AN OPEN LETTER TO ISRAEL'S FAMILY
We have just returned from the UJA Young Leadership "Morasha" (Heritage) Mission to
Poland and Israel. We journeyed from the chilled grays of Poland and unspeakable sorrow
of Auschwitz and Majdanek to the shimmering vitality and irrepressible pride of Israel.
We were enlightened; we were uplifted and we were transformed.
The approaching lights of Tel Aviv and touchdown at Ben-Gurion Airport erased any
intellectual doubts about the meaning of a Jewish Homeland and its absolute necessity.
We were home and we knew it in our hearts and in the depths of our souls.
One should never be afraid to go home yet virtually the entire American Jewish Community
has been frightened away from Israel. Normally bustling hotels are running at nominal
occupancies, the parking lots of national museums are empty and the first words spoken
by every single Israeli who addressed our group, from our guides to Prime
Minister shamir, were "Thank you for coming."
That Israel should feel isolated by the international community of nations is regrettable
but nothing new. That Israel feels a chill from the U.S. administration is unfortunate and
cause for some concern. But when individual Israelis feel abandoned by their
American Jewish family at a time when we are needed most it is tragic
and inexcusable.
Israel is completely safe. We felt at least as comfortable walking her streets as we do
our own. It is impossible to reconcile the violent and dangerous Israel portrayed in our
newspapers and television with the normalcy which actually prevails. As Jews we cannot
afford ourselves the luxury of reflexively accepting the media's portrayal
of Israel and events affecting her. We have an obligation to look beneath
this sensationalistic and biased veneer in search of the true story.
The collective sentiment of Israel may have been best expressed by an Israeli friend of
ours when she confided, "We feel as if the world would be happier if we did not exist."
These are the words of a law student, a highly intelligent and very sensitive woman .. .
a 22 year old. Sadly, there is likely some truth in her words with one shining exception:
the family of world Jewry. But to the extent that we fail to manifest our solidarity with
Israel and "vote with our backs" by indefinitely postponing plans to go there we play into
the hands of her enemies and tacitly endorse their cynicism.
Now is the time to travel to Israel. Your family misses you.
Suzi Alterman
Joe Imberman
Barbara & Owen Perlman
Ricky Blumenstein
Pamela Lippitt
Lynn Sachse
Suzan & Michael Curhan Rachel Kamerman Julie Swimmer
Dolcie Garfield
David Victor
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the rocks in the desert. It
travels a path rich in histo-
ry: it's likely Avraham walk-
ed these very steps when he
wandered here thousands of
years ago.
No journey to Israel
would be complete without
a visit to the Kotel, the
Western Wall. Its cracks
are filled with slips of
paper onto which are scrib-
bled messages to God. They
request everything from
good health to peace in the
Middle East.
At home everywhere in
Israel, cats roam the open
grounds separating the
Kotel and the rest of the
Old City. Soldiers watch
close guard as visitors pour
in and out of the area.
On any day, the Kotel's
stones are cool even in the
brightest sun. A slender
woman, her hair covered
by a dark shawl, stands
with her face pressed
against the Wall.
A prayer book in her
hand, she begins to weep.
What could she be ask-
ing? Could her children be
sick? Could she be hungry?
Did someone dear to her
just die? Is she mourning
the loss of a parent killed
in the Holocaust?
What could have made
this gentle soul cry? And
what cruel heart could
walk past her and not feel
the deepest agony cut him
like a sword of fire, like a
horrible pain burning him
forever? 0
M ER F
blue mountains of Jordan.
At the edge of the sea, it
is less than one mile to a
landing pad from which
King Hussein frequently
flies. The spot is marked by
an orange wind sock.
The city also is home to
the Avraham Joffee Center
for endangered species of
the desert. There are
wolves — desert travelers,
beware: wolves love
leather shoes — and a
strange-looking, cat-like
animal with fringed ears
called the caracal. In a
large, fenced-in area sits
the queen of the desert, the
vulture, the sacred bird
of Egypt who can literally
see for miles.
At noon, visitors to Eilat
gather atop mountains in
the desert. Under a purple
tent filled inside with
multicolored straw mats,
they dine on an incom-
parable lunch of tehina,
humus and eggplant salad.
The meal is prepared by a
man named Sefi, one of a
handful of residents of a
new village in the desert.
He also owns a goat named
Stavros and a donkey,
Claudius, and a collection
of camels that accompany
guests on eight-day outings
into the desert.
Among Sefi's latest pro-
jects: he designed a
wilderness program now
used by Camp Tamarack.
To arrive at the spot, the
brave take a jeep ride that
shakes and trembles over
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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
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