Commit 2013

When Israel is in the midst of unrest, her people suffer in many ways.  One way is in the drastic drop in tourism.  To galvanize the Jewish community and keep up travel to Israel, JNF is launching Commit 2013, an initiative that encourages people to commit to travel to Israel over the next 12 months, when Israel needs us most.

Please visit us on the web and register your commitment to travel to Israel in the upcoming year.  It is a statement of your personal commitment to stand by Israel and help her economy!  

www.jnf.org/commit2013

Moving to Israel

The following is from Natalie Solomon, who grew up in Birmingham and whose parents are members of our Jewish community:

On December 6th, 2012, a few weeks from now, I am going home.

Not to Birmingham, Alabama, where I was born and raised, graduating from Mountain Brook High School in 2000.

Not to Montreal, Canada, where my parents are from and where my extended family lives.
Not to Washington, DC, Paris or Barcelona, where I studied and lived during my undergraduate years.

Not to New York City, where I have lived for the past six years.

No, I am going to the home of my past, to embrace thousands of years of my ancestors; to the home of my present, the place in the world where I feel the most fulfilled; and to the home of my future, the place where I hope to build a home and a family. I am moving to Israel.

I am sure many of you are thinking, "Her poor parents; this nice young woman is moving to a war zone half way across the world. Her mother must be flipping out."

Well, I am proud to tell you, that my parents, Barbara and Eric Solomon, stand behind me 100%. And I stand with Israel -- in good times and in tough times like now. I want to be there and live alongside my fellow Jews in my ancestral homeland.

My parents know that I am the most authentically me in Israel. My parents know that Israel today is only a phone call or a skype session away. My parents know that we have the most incredible army in the world, and they know my friends who have been called up this week for reserve duty, to protect the Jewish state.

My parents have seen the way my face lights up when I am arguing in Hebrew with someone on the street; when I am telling them the story of a beautiful Bauhaus building in Tel Aviv; when I am walking with them through the ancient streets of the Old City of Jerusalem; when I am sitting by the Mediterranean Sea as the sun dances on the water.
My parents are concerned about what's happening in Israel -- as every person with any concept of right and wrong surely is. But they are not concerned about my decision to live there.

They are proud that I am a young woman following my passion -- a passion for my people, for my community, for my tradition, for my land and for my country. And I am proud of them, for understanding me, and for giving me their blessing.

My journey home to Israel began when The Birmingham Jewish Federation helped send me to the Alexander Muss High School in Israel program when I was 15. Now, at the age of 30, I am ready to go build my home -- and life -- in Israel.

Upon moving to Israel, I will continue in my current role with the Alumni Community of Birthright Israel, in addition to assuming expanded responsibilities that come along with my new position as Manager of Israel Programs. I will no longer be New York-based. I will be based in Israel.

I invite "y'all" to contact me the next time you are in Israel. You will be amazed at how "Israeli" this Bama girl is! Feel free to be in touch before your next trip to Israel. You can reach me at nataliesolomon@gmail.com.

And if you see my mom or dad, tell them I say thanks.

Alexander Muss High School in Israel and Birthright are both Partners of Jewish National Fund.












Photo is of Natalie Solomon in front of Tel Aviv City Hall.

One mom's war diary

A siren went off in Jerusalem for the second time a few minutes ago.  I was outside with my middle child, Nati, at the hospital park.  We were in the room all day so I thought some fresh air and sunshine would do him good.  He was on the slide when the siren went off.

I ran to grab him and with other patients, nurses, doctors, staff and students, ran to find cover.  This time I promised myself no tears!  I promised myself be strong.  I was, but not strong enough.  I am still shaking.  I held him, ran to the staircase, and fell to the ground - holding him close to me.  Someone brought me some water with Nati scrambling out of my arms to go play.  I must have been better this time, since he wasn't scared at all.  So I did well I think - under the circumstances that is... I did better.... Maybe next time I won't even shake??!!??  Maybe but probably not.

Yael Levontin
JNF-FIF Liaison

Thank you JNF USA

Dear Jewish National Fund USA,

It is with deep gratitude that we thank you for your ongoing support of the people of Israel, and more importantly our children.  Over the past few days our youngsters have had to grow up very quickly and lose a little bit of their youth.  They cannot go for rides on their bikes.  They cannot walk over to their friends’ houses to play.  School has been cancelled as have after-school activities; no soccer, no Bnei Akiva, no art or music classes.  Their daily structure is crumbling around them (including many whose fathers and brothers have been called up to the army).  What would happen if they were in the middle of one of these activities and a siren was to be heard?  This is what the parents worry about every time a child asks to do something.  Then when they stay home and play with their Lego, Playmobil or Poly Pocket you watch them simulating life around them. “Quick run to the shelter” and off they go with their little toys to shut the iron window shutter in their shelter.  It is heart breaking for parents to see that war is reality for our children. 

JNF USA has made it possible for our children to forget a little bit about the sirens.  Yesterday at Anava park in Modiin children ran across the grass, played soccer, jumped rope, hoola hooped, face painted, jumped on jumping castles, climbed on climbing frames, rowed boats -  they had their childhood returned to them.  In just 5 happy memorable hours for hundreds of children, you returned thousands of hours of childhood.  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

May you be blessed with many years of good health and happiness from your own children.

Dina and Jonny Ucko

Yad Binyamin, Nachal Soreq

Reflections

Bob Witkow, President of Westwood Marketing and husband of Denver JNF Campaign Executive, Roberta Witkow has spent the last few days in Israel on business. 

He arrived on the second day of this most recent crisis.  Below are reflections of his unique experience:

Friday, November 16th

I had an incredible learning experience today; hearing an air raid siren and being rushed into in my friends’ shelter room in their home in Moshav Lachish near Kiryat Gat. I suspect it is something few if any of my friends in the U.S. have ever experienced, and I hope they never have to. It was not the drop, cover and roll exercise we had as kids. It was the real deal. Boom, boom 6 km away. Israel deserves much better. Please support Israel any way you can during these difficult times.

Saturday night, November 17th

Update from Israel:

First, I am fine. Thank you all for your kind wishes.

We had a quiet night here in Tel Aviv - no warning sirens and business as usual after Shabbat, meaning the cafe's were packed and people were living life to the fullest.

There continues to be action South of here and I've seen a few more troops headed that direction.

Israel continues to exercise incredible restraint, targeting only Hamas leaders, weapons storage, rocket launching sites and the like, and especially avoiding civilian areas.

Hamas on the other hand continues its indiscriminate rocket fire.

We've seen Hamas propagandists showing photos of injured children that were actually taken in Syria, and even one of an injured Israeli child it claimed to be an Arab.

I know my friends and I recently made contributions to the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief. I'm making a contribution this week to the Magen David Amon, Israel's equivalent. I hope you will too. Their address: http://www.afmda.org/

Monday,  November 19th

Monday Morning Forecast and Update from Israel:

25 degrees C, Partly Cloudy, More Hamas Rockets fired from the South.

While life in Tel Aviv goes on with a few rocket interceptions, those 30 miles south continue to be the recipients of a much heavier form of Hamas' indiscriminate rocket barrage. Closer to Gaza, it is worse.

I met an old friend Yoav for dinner and in his car broke down telling him I could not as a parent comprehend how a parent in Israel could deal with these situations. Meaning, everything is normal and then in 30 seconds the world turns upside down. The stress, especially for parents, sons and daughters is unlike anything you can imagine. I then composed myself and we had a great dinner catching up on business and old times.

In the South in the city of Sderot, JNF constructed an indoor secure playground that is unnecessary in any other part of the world, and used to capacity this week. It is providing a place for children to play and adults to congregate in safety. Can you imagine such a place, a rocket-and bomb proof playground in your neighborhood; Highlands Ranch, Greenwood Village, Westchester, Ridgewood, Westlake Village, Beverly Hills? I'm guessing not.

I mentioned yesterday the AFMDA, and today JNF. Both are having their resources strained by the current situation, while many of our wallets are strained by an overabundance of Lincoln's and Benjamins. Relieve that strain and give until it hurts at:

Learn about JNF and its fantastic work at: http://www.jnf.org/work-we-do/our-projects/security/sderot-indoor-playground.html

Monday Evening, November 19th

Brief update from Israel - Monday Night in Tel Aviv:

I just returned to the hotel after having dinner with two business partners, Gal Salomon, and Amir Aharonovich. Business here is robust in spite of the Hamas attacks and I plan on returning soon.

I spent most of the day in Haifa, Netanya and Herzilya, all north of Tel Aviv and out of rocket range. Today is the first day I've not had to take cover. The night is young so I will not be surprised to wake up to sirens.

Word from the south is not good. Today, Hamas continued its rocket barrage on Ashdod, Ashkelon and Be'er Sheba. The hotel concierge told me that two rockets hit a kindergarten - unoccupied thankfully because schools in southern region of the country are closed.

I just saw that Israel targeted and hit 4 more Hamas leaders. Isn't it a telling statement that Israel seeks out military targets while Hamas shoots at kids. Sorry, not telling, it is sick.

Please share my posts with your friends and let them know the truth. Please donate to JNF, AFMDA, or any other charity helping Israel.

I am leaving for Ben Gurion in 4 hours and getting ready for the hugs of a lifetime from Roberta and Sara.

To my friends and business partners in Israel, L'hitraot

(for my non Hebrew conversant friends, L’hitraot expresses much more than goodbye. It literally means: “till we see each other again” and embodies the desire to never part permanently. )

Update from Israel - Sixth day of war

Dear friends,

I hope you are all well. 

As day 6 of this war comes to a close.... We pray that it closes like the 6 day war. 

Today began as a wonderful and inspiring day with 1500 children at the Modiin park. We had moon walks and pedal boats, art stations, shows, music, dancing etc..etc...  It almost felt normal again and Ranit and I decided to go back home. We drove home to Yad Binyamin. It felt great to be back home. Ranit took our 18 month old son Eitan up to bed, and I ran to my neighbor's mother's funeral. I drove about 5 blocks away when I heard the loud sirens go off. Instinctively I pulled over, got out of the car and laid down on the street. I then got up and ran into an open building about 50 yards away. There is just no way I will ever be able to explain in an email the feelings in those moments. My phone rang and it was Ranit checking to see if I'm ok. Ranit had grabbed Eitan from his crib. Unfortunately Chaim and Ayelet know very well to run to the bomb shelter on their own. 

All shooken up, I drove about 20 minutes to Kibutz Nir Galim outside of the city of Ashdod. Hadassa Pastal, my neighbor's mom was a holocaust survivor who was of the founding generation of the State of Israel. As we stood outside to hear the eulogies, the siren went off again. There were at least 200 people there and a bomb shelter that can only hold 30 people max. I stayed outside as close to the bomb shelter as possible and waited to hear the explosions. Again, I cannot explain those moments in an email. 

After the funeral as I was driving home I called Ranit and asked to go back to Jerusalem. It was a difficult decision. All we really wanted is to sleep in our own beds and be in our home. For some reason the municipality has decided to open the schools tomorrow. I'm sure that they are trying to convey a message of business as usual, yet I'm not sure why tomorrow will be any different then the last 6 days. The schools sent out a notice that there will be an IDF soldier in every class room and that they will practice running into the bomb shelter. I can't even begin to tell you how much comfort that gives me!!

So as you go to bed tonight wherever you may be, please take a couple of moments to appreciate your freedom. Please try to feel the pain... And then turn it into action. Thank you for everything you do. Thank you to so many of you who forward these messages to your lists. Thank you for calling us in support. Sometimes your pen can be so much more powerful then the rockets. Especially when you use it to write a check for Israel that allows us to continue and prevail. 

One closing note- Ranit has already had many cancelations as far as people coming to Israel. Please commit to coming to Israel soon. Definitely in 2013. 

We love you and can't wait to see you in our homeland. 

Ranit and Ariel Kotler

Ariel Kotler
Development Officer
Israel Operations

Organizing Volunteers on the fly

JNF has been working hard to make life easier and safer for Israel's residents arranging shelters, activities and transportation for as many people as possible.  A lot of this coordination happens on the fly, with many people offering to pitch in and help, as evidenced by the email chain below:

On Nov 18, 2012, at 5:05 PM, "Elisheva Frist" wrote:

Shalom Ariel,

Hope all is well--

I was wondering if there was anything our students can do to help from our current location in Jerusalem. In addition to raising money, is there anything that could be done to help the residents of the south?

Bsorot tovot

Elisheva Frist
Sha'alvim for Women
Director of Student Programming

On Sun, Nov 18, 2012 at 5:08 PM, Ariel Kotler wrote:

Would u go to Sderot? 

Ariel Kotler
Development Officer
Israel Operations
Sent from my iPhone
Please excuse spelling mistakes

From: "Elisheva Frist" <elisheva.frist@gmail.com>
Date: November 18, 2012, 5:11:37 PM GMT+02:00
To: "Ariel Kotler" <AKotler@jnf.org>
Subject: Re: Shaalvim for Women-would like to help!

Unfortunately, we can not go anywhere at the moment. We have a group of North American students whose parents are currently very nervous to even have their children in Jerusalem.

Elisheva Frist
Sha'alvim for Women
Director of Student Programming

From: Ariel Kotler 
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 10:15 AM
To: Russell F. Robinson 
Cc: Alon Badihi 
Subject: Re: Shaalvim for Women-would like to help! 

Anything we can do with 60 girls in Jerusalem??

Ariel Kotler
Development Officer
Israel Operations
Sent from my iPhone
Please excuse spelling mistakes

On Nov 18, 2012, at 5:18 PM, "Russell F. Robinson" wrote:

Help at hechel slomo running movies with kids

Russell F. Robinson

CEO, Jewish National Fund

From: Ariel Kotler 
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 10:19 AM
To: Russell F. Robinson 
Cc: Alon Badihi
Subject: Re: Shaalvim for Women-would like to help!
 

Alon -

Are we doing it?

Ariel Kotler
Development Officer
Israel Operations

Sent from my iPhone

Please excuse spelling mistakes

From: Alon Badihi 
Sent: Sunday, November 18, 2012 12:22 PM
To: Ariel Kotler; Russell F. Robinson 
Subject: Re: Shaalvim for Women-would like to help!
 

Tomorrow kids (6-11 year old)
show 2.30PM + some snacks ...
There are some 340 seats.
I will send to all in a minute!


Alon Badihi | Executive Director
Israel Operations; jnf.org