Israelis Demonstrate Love, Devotion to Their Army
By YITZHAK SHARGIL
JTA Tel Aviv Correspondent
TEL AVIV — Way back in
1948 the famous slogan was
"The whole country is a
front — all the nation is an
army."
The '67 war has enabled
Israel to cut out the first
half of this slogan. The
borders are somewhat away
from the population centers.
But the second half is true,
more than true. With the boys
and husbands in the armed
forces—everyone that stayed
behind is shouldering the
war effort. Either by volun-
teering for extra work, or by
helping soldiers' families in
need or by helping soldiers
get more than is provided by
the army.
Take the Soldiers Welfare
Fund. In times of quiet, peo-
ple tend to forget its exist-
ence. And now — people are
lining up to donate whatever
they can. Long lines of' wom-
en, schoolgirls and old-aged-
hom e grandmothers get
packages of wool to knit —
headwear or a sweater for
the soldiers fighting in the
heights of the Golan or in the
Sinai and Egypt where nights
are getting cold.
In the first days of war,
you could see on the high-
ways long tables with drinks
and cakes — for passing
soldiers. Around the clock,
the school children or
mothers of the nearby local-
ity would keep this impro-
vised kiosk open to provide
a fresh drink for the soldiers.
But as the war dragged on
and on, there were more
pressing needs : families of
the injured or the fallen
soldiers. They needed help,
care and guidance.
Moetzet Hapoalot Pioneer
Women in Israel decided to
take over this task. With
Mrs. Leah Rabin, wife of
former Ambassador to Wash_
ington Itzhak Rabin, at the
head of a special volunteer
corps of women and elderly
people, each family who
needs help in getting to the
hospital to visit a son or
husband is immediately pro-
vided with transportation.
Also, bereaved families wish-
ing to visit the temporary
cemeteries are provided with
transport. Pioneer Women, in
cooperation with the Soldiers
Welfare Fund, helps in col-
lecting gift parcels fOr sol-
diers in the front lines. One
example is the volunteer in
Beersheba who three times
a week takes a Beersheba
family to their son hospital-
ized at Tiberias Hospital.
Demonstrations of devotion
and love for soldiers are seen
everywhere. A local building
contractor w h o originally
donated 10,000 ball pens for
soldiers came to the Soldiers
Welfare Fund with another
20,000 pens. "Let the boys
write a few words to their
mamas," he said. And in-
deed the contact with home
is maintained throughout the
war, day and night. Special
phone buses were placed in
12—Friday, October 26, 1973 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
the front lines from where
soldiers phone home. Hun-
dreds of thousands of post
cards were distributed to
soldiers so they could write.
Every municipality and
every local council has a
special service for soldiers
who have no phones at home.
They call the local council,
and special volunteer mes-
sengers bring word to the
1
01414,0%•%.,0%,,04%,„0.1%.0% 00%.0%,"
family. This has become of
utmost importance to life in
the rear.
There are outstanding dem-
SELLING OUT ALL '73 BUICKS
onstrations of courage and
kindness. A bereaved father
from Tel Aviv whose son
was killed in action wanted
to go to the front, to replace
his son. He went up to Chief
Rabbi ,Yedidiya Fraenkel
and asked his permission.
However, the Rabbi insisted
that he has to complete the
CARS MUST po.T.1115 WEEK
`Shiva' days of mourning.
In Haifa, a mother whose
son is in captivity came up
to the Soldiers Welfare Fund
with a IL 50 donation. She
DISCOUNT CENTER
could not afford any more.
She wanted this sum to be
spent for gifts for soldiers in
the lines.
14500 W. 7 MILE (at Lodge)
Two Tel Avivians loaded
It was strange to come in
to Lod Airport and see the their cars with ice cream and
runways and aprons bare of went down to the Suez Canal
planes except for Arkia and distributed ice cream to
props bringing wounded in soldiers crossing the Suez
into Egypt.
from the battlefields.
Driving from Lod to Tel
Aviv there always used to
be crowds of male and
female soldiers at road in-
tersections trying to hitch-
hike a ride. But now, the
moment a figure in khaki ap-
pears, busmen, taxi drivers
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Different War—and a Different Israel
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By ROBERT ST. JOHN
aware that things were dif-
Jewish News Special
ferent this time. Everyone
Correspondent
seemed quietly resolute.
WITH THE ISRAELI ARMY One row of seats was filled
ON THE SINAI FRONT — by a mother an dher three
This war is unlike any that children. They were return-
was ever fought, here or ing to a broken home, for
anywhere else. Your cor- two days ago the father had
respondent has reported the been killed in battle.
The man sitting behind her
previous three Arab-Israeli
conflicts, as well as two was a famous Canadian sur-
worldwide conflagrations, but geon who had cancelled all
appointments for the in-
this one is different.
definite future because he
For example, never before knew he was more needed in
have I known war corre-
a Jerusalem hospital trying
spondents to cable their edi- to remake shattered young
tors objecting to the distorted
Israeli bodies than back in
picture their own papers or London, Ont.
networks were presenting, as
On the way to the toilet
a result of accepting Arab soon after takeoff he recog-
communiques as factual in- nized a fellow passenger as
stead of fanciful. (BBC has a surgeon from New York
been the worst offender.)
whom he had first met in
During a briefing, a French Israel 25 years ago when
journalist rather antagonisti- they were both volunteers in
cally put this Question to a another war.
There were several ex-
high-ranking officer on the
patriates who had thought
northern Sinai sector:
they preferred the United
"You Israelis every day States to Israel, but now that
issue communiques saying Israel was in trouble they
just the opposite of what the were hurrying "home," well
Egyptians say. Why should knowing where their hearts
we believe you and not really lay. In every row of
them?"
seats there was a deep
All that the name implies
The Israeli officer puffed human story.
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on his cigaret, then replied:
"Last week an Egyptian
communique said this place
where we, now are had been
bombed and shelled. In the
next communique they
claimed to have captured it.
I invite you to go out and
look around. See how many
Egyptians you can find.
Look for shell holes and
bomb craters, or even Egyp-
tian bullet holes."
Back in JFK Airport, New
York, it was poignant to see
the disappointment yet the
quiet resignation of more
than a hundred young Amer-
icans who had been wait-
listed for El Al Flight 230,
and want to call:
but had to be left behind
Cost for 5 minutes*
because every seat was
BENTON HARBOR
$ .90
taken. They had volunteered
GRAND RAPIDS
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to come and do anything —
BAY CITY
anything at all. Some had
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been waiting at the airport
TRAVERSE CITY
1.05
for days. They might wait
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1.05
many more before there
LANSING
would be seats for all of
75
them.
Once airborne, it was
* Rates shown (tax is not included) are
strange that there was no
for direct dialed, station-to-station
calls Monday through Friday, 5 p.m. to 7 a.m., all day Saturday, and Sun-
singing, no guitar playing,
day before 5 p.m. and after 11 p.m. until 7 a.m. Monday. They also apply
on
station-to-station
calls
placed
with
an operator where direct dialing
no exalted excitement in the
facilities are not available.
aisles in 1967. But this
was In and these-160 passen-
gers, regardless of age, were
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