Closeup of Heroes—Dramatic Story of Young Israeli Settlers By BEN GIL Editor's Note: Ben Gil, an Israeli journalist, served on two of Israel's fronts during the six-day June war and was in active service, as a re- servist, for six weeks. A native of Great Britain, he settled in Israel several years ago after marrying an American girl. Heroes are not special people; they are the people you see every day who are suddenly elevated into a heroic situation. David and Miri are ordinary Israelis, part of the extraordinary so c i a 1, economic, spiritual fabric that is Israel, the flesh and blood behind the popula- tion statistics, production figures and economic plans. When prices rise in Israel, it is Miri who buys a cheaper cut of meat; when a new school is built, it is their children who will attend it; when exports are to be increased, David will have to work more; when there is danger of war, it is David and Miri who will face it. They live in Jerusalem with Rafi, their son who will soon be five, and a baby daughter, Dina. David was born 33 years ago in Poland and was brought to Israel as a young boy through Aliyat Hano'ar. He attended high school and won a scholarship to study chemistry at the Hebrew University. Mir ' i comes from Chicago, where she studied social work, and after graduation she decided to spend a summer in Israel with some friends. They met by chance on a bus tour in the Negev, and within a few weeks decided to marry. They went on a visit to the USA to see Miri's' family, but returned to Israel, where David had been offer- ed a good job in a new pharmaceu- tical plant in Jerusalem. They had never discussed it, but it was taken for granted they would live in Israel. They did not have a large amount of money at their dis- posal, and moved into an apart- ment built for new immigrants in a new neighborhood of the city, very close to the border. David settled down into his job and Miri began working for a social welfare agency dealing with delinquency in poor neigh- borhoods. In many ways she missed Chi- cago — the comforts of home, the material abundance, and her family and friends. It was especially dif- ficult when she received visitors from home, or when she would look through an American maga- zine. Generally it was the little things that were the hardest to get used to — she missed the taste of American coffee, the Sunday pa- pers, the family car. But in spite of all this she felt this was her country, just as they had grown to feel that Jerusalem was their city. They came to love the silence of the hills around them, the pink and grey stones of the buildings, the sweet air; Miri became expert at buying in the open-air market and David developed a deep in- terest in the history of his adopted city (although it was not clear who had adopted whom). On weekends they would walk through the quiet streets and look across to the Old City and Mt. Scopus or spend the whole day in the Judean Hills. Like every other citizen, David did army reserve duty every year. He was attached to the Jerusalem Brigade but had never considered himself an exemplary soldier; after one period of rough exercises in rocky terrain he came home com- pletely exhausted and said to Miri, as he was soaking his feet, that he hoped the army had better men than himself in reserve. Life went on as usual. They paid bills, took a vacation in the autumn, and decided to buy a small car as soon as David's long-awaited pay rise should materialize. It was already time to worry about Rafi's school and to settle the perennial argument over whether they should speak English or Hebrew with the chil- dren. increased steadily and to the well- tuned ears of the Israelis, the situa- tion seemed far more menacing than usual. At first they tried to sandwich it between their daily affairs, but it kept looming larger and larger. Friends and acquaint. ances were no longer around; im- perceptibly the streets, the stores and event the movie houses (for Jerusalemites are the world's great- est movie fans). began to empty. People stood in small groups on street corners quietly talking, peo- ple began buying sacks to fill with sand, began taping windows. There was only one topic of conversation. Miri and David began to think of what could happen if . . . They lived less than half a mile from the border, right under the guns of Nebi Samwil. Finally David was also called. He had been expecting this and was even hurt that many of his friends had gone before him. His uniform and boots were ready, toothbrush, socks and razor thrown into an overnight bag — and he was off. He was posted to a unit guarding the western border of the city and he could see his own home a few hundred yards behind him. They dug in and waited just as the whole country waited. At night they could see the lights of Jerusalem behind them and darkness ahead. During these days David learned that night in Jerusalem is not black but blue and the dew is heavy at dawn. He felt strengthened by knowing that other Jews before him, who had wanted nothing more than to live and work in their own country, had also defended their city against invaders. On the Saturday, June 3, David impulsively went to a synagogue for the first time in many years. He was embarrassed by his uni- form and shy to be among the orthodox congregation with whom he had felt no common interest; but he was welcomed like a prince and invited afterwards to the Rebbe's home. The last time he went home be- fore the fighting he was in full battle dress and his children were frightened by his helmet and his gun and he felt very awkward, like a stranger in his home. He had wanted to tell Miri about what he was feeling but found she had felt the same things. Her par- ents had cabled her to return but suddenly all the things she had missed seemed very unimportant and she knew that by staying in Jerusalem at this time she was stating a central fact of Israel's existence. Monday began like another of this long chain of days of ten- sion and anxiety. Miri had just sent Rafi off to nursery school when the program of light music on the radio was inter- rupted by a news flash — Israel and Egypt were at war ! A neigh- bor went off to bring the chil- dren back home again and Miri and her friends prepared them- selves for what ever might come as though they had done it many times before. They had already prepared a shelter, stocked with supplies, bedding, toys and books and began to move in calmly. For a while nothing happened — the whole city waited as the last of its men went off in buses, trucks, taxis, on bikes and on foot to keep an appointment. Jerusalem was familiar with war, suffering and bloodshed and was bracing itself for a new ordeal. The women had just finished arranging beds in the shelter when the first shots began — rapid and distinct. Miri was un- familiar with the sound of heavy machine guns and it seemed like a gigantic sewing machine. It be- came louder as more guns joined in, and then different sounds were added to the noise — thumps, whines, crashes, coughs. Some of them sounded very close. Miri was too worried to be frightened be- cause she knew that the purpose of this barage was to smash David's position just in front of their house. The attack went on all that And then the trouble began. Miri and David were used to pe- riods of tension, but this time it day and night. Through the open windows (they had removed the panes) they could see a colossal fireworks display as tracers and shells made kaleidoscopic patterns of light over the city. During the day they received messages from outside —homes, hospitals, even the Museum were being shelled and it seemed im- possible that anything could sur- vive this bombardment, The radio was on the whole time but the news from Israel was non-committal and the news from the Arab stations in Hebrew and English only spoke of de- struction, murder and rape. Then just as the shelling seemed un- It's Never Too Late to Become Bar Mitzva endurable, Kol Yisrael broad- cast the report of Israel's air victory. Suddenly it was possible to breathe again, has now decided to be Yitzhak Rabin. One day he was playing with one of his friends in their apartment, the little girl ran into the kitchen in tears and said to Miri: "Rafi says I can't be like Yitzhak Rabin because I'm only a girl." Miri smiled and comforted her. "No, you can't be like Rabin but you can grow up to be some- thing just as important. You can't have soldiers who don't have any- thing to fight for." These are two heroes of Israel's Six-Day War. The next morning, even though there was still an alert, Miri rush- ed back to her apartment to feed her birds and see if any of the eggs had hatched. At the bottom of the cage was a limp piece of fluff and bone, cheeping and trying to walk. Irrationally, all Miri's fears and hopes burst out from her —this precious, fragile thing, with its terrible, unquenchable will to live summed up all her indistinct feel- ings about Israel. That day she sent a card to David who by then had gone for- ward as the front advanced. We were all frightened but I was more worried about you. Everyone is mad with happiness but until I hear from you, I won't feel easy. P.S. You remember the tower at Nebi Samwil. Well, it's much shorter now." David phoned home a few days later and then was able to spend a few hours with his family. Two weeks later he was released. He came home, threw his clothes into the washing machine, spent a very long time in the bath and went to bed. David and Miri have already re- turned to normal life. They have almost taken for granted the fact that their city is now whole again. Their little boy Rafi has given up the idea of being a bus driver; he NEW YORK — Three adult males, all heads of families, be- came belatedly Bar Mitzva Satur- day at Temple Beth El in Queens. The ceremony was performed for Arthur Hirsch, 58, a grand- father, Martin Kaminsky, 46, the father of two, and Sanford Stern, 36, the father of three. In each case, the ceremony had been neglected during young man- hood. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Friday, September 1, 1967-11 Rep. Taft Off to Russia to View Jewish Life WASHINGTON (JTA) — The current situation of Soviet Jewry and Moscow's attitudes toward the Middle East problem will be ex- amined by Rep. Robert Taft, Jr., a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who left Tues- day for a visit to the Soviet Union. Rep. Taft said he wishes "to take a first hand look at present con- ditions in the Soviet Union." LAWN SPRINKLERS REPAIR AND INSTALLATION Quality Work at Reasonable Prices! 527-5044 "Get Our Price Last" CONGREGATION BETH HILLEL 19371 GREENFIELD at Vassar Drive Announces Registration for its . RELIGIOUS SCHOOL SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 10 1 1 :00 A. M. TO 1:00 P. M. THE PROGRAM LEADS TO BAR MITZVAH AND CONSECRATION Small Classes - Competent Staff FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CALL BR 3-0570 342-8126 CONGREGATION IVNAI MOSHE B'NAI MOSHE RELIGIOUS SCHOOL ANNOUNCES Ten Mile at Kenosha, Oak Park REGISTRATION FOR 1967-68 ACADEMIC YEAR (Children ages 5-16 Kdg. through 10th) Classes Are Held on Sunday Mornings We Have Three Sessions Which Meet From 9 A.M. to 1:30 P.M. Children Attend Classes 1 1/2 Hours Classes Begin Sunday September 10 OPEN FOR REGISTRATION ALSO — Sunday, August 27 and Sunday, September 3 We Suggest You Register Your Child TODAY As a Service to the Community, Students of Non-Members are accepted. CONGREGATION MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE Phone the Synagogue office for school registration and membership information. LI 8-9000 We Conduct A Complete Youth Progragn With A Full Time Professional Youth Director.