Kids today have plenty of distractions. The past summer was probably spent looking forward to practicing with a new grunge brand, or in the throes of another blissful camp romance. Maybe your kids have no desire to identify with a place "full of religious people," or perhaps they take issue with Israeli politics and the general climate of uneasiness.

What is a parent supposed to do? Emphasizing the "Jewish homeland" aspect will only get you so far, says Rabbi Arthur Vernon, director of educational development for the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA), a New York-based organization that offers a lot of support for communities and organizations with Israel programs.

Vernon suggests pushing a more universal approach, such as viewing Israel as the origin of Western Civilization and the cradle of the world's three great religions. "You can't reach Jewish kids today with a narrow, communal, parochial message; that's not where the kids are at, and it's not where their parents are at, either," he says.

Israel should be looked at as a place with something for everyone, Vernon suggests. If your teen is interested in the environment, art, archeology, or a variety of other hobbies, he or she can find these interests in Israel.

"I think that Israel provides an interesting context for some of those issues," says Vernon. "Jewish kids are looking to be human beings first. But it's all there; Israel's a modern country with all the richness, challenges, and diversity that everyone else has. Israel needs to be presented as a modern miracle of nation-building, society-building, economy-building and people-building."

Unfortunately, he says, many teens—and often their parents—have misperceptions of Israel that range from seeing it as a Third-World, underdeveloped country to viewing it as a place where the only thing people do all day is pray. Other kids who are socially aware, Vernon says,might not want to go because they see it as an unjust society.

"We need to explain that it's a part of the world that is different and complicated,"Vernon says. "It's a developed country—a prosperous place."

Director of Israel Programs for the Reform movement’s lay organization, the Union of Reform Judaism, Paul Reichenbach, says that the curriculum in synagogue education must be "altered so that a trip to Israel is seen as a transforming experience.We’re never going to get [kids] to consider it unless there are positive messages about the people, the history, and the culture."