Living Well

viSiTtlour
We
. /
•

Take a sneak peak at our newly redesigned site!

Easier to Navigate
Daily Updates and Features
New Marketplace Shopping
Updated Search Options
Member Newsletter with Monthly prizes

cool website

*Passes good to United Artist Commerce and West River Theatres

When you've got something

to sell, make your first call to

The Detroit Jewish News!

Vehicles, employment, childcare,

garage sales, if you need to sell it,

Call today or visit us on-line at

When you list with us, it's as good

8/24
2001

102

80-year-old former restaurant owner
from Eastchester, N.Y., and Ben, a
high school senior from St. Louis,
were my roomates in what we called
the "No Star Hotel." If the squeaking
of the bunk beds did not keep us
awake at night, then the mosquitoes
did.
Bert and Harry assumed responsibil-
ity for cleaning up the base, while Ben
slept every possible minute.

Sobering Realizations

free tickets

7,

Become a JN Online member, receive free benefits
and enter to win movie passes*. Just log on to

www.detroitjewishnews.corn

Travel

happy people

We worked from Sunday through
Thursday, then left the base on
Thursday evening or Friday morning
and returned Sunday morning.
Volunteers had three options on week-
ends: visit family and friends, as I did,
request "home hospitality" and spend
Shabbat with a soldier and their fami-
ly, or stay at Bet Oded, a hostel in Tel
Aviv run by Sar El.
At noon one Friday, while on a bus
leaving Hadera, I was reminded of the
reality of the war with the
Palestinians. The news came over the
radio that a suicide bomber had killed
five Israelis outside of a shopping mall
in Netanya. The next day, I stayed at a
kibbutz along the "green line" and
could hear the Israeli air force rocket-
ing Nablus and Tulkarem. Other inci-
dents during our stay included the
stoning deaths of two 14-year-old
Jewish boys near Tekoah in the West
Bank, as well as the killing of several
settlers driving in the West Bank.
I spoke with friends, family, and sol-
diers about the situation. Most were
pessimistic and felt that a major war
was on the horizon. One morning,
General Aharon Davidi, the founder
of Sar El, came to speak with us. He
stated his belief that peace will come
only when the Palestinians stop teach-
ing their children to hate the Jews.
The conflict can be resolved through
education, he said, but not by military
means.
Joel, the volunteer from Florida, was
on his 15th work tour with Sar El. He
explained that our most important
contribution as Sar El volunteers was
simply to interact with the soldiers,
and to let them know that Jews in
chutz reretz (the diaspora) have not
forgotten them; the proficiency with
which we carried out our work assign-
ments was secondary.
I feel that we succeeded in meeting
our objective. Everyone in our group
had a positive experience, and we felt
a common bond both with the sol-
diers and with our fellow volunteers.
Several of the volunteers, including
• next
mvself, intend to return again
year.