ROCKVILLE STUDENTS ACCUSED OF MARIJUANA USE IN ISRAEL

Three Rockville Jewish day school students were arrested Friday in
Israel for allegedly buying or using marijuana at a school there,
according to e-mails sent to parents and sources familiar with the
incident. Six other students from Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School
were asked to leave the Israeli campus, where they were participating
in the study abroad program.

The three U.S. citizens allegedly purchased marijuana and brought it
to the Alexander Muss Institute for Israel Education in Hod HaSharon,
according to two e-mails sent to school families. Their six
classmates were accused of either buying or using marijuana, said the
e-mail from Jonathan Cannon, head of the school.

Some students from a school in Atlanta also were implicated in the
case, although details of their involvement were not known.

An Israeli court released the three students to their families
Monday. Court officials did not indicate whether there would be
further action against them, according to the sources, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because of what they called the sensitivity of the case.

Asked to respond, officials with Charles E. Smith, the largest Jewish
day school in the United States with about 1,500 students, issued a
statement: "While we cannot comment on the specifics of the
situation, we want to underscore that the CESJDS does not condone or
tolerate conduct of this nature as part of our school culture or any
program with which our school is associated. Both CESJDS and the
Alexander Muss Institute for Israel Education (AMIIE) have very clear
rules and policies that prohibit the type of conduct that has been
alleged in this situation. In light of this situation, the school
will review its program to determine ways to better educate students
on these matters."

About 100 Charles E. Smith students were spending 11 weeks in Israel,
along with other U.S. students, to learn about the history and
contemporary life of the country.

They had graduated in February but went to Israel under the auspices
of the Rockville school and were enrolled at the institute, which
calls itself the only nondenominational, accredited academic program
in Israel for English-speaking high school juniors and seniors.

An e-mail sent to parents Sunday noted that the situation "can have
ramifications for the participants beyond the immediate events of the
last few days." Some parents wondered whether Charles E. Smith
intended to inform colleges that had accepted the students for the
fall. Some of them have been accepted at top universities.

The e-mail also called what had occurred "a serious incident" and
added: "The students who were directly involved are good kids who
made poor judgments but did so knowing the consequences of their
actions. . . . While we do not condone their actions, we believe they
are deserving of our community support as they face the next days and weeks."

Roz Landy, head of Charles E. Smith's upper school, flew to Israel on
Monday morning to deal with the aftermath, according to Sunday's
e-mail and another sent Monday.

Julie Liss, co-chairman of the Parent Teacher Organization, said she
could not comment. Co-chairman Michelle Walfish did not return phone
calls, nor did Nancy Hamburger, head of the trustees board.