011°111
My Eyes

A journalist's view of
life on an Israeli army
base —dirty work
and all.

LYNNE MEREDITH COHN STAFF WRITER

Lynne Meredith Cohn re-
cently spent three weeks in
Israel on the Volunteers for
Israel program. This is the
first in a series of articles
about her experiences.

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Volunteers tor
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Cheri* El 'soldier Gal Levy say
volunteers help immensely.

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114

Right: Amy Spiegel secures metal
onto rusty rebar for border bunkers.

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EB. 23, DAY ONE:

Met group at Ben-Gurion. A
mixture: American, Canadi-
an, British, a guy from
Colombia. Fragmented but nice.
Some obviously came together. A
husband and wife for their 25th
anniversary. Some college-age
kids.
Took a bus to Safed — three-
hour ride, wish we could have seen
the scenery change from bustling
metropolis traffic to the hills of the
Galilee. Tomorrow.
The base is like a summer
camp. Nice in a minimalist way.
Excellent food in the officers' mess
— grilled eggplant, chicken, pota-
toes, Israeli salads, meats, all
kosher. I shoveled in the food. We
all did.
So it's women in one barracks,
men in another. Four or five to a
room. Like camp.

FEB. 24, DAY Two:

rm exhausted! Slept well, after
I finally got to sleep. Bunk bed, I
have a bottom. Scratchy wool blan-
kets. No pillow. Shower is a spig-
ot with very hot water.
But still, it's a wonderful expe-
rience. Safed is exhilarating —
breathtaking view off the moun-
tain. We saw the type of work we'll
be doing at a base on the Golan
Heights. Making metal squares
for concrete bunker blocks. Then
we ascended the Golan, saw the
Bekaa Valley, Mt. Hermon com-
pletely covered in blinding white
snow. Syria in full view. We are so
close and yet so far.
Kuneitra: Syria lost it in the
Yom Kippur War, 1973. The hill
behind it, an engineering and

watch base on top, looks at all of tually they'll be bunkers. Menial
Syria. Saw the United Nations work but necessary to protect the
base on the Syria-Israel line. The lives of young Jewish boys.
I think this program is great for
bunkers we make will be used on
kids — teenagers and college stu-
the Syria or Lebanon borders.
Bekaa Valley: "Crying Valley" dents. And for older adults.
Tonight we bonded in our bar-
say the Israeli soldiers, because
even though Israel was outnum- rack, in T-shirts and underwear.
bered (40 Israeli tanks vs. 170 Syr- Like a 1960s movie — talking
ian), the Bekaa is full of about Judaism, a semi-sorority.
Sure, the conditions are sparse
burned-out Syrian tanks.
A bunker is 14 meters below the and the work is menial, but this
ground. The wind sounds like ap- program somehow makes you fo-
proaching tanks rumbling over the cus on who you are, what you be-
rocky earth. As many as 30 sol- lieve and why you're here.
(Freezing cold but everyone is
diers at a time can stay down here
for two to three weeks before sunburned: future volunteers need
changing supplies. Gray cement sunscreen!)
walls, perfectly square.
Tonight, Keren Natanzon, a FEB. 26, DAY FOUR:
Today was fun! We rocked on
group leader (madricha), gave a
presentation about Ron Arad's cap- the bunker parts, really had a
ture in Lebanon and subsequent great time talking. I think this
imprisonment by Hezbollah forces. type of work experience takes get-
He has been held in captivity for a ting used to. The metal parts are
decade. Her presentation brought left outside, in the winter rains.
As a result, they are orange from
tears to my eyes.
She showed a picture of Ron, his rust, which seeps through the wool
back to the camera, his face to gloves we wear and coats our
Lebanon, with his baby girl on his hands. Very dirty work.
The people are fun and friend-
shoulder facing toward Israel. He
was wearing an IDF Air Force T- ly. The work is admittedly tedious,
shirt and waving goodbye — just but when you walk underground
before he left for the mission on _ at the Syrian border, and see
which he was captured. In Amer- where these young boys endure
ica, we can't begin to know what whipping wind, loneliness and
these people feel. Talking with ready-with-guns guarding, you
Keren after, she said fiercely: "I know it is worthwhile work and
love Israel; I will never leave Is- utterly important.
rael — if I ever leave Israel, it will
be to bring more people to Israel." FEB. 27, DAY FIVE:
Easy day of work. We all need
a weekend.
FEB. 25, DAY THREE:
Twisting wires, making rust-
covered three-sided boxes for the FEB. 28, DAY SIX:
On the bus to Jerusalem: We
army to pour cement over. Even-