Reply To: What is the OTD situation in E.Y., how does it compare to the US?

One isn’t necessarily worse but teenagers in Israel are more likely to hang out in clubs whereas in America, kids smoke up in someone’s backyard. There’s less middle of the road in Israel than in the US. Some Israeli rebels look to pick fights and steal things. It’s pretty hard to paint OTD in the US with the same brush. There are slight differences between Flatbush, Boro Park, Monsey, and Lakewood, just to name a few. I never heard of a reject Yeshiva for people who grew up religious in Israel. It seems that there are more ways to save kids at risk in the US than in Israel. However, there’s been a huge teshuva movement in Israel among people who grew up not being religious at all. Ironically, American Jews who become BTs usually change when they go to Israel.