ROCKETS DON'T FAZE LOCAL TEENS IN ISRAEL.

Byline: JUDY O'ROURKE Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA -- When Sophie Zlotnik and Jacob Weiner perused brochures for summer youth trips to Israel, never in their wildest dreams did they foresee that on Day 6 of their itinerary, Hezbollah would be lobbing rockets into the country's popular tourist areas.

The two local teens are among 5,000 visiting Israel this summer, and few have come home since the bloody fighting erupted 11 days ago.

Sophie's group, sponsored by the B'nai B'rith Youth Organization, was rappelling in a desert crater in the Nagev at a popular tourist attraction in southern Israel on Tuesday.

When they saw a group of Israeli soldiers, the teens posed playfully with them.

``After, we learned they were there for a reason,'' Sophie, 15, said Thursday in a telephone interview from Jerusalem.

Sophie said the youths later were told by a program director that the soldiers had caught someone who tried to set off a missile nearby.

``It's hard to imagine only minutes before, there was fighting; it's really scary,'' she said.

Sophie's parents, Ari and Debbie Zlotnik, said they talk to their daughter every day and would have flown her home before her group's planned return today from the three-week trip if any of them had doubts about her safety.

``I'm not scared for my life,'' Sophie said. ``I'm scared these things are happening. Those soldiers we saw before, they might be fighting now.''

Directors from an array of youth programs touring Israel are in daily contact with one another and with Israel's Ministry of Education, which monitors the groups' activities, said Matthew Grossman, executive director of the BBYO.

The ministry tells them what areas to avoid, and of the 210 teens participating in the BBYO program, only about 15 have chosen to return home early.

Israeli guides, a guard, a medic and counselors accompany the teens on tour buses.

``It's very strange to see all the restaurants have guards in front; even at the mall you have to go through a security guard,'' Sophie said. ``Here it's possible there could be a bomb in somebody's backpack. Every time you see them arguing in Hebrew, you're afraid something's going to happen.''

Rabbi Steve Conn said he often is reminded of Sophie, and fellow congregant Jacob Weiner, due home next week.

``They are each day subjected to a barrage of rockets, which is something kids in Santa Clarita would never experience, thank God,'' he said.

Bombings in the Golan Heights missed Sophie's group by a day. The teens had visited a Druze village and the town of Tzfat.

``We probably saw people that may be dead now,'' Sophie said. ``It's just terrifying. It was beautiful; the food was really good. Now it's bombed, horrible.''

She says the opportunity to see such historic sights and talk with local residents -- while also having fun kayaking, climbing and making new friends -- outweighs her uneasiness. Her sister Rachel, 17, wants her home.

``It's a war zone, with bombs going off when she's sleeping,'' Rachel said. ``They have a guard with them, but that just advertises that they're Americans: `Come bomb us.'''

Rachel, who volunteers at a retirement home and works as a lifeguard at Six Flags California's Hurricane Harbor, said her friends inquire about her sister.

``I had friends call me when they see stuff on TV with Hezbollah and they say `Is your sister OK? Is she alive?''' she said.

Debbie Zlotnik scans the Internet for news updates, and froze recently when she saw an erroneous account that Jerusalem, where Sophie was headed, was bombed.

Then she realized the incident happened in Nazareth when no other sites carried the faulty account.

The State Department warns of threats to American citizens and U.S. interests in Israel, including in Jerusalem and the West Bank and Palestinian-controlled Gaza Strip.

``The Hezbollah continues to launch numerous rocket attacks into Israel, which have resulted in fatalities and injuries to civilians,'' said Joanne Moore, a spokeswoman for the agency. ``This is a volatile and extremely dangerous situation.''

Adam Weiner, 17, who is due to return from a bus trip along the California coast about a week after his brother, Jacob, returns from a six-week trip to Poland and Israel, says his brother is having a great time and feels safe.

Many of Adam's friends are traveling with Jacob.

``I got a call when the first bombing happened,'' he said. ``I was definitely worried ... It definitely freaked me out.''

He made sure his brother was safe and keeps his cell phone nearby at all times.

Two years ago, Matthew Weiner, 20, visited many of the spots Jacob now is touring on his United Synagogue Youth-affiliated trip.

``When I was in Israel, I felt safer than the night in New York before I went to Israel,'' he said. ``We were experiencing a lot of the same things.''

Their dad, Rich Weiner, says the tensions have been long-standing.

``(Israelis) live life every day,'' he said. ``There is always some kind of tension going on. (The question is), is it small or is it big? They live a relatively normal life.''

Only three teens among the 400 USY teens traveling through Israel have returned home early, said Joel Baker, executive director of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, Pacific Southwest region.

The itineraries of both programs were changed since the bombings began, and Baker said the teens send news home faster than the Internet.

``With all kids having cell phones, they're telling their parents what we don't get from the media for a few hours,'' he said.

``Parents are in a much more comfortable place than if they heard a Katyusha rocket's hit and we're 200 miles away.''

judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com

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(color) Sophie Zlotnick, 15, will be returning this weekend with her youth group from a three-week tour of Israel.