By Iantha Sidell and Neil Ross, Special to JTNews
Showing solidarity with the people of Israel during a critical time, we joined more than 100 lay and professional leaders from more than 40 Jewish communities across North America on the United Jewish Communities’ (UJC) Annual Campaign Chairmen and Directors Mission, July 7–12, 2002. The mission afforded us the opportunity to express our unity with Israelis and see first-hand their needs and daily life challenges.
The mission began with a meeting with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who implored us to continue to raise our voices against terrorism and thanked the Americans for their support during this 22-month war. He urged all Americans to come to Israel and volunteer at this tragic time. Dr. Reuven Hazan, a political scientist at Hebrew University, also addressed the mission, stating that the intifada will continue as long as Yasser Arafat is in power.
Our next stops included hands-on volunteerism. One group helped to renovate the Jabotinsky Youth Club adjacent to the Calanit Absorption Center in Ashkelon. Others helped to prepare and pack “care packages” to send to “solitary soldiers.” The soldiers receiving the packages are usually olim (new immigrants), who have no family in Israel. Some helped to renovate facilities in the Yafit Absorption Center, while others helped to build a playground for the Ethiopian community in Ramla. We visited the Neve Hanna Residential Facility for Children at Risk in Kiryat Gat, painting murals for the facility while doing crafts and playing with the children.
All of these stops led us to our destination of Beersheva, where we were greeted by Mayor Yaacov Terner. Our site visits in Beersheva were planned so we could hear “Personal Stories of Aliya.” We met olim from Argentina, Ethiopia and the former Soviet Union. We heard their stories and struggles of their new lives in Israel, and toured the programs and facilities that are instrumental in supporting these new citizens.
The next day, heading back towards Jerusalem, many stops included visiting at-risk populations; young children who have come from broken homes; shelters for battered women; and a home for adolescent girls that provides a secure, safe home and hope for the abused and neglected. We spent some time in the Florentine neighborhood, south of Tel Aviv, where the “Mahapach” program is empowering people to improve their neighborhoods through education, outreach, structure and programming.
We met with Israel Defense Forces soldiers wounded in the line of duty and the officers and staff who are accompanying them and their families through rehabilitation. We met with Jewish volunteers of the Diaspora who have come to Israel to participate in the Jewish Agency’s joint program with Magen David Adom Ambulance Corps. We met individuals whose lives were saved due to their being in an armored vehicle while under sniper fire, and heard personal stories from recipients of the Fund for Terror Victims.
A highlight of the mission was visiting with Israeli youth spending a safe and fun summer at multitudes of day camps throughout Israel. As many as 230,000 children are participating in the camps this summer due to the generosity of North American Jews who have contributed to the Israel Emergency Campaign (IsraelNow). Keeping children safe during the summer is a top priority of the IsraelNow Campaign, and the children told us they were scared at home and that they love coming to camp.
Our mission of 110 people represented 60 percent of all tourism in Israel that whole week! Every Israeli, from the taxi drivers to victims of terror, thanked us so much for coming to Israel. The hotels are 7 percent occupied (5 percent of that are journalists covering the war). Many stores and restaurants have closed; unemployment is rising, but the spirit of the Israeli people is unwavering.
It is so important to visit Israel now. We met one soldier who told us that we Americans were the real heroes — that his job is to be in the army, and that Americans could just sit home and do nothing, but Americans are not doing that! We hope that encourages everyone reading this article to go to Israel. We are planning a community mission in December, so your opportunity is just around the corner.
We are so grateful for the opportunity to see our Jewish Federation’s Community Campaign and IsraelNow Emergency Fund dollars at work in Israel — and also, to be there to witness firsthand the immense needs that still exist. We want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported the Community Campaign this past year. You have helped to keep Israel strong at this tragic time and every Israeli is so grateful — every Israeli wanted us to tell you “thank you” as well.
(For information about upcoming missions to Israel, contact David Sabban at 206-774-2258 or [email protected] or visit our Web site at www.jewishinseattle.org.)