2003 CTS
IN STOCK
READY FOR
IMMEDIATE
DRIVE
Filling in for soldiers
lends helping hands
to Israelis.
Luxury Pkg.,
Power Sunroof,
Heated Front Seats,
Split Folding Rear Seat,
Automatic
AUDE1TE
THE FUSION OF DESIGN 8
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Mon. & Thurs. till 9; Tues., Wed., Fri.. till 6
www.audettecadillac.cOm
7100 Orchard Lake Rd., W. Bloomfield
241-*3-Ess1..7200
'$2494 due at signing plus tax, title and plate, all rebates to dealer.
Must qualify for GM employee discount and be currently
leasing a GM product. Must take delivery out of dealer stock.
ti
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p sum sponignue3 r SUBfalfiett 5,11EWM11113 r mow Autumn: sit
spell e
DR. MAX GARBER
Special to the Jewish News
z
ast November, I spent several
days in Israel as a volunteer
at an army base.
But why would a 78-year-
old pediatrician, retired for a decade,
want to perform manual work and
sleep on a cot in army barracks?
To me, lending assistance to the
Israel is a mitzvah.
Joining me on the army base were
19 others, mostly middle-age adults,
including five non-Jews. We were part
of Volunteers for Israel, a program
under the supervision of Sar-el — an
organization founded in the summer
of 1982 in response to the need to
harvest ripened crops when Israeli
farmers were called to active duty. At
that time, Dr. Abron David recruited
650 volunteers from the United States
to assist the harvest.
As part of the program, I paid a
$100 fee plus $900 El Al airfare for
the trip. The usual programs are two
to three weeks, with two days allotted
for excursions. We spent one day in
Jerusalem, where we visited the
Western Wall and had a private tour
of the Knesset. Our other excursion
was to Tel Aviv. I also had the oppor-
tunity to visit our 18-year-old grand-
daughter who is studying in Israel.
Most workers stay in army barracks
and dress in army fatigues during the
day and eat in army mess halls with
the soldiers. Some volunteers work in
hospitals, geriatric institutions and
other places needing labor. Duties
range from manual labor, to kitchen
work to repair of army equipment. I
ended up doing maintenance on fire
extinguishers for army tanks.
The stays can be for two weeks or
longer. There are also combined pro-
grams — with the third week spent in
archaeological excavations, botanical
gardens, Hebrew ulpan classes, young
scholarship programs or other activi-
ties.
My volunteer time was spent at
Matzlach Tzrifin, an army camp
between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. There
were 20 of us in the barracks, sleeping
.on army cots. Men and women live
separately, but could work together at
their jobs. You cannot pick your army
base, which could be situated any-
where in Israel.
I greatly enjoyed the company of
my fellow volunteers, Jews and non-
Jews alike, from all over the world as
well as the Israelis. There was a 26-
year-old man from Belgium and a
non-Jewish couple from Australia in
our group. Army personnel are
assigned to each group to take the
workers on trips, plan education
nights at the base and lend aid to the
volunteers.
Israelis soldiers wem etgreatly
appreciated our mitzvah because it
gave them moral support and freed
them up for their other dutiesl ❑
(212) 643-.4848, or e-mail:
volunteers@vfi-usa.org
Above: Dr. Max Garber of West
Bloomfield andfillow volunteer Alex
Taylor of Minneapolis, a non-Jewish
supporter of Israel, perform maintenance
on fire extinguishers for army tanks at
the Matzlach Tzrifin army camp in
Israel.