Visiting The Frontlines

Rabbi Spolter joins mission to Israel.

s Rabbi Reuven Spolter walked down the streets
of Netzarim, a Jewish settrement in Aza (collo
quially known as the Gaza Strip), he noted the
irony: a school, kids, bikes, mothers walking with
children right beside armed soldiers, day-in and day-out.
"It's this tremendous juxtaposition," says Rabbi Spolter,
leader of the Young Israel of Oak Park, who recently
returned from a rabbinic mission to Israel sponsored by the
One Israel Fund.
"There is no economic benefit or reason to be in
Netzarim," he says. "The chief rabbi said, 'We live here for
that reason — we believe this the mitzvah of living in the
land of Israel for its own sake.' They believe this war with
the Palestinians isn't just over Gaza and Yehudah (Judea)
and Shomron (Samaria); they also believe that as soon as
you give up on Netzarim, you give up on everything — it's
the first domino. They're willing to take it on the chin for
everybody else."
Messages like that hit home for Rabbi Spolter and the
25 rabbis he joined including YIOP's former leader Rabbi
Steven Weil and the president of the Rabbinical Council of
America, Rabbi Hershel Billet, for the April 21-26 jaunt.
The goal of the trip was "to sensitize rabbis from America
to the tremendous needs of the people in YESHA (a
Hebrew acronym for Yehudah, Shomron and Aza, the three
disputed regions)."
The trip was paid for by the Israel and New York-based
One Israel Fund; the organization provides bulletproof
buses, vests and vans for safe travel in the territories.
Rabbi Spolter, together with the other rabbis, visited
towns in all three regions, including haredi (ultra-religious)
and hiloni (non-religious) settlements. They also spoke with
victims of terrorism, including a 15-year-old boy named
Iran, whom he met at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem.
Suffering from wounds obtained during the Ben Yehuda
Street bombing, Iran received candy bags made by YIOP
members. "He was in the thick of it when the bomb
exploded," relayed Rabbi Spolter. "His family thought he
was dead; the first aid people didn't attend to him."
But a volunteer medic realized Iran was still alive and
after 20 minutes of CPR, "she brought him back." While

A

he underwent surgery, his
parents frantically called his
cell phone; when it rang,
they know their son was still
alive.
"He took eight nails to the
head," says Rabbi Spolter.
"Doctors removed seven of
them. He has so much more
therapy to endure, years and
years of terrible injuries.
When we hear on the news,
`two killed or nobody killed.'
And we say, 'At least nobody
was killed,' we don't think
about injuries. So many dev-
astating injuries are life-
threatening."
At the hospital, Rabbi
Spolter noticed an Arab
woman receiving rehab serv-
ices beside Jewish victims of
terrorism.
"That's how you know the Jewish people are right —
here are people who hate us, but we take care of them at
the hospital; we do what's right because it's the right thing
to do. You wouldn't see the same thing in a hospital in
Ramallah."
After seeing conditions firsthand, Rabbi Spolter came
back with a stronger sense of admiration for Israel. From
pockmarked buildings in Netzarim that endure regular bar-
rages of bullets to silent rides in an army-escorted, bullet-
proof bus, the message made him think.
"These people are willing to be on the frontlines in a
fight that's really for all of us," says Rabbi Spolter. "We are
coming to understand that this is not about Israel or the
land; it's about being Jewish in the world today.
"We must remember that it's the responsibility of all
Jews to go to Israel and give support. When we go during
the difficult times, it makes us better people and better
Jews." 0

From top left:
Rabbis overlooking Nablus from behind
sandbags.

Rabbi Spolter with soldiers at the entrance
to Bethlehem.

Rabbi Spolter with kids from the school at
Netzarim.

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as

5/17

2002

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