DRUG ABUSE HITS HOME

(May 29) - Elisha Brand wanted to live. To his friends, the tragedy of his
death is compounded by the broad brush with which the "drug culture" is
painted, and the assumption that anyone within it is lost - a "junkie." The
power of Elisha's life was shown by the impact of his death, which led five
of his friends to enter drug rehabilitation programs.

Elisha, 18, was a "kikarist," one of the kids who congregate in Jerusalem's
Kikar Zion. The square in the city's center can hardly be described as a
bad part of town, and most of the young people there come for the
nightlife, not for drugs. Yet drugs are part of the kikar scene, both for
youth from native Israeli and Anglo (English-speaking) backgrounds. Since
his death two weeks ago, apparently from a drug overdose, the kikar has
become a place to remember his short life.

According to his mother, however, remembering Elisha's life is hardly
sufficient. "Tears are nice," Chaya Sara Brand told The Jerusalem Post last
week, "but what Elisha would want is the tears to reach ground level and
fertilize the growth of the kind of programs that will bring people
together in the spirit of acceptance and love." The first sign of such an
impact would be ending the denial that is the first impediment of any
solution to the drug problem.

Though denial is a common, in some ways natural, response for almost any
parent or community, the national religious and haredi communities in
general - and Anglo immigrants in particular - seem more vulnerable to this
danger.

A religious upbringing and economic stability do not provide immunity from
drug abuse, any more than a secular orientation or poverty are automatic
risk factors. If anything, the perception - both within the community and
by social agencies - that Anglos were above such problems has produced a
dangerous shortage of attention and resources.

As Raquel Sanchez of the Rose Institute observed, "The only reason it got
so bad on the kikar is that Americans in general were seen as a population
that did not need any help." According to Sanchez, this is true even among
Anglos, who give generously to help other immigrant communities, but are
sometimes blind to needs on their own doorsteps.

Such attitudes are slowly changing as public agencies, such as the
capital's Kidum Noar, are recognizing that there is a drug problem in the
Anglo community that desperately needs more attention. Once the problem is
recognized, the solutions lie both in applying tools that have been used
for some time in other sectors, and in recognizing the special risks
associated with Anglo immigrants.

Regardless of the community, for example, experts on drug abuse agree that
working with parents as well as children is critical. Many parents assume
that the child alone must be treated, when changing their own relationship
with the child can be half the battle. Other parents sense that they could
play a larger role in addressing the problem, but feel helpless and without
tools to begin.

In addition to tapping in to existing drug abuse programs, the Anglo
community would do well to learn from the Diaspora communities that are a
step ahead, both in terms of recognition and treatment of the problem. In
Brooklyn, New York, for example, youth centers designed to combat drug
abuse have opened in Orthodox communities, and parent support groups such
as Mothers Aligned Saving Kids (MASK) are spreading.

In addition, less savory aspects of the Israel-Diaspora connection cannot
be ignored. According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, Russian
and Israeli organized crime groups have become major transporters of the
drug Ecstasy into the United States. A physician who runs a substance abuse
program in Elizabeth, New Jersey, recently told US News and World Report
that reports of children in Orthodox communities abusing drugs "have
skyrocketed." In the face of the danger of a worsening drug problem,
illusions of immunity are perhaps the worst enemy. Both in Israel and the
Diaspora, the Jewish community needs to greatly increase its support for
drug rehabilitation programs and youth centers.

Educational efforts to prevent drug abuse are, of course, necessary for
children, but perhaps even more critical for parents, for whose role in
prevention and treatment no institution can be a substitute.