The Difference Between Soldiers, Jewish Soldiers

By JULIE BLOOM
It was Yom Kippur, 1982, at the
height of Israel's Lebanon War, and
a very difficult time for loyal,
idealistic, peace-loving American
Jewish Zionists like myself. Many of
us felt that our Zionist ideals had
come to a crossroads.
It seems clear that although
Israel was for the first time fighting
a war that could not be clearly
defined as "defensive," and that the
soul of the country and of its
legendary humane army seemed to
be on the line, the hope had not
been lost. I felt a strong need to
jump in and do whatever I could to
help preserve the Jewish values of
the Jewish state, which seemed to
me to be the most essential
ingredient for Israel's true survival.
So, at the age of 22, I was
ready to make aliyah, fully expecting
that it would be difficult to find the
right vehicle through which to work
toward my self-defined mission.
I was nearly beside myself with
joy when I discovered that a
government-sponsored informal
educational program in Jerusalem
was looking for experienced young
people to work with pre-army Israeli
high school students on Jewish
identity and values clarification.
I told Avram Infeld, the director
of the Institute for Jewish Zionist
Education, that I felt validated, that
his mission was my mission, that he
could not have found anyone more
fitting for the job, and that I was
ready to roll up my sleeves and get
to work.
The Institute for Jewish Zionist
Education was created to help raise
the consciousness of Israelis
regarding the Jewishness of the
Jewish State. A group of Israeli high
school seniors had sent a letter to
the Minister of Education just before
the 1973 Yom Kippur War, explaining
that their education had not helped
them to understand what they would
be fighting for when they went into
the army — what were the ideals
and beliefs behind the need for
survival? What was so special about
the Jews that they needed to
survive?
Then Education Minister
Yitzhak Navon was shocked that
bright young people who had been
raised in the Jewish state could ask
such fundamental questions, and he
knew that something had to be
done, so the institute was formed.
My first seminar was with the
senior class from a boys' vocational
school in the Tel-Aviv/Holon area.
They thought they had come to the
seminar to hear lectures from army
recruiters, and courageous stories of
battle from war heroes. They were
stunned when they found out that

for three days they would be
meeting in small discussion groups
to examine their own kishkes and to
learn about. Jewish law and Jewish
thought.
What could Jewish thought
have to do with preparation for
military service? They couldn't think
of two more unrelated topics if they
tried.
For that matter, they didn't see
what this Jewish stuff had to do
with them anyway. They went to
synagogue to satisfy grandparents,
studied Bible in school because
they had to, and fasted on Yom
Kippur to remember the war in 1973.
Jewishness just didn't seem to them
to be relevant in their lives — it was
their history, but did not belong to
them in the "here and now."
"So how many of you are
willing to fight and maybe even die
for the sake of this Jewish State
that is really just a piece of
history?" I asked.
They all raised their hands.
"I don't understand," I said. "If
Jewishness doesn't mean anything,
why not just move to America where
you can make more money, have
wall-to-wall carpeting in your house,
get tickets to see Michael Jackson
live-in-concert and not worry about
dying for your country?"
"No, you don't understand,"
they told me, laughing nervously.
"Well, tell me this," I said, "Is
there any difference in your minds
between the Israeli army and, say,
the Syrian army for example?"
A flurry of reponses filled the
room. The gist of what I was
hearing from these young men was
that I had asked a foolish question,
that of course Israeli soldiers were
smarter, more dedicated, better-
skilled, better-trained, better-fed,
more brave, more humane ...
"Aha, I said. "Stop right there.
What do you mean 'more
humane?' "
Out came the terrible stories of
the torture of Israeli POW's at the
hands of the Syrians, horrified
parents receiving the ear, the finger,
or other of their sons' body parts in
the mail — even President Assad's
massacre of his own people.
"The Israeli army would never
do that," they told me excitedly.
"And this makes you proud?" I
asked them.
"Very proud," they told me. And
I knew that I had been right all
along, and that these young men
would not only be successful
additions to the Israeli military, but
they would be good Jewish soldiers,
too. For they had admitted that they
expected their army to be different
from that of their enemies.
The next step was to explain

that this ethic did not just spring up
out of nowhere, and that it was
deeply rooted in Jewish tradition.
We learned that Jewish soldiers
are forbidden from destroying fruit
trees encountered in battle, and that
mosques and churches are holy
sanctuaries that cannot be attacked.
We learned that looting and rape
were not permitted — not in ancient
times, and not in modern Israel.
Most important, we discussed
the concept of following orders, and
what that means in a Jewish army.
Did they know, for example, that in
the Jewish army, it is illegal to
follow an order that one knows is
morally wrong?
By the end of the second day
of our seminars, the students would
begin to understand just what was
so special and important about the
survival of such a people, with such
an army.
On the last day of our
seminars, we would take the
students into the city of Jerusalem
for a brief tour and some free time.
The climax of the tour was in the
old border neighborhood of Abu Tor,
where we would stand, overlooking

the old city of Jerusalem.
"Where do you see Islam?" I
would ask.
"Dome of the Rock," they
would say, and "the Al Aksa
Mosque!"
"Good," I would say, "and
where do you see Christianity?"
Each would point to a different
church tower in the afternoon
skyline.
"Good. Now tell me, where do
you see Judaism?"
Silence.
"The Wall is down in there
somewhere," someone would finally
say, "even though you can't really
see it from here."
"Yes," I would say, "but even
more importantly, the Jewishness of
this skyline is in the fact that the
mosques and churches are
standing, thriving, and co-existing.
We have not destroyed them. 'Our
ways are ways of peace. "

Julie Bloom is a student in the
Project Star Program at the
University of Michigan — Project
Star trains Jewish Communal
Service Workers.

Low-Fat Blintz Souffle
Tasty Shavuot 'Dealt

By LESLYE MICHLIN BORDEN

Of all the stories written in the
Bible, none is more dramatic than
that of Shavuot, the celebration of
the receiving of the Ten
Commandments and the Torah. This
year it begins on the evening of
May 18.
Traditionally, Jewish
homemakers prepare dairy dishes
for Shavuot. For people trying to
limit their consumption of foods high
in saturated fat, dairy dishes are
often avoided. You can celebrate
Shavuot in a most traditional way,
with lots of white, "creamy" foods,
and keep to a low-fat, low-
cholesterol diet.

BLINTZ SOUFFLE
Blintzes come out just as
delicious if you use egg substitute
instead of whole eggs in the
pancake batter and in the filling.
Another way to reduce fat in this
dish is to make the filling with non-
fat cottage cheese instead of farmer
cheese.
Another fat and calorie saving
suggestion is to bake the blintzes
instead of frying them.
Making blintzes is time-
consuming. If you're a plan ahead
person, consider serving a blintz
casserole. On a day when you're
not busy, prepare the blintzes.

Freeze them, covered tightly, in a
9x13 baking dish. The evening prior
to Shavuot, remove them from the
freezer. Cover them with a delicious
mixture of non-fat milk, egg
substitute, and Parmesan cheese.
Place the casserole in the
refrigerator. An hour or so before
you want to serve them, pop them
in the oven. No one will believe this
rich and beautiful dish has so little
fat or cholesterol.

The Cheese Filling:
24 ounces no-fat cottage cheese
1 /2 cup egg substitute
1 egg white
salt and pepper to taste
Combine the ingredients in a
medium bowl. If the mixture doesn't
seem smooth enough, mix it in the
food processor or blender with a
little non-fat milk, added a drop at a
time, until it is smooth. Enough
filling for 17-18 blintzes.
Fill each blintz skin with about
2 tablespoons of filling. (Do not
overfill). Fold the skin over the
filling, then fold in the sides, then
fold the remaining flap over, to keep
the filling inside the packet. Proceed
with souffle recipe. Makes 17
blintzes.

Leslye Michlin Borden is a former
Detroit resident who specializes in
low cholesterol kosher cooking.

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

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