The Jewish Agency Sela Program involves high school graduates from the FSU (and now also from Argentina) getting a three-month, intensive taste of Israel as they look into the possibility of Aliyah before their families. Some 1,000-1,500 young adults attend the program annually. The Karmiel Absorption Center is hosting its 6th Sela "class", with this group number 78 participants. The program has a very high success rate, as measured by the number of people who do in fact make aliyah, and by the number of parents who follow suit.

Raisa Altorzeba, Karmiel Absorption Center

Sela Students from Karmiel Absorption Center

The current political situation in Israel is not so good. There are a lot of terror attacks, and people are afraid of walking in the street and gathering in public places at ease. One can't tell where danger awaits.

We have arrived in Israel 5 months ago from states formerly in the USSR. We were better off in our homeland where we had peace and quiet, and people still haven't adapted to the unstable circumstances; however we now live in Israel, and none of us (the SELA students) had gone back. Everybody is still here despite the situation, and we believe this is our home, and that all Jews should move to Israel. We live in the northern part of Israel, which is typically a quiet region, therefore we do not have a taste of what the population in other areas in the country are facing, yet we can not be at ease.

Everybody knows we are currently in a state of was, even though it has not yet been officially declared. The people in Israel are strong and they can influence the situation. Life, therefore, goes on and if we believe so- everything is going to be all right. We think that soon everything will be back to normal.

Olga Schwartz, Karmiel Absorption Center

We are part of the SELA project, people ages 17-18 who arrived in Israel a short while back, approximately six months ago. We study in Karmiel, which is a small town in the north of Israel, the most beautiful in the region, and most important - a quiet place. Therefore, while I stay here, it is very difficult to explain the situation in other areas of the country. I can not say for certain that the conclusions that I have drawn according to what I have seen and heard are a 100% true.

I believe Israel is currently in a state of war, even though nobody says it out loud, and it scares me to think of all the people-civilians hurt by terror attacks. One can not tell were danger awaits, and it is not a comfortable feeling to be under stress at all times. The people I spoke with agree that these are not good times for the state of Israel, yet we have gotten used to bad times and life must go on.

Life in Israel does go on despite everything that happens. This is the reality of life in Israel. I can not say that the current situation affects us, since we knew that from the establishment of the state of Israel, it was involved in numerous war situations, yet we always won, since we had no other choice. The Israel Defense Force is the strongest army in the world, and I believe everything is going to be just fine.

Adar 5762 - February 2002