MIKHAIL

Mikhail came to Israel 3 years ago from Kiev, capital of the Ukraine. He is almost 18 and has one 11 year old sister. His parents were both doctors; here his father has retrained as an anaesthetist, while his mother has not been able to find work as a cardiologist in Haifa, where they live, so she works as a senior cardiac nurse. At home they speak Russian and Mikhail speaks good Hebrew - his parents less so.

Mikhail goes to a local high school, where he is most interested in mathematics and computer science. His hobbies are meeting his friends, going around together and working on his computer. He has a part-time job. He does not belong to any youth movement; he goes to a computer club at the local community center, but is not involved in any of their other activities.

Mikhail's friends are mainly Russian, some are Israeli, and he wants to be together with them in the army next year. Army service in Israel seems different from that in the CIS [former USSR], but it could be shortened if there were peace in the Middle East. There would also be more prosperity and opportunities in Israel. On the other hand, Israel is so small, compared to most other states, that it would be foolhardy in terms of security to give away border territory - so another solution must be found.

Mikhail knew almost nothing about Israel and Jewish tradition when he arrived, and has learned only a little. It is interesting, but not part of his life. He reads about Jewish history and knows from his grandmother about the Holocaust.

MALKA

Malka is 17, and came to Israel at age 11 from Ethiopia via the Sudan in Operation Moses. She remembers that the journey overland from her village in Ethiopia to the Sudan took two weeks and was extremely difficult - a number of adults and children died on the way, including her baby brother.

Today, her family lives in Ashkelon and she studies at an Aliyat Hanoar boarding school. She will finish high school this year and wants to become an officer in the army. Most of Malka's friends are Ethiopian, but not all of them.

While she doesn't feel that people treat her differently because she is Ethiopian, Malka nevertheless feels that children in other families have more opportunities to advance, because their financial situation is better. Malka's father does not have regular work because he has no profession or qualifications and his Hebrew is not good; her mother has never worked outside the home.

Malka is distressed by the fact that many young Ethiopian Jews in Israel are abandoning Jewish traditions they followed in Ethiopia, but she realizes that this is all part of the change the community is experiencing in Israel.

Malka is a keen supporter of the peace process, but hopes that it will not involve too many territorial compromises. "We didn't dream of the land of Israel all these years to see part of it given away now to the Arabs," she says.

DANI

At seventeen and a half, Dani, who hails from Rishon leTzion, has an older brother of 23 - a student - and an older sister, who is 20 and is in the army. His parents were born in Israel; his mother is a sales representative and his father an economist.

The family has never been observant, although they used to light Chanukah candles when he was young; Dani believes life in Israel offers alternatives to Jews today which are more in keeping with life at the end of the 20th century - a national identity.

Dani plays accoustic guitar and is interested in art and literature as well as music. In his free time, he practises with a band and visits friends. At one time he was in the Scouts, but he feels he is now too old for that type of activity and none of his friends go there. Two years ago he joined the Civil Guard and goes out on patrol at night in different neighborhoods of the town once every few weeks. They also do training in self-defense, security and policing, which is really interesting. Dani goes to an Arts high school.

Dani would like to join the music corps in the army, but rates his chances low - so he will try for a top unit, where the service is worthwhile. He believes it's time to end wars, live normally in Israel and that people in the country will vote to give up territory for peace because this is a once-only chance - even if it's not perfect.

JOSH

Josh is 18 and has two sisters [younger] and one brother [older]. He lives with his family in Jerusalem and was born in New York; his family came on aliya 6 years ago. His father is a lecturer and his mother is a social worker. Josh goes to a Yeshiva high school - a religious school. The family speak English and Hebrew at home.

Josh is very enthusiastic about history at school, as well as his Jewish studies. In his free time, he goes to a youth movement, where he also enjoys the volunteering program with children with physical disabilities. Mostly, he studies and spends time with family and friends; occasionally he goes on hikes.

Next year, Josh wants to join the combined Yeshiva/army service program, known as Hesder, which will take 5 years to complete. Most of his friends are going there and they will get into one of the good units. He feels it is also important to have people around you to whom Jewish observance is central, otherwise you start to neglect it.

Josh thinks he would never refuse to serve where he was sent, but does not see every inch of Judea and Samaria as being indispensible to Israel. Saving human lives is more important than retaining land; the people should be allowed to decide whether the terms of an agreement are fair - maybe the pace is a bit fast and it is better to review things now than make mistakes.

The main thing is that Israel should be an example to other countries and peoples as a Jewish state and this would also be easier if the proportion of Jewish residents were higher - if we keep the territories, this ratio will decline.

ETTI

Etti was born in Kiryat Shmonah, where her grandparents came from Morocco. She has two older brothers, both in the army. Her father works in a large bank and her mother teaches kindergarten. The family celebrates all the Jewish holidays, but is not orthodox.

Etti is at a local high school, studying on the vocational track, in her final year, specializing in accounting. Many of her girlfriends already left school and are working, but Etti wants a qualification. In their spare time, they all meet up to go to the cinema or take a trip into Haifa. At weekends, there are discos and parties - everyone smokes and drinks quite a bit, but her friends are not into drugs. Etti has never been in any youth movement - it's not where her friends go.

Many girls don't go to the army, saying they are religious and that the environment is therefore unsuitable. Etti will probably do her service, but expects it to be boring and difficult - although it should be interesting socially.

While she feels few girls do useful jobs in the army, she says it is nevertheless the army which has to defend the country and cannot do it without secure borders: giving back the Golan would imperil all of northern Israel, because one can't rely on these agreements compelling terrorists to cease activities. Judea and Samaria are the same. If the Arab states want to make peace with Israel, they shouldn't only make demands - they should offer real peace.

SIMA

Sima was born in one of the early settlements in Judea, south of Jerusalem. Later, her parents moved north into Samaria, to Kedumim. She is now the eldest of five children. While not orthodox, the family celebrates all the Jewish festivals and Sima went to an area high school which is religious. Sima's father is an engineer and her mother is a pharmacist. Her parents came to Israel as children from Rumania, and Sima understands Rumanian, but doesn't speak the language.

Sima likes science subjects at school and is a medical aide in the local volunteer ambulance service, Magen David Adom, which is really important for the small community where she lives. She learns cardiac massage, resuscitation techniques, how to deliver babies and finds it fascinating and worthwhile - she'd like to study medicine. When she was younger, she belonged to the Betar youth movement and agrees with their views about the importance of Israel having secure borders and the historic value of Israel's claim to the whole land.

Next year, Sima hopes to join the army medical corps, although they take fewer women than men! Career-wise, this will be an important period in her life.

BENI

Beni is just 18 and studies 12 hours a day at the Ponovezh yeshiva in Bnei Brak. His family were originally from Eastern Europe, although his parents were born in Israel. He has four brothers and two sisters - he is the middle child! One brother and one sister are already married.

When Beni is not studying, he helps in his father's goods store; his mother is a high school teacher. Like some of his friends, he spends time "playing around" with computers and finds this an interesting occupation - there is no computer at home, so he goes to friends' homes or is allowed to use one at the yeshiva.

Beni is an excellent yeshiva student and will continue next year; when he gets married, he will study and teach in the Kollel [the section for married students], where he may be able to get an apartment. Many Ponovezh students do basic army service at a later stage, when they start working: Beni may eventually leave Kollel and go into computer sales or something similar.

Right now Beni's priority is to learn as much as possible - the Torah is the only thing that will keep the Jewish people safe in the long run and each student who studies is preserving our security, giving the country strength. The army is important to the country, but faith and devotion to G-d are the primary security and will protect Israel. Whatever the results of peace negotiations, whether we have to return territory or not, is immaterial.

The Jewish people has survived two millenia without a state; being here together is important, but our spiritual survival more so. Beni feels that not only does saving lives come before holding on to land which was historically Jewish, but that the value attributed to the land today is political and ideological, rather than spiritual.