▪ 28 Friday, January 20, 1984 25% r INVITATIONS THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Reserve Soldier Overcomes Injuries and Prejudice left the hospital with a 73 percent disability. They told 10 TH ANNIVERSARY -1 him: "Maniac, go home. DEBORAH'S TEL AVIV — Dozens of Zahal (the Army) will man- without you." Yitzhak INVITATIONS Israeli reserve soldiers who age reported to their unit for 30 smiled and asked for his Created Just For You days' reserve duty were uniform. Yitzhak Drechsler, the surprised recently to see CUSTOM IMPRINTING AVAILABLE Yitzhak Drechsler. They cashier of the Orthodox knew that he had been se- town of Emanuel in DEBBIE MANE WEISSERMAN verely wounded during the Samaria, had taken off his 537-1490 Yom Kippur War and had Hasidic clothes, closed his office and reported for re- "-------110111•=111111111•111111•11111111111111111111 "I serve duty as a member of a 1 tank crew, though he had 1 been exempted from any 1 service and the Rabbi of 1 Vishnitz LEAP YEAR SECURITY SPECIALS had forbidden him 1 to volunteer. I "To serve as a reserve 1 soldier is a proof to me that I 1 am living, healthy, still One year warranty on parts and labor. worth something and that I Twelve months of 24-hour central can still do something for - 1 station monitoring - For Police Response the security of Israel," Dres- 1 $120.00 VALUE FREE chsler says. He carried out Expires 2/29/84 1 his first "revolution" when 1 With this coupon he was 18 years old. He had 1 SYSTEM INCLUDES: left the yeshiva and volun- 1 • 60 Hour Battery Standby teered for a partroopers' 1 • Automatic Reset • unit, though the rabbis and 1 • Digital Push Button System his yeshiva friends did not 1 agree. Twice Yitzhak was • Exit Doors wounded while jumping 1 from planes and therefore 1 • Dual head motion - Picks up intruders inside he joined the tank corps. • Electronic siren 1 After being released • Ambush Button-Portable from the army and after married, he re- Open 24 Hours I having I Call 532-8973 turned to his yeshiva. When the Yom Kippur War started, he im- ALERT mediately joined the ” Security experts 0 A- army. On the second day with 18 years experience of the war, 'during fierce Licensed by Michigan State Police le clashes with Syrian tank re By MOSHE RON The Jewish News Special Israel Correspondent BUFIGLAR ALARM $795.00 Active Alert Systems, Inc. units, his position was shelled and destroyed. Yitzhak kept calm, though he suffered se- vere burns. He jumped from a burning tank and saw a lot of tanks, quickly moving forward. "I thought first that they were Israeli tanks. I gave them a sign to stop. In the meantime I crossed over to an overturned Israeli tank and waited to be transferred to a hospital. But suddenly I heard talk in Arabic. It turned out that I was on a Syrian tank. With the rest of my strength I jumped off and ran into the fields. "The Syrians opened fire. I was hit by several splin- ters, fell down and pre- tended to be dead. The Sy- rians drove on. I wandered for 12 hours in the fields until I met a Zahal unit." "After several days I found myself in the Ramban Hospital in Haifa. I was hospitalized for half a year. My skin was burned over 50 percent of my body. I had to undergo head surgery and several times plastic surgery. I left the hospital with an invalidity of 73 per- cent and was exempted from military service for life. I was told that I am a limited person who cannot function and I was sent to learn bookkeeping." For three years Yitzhak Drechsler fought for his right to serve on reserve duty. He felt miserable. He appealed repeatedly to the military authorities to allow him to do his service in a fighting unit. But every military commission ruled that he was not capable of serving. Yitzhak did not give up. After three years, Yit- zhak reached his goal. He was allowed to return to his tank unit. When he ar- rived for the first time at the unit, his comrades asked him, "How will you be able to function?" "With the help of God, I shall manage," Yitzhak answered. When the Lebanese War broke out, Yitzhak's unit fought for 60 days. His wife appealed to the Rabbi of Vishnitz to exert his influ- ence on her husband that he should return home. Pressured by the rabbi, Yitzhak signed a request for transfer to a unit not serv- ing at the front. "To my great joy," Yitzhak said, "my petition was exchanged by mistake with a petition of another soldier and was rejected. So I could continue to serve in my fighting unit." Yitzhak is satisfied. He was called, together with his unit, to reserve duty. Some of his comrades tried to evade the service, giving all kinds of reasons, but when they saw that Yitzhak Drechsler came, they re- INTEREST FREE uP LOANS Hebrew Free Loan ASSOCIATION 21550 W 12 Mile Road Southfield, Michigan 48076 Phone 356-5292 *Loans up to $2,000 are made without cost, up to one (1) year for repayment upon endorsement of businessmen and other responsible persons based on residency in Detroit and the adjacent suburban area. Some 250,000 Jews served in the U.S. Army during World War I. r or 4 T ESIGN- Custom Laminated Furniture. Residential & Commercial Graphic Wall Design KEITH SCHARE Designer 471-3223 STAN'S INCOME TAX SERVICE Herzog Visits Zaire, Liberia JERUSALEM (JTA) — President Chaim Herzog is in Zaire where he will spend five days and then go on to Liberia for a two-day visit. This is the first visit to Af- rica by an Israeli president since the African nations severed diplomatic rela- tions with the Jewish state after the Yom Kippur War. Herzog was invited to Zaire by President Mobutu Sese Seko and to Liberia by President Samuel Doe. Both presidents visited Israel last year, following the re- sumption of diplomatic ties with Israel. One of the highlights of Herzog's visit will be his meeting with the Jewish community of Zaire. There are presently some 150 Jewish families in Kinsh- asa, the capital, and in Lubumbashi. Herzog will also tour the country, visiting, among other sites, joint Israeli and local ven- tures. Israel extends con- siderable aid to Zaire, especially in the areas of agriculture and health. Israrel now has full dip- lomatic relations with Lesoto. Malawi and Swazi- land, in addition to Zaire and Liberia, with many interest officers in other Af- rican states. frained from pressing their pleas further. In Yitzhak's office in Samaria, where the Or- thodox town Emanuel is being built, all transactions are computerized. Millions of dollars are invested in building the new town. Every month hundreds of families join the town. Though Yitzhak, as cashier, is busy from morn- ing till night, he always studies the Talmud. But a few days ago he left his home, his wife and four children and his job in Emanuel, and again joined his reserve unit in spite of his physical disability. 29291 Southfield Rd. in Farrell's Plaza, North of 12 Mile Rd. OPEN MON.-SUN. 9-9 ONE DAY SERVICE PHONE 559-7783 Essummemmusimomqpilswimmimaluisoml et. 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