EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK
ense as life is in the strife-laden Middle East,
Olivia Harris of Ann Arbor is content with pack-
ing boxes, painting buildings and pulling weeds
as a summer volunteer for the people of Israel
through Livnot U'Lehibanot, a placement and support
agency based in Jerusalem.
Admirably, the Philadelphia native's love of the Jewish
homeland overshadows whatever fear she might harbor as a
result of the latest Palestinian uprising. Since the intifada
began in September 2000, Palestinian violence and terrorism
have taken more than 590 lives.
"Everyone said I shouldn't come to
Israel," recounts Harris, 19, a sophomore at
Barnard College in New York City. "But I
felt I need to be here."
So she is.
And what a mitzvah this human energy
cell is doing.
One day, she could be surrounded by
huge cases of canned vegetables, sacks of
ROBERT A. flour and bottles of oil in the warehouse of
SKLAR
Yad Eliezer, a Jerusalem charity — packing
Editor
food parcels for needy families.
Other days, she could be weeding the
grounds of the Mt. Herzl military cemetery in the Beit
Hakerem section of Jerusalem. Or, she could be preparing
and passing out food at a soup kitchen, helping staff a drop-
in center for troubled youth or refurbishing the charred walls
of a fire-ravaged apartment.
It's hard work. But Harris would rather toil there, under a
blazing summer sun, than be anywhere else right now
"Now is the time to be giving to Israel," she says. "It is
much more meaningful to be here than before. And it
strengthens my Jewish commitment."
Giving Back
The 2001 graduate of Greenhills School in Ann Arbor talks
from experience.
Her first trip to Israel was two years ago with the
Beachwood, Ohio-based Nesiya
Institute's Israel Journey Program for
High School Students. Harris
returned to Israel this past June with
SSKAP (Students Spreading
Knowledge and Pride), as part of a
mission of Jewish campus activists.
She chose to stay and volunteer
through August. "I've been here
before as a tourist," she says. "But I
didn't want to 'take' anymore."
Harris is the daughter of Marjorie
Levinson, a professor of English liter-
ature at the University of Michigan,
and Dr. Richard Harris, a cardiolo-
gist. Her siblings are Cecily, 14, and
Daniel, 7. The family belongs to
Congregation Beth Israel in Ann
Arbor.
At Barnard, Harris is an English
literature major who is considering a
journalism career. She's among hun-
dreds of teenagers to 60-year-olds
who typically have landed three-week
or three-month volunteer jobs in
Israel through Livnot U'Lehibanot,
Hebrew for "To build and be built."
The service operates from Jerusalem and Safed. It special-
izes in enabling English-speaking 20-somethings to explore
their Jewish heritage and nurture the biblical land of their
forebears through work-study-hike programs.
"Livnot is a very flexible program," says Harris. 'All they
ask for is a commitment of at least one week. We work until
2 every day and then we're free to do whatever we want."
For her, afternoons mean errands, shopping, extra volun-
teering and sightseeing. She made time to visit Yad Vashem,
Israel's Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem.
"Wherever we go," she says, ,"people tell us how much
they appreciate our being in Israel. We feel very wanted
here."
With fewer European volunteers venturing to Israel, and
stepped-up army reserve service depleting local workers,
opportunities to volunteer abound.
The Livnot Web site, wwwlivnot.org.il , lists many army-
related projects. Jobs also include serving and delivering
meals for two food banks, repairing medical equipment,
working at first-aid stations and visiting hospitalized cancer
patients. Helpers also are needed to repair and renovate
apartments for terror victims, and to assist folks who are eld-
erly or needy.
Great Response
Since handing out promotional fliers at the Israel Solidarity
Rally held April 15 in Washington and the Salute to Israel
Parade held May 5 in New York City, Livnot U'Lehibanot
has been swamped with queries from people eager to show
their commitment to Israel through
volunteerism.
"Volunteers are arriving this sum-
Livnot volunteer
mer from cities across North
Olivia Harris at
America, as well as from Brazil,
Work in Yad Eliezer,
Iceland, Singapore, Australia and
a Jerusalem-based
the Ivory Coast," says Gerald
charitable food
Porath, head professional for the
warehouse that serves
agency.
up to 6,000 needy
TOILING FOR A CAUSE on page 6
families a month.
Photo by Karen Benzian
Toiling For A Cause
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