner and continuously monitor the residual effects of a crisis.
While the crisis management approach of Lichtenstein et.al. (1995) was written with the American public school system in mind, its tenet’s are applicable to the post-high school programs within the context of the matzav. Specifically, the matzav can be viewed as a crisis that needs responding to. Based on the findings of this study, the following suggestions are offered to help programs prepare for the upcoming school year.
Firstly, it is important to communicate with parents on a consistent basis, particularly when the tension is high. Clearly, email is the easiest way to get the most information disseminated to the widest audience. As mentioned earlier, receiving informative emails is reassuring to parents, as it communicates that the yeshiva is taking responsibility for their child’s safety. The frequency of the emails will depend upon the individual characteristics of the yeshiva and the specific needs of its parent body. Further, any communication to parents must express that administrations’ concern for the students’ welfare is genuine, and that all efforts are being made to aid the students in dealing with the crisis. Excerpts from emails sent to students and parents from two girl’s yeshivot can be seen in appendix D.
The matzav has created a set of circumstances whereby parents and students have been conditioned that email and cell phone communication are part of their daily lives. 
The academic year 2000-2001 has definitely seen an increase in email communication between administrations and parents, as this medium is by far the most expedient way to disseminate information to the widest group. I believe that a precedent has now been set, such that parents will henceforth expect regular email communication from yeshiva programs, whether or not the matzav continues. Additionally, cell phone communication must be accepted as a natural part of the Israel experience. 
Undoubtedly, parents planning to send their children to Israel in September 2001 are already concerned about the matzav. It would be in the best interest of the yeshiva programs to provide parents with information about their policies regarding security and crises well before the student arrives. This information would help prepare parents and students for what they can expect, and allow them to ask questions. It would also reassure parents that the yeshiva is well prepared to deal with the matzav. An excerpt from an information flyer sent to parents by an Israel program over the past year can be found in appendix E.  
In the interest of their children, parents may make requests or suggestions to yeshiva programs about policy. For example, a group of parents prepared a respectful letter to the administration of a particular yeshiva program, asking that certain steps be taken in the coming year to help guarantee the safety of their daughters. These steps included ensuring that the girls have “a comfortable environment for them on the school campus should they choose to stay in for Shabbat” so they would not have to constantly travel, and to provide “some sort of shuttle transportation to supermarkets and other places” according to an organized system.
A prominent rabbi and educator once explained to me how post-high school yeshiva program administrators enjoyed a kind of freedom day school administrators in the U.S. did not. Namely, that parents cannot influence the functioning of the Israeli yeshiva the way they can influence the functioning of the day school. The matzav brought about a situation whereby programs were persistently communicating with parents, and bringing parents into the world of the student.  
It behooves yeshiva programs to take these parental requests seriously. It is to the parents’ credit that they are sending their children to learn in Israel despite the security situation. Indeed, the matzav demands of yeshiva programs extra effort, flexibility and creativity. Yet, ultimately, the success of a yeshiva program will be significantly influenced by the extent to which its relationship with its parent body is positive.
Regarding safety measures vis-א-vis travel, administrators ultimately decide what is appropriate for their student body, parent body and location. Considering the value students placed upon being treated as mature people by their administrators, these decisions should be made with the students’ maturity level in mind. This is not to say that programs should simply become more lax in their travel restrictions, for indeed these young adults may not be the best judges of what is safe, nor is their knowledge about Israel as extensive as that of the staff. Nevertheless, the appreciation students felt for being treated as “adults” in this study underscores how those involved in the decision making process should not negate the developmental stage their students are in, namely, moving from dependence to increasing independence (Rice, 1992).
Further, the findings of this study highlight the critical importance of providing students with constant and updated information about the matzav, or any crisis situation, for that matter. Female students overwhelmingly pointed to this intervention as most useful. This communication between the program and its students will not only serve to inform, prepare and reassure students, but will also be passed on from student to parent. As such, parents receive a plethora of up-to-the-minute information.
The Israel Experience
As already mentioned, the data in this study suggest that the matzav year has provided students with a powerful Israel experience. Indeed, the struggle of the State of Israel for its survival has been an underlying theme throughout its 53 years. Students in Israel during the matzav year have had the opportunity to tangibly grasp the meaning of that struggle. The primacy programs have placed upon the physical safety of its students is understandable and responsible. Further, the effort placed into ensuring that the schedule proceeds normally is commendable. Still, it is worthwhile to speculate to what extent programs should not only be reactive to the matzav, but proactive on the interpersonal/personal level. 
Administrators listed various activities their students partook of to actively grapple with the situation: reciting Tehillim, attending the One Jerusalem rally, or making a shiva call with their rebbe. Still, it was not clear to me whether programs were, as a rule, using the events of the matzav as educational opportunities.  Unfortunately, opportunities for chesed have arisen as a consequence of the matzav: visiting the sick, shiva visits, blood drives and packages for soldiers are only some of the activities that can be undertaken. It is beyond the scope of this paper to address whether these actions are appropriate within the one-year program curriculum. Indeed, it can easily be argued that just by spending a year in Israel, learning Torah and growing in mitzvoth, Diaspora students are contributing in a meaningful way to the Jewish nation.  Still, it may be constructive for yeshiva programs to consider whether there is a place to provide students with alternative ways to grapple with the matzav, so that the student who feels that “I wish I could do something to help” can actively do so. 
	Lastly, a colleague who teaches in a girl’s post-high school yeshiva program shared with me that there are some girls who are scared to be in Israel during the matzav. Further, these students are experiencing an inner struggle. While on the one hand, they are actively taught in yeshiva that aliyah is desirable and a religious obligation, they are also being highly restricted in terms of where they are allowed to travel, the implication being that much of Israel and Jerusalem is a dangerous place. While this information was not evident in the current data, it does point to the need for yeshivot to address the potential conflict that can arise between the aliya education they provide and the messages that are implicit in the precautions they set.
Conclusion
	The results of this study suggest that overall, students and parents are satisfied with the measures their programs have taken to ensure their safety during the matzav year. The results also highlight how actions such as communication with parents and updating students provide reassurance and resources. Programs should expect to maintain consistent contact with parents even in “normal” times of no security threat. Finally, this study indicates that learning in Israel during the matzav year has been a powerful and meaningful experience. Yeshiva programs are encouraged to consider the results of this study in preparation for dealing with the matzav, should it continue. In addition, the suggestions put forth in this report are useful to yeshiva programs when responding to any crisis.

REFERENCES
Berger, Shalom Z. (1999). The impact of one-year Israel study on American day school 	graduates. Ten Da’at, 12, 5-14.
Kenny, M. & Perez, V. (1996). Attachment and psychological well-being among racially 	and ethnically diverse first-year college students. Journal of College Student 	Development, 35(5), 527-535.
Lichtenstein, R.; Schonfeld, D.; Kline, M & Speese-Lineham, D. (1995). How to Prepare        for and Respond to a Crisis. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, Alexandria, VA.
Rice, K. (1992). Separation-individuation and adjustment to college: A longitudinal                     study. 	Journal of Counseling Psychology, 39(2), 203-213.
Schacter, Miriam (1999). Familial dissonance as a result of influences of the post-high school Israel yeshiva programs. Audiotape of presentation at Edah’s First International Conference, February 14-15, 1999, NYC.
Taub, D. (1997). Autonomy and parental attachment in traditional-age undergraduate women. Journal of College Student Development, 38(6), 645-653.
Tobin, D. (2000). Parent-child Relationships in the Context of a Year of Study
 	in a Post-High School Yeshiva Program in Israel. ATID Paper (www.atid.org.il)

Appendix A
Questionnaires About the Matzav Administered to Students

Shalom! My name is Dodi Tobin. I am a psychologist and a member of ATID, the Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions. In my capacity as an ATID fellow, I am doing research on students who attend the one-year yeshiva programs in Israel.

I am asking for your help. Attached you will find a short questionnaire which I would be grateful if you would complete. Your answers and opinions are of great value to me. Through my research, I hope to provide information that will help the yeshiva programs provide students with the optimal yeshiva experience.

Please be assured that your responses to this questionnaire will be kept strictly confidential, and will not be seen by any institution. Neither you, nor the Israel program you are in, will be ever be named in the final report.  Your individual responses will be pooled together with those of all other respondents, and findings will be presented in the form of group trends.   

To respond to the multiple choice items, please circle your selection.
 
You may continue any write-in answer on the reverse side of the page, if necessary.

When you have completed the entire questionnaire, please return it to your instructor.

Thank you for your time!

1. I am 
	a) male
	b)female

2. Age: ____

3. Name of Israel program (yeshiva) you are attending: ____________________________________________________________

4. While in Israel, how often have do you have contact with your parents (via telephone, cellphone, email or fax)?
	a) Less than once a week
	b) Once to twice a week
	c) Three to four times a week
	d) Every day
	e) More than once a day

5. During the course of this year, have you left Israel to see your parents?
	a) Not at all
	b) Once
	c) More than once
	
If you answered b or c, please write when and why you went abroad:
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. Did your parents visit you in Israel this year?
	a) Yes 
	b) No

7. What do you think your parent(s) impression of your Yeshiva experience is? (describe briefly)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Has your experience in Israel this year influenced your views about Zionism? If so, how?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
9. Would you like to stay for Shana Bet?
	a) Yes
	b) No

If you answered “yes” to item 9, please answer the following:

9a. With regard to my wish to stay for Shana Bet, my parents are / I expect my parents to be
		a) Very supportive
		b) Moderately supportive
		c) Not at all supportive
	
9b. Please explain briefly the reason for your response to item 18a.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. This year, Israel’s security situation is more tense than in years past. What have been your concerns about being in Israel during this “matzav”?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

11. What have been your parents’ concerns, if any, about your studying in Israel during this “matzav”?
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

12. What steps have your Yeshiva taken to deal with the “matzav”? (please list as many as you are aware of)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

13. How do you feel about the steps your Yeshiva has taken to deal with the “matzav”?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

14. How has the matzav affected your experience in Yeshiva this year (educationally, socially, culturally etc.)?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

15. Are your parents satisfied with the steps your Yeshiva has taken to deal with the “matzav”?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

16. What do you feel has been the most useful thing your Yeshiva has done to help you deal with the “matzav”? 
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

17. I am interested in getting parents’ views on the issues as well. Do you think your parents would be willing to complete a questionnaire like this one?
	a) Yes
	b) No

If you answered “Yes”, please provide me with their email address here:
___________________________________________________________________

As stated earlier, your responses will be kept strictly confidential. 

Thank you so much for your time. 

Appendix B
Questionnaire About the Matzav Administered to Parents

Shalom! My name is Dodi Tobin. I am a psychologist and a member of ATID, the Academy for Torah Initiatives and Directions, founded by Rabbi Chaim Brovender (www.atidfellows.org). In my capacity as an ATID fellow, I am doing research on students who attend the one-year yeshiva programs in Israel. My research is independent and not sponsored by any post-high school programs in Israel. 

I am asking for your help. Attached you will find a short questionnaire. Your daughter or son in Israel has already completed a similar version. In response to a question, “Do you think your parents would be willing to complete a questionnaire like this one?” your child said yes, and provided your email address to me. 
I am writing to ask if you would be willing to complete this questionnaire as well. Your answers and opinions are of great value to me. Through my research, I hope to provide information that will help the yeshiva programs provide students with the optimal yeshiva experience.

Please be assured that your responses to this questionnaire will be kept strictly confidential, and will not be seen by any institution. Neither your names or emails, your child’s name, or the Israel program he or she attends will ever be named in the report.  Your individual responses will be pooled together with those of all other respondents, and findings will be presented in the form of group trends. If you would be able to take a few moments to complete this questionnaire and email it back to me, I would be most grateful.  

To respond to the multiple choice items, place an X next to your selection.
	Example:  My favorite ice cream flavor is:
a.	Chocolate
        x b. Vanilla
c.	Strawberry
 
Some items will require a typed in response, which you can do directly into the email.

When you have completed the entire questionnaire, please email it back to me at dmtobin123@yahoo.com.

Thank you for your time!

1. I am the
	a) father
	b) mother

2. My child is 
a)male
b)female
1.	

3. Name of Israel program (yeshiva) your child is attending: 

4. While in Israel, how often have do you have contact with your child (via telephone, cellphone, email or fax)?
	a) Less than once a week
	b) Once to twice a week
	c) Three to four times a week
	d) Every day
	e) More than once a day

5. During the course of this year, has your child left Israel to come home?
	a) Not at all
	b) Once
	c) More than once
	
If you answered b or c, please write when and why your child came home: 

6. Did you visit your child in Israel this year?
	a) Yes 
	b) No

7. What is your impression of your child’s yeshiva experience? (describe briefly)

8. How has your child’s experience in Israel this year influenced his/her views about Zionism? 
a.	My child’s views about Zionism have not changed
b.	My child has become more Zionistic
c.	My child has become less Zionistic
Additional comments:

9. Would your child like to stay for Shana Bet?
	a) Yes
	b) No

If you answered “yes” to item 9, please answer the following:

9a. With regard to my child’s wish to stay for Shana Bet, I consider myself
		a) Very supportive
		b) Moderately supportive
		c) Not at all supportive
	
9b. Please explain briefly the reason for your response to item 18a.
10. This year, Israel’s security situation is more tense than in years past. What have been your child’s concerns about being in Israel during this matzav (situation)?

11. What have been your concerns, if any, about your child studying in Israel during this matzav?

12. What steps has your child’s yeshiva taken to deal with the matzav? (please list as many as you are aware of)

13. How does your child feel about the steps the yeshiva has taken to deal with the matzav?
a.	Satisfied
b.	Somewhat satisfied
c.	Not at all satisfied
Additional comments:  

14. How do you think the matzav has affected your child’s experience in yeshiva this year (educationally, socially, culturally etc.)?

15. Are you as parents satisfied with the steps the Yeshiva has taken to deal with the matzav?

a. Satisfied
b. Somewhat satisfied
c. Not at all satisfied
Additional comments:  

16. What do you feel has been the most useful thing the Yeshiva has done to help your child deal with the matzav? 

As stated earlier, your responses will be kept strictly confidential. Please return the completed questionnaire to dmtobin123@yahoo.com.
Thank you so much for your time. 

Appendix C
Personal Communications

Personal Communications
1.	Danny Rein, Menahel Ruchani at Beit Midrash LeTorah, Jerusalem.
Personal interview at Beit Midrash LeTorah, January 2001.

2.	Tova Rein, Executive Director of Midreshet Lindenbaum, Jerusalem, Israel.
Personal interview at Midreshet Lindenbaum, January 2001.

3.	Linda Derovan, Director of Admissions and Recruitment at Nishmat, Jerusalem, Israel.
Personal interview at Nishmat, January 2001.

4.	David Katz, Executive Director of Michlelet Mevaseret Yerushalayim, Jerusalem, Israel.
Personal interview at Rabbi Katz’s home, February 2001.

	

	

Appendix D
Excerpts of Emails Sent to Students and Parents by Yeshivot for Girls

Yeshiva A: Excerpt 1
	Well, the quiet we were hoping for didn’t happen. Here is a summary of last night and today’s news (as of 6:20pm).

Last night the events we are used to in the Shtachim continued. The calm of the previous 2 nights was not longer. However, the Israelis Arabs (and Jews for that matter) did not riot within the green line. Shots were fired at people attending the funeral of Rabbi Hillel Lieberman in Shchem as well. No one was hurt…

We wait to see what Arafat will have to say and what happens tonight on the roads of the shtachim… 

I know that I sound like a broken record…but todays events do not endanger you at all! All is the same-we just cannot ease up on the precautions as we were hoping to be able to do…

P.S. Keep smiling and don’t worry (but yes worry for klal yisrael) – keep the davening going.

Yeshiva A: Excerpt 2, written after the “lynching” in Ramallah

Dear Parents,

What a day! There is so much going on in the world that 1 email could never cover all of the events. But I did feel it was time tfor another one of our updates.

All of  your daughters are following our instructions and are enjoying their vacations. We had to re-route a whole bunch for Yom Tov, but everyone has a place and is all taken care of. I was the beneficiary of many of them and I am looking forward to having them all for Yom Tov.

For tomorrow (Friday) we have added the precaution that we would like the girls to travel by taxi and not by public bus. This is not meant to be an ongoing precaution but we do feel that tomorrow in particular is a day to show extra caution…..we just feel an added ounce of precaution is in order after today’s wild events.

…I realize that in every email I keep saying the d\same things over and over (ie your daughters are safe, there is nothing to worry about, we are taking care of them, etc etc etc,) and I appreciate all of the wonderfully supportive emails that you have all been sending back. However, I do want to reiterate that which I keep saying - they are safe, there is nothing to worry about, and we are taking care of them!…They aren’t just safe-they FEEL safe. And that is perhaps almost as important.

Yeshiva B: Excerpt 1

Dear Parents,

Just a quick update before Yom Kippur…

In light of the current situation we have changed our plans and will not be going to Gush Etzion for Yom Kippur. Instead we will be going to two different locations Kibbutz Ein Tzurim and Mitzpe Ramon. Both of these are located on the “politically correct” side of the Green Line. We will be staying at the guest house/youth hostel and davening with the local Yeshiva. We are confident that it will be a memorable Tefila.

In genera, we have instructed our students to be cautious in their travel plans and to check with you if they are considering going to Yehuda and Shomron.

Yeshiva B: Excerpt 2

Dear Parents,

Twenty minutes ago a car bomb went off in the area of Machne Yehuda. I am writing quickly to tell you that the girls were all here in the building studying in their regular classes. The handful of girls who were not in the building have been accounted for either because they called us or we reached them on their cellphones.

The staff will once again talk to them about safety precautions.
Again, everyone is well.

Appendix E

Excerpts from an Informational Flyer Sent to Parents by an Israel Program In the Academic Year 2000-2001

What is X's approach to safety? 

For over 50 years, X and X have been operating Israel programs for Jewish youth from North America and Great Britain. Although an enriching and exciting Israel Experience is certainly our mission the safety and well being of our participants has always been and continues to be our highest priority. Matters of security always take precedence over all other concerns.

All of our programs are adapted, as the security situation requires, in a manner to assure the safety of all participants. This includes the routes, accommodations and security measures taken. We have decades of experience operating programs in normal and abnormal times and our safety record is proven. We are equipped to make any changes necessary mid-course, and to mobilize at a moments' notice to send groups home, should that be necessary or requested. The supervision on all our programs is intense and 
diligent. We scrupulously avoid unsafe places and venues.

Will changes be made to the itinerary as a result of the situation?

While we are hopeful for an easing in the tensions, we cannot predict the circumstances of this coming June, July and August. Generally speaking, in conjunction with the security apparatus in Israel, X routinely examines and re-examines each activity, lodging site, and transportation route to ensure the safety of our participants. To give you an idea of the type of alterations we might make to the itinerary, were the programs to depart
tomorrow, based on the situation as this bulletin is being written, groups would not be going to the City of David (just outside the Old City of Jerusalem), to Machanah Yehuda, the open air market in Jerusalem, or to the Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall in downtown Jerusalem. Following the appropriate security clearances and with the appropriate escort, they would visit the Kotel and the Jewish Quarter of the old City of Jerusalem. These are 
the only changes necessary at this time to continue to ensure the safety of our
participants. As always, the partipants individually and as a group, are prohibited from traveling to the West Bank or Gaza, and prohibited from traveling on public buses.

Afterword

	I believe the research I have undertaken here is the tip of the iceberg, both in terms of generalizability, and in terms of areas that can be explored. Needless to say, a larger sample of parents, students and administrators would have provided more extensive and generalizable information, but time and energy constraints would not allow it. Additionally, there were some important questions that should be asked with regard to yeshivot and the matzav, that were not asked. They include:
1. Why did administrations make the decisions they did regarding safety precautions – how much was motivated by a sense of responsibility, and how much by a need to protect the institution? 

2. Was there any logic in the rules that were made, or were they simply reactive? Is there a need for a logical response plan? Is it possible?

3. How do yeshivot deal with the conflict between the precautions they set and the pro-aliyah messages they send?

It must also be acknowledged that the questionnaire presented to students, in particular, was perhaps too lengthy, and that may have affected the quality of the responses. Further, in an effort not to sound scared or negative, students may not have wanted to admit to fear or other negative feelings vis-א-vis the matzav. The recommendation made to my by Dr. Howard Dietcher that I conduct face-to-face interviews with students, rather than use a questionnaire, is well taken. Again, time constraints did not allow for it, but future research should heed that suggestion.  If , to our sadness, the matzav is to continue, it would be valuable to track the impact of the matzav on the Israel experience through the following year(s),  in order to provide feedback to Israel program administrations.