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THE JEWISH NEWS
17,44
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34 Friday, December 26, 1986 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
IDF Gave Volunteers
A Taste Of Army Life
EDWIN G. SIEGEL
Special to The Jewish News
W
hich army accepts
volunteers from
any country in the
world, both men and women
up to 65 years old (and even
older)? The Israeli army does
and hopes to increase the
number of volunteers from
the present 3,000 a year to at
least 4,000. And you don't
have to be Jewish to volun-
teer.
When my wife and I ar-
rived in Israel in September
to begin the Volunteers For
Israel program, we didn't
know what to expect or
where we would be stationed.
When we arrived at our base
— the Israel Defense Force's
central food distribution cen-
ter about 15 miles southeast
of Tel Aviv — and we were .
shown our living quarters,
our initial reaction was one
of dismay. Husbands and
wives were separated and as-
signed to barracks with up to
six people in a room, the beds •
were double decker type (my
wife accepted an upper bunk
because .most of the other
weren't
eren't agile enough
to climb up to it), toilet
facilities were in another
building 50 yards away from
the barracks and we were is-
sued heavy cotton work uni-
forms although the weather
was unusually hot.
Still, we hadn't come to Is-
rael on vacation. We came to
help the country and to show
our solidarity with the Is-
raelis. We accomplished both
goals. The feeling of self-
satisfaction and gratification
after completing our tour of
duty made it all worthwhile.
• Our tasks included as-
sembling wood crates and
cardboard cartons, receiving
• fresh fruits and vegetables
and repacking them for re-
shipment, grinding coffee,
and packing spices and con-
diments.
The soldiers who worked
with us were not front-line
troops and were not strongly
motivated. They were sur-
prised to hear that we were
working for no pay and that
we have paid for our own air-
fare to Israel. When the
soldiers saw how enthusiastic
we were in performing our
tasks, they gradually in-
creased their participation
until their output equalled
ours.
Volunteers for Israel isn't
all work and no play. We
toured one day each week in
an army bus, led by a trained
guide.. We were free to leave
the base on weekends. If we
didn't have Shabbat plans,
our group leader, a civilian
serving in the reserves,
would arrange for us to visit
Edwin G. Siegel is a
consulting engineer and a
Huntington Woods resident.
a kibbutz or an Israeli fam-
ily.
At the end of our three
weeks' duty, "graduation
exercises" were held in the
command headquarters. The
camp commander handed out
certificates and lapel pins to
all the volunteers and
thanked us for our contribu-
tion, noting that each volun-
teer replaces a reservist, sav-
ing Israel $600.
I was surprised that not
one of the volunteers quit be-
fore the end of the program.
It was a greater surprise
when 16,of the 24 volunteers,
Each volunteer
replaces a
reservist, saving
Israel $600.
including my wife and my-
self, volunteered for an extra
week in order to make up for
a delay in the arrival of the
next group.
We plan to keep in contact
with several volunteers from
our group an hope to join
them next year for another
tour of duty.
Navon Decides
On Censorship
Tel Aviv (JTA) — Education
Minister Yitzhak Navon has
taken an equivocal position on
the issue of censorship. He be-
lieves it should be abolished in
connection with theatrical
productions, but film censor-
ship is justified.
The matter arose over a
Youth Theater production of
The Explosion on Ahlan Street,
a play dealing with Jewish-
Arab relations that presents a
mixed marriage in a favorable
light. The Youth Theater,
whose productions are for
young audiences, is under the
aegis of the Education Minis-
try.
Navon originally opposed
the play on grounds that it
could encourage marriage be-
tween Jews and Arabs. After a
meeting with the Playwrights
Association, he changed his
mind. Asked by Israel Radio
why he backtracked, Navon
explained that his ministry
examined the issue of theatri-
cal censorship and decided it
was not worth the effort.
Candy Coated
Tel Aviv (JTA) — Sanitation
workers who were called to
find out why sewers in the reli-
gious township of Bnei Brak
near Tel Aviv have been
blocked for the past ten.days
solved the mystery, Somebody
dumped about a ton of choco-
late syrup down the drain and
it solidified. Bnei Brak Mayor
Rabbi Moshe Orenstein is try-'
ing to find out who to sue.