This Week
Rambling Across Israel
• Poignant moments bond travelers on Detroit's latest solidarity mission.
DON COHEN
Special to the Jewish News
r
Jerusalem
or the better part of a week, 47
Detroiters shared the countless memo-
rable experiences that make a solidarity
mission to Israel meaningful.
The Detroiters visited holy sites such as the
Western Wall in Jerusalem as well as places of
infamy like Netanya's Park Hotel, site of the March
27 Passover suicide bombing that killed 29 Israelis.
They heard from high-powered government and
military leaders and broke bread with Israelis in
Detroit's Partnership 2000 region in the Central
Galilee.
The May 19-24 mission, sponsored by the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit in cooperation
with the Detroit Jewish News, was part of a national
United Jewish Communities' Israel Now Solidarity
effort. JN freelance reporter Don Cohen traveled
with the Detroit contingent and offers from his
notebook the following vignettes — some light,
some serious.
Marcia Baum of Detroit talks to a group of Jews and Israeli Arabs at a dialogue group in
Givat Haviva. The centers director, Sarah Ozacky-Lazar, looks on from the background.
Magic Or Marvin?
For Shalom and Victor, it is a quiet Wednesday
night in Jerusalem. Stationed on Jaffa Street, just a
few blocks from the rebuilt Sbarro pizzeria, the two
soldiers are keeping an eye on the few people and
traffic that pass by. That is, until Marvin shows up.
Marvin Yagoda, as in Marvelous Marvin's
Mechanical Museum of Farmington Hills, is looking
for an audience, and he's found one. Not letting his
lack of Hebrew or the soldiers' lack of English stop
him, Marvin pulls out a coin and places it between
his hands. Shalom puts his hand on top, and Victor
places his below, and Marvin makes the coin disap-
pear. Shalom is amazed and asks Marvin to do it
over and over again. Marvin happily obliges.
Then Shalom gets a call on his walkie-talkie and he
and Victor quickly head up the street. The Detroit
group saunters up the road and sees them in the
middle of Zion Square, standing near a jeep with five
other soldiers. When Shalom sees Marvin, he
motions him over and excitedly tells his friends to
check out what Marvin can do. Again Marvin does
his trick, and everyone is relaxed except the com-
manding officer who paces and says not a word. But
it appears he wants to. Yet, when the group passes
the same soldiers a bit later, no words are exchanged.
Healing Over Hate
The weight of the burden is visible. It is almost
painful to see and hear how Dr. Doron Koppelman
chooses his words and delivers them. His colleagues
have concern and empathy written across their faces.
They know best how difficult this is for him. Rather
than just another presentation to a group of visitors,
it seems like a form of therapy. And the mission-
goers, who until that point thought this was just
another talk, take notice and hang on every word.
Dr. Koppelman is head of surgery at HaEmek
Medical Center in the northern central town of
Afula. The hospital serves a region of 350,000 per-
sons almost evenly composed of Israeli Arabs and
Jews. Its staff is similarly mixed. The hospital also
serves Palestinians from the territories, including
Jenin just 15 miles away.
At the height of the recent fighting, a young Arab
—eK
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