I t:S•ItNA Best wishes for a Happy & Healthy New Year Fine Designer Furniture, Gifts & Accessories WEST BLOOMFIELD 6644 Orchard Lake at Maple 855-1600 Mon., Thurs., Fri. 10-9; Tues., Wed., Sat. 10-6; Sun. 12-5 111 .1.11111=11MINIMMEMINIIMMINININIII 0 Best Wishes To All Our Customers & Friends, For A Healthy, Happy and Prosperous New Year BUICK MaZDa F=0 0 Pol Volkswagen LOTUS NISSAN Grand River at 10 Mile • Farmington Hills • 471-0800 Fuller Fashion Boutique Sizes 16 to 24 Wishes Its Customers and Friends A Healthy and Happy NEW YEAR From the Staff of Valentina 1110 Northwestern Hwy at Inkster • Applegate Square 354-4560 I ISRAEL Nation's IDF Forces Are More Than Israelis LYNN PORITZ Special to The Jewish News y ou don't have to be 18 years old and in peak physical condition to serve in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). You don't have to train for combat duty, undergo basic training, pass a desert survival course or fire an Uzi. And, as the 80 Americans attending the 10th reunion of Sar-El (Volunteers for Israel) in Jerusalem will tell you, you don't even have to be an Israeli citizen. What is required to join the Sar-El, three-week army volunteers program, however, is a willingness to work hard, adaptability, and, according to one volunteer, "a • good sense of humor." And working on an army base or in an Israeli hospital is not so easy when living in barracks and having to put up with ratios, roll call and orders from a commanding officer who may be young enough to be your grandchild. Military volunteering is not new to Israel. During the 1948 War of Independence, many volunteers came to Palestine through Mahal (Volunteers From Abroad). The impetus for Sar-El, however, came from another war — the 1982 action in Lebanon. General Aaron Davidi suggested calling up Americans to help with the kibbutz harvests and some 650 Americans heeded the call. Since then more than 33,000 foreign volunteers from 20 countries have engag- ed in just about any noncom- bat task — cleaning weapons, repairing vehicles, cooking, etc. Some 3,280 volunteers, including teachers, professors, mechanics and engineers (ag- ed 18-65), came in 1991 alone. About half came from the U.S. and France and the rest from South Africa, Canada, Holland and Hungary. Today's volunteers pay their own fare but the barracks, board and uniform are courtesy of the IDF. Arline Tepper, a computer artist from Los Angeles, says, "The Sar-El program was wonder- ful but the work was sometimes tedious. I distributed sleeping bags, did laundry and sorted uniforms by size — anything to relieve a reservist from duty!' For New Yorker Al Goldberg and New Jerseyite Bob Kauffman, who have a friendly feud over who can serve the most IDF time, the 24 and 23 Sar-El stints they have done, respectively, speak for their dedication. "If a reservist has to serve only 40 instead of 42 days," says , Kauffman, "then I've con- tributed something." Indeed,,_ notes New Haven-born Michael Ben Lev, who directs the volunteers during his reserve duty, "When Kauff- man is on duty, the sergeant major can take leave." "The volunteers contribute not only physical labor, but a - work ethic which they impart to the Israelis," notes General Davidi. "The Americans work efficiently, boost morale and are wonderful in times of , crisis. During the Gulf War, they served their time (usual- - ly three weeks) and more, and not one left!' Jean Blum, a Philadelphia schoolteacher, served in an army hospital during the Gulf War and was "decorated" for her service. "I picked January 13, 1991, for . Army leave allowed volunteers excursions such as ascending Masada. my arrival and wasn't about to change it. I relieved nurses, did physical therapy and helped care for the staff's children when schools were closed." Lionel Hadad, from Mar- seilles, signed up for two Sar- El stints. So taken was the 23-year-old with the IDF and Israel that he made aliyah to realize his dream of teaching physical education in the Holy Land. Hungarian-born Katy and Moran Hynel's Sar-El service also led them and their two teen-age daughters to settle in Israel. Arriving just days after the start of the Gulf War, they were visited in a Tel Aviv absorption center by General Davidi and Rachel Carmi. Since then, Sar-El volunteers have helped Moran, an artist, find work as an illustrator and have become "like family," she says. The unheated, non air- conditioned barracks with ar- What happens after Sar-El? "Many former volunteers, 1,500 to date, hang up their fatigues and opt to stay in the country," notes General Davidi. "Others become infor- mal Israel ambassadors to their communities back home." ❑ WZPS c=.