DETROIT WE BEAT ANY PRICE NO EXCEPTIONS! Volunteers Fly To Israel To Show Their Support SUSAN GRANT Staff Writer G POLICE COMPARE AT $204 SALE '169 p COMPARE AT $120 SALE '99 SALE '89 COMPARE AT $106 SOUTHFIELD 647-9790 WEST BLOOMFIELD 626-9590 6667 Orchard Lake Road 30800 Southfield Road Bring in Your Prescription & Save! Bring in Your Prescription & Save! Above prices and discount offers good with purchase of prescription lenses at West Bloomfield and Southfield stores only. Limited time offer. EXAMINATIONS AVAILABLE! WALK-INS WELCOME! NIBBLES & NUTS THE PERFECT ENDING FOR YOUR SEDER A Beautiful Tiray Filled With Special Passover Candy, Dried Fruits & Nuts. 737-8088 ck4(\ 33020 NORTHWESTERN v.srrfca , cl Outside Of Michigan 1.800-752-2133 Special Candy & Sugarfree Available 20 FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1991 Iii Local & Nationwide Delivery DISCOUNTS $9999 INTERPLAK Sugg. TOOTHBRUSH $6488 SEIKO WATCHES 40-50% OFF ag. MONT BLANC PENS 40% OFF sT CUISINART RCA-ZENITH TVs Oscar Braun's NORELCO 15075 W. Lincoln SHAVERS Oak Park 968-5858 $29.88 iving money to show his support for Israel was no longer enough for Larry Traison. For years, he has given money to Israeli causes, Mr. Traison said. But when Scud missiles began hitting Tel Aviv, he decided it was time to act. "I thought I would like to do something, especially with the war, for the people of Israel," he said. "The war was a motivator. In times of need, Israel has always been able to look to its people and I really wanted to be there." So he called the Jewish Welfare Federation, which led him to the Israel Pro- gram Center. He joined the Volunteers For Israel pro- gram for two weeks. Begun in 1982 during the Lebanon War, the on-going program allows volunteers ages 18 to 65 to work at an army base, hospital or kib- butz, doing anything from washing dishes and packing mess kits to greasing engines and folding parachutes. While the tasks may seem menial, it allows Israeli reservists to do other activities. Volunteers, who for securi- ty reasons are not told where they will be stationed in Israel until they arrive, can stay from 14 to 23 days. They work from 7:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. every day except Shabbat, take a mini- Hebrew course, and have time to visit friends, family or sightsee. Volunteers must pay for their airfare to Israel, but receive uniforms and three kosher meals a day. Mr. Traison, one of six Detroit area volunteers fly- ing to Israel on Sunday, said when he first heard about the program, he asked his wife, Barbara, if she would come along. She said no. Undaunted, he asked his friend, Sid Rosenberg, a record store owner in East Lansing and Columbus, Ohio, if he would join him. "I told him I am going with or without you, but I would like to go with somebody," Mr. Traison said. Mr. Rosenberg agreed to go. Both men share a deep commitment to Israel. Mr. Traison, 57, who owns Walker Printery Inc. in Oak Park, said being away from his business for three weeks was too long for him, but two weeks was just right. "A lot of people like myself could fit it into their schedules," said Mr. Traison, who hopes other people will join the program. He doesn't look at his time in Israel as a vacation. He wants to work two shifts a day, but the program will not allow it. "I'm not used to a seven-hour work day. Two shifts will make me feel at home." One job he doesn't want to do is wash dishes, he said. He doesn't do them at home and doesn't want to travel halfway across the world to get dishpan hands. Instead, he hopes to spend the time oiling motors for the Israeli army. The trip marks his second to Israel. Five years ago, he and Barbara celebrated their anniversary in Israel. "I wasn't very motivated to go even though I was a past president of my synagogue (Congregation B'nai David) Six Detroiters will be washing dishes or greasing engines. and active in a lot of Jewish organizations. I didn't really want to make the time to go," Mr. Traison said. But as soon as he walked off the El Al plane, his attitude chang- ed. He felt so at home in Israel that "if I had to live anywhere but the United States, I would live there," he said. He was planning to go back to Israel next year for his mother-in-law's 75th bir- thday, Mr. Traison said. They may still go. But when the Persian Gulf war broke out, he knew he wanted to be there. "My wife is concerned She'll be happy when I'm back. But she understands why I want to go. Israel is very important to us," he said. "I don't think there is anything that would keep me from going." While he knows one of the first things he will receive when he arrives at Ben- Gurion Airport is a gas mask, Mr. Traison isn't wor- ried about the possibility of a chemical attack. "I'm not frightened. But I'm not a hero," he said, adding he is aware of the possibility of danger. ❑