A Day on the Front Lines

Today I had the tremendous privilege of standing literally on the front lines with our brothers and sisters in Israel. I arrived in Israel last evening to participate as a delegate from the National Council of Young Israel on an emergency mission to Israel sponsored by the Rabbinical Council of America.

I just returned to Jerusalem after a fourteen hour suspense-filled day that included briefings on the Gaza border and a visit to the bomb shelters of Sderot.

Today's itinerary was spearheaded by Rabbi Heshy Billet of the Young Israel of Woodmere, who was praised by the IDF, JNF and political leadership for his tremendous dedication to the effected Israeli communities.

Our day began at 8am with a government briefing in Jerusalem from Justice Minister Yaakov Neeman. Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister, Minister Neeman thanked the delegation of rabbinic and lay leadership from the United States for its steadfast support for Israel and the Jewish people.

At this critical juncture in Israel's history, Minister Neeman praised the unity and morale of the Jewish people in its support of the residents of southern Israel. Looking at the miracles of our time, he said that the Jewish people should be reciting the Al Hanissim everyday, not just on Purim and Chanukah, and he closed his remarks by stating that the life insurance policy for our people is our faith in Hashem and in Torah study.

We next received a military briefing from a senior officer of the IDF, explaining to us the nature of the conflict with Hamas and the landscape of the Gaza Strip as it pertains to Israeli cities and towns. He emphasized the "extreme shock" of the Hamas and Islamic Jihad leadership regarding the success of the IDF. There was discussion of the need to control and prevent the smuggling of weapons into Gaza from the Sinai and how the Iron Dome system has been a "game changer" in the conflict.

Next, the delegation boarded buses and traveled to the Gaza border. On the way, there was a Code Red alert of incoming rocket fire, prompting us to leave the buses and seek cover on the side of the road.

We arrived at the Gaza border, surrounded by thousands of IDF reserve and active duty units, with tanks and infantry soldiers ready to enter Gaza. We were briefed by a General Officer, who told us that the IDF was ready to fulfill its mission and only awaited a political decision regarding initiating a ground operation.

The environment was intense, with the possibility of the ground invasion commencing at a moment's notice. Tanks could be seen firing shells in the direction of Gaza.

An Iron Dome battery sat a short distance away from us, ready to respond to incoming rockets. Three Kassam rockets were then fired from Gaza, visible to us and heading in the direction of Ashkelon.

We then drove to Sderot, where the mayor greeted us and spoke of the achdus of our people. He spoke of the bravery of the residents of Sderot and the other southern communities, who have persevered for years from intermittent rocket attacks.

We met with the children of Sderot at their indoor playground, the largest in Israel. We learned that every facet of the playground, constructed by the JNF, had to accommodate the need to get to the bomb shelter portion of the building within 15 seconds of an alert. Thus, the rock climbing wall could only be of a modified height and a planned merry- go-round had to be scratched because it takes too long to stop it in the event of an attack.

While the town streets of Sderot were silent and eerily empty, the hundreds of residents we met and spoke with demonstrated to us the incredible resolve of our people.

We then traveled to Soroka University Medical Center in Beer Sheva, where ambulances were literally pulling up to the emergency room with wounded soldiers from incoming Kassam attacks in the area. The deputy mayor of Beer Sheva greeted us at the hospital and explained the tremendous danger to the residents of southern Israel.

We visited wounded soldiers, civilians and their families in the hospital intensive care unit, offering words of chizuk and misheberach prayers for the injured.

Two of the soldiers, blinded by an anti-tank rocket attack on their jeep, intoned "Amen" upon our prayer for their full refuah. Tears flowed from their family members and from the delegates.

We boarded the buses at 8:00pm, to then see on our television monitor an announced cease fire, effective at 9:00pm Israel time.

As I sit quietly back in Jerusalem and take stock of the day I've just witnessed first hand, the only thought that comes to my mind is Mi K'Amcha Yisrael.

What an honor to be a part of the Jewish people, in Eretz HaKedosha, as we go from strength to strength.

Charles Miller
Treasurer--NCYI

Final Update from Ariel

Dear friends,

I hope this email finds you well. 

We are all filled with very mixed feeling and emotions. So many question marks..... 

The last couple of days were anything but normal. I mean that we "got so used to" the crazy situation that we live in, that it felt normal to hear the sirens. How crazy is that? We pretended everything was ok and just had to cope with 4-5 sirens a day. 

Yesterday I went down south with a group of American rabbis from all across the USA. Rabbis from NJ, Atlanta, Chicago, LA etc. as we were driving the sirens went off. Immediately we all ran as far away as we could from the minibus and laid on the ground. Our first stop was the IDF staging area. We met with a Brigadier General who is in charge of the lives of 20,000 soldiers and another 20,000 reserve soldiers. He told us about their readiness to go in and "fix" the situation. About the high morale of our brave soldiers and about the fact that the IDF is an army inside a state and not a state inside the army. He conveyed by saying this that we are a democracy, and the army gets its orders from the goverment and only then will it fulfill the mission. It amazed us to see how the army was thanking us, the American community, for our support, for standing with Israel and they asked us to continue to make our voices heard. 

We then went to see an iron dome installation near Sderot and while there witnessed 3 rockets fired from Gaza at the city of Ashkelon. 

Then we went to the JNF Sderot indoor playground and met with mayor of Sderot David Booskila. The place was packed. Children, mothers, babies and some unusual guests- IDF soldiers who were helping, and some who just came to rest for a couple of hours. We served dinner to more then 300 of them. The most astounding fact was that we learned that in only three years of operation, the JNF Sderot indoor playground has given 184,000 children the opportunity to smile and just be children. 

We then drove to the capital of the Negev, Beer Sheva, to the Soroka hospital. As we pulled in, we were greeted by the deputy mayor and right then 2 ambulances pulled in with 5 wounded soldiers. We entered the hospital and went to visit the injured. We visited the 2 soldiers from the jeep attack last week. One of the soldiers had lost his eye sight andt he second one may regain sight in one eye. The most emotional part for me was visiting our fire fighter Shimon Zagury (picture attached), who is thank G-d out of danger, and who can't wait to get back to his unit. I promised him that his JNF family in Israel and the US is here for him if there's anything he needs. Instead of encouraging him- he started to thank us, to tell us to continue. He said that it doesn't matter how far away we may be, we are out there fighting the battles with him and he appreciates it. 

As we were leaving Beer Sheva 50 minutes before the cease fire took effect the sirens went off and again we ran off the bus and laid down on the ground. I guess that was the only ground operation Israel took during this battle...

The only good part of this war, is that it brought us all together. It reminded us that even though Israel is almost 65 years old, we still face major challenges. It reminded me that even though I was born in to the fact that Israel was always there, and Jerualem was united before I was born, that there are no guarantees that will always stay the same. 

Most improbably it showed that we are a country of 15 million citizens, half which live in Israel and half that live half way around the world. 

There is a lesson of freedom for us to all to take from the "pillar of cloud". A message that "am Yisrael" must stay united and strong and remember our past and present in order to secure a strong future for Israel. 

Thank you for everything and keep up the good work. I'm afraid this is not the final episode of the battles of the state of Israel.

Ranit & Ariel

Chaim, Ayelet and Eitan 

Soldiers relax in Sderot

300 IDF soldiers were treated to rest, games, relaxation and a great dinner at our Sderot Indoor Recreation Center tonight. Russell Robinson, JNF CEO, was asked to call in and say a few words to the group. As he started to speak the clapping became so loud, that he had to move the phone away from his ear. Russell thanked them for all that they do to protect the land and people of Israel, but they drowned him out again, thankful for all that JNF does and for making them feel they are not alone. 

Reflections: Coming home

The final post from Bob Witkow upon his arrival back in Denver last night.

 Update from Englewood, CO:

I arrived home this afternoon; greeted at DIA by Sara Witkow and one of her "squeeze the goop out of me hugs".

While it feels great to be home a big piece of my heart is with friends, colleagues and the entire State of Israel.

This morning, the taxi driver taking me to Ben Gurion Airport was lamenting on the loss of business many Israeli's working in the tourism and service industries are facing. My hotel was only 1/3 full the past few days so it was easy to see his point.

So, in addition to making contributions to JNF and AFMDA as I've suggested in prior posts, think hard about planning a trip to Israel, and sooner rather than later.

Central Arava Pillar of solidarity

Dear Friends,

It is in difficult times that we remember that the strength of our people comes from the unbreakable bond and brotherhood amongst all Israelis and between the people of Israel and the Jewish communities in in the Diaspora.

It is in times like these that we acknowledge the true meaning of partnership and friendship and witness the realization of " All Jews are responsible for one another".

Sadly, in the present days, living in the most peripheral area in Israel has some advantages.. Being relatively far from the fire zone, it is our community's duty to reach out to our brothers and sisters in the fire zone all around the south and offer our help.

The Central Arava community has began, with the generous help of JNF and the Jewish Agency to reach out and call upon families to come and stay in the Arava.

As of last week many families from the fire zone have arrived at the Arava and were adopted by the local families from the entire Central Arava community and many more families are arriving at the Arava every day.

This week we will be hosting more than 180 children for several days, offering them some time out from the stressful routine of their lives in the past 10 days.

The Central Arava children, led by the the council, the Arava community center and all the youth groups and educational movements like Central Arava R&D, Lotan's way and the cadets of the Arava pre army program, have  partnered together in order to host the children and entertain them. in addition we will have the privilege of offering some 70 students from "Haogen" community boarding school for youth at risk, a day of educational and fun activities.

We want to thank you all for your support and for enabling us to help others, this is the meaning of a true partnership. when good will meets good people, good things happened.

Our thought and prayers are with the brave people in the fire zone. we pray that peace will soon descend upon us.

Regards,

Noa Zer

on behalf of the Central Arava Community

Update from Aleh Negev

An Update from Yossi Kahana, Aleh Negev's Director of Development

"I spoke with Masada the director of Aleh Negev; the situation is very hard for the residents here, since they don't understand what is going on.  It is impossible to explain to them why they must enter these shelters, why they are not following their usual routines that are so vital to their tranquility... All we can do is just take care of them and offer as much love as possible, and do everything to ensure that they will feel safe and calm."

The photos attached will tell you the story.

Thank you JNF donors

To the dear and generous donors of JNF-America,

Just as I began writing this letter, a siren went off, once again throwing routine out the window... 

 

So after grabbing my baby and running to the bomb shelter, sitting there and praying that the rest of my children are safe in their school and kindergartens, I am finally back to write this letter of thanks.

Your generous donations have allowed myself and my family, as well as hundreds of other families, to have a few hours of peace, a few hours without wondering when the next siren will pull us out of our routine, a few hours of feeling calm and serene in an otherwise anxious time. 

 

We try to be strong for our children, but of course even us grown-ups fear the unknown and even more so with our children's precious lives at stake.  No words can really express our gratitude, for no words can express the constant anxiety that you have alleviated usfrom through your generous donations. 

May you always be blessed and be able to give to others. 

Thank you from all of us, 

Gadi and Efrat Last and the children of course