Aug. 23, 2007
I went to Israel from April 15 to May 6, 2007 with the Volunteers for Israel Program (www.vfi-usa.org) (www.sar-el.org) and served on a closed military base, in the Tel Aviv Suburb of Yahud near Ben Gurion Airport. Our time was spent inventorying and organizing equipment brought back from the Lebanon War and updating duffle bags of equipment to be issued to reservists upon mobilization. There were volunteers working on about 10 different bases and my group was assigned to work on equipment used by the Parachute Brigade. Israel uses its Parachute Brigade as an elite infantry unit and has used them as paratroopers only once, in the 1956 Suez War. They have, however, a well developed parachute resupply capability and my group worked on the various straps and fittings needed to drop pallets of supplies and equipment from the sky to the soldiers on the ground. We were off each weekend and I had a wonderful opportunity for travel to the Golan, the Negev, Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa.
We proudly wore the uniform of the Israel Army, participated in the daily flag raising, slept in barracks (2 to 5 per room), and ate with the troops in the mess hall. On more than one occasion, senior officers thanked us for our hard work but then said that our being there, as a living demonstration to their solders of support for Israel, was even more important. I worked hard but truly feel that I got far more satisfaction than I gave in effort.
One of the highlights of the trip occurred as I changed Alitalia planes in the Rome Airport before I even got to Israel. For the flight from the USA to Rome I sat next to two Israelis. We slept most of the way and exchanged only a few words that we all had to change in Rome to connect to our flight to Tel Aviv. I got on a long line at the Rome airport for a ticket check ahead of my two seatmates. When I reached the head of the line, I was “selected” to go on a second line to show my baggage receipts for my two pieces of checked luggage. Immediately, there was an Israeli to each side wanting to know why I was separated from the others on line. Until that moment we were strangers but to them I was a fellow Jew who was singled out and might need assistance. Suddenly I felt at home and I wasn’t even there yet.
After arrival and our drive to our base, Sunday was spent meeting our Madrichot (singular Madricha) Karla and Adiv who were young women in the military assigned by the Sar El program of the IDF to chaperone volunteers like us. We were issued our uniforms and bedding, were assigned our billets and began meeting our fellow volunteers.
Monday was Yom Hashoah v’ha Gevurah the commemoration of the Holocaust in Europe and a remembrance of those who served in the resistance. Sirens sounded across Israel, all traffic came to a stop, and drivers stood outside their cars. We volunteers were brought to a paratroop training base where we stood in formation with almost 500 trainees and staff as the sirens sounded. I noticed that the face of Israel has changed considerably since my last visit 18 years ago. It is now predominantly Middle Eastern and North African and no longer mostly Eastern European looking. I didn’t understand the remarks in Hebrew by the commander and the chaplain but it was obvious that our participation was important to them.
Tuesday we began work on a nearby transportation base where supplies and vehicles are stored until needed, in the event of a call up of reserves. To get there we had to drive along the perimeter of Ben Gurion airport. We noted that the outer fence of the airport was electrified and was protected by guard dogs in additional to a motorized patrol. That evening was Adiv’s 19th birthday and we volunteers took her out for a birthday dinner. Adiv is very observant and so we let her select the restaurant. It was quite small and had a central take out room with dining rooms to each side. Our group took an entire side dining room. The food was outstanding and so plentiful that none of us could finish. We sat mixed men and women volunteers without head coverings. At the end of the meal we noticed that Adiv was saying a private grace after the meal and so she would not need to pray alone we all began to chant the prayer with her. An orthodox couple in the take out room which had looked askance at our mixed seating, etc. broke into smiles as we loudly offered our prayer. Hopefully they learned a lesson that we have more in common than separates us.
Thursday we worked only a half day before leaving for the weekend. We inspected two giant bins of web gear used to hold an individual soldier’s ammunition and personal supplies. We found a considerable amount of ammunition left behind and in one of the pockets I found three white round stones wrapped in the 23rd Psalm in Hebrew. What happened to the owner of this “good luck” piece? I will never know! We had a long conversation with a 20 year old solder who was once a member of the elite Givati Brigade. He was assigned to counter intelligence and by his own admission was kicked out for use of excessive force in interrogating Palestinians. No other combat unit will take him and he was assigned to our supply base until the end of his enlistment. I felt very sorry for him and yet felt good that in punishing him, Israel had taken a strong stand against prisoner abuse.
Friday and Saturday we went on a tour to the North of Israel. We visited Caesarea and Mount Carmel had lunch in a Druze village then went to the port of Acre after which we went to the King Solomon Hotel in Tiberius overlooking the Sea of Galilee. I met two Russians who were on the tour but assigned to another group of volunteers. One explained that he knew he was Jewish but because of communism he had no knowledge about his Jewish religion. He joined the volunteer program because, although irreligious, he was a fervent Zionist and was just beginning to learn a little about Judaism as a religion. Saturday we went to the baptismal sight along the Jordan River and then to Kibbutz Dagania which has about 7000 members and Kibbutz Bet Alpha which has a wonderfully preserved floor from a 2000 year old synagogue.
Back to the base and to work on Sunday Morning. We were bussed to the transportation base for a special celebratory lunch in Honor of Yom ha Zicharon tomorrow. This holiday is a combination of our Veteran’s day and Armed Forces Day. A long list of promotions was announced. In the evening we went to the paratroop memorial for a ceremony in honor of the fallen members of the brigade. Once again, the sirens sounded across all Israel and all traffic came to a stop. There seemed to be around 600 members of the brigade present. We volunteers were given seats of honor a row behind the retired veterans and alongside the widows, and orphans of fallen members. It was very touching to see the young children of current and fallen members following, with their bodies, the commands to the honor guard; “Attention”, “At Ease”, “Parade Rest”.
On Monday we went back to the paratroop memorial for our first religious service since arriving in Israel. There were songs and readings by members of the brigade followed by psalms, Kaddish and the chanting of El Molay Rachamim by the brigade chaplain. Our work for the week was over and after the ceremony we took a bus to Jerusalem. From my window at the King Solomon Hotel I could see the Wall of the Old City. I walked to the King David hotel to make my phone calls from their lobby and then walked to the JTS Campus and to The Ben Yehuda shopping mall. In the evening I heard the sound of celebratory fire works but I did not leave my room because I was too tired and it was too chilly outside.
Tuesday was Yom Ha Atzmaut and we walked thru the bazaar to the Wall. Two of us were asked to be the 9th and 10th for a minyan at the wall. Just when I thought the service should be ending they launched into a complete Hallel in honor of the holiday. It took a bit over an hour for us to be able to break away. I must admit, however, that in praying with these people, I truly felt connected. We were exhausted from our walking and took a cab back to the hotel. The driver offered us a good deal and we let him take us back to Tel Aviv to meet the bus back to the base. We took the new highway and there was a wall to either side of the road as we drove thru the west bank. To me it looked like a noise barrier but I am sure the Arabs must view it differently because it separates many of their villages for the sake of Israeli cars and trucks using the road.
Thursday morning Carla and Adiv took us on a trip to the Ayalon Institute. This is the Kibbutz set up by the Hagannah to manufacture ammunition before the War of Independence. There was a laundry and a bakery atop the underground factory to hide the sound of the machinery. They then took us on a walking tour thru Neve Tzedek which was the original Jewish neighborhood built outside the walls of Jaffa. It is now a part of Tel Aviv and an artist’s colony undergoing gentrification. Because we were travelling as a group outside military control, Adiv had to draw an M16 and carried it all day. Just as I got used to this I saw a group of school children on an outing accompanied by some mothers and one father carrying an M1 carbine. How sad for us and for these children that we need to be protected this way.
Friday morning we left for our tour of the Negev. We stopped first at Latrun fortress which was a British fort controlling the road to Jerusalem. It was successfully defended by the Jordan League during the War of Independence despite repeated Hagannah attacks. It is now the museum of the IDF Armor Corps and has samples of every piece of armored equipment used by Israel along with samples of each piece of armor used against Israel. We stopped off at Beit Shemish winery for a tasting and then to see the bell caves on Bet Guvrun Kubbutz. Over the centuries limestone has been excavated from these caves and the remaining caverns are a most interesting sight.
Next we drove to Be’er Shiva which with its population of 200,000 is the beautiful capital of the Negev. It is here that the cultivated area ends and the Negev truly begins. Just outside the modern city is the biblical city of Be’er Shiva. It is here that King Solomon built a giant cistern to trap the annual rain fall. We spent the night at a Bedouin encampment which turned out to be a big disappointment because the individual who usually explains their society was away. There was a sound of dogs barking all night but at least we were upwind from the camels. Their women are totally invisible. Men have up to 4 wives and 12 to 15 children each. On Saturday we continued our travel with a stop at Sde Boker which was the kibbutz desert home of David Ben Gurion. Ben Gurion firmly believed that the future of Israel depended on development of the Negev. The Negev is not a desert of sand dunes but an arid area with small low bushes and occasional areas covered by white stone. When it rains it comes down in torrents which wash down into deep wadis which dry out rapidly after the water has passed. The gravesite for David Ben Gurion and his wife Paula is about five miles from their home atop a hill overlooking a giant wadi flowing east to west. It is quiet, reverential and understated.
From the gravesite we began our return trip passing by the Dead Sea and Masada thru a barren area of very high hills with many cave entrances. We stopped at Qumran which was the location of the community that wrote and hid the Dead Sea Scrolls. I had always pictured this area as limited to the cave in which the scrolls were found but recent excavation has unearthed the site of the entire large community.
After work on Sunday Carla and Adiv took us to Azrili’s Shopping Mall in Tel Aviv. This is a very upscale four level mall with a host of familiar retailers and a wide selection of fast food restaurants. Many of the retailer’s names were in English adding to the feeling of familiarity. All of the transplanted food chains such as Burger King, McDonalds and Sbaro are kosher. After work on Monday we visited the nearby Supersol Supermarket. Prices were higher for items imported from the US but lower than the US for items imported from European manufacturers. Ben and Jerry’s ice cream was $7.00US per pint. The display of family size frozen entrees seemed much larger than in NYC area supermarkets.
Tuesday morning several busloads of activated reservists arrived to do their monthly 3 days service. They began to rig parachutes to equipment to be dropped in a training exercise to take place next week. Some of them were quite unhappy to be called up and we felt good that some who might have also been called up were not because of our presence. After work, we were taken on a tour of the old Arab city of Jaffa. We walked to the heights and looked down, across the bay to Tel Aviv. Much renovation along the Jaffa waterfront is being done. The hope is that the after the construction, the waterfront will still be accessible to the inhabitants.
Thursday we turned in our uniforms and bedding in preparation of going our separate ways. First we had a small ceremony in which Carla and Adiv gave us our certificates of service and recognition lapel pins. We then met with the colonel commanding the paratroopers, the lieutenant colonel commanding our base, the major commanding the training installation and the supply sergeant for whom we had worked. Each expressed his thanks to us for the work we had done and we in turn spoke individually thanking them for the experience. We then went to the mess hall for our final lunch with the soldiers. The colonel repeated his thanks to us, to the soldiers present, and then asked one the sergeants to stand at attention. To his obvious surprise the sergeant’s parents appeared, from the rear door, to give him his new stripes as a master sergeant. The father spoke in Hebrew of his pride that each of his four sons was in a different elite unit of Israel’s military. A very emotional ending
I was brought to the train station to travel to Haifa. Only 12 shekels (equal to $3.00 US) for the one hour high speed express train ride followed by a short cab ride to my hotel in Haifa. I had chosen to go to Haifa to attend services with Riverdale Temple’s sister congregation “Or Hadash”.
The congregation sits atop a rise on a hilly street which gives it a feeling that you are in San Francisco. Off the entrance is the modern white chapel with blue trim. As a credit to the architect it seems quite small and warm and yet it held over 200 for the service. The flags of Israel and the USA are on display at the foot of the Bimah. Also on the main floor is a class/meeting room, an elevator connecting all levels, a staircase going up to Rabbi Nof’s study and a large meeting room. There is also a staircase going down to the nursery school area, parking area and bomb shelter.
The bomb shelter is a large open area beneath the ground level which is dominated by a Dr. Seuss looking device which I was told was for rapid change and cleaning of the air in the event of a chemical or radiological attack. At the entrance is a solid steel anti-blast door and there are also five escape ladders leading to the surface thru false windows.
At the beginning of services visitors are invited, by name, to either open the ark or light Sabbath candles. This gives the congregation a good opportunity to know who is a visitor so they can be hospitable.
Prior to services Rabbi Nof has a large class of the year’s bnai mitzvah candidates. They stay for services and are called up for a group aliyah making for a very youthful looking congregation. All post bnai mitzvah up to about 18 years of age were also invited up for a group aliyah later in the service.
The service is very similar to one in the USA and I felt very much at home with the familiar words and melodies. The biggest difference is that the entire service is in Hebrew although page numbers are announced in both Hebrew and English. Rabbi Nof played the guitar as he led the service. Following more traditional practice, they recite the Amidah in silence and recite all three paragraphs of the Shema rather than only the first paragraph as in most USA Reform services.
At the end of the service, each out-of-town guest was given a gift of a small shopping bag containing a baseball cap with an Or Hadash imprint, a bar of candy and a copy of the Sabbath Folder which is printed in both English and Hebrew. Because I had called in advance to let them know I was coming, my name was printed in the Sabbath folder.
I truly felt at home with Rabbi Nof and his congregational members. We hosted their children last summer when they were in the United States and some of the congregants I met were aware that members of Riverdale Temple were of financial assistance to them when rockets were landing nearby during the last Lebanon War.
I took a sherut (taxi taking multiple passengers) from Haifa back to Tel Aviv where I had a day of rest prior to the long flight home. From my conversations with Israelis in and out of the military I found a consensus that:
· They expect a war within six months in Lebanon. They feel that Israel learned some valuable lessons the last time and must now teach Hezbullah a decisive lesson to restore Israel’s leverage in the area. The occasional newspaper hints of secret talks with Syria are taken as an attempt by Syria to come to an accommodation before the outbreak of new fighting.
· There is a feeling that the Russians are not really Jewish and are not assimilating into the general population. “Once we were one people and now we are two” said one of our bus drivers.
· Many believe that Olmert cannot survive politically for long. The longer he hangs on, however, the larger a majority Netanyahu could get, out of frustration, in the next election. This could, in the opinion of several, lead to the first majority government in years.
