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essay

Service To Israel

Rabbi Yoskowitz’s U.S. Army chaplaincy work honored at Ammunition Hill.

F

Rabbi Herbert A.
Yoskowitz

TOP: Rabbi
Herbert and
Rachel Yoskowitz
with their grand-
children, Caleb,
Ben, Noa and
Jordyn, at the
Wall of Honor at
Ammunition Hill
in Israel.

riday, June 15, 2018, is a day I will long
remember. It was a hot, sunny day with a
cloudless blue sky as only the Jerusalem
sky can be in June. On that Friday morning, I
stood next to my wife, Rachel, surrounded by
our children, grandchildren, friends and Israeli
family as my name was added to the Wall of
Honor at Ammunition Hill.
I stood in awe as my name plaque joined
330 other non-Israeli Jewish soldiers who had
served in defense of freedom in their own coun-
tries. Among those honored on the Wall are
the Bielski family, Hana Senesch and men whom
I had met in congregations and conferences.
It was a thrilling moment that permanently
linked me to Israel and to Jerusalem, the soul of
our people.
Ammunition Hill had been the border
between Israel and Jordan from 1948, when the
armistice lines were drawn, until June 1967. The
hill was heavily fortified. In 1967, in a key battle
of the Six-Day War, the hill, Givat Ha’tachmoshet,
was taken by the IDF. The prize was the reunifi-
cation of Jerusalem. The cost was great.
Ammunition Hill has been an important site
to our family. We always visit when we are in
Israel. Our oldest son wrote about it for his col-
lege admissions application that asked for an
essay about the most memorable place he had
visited.
It was memorable years ago when we first
visited. Then, the hill was a barren site of brown
grass, trenches, concrete bunkers and the relics
of battle. Those visits were very moving as we
walked through a memorial tunnel and read
the biographies of the young men who had fall-

en there — Israeli soldiers who gave their lives
to defend Israel and return a united Jerusalem
to our people.
Now, Ammunition Hill is a designated
National Memorial Site visited by 250,000
people annually. Jewish National Fund (Keren
Kayemet) and the Israeli government have
established an appropriate monument there,
including a memorial hall, an amphitheater and
the Wall of Honor.
Three years ago, my wife and I stood in front
of the newly erected Wall of Honor and I reflect-
ed on those named there, on my service in the
U.S. Army and how meaningful that service
had been to me. It was 1970, the period of the
Vietnam War and, as a newly ordained rabbi,
I volunteered to serve. My first posting was
Fort Riley, Kansas, with the Fifth Army. There, I
implemented a Christian-Jewish dialogue series
on the State of Israel that became a model for
the entire Fifth Army.
It was a unique opportunity to teach soldiers
and civilians of all denominations. The series
occurred over three-and-a-half months and
drew a consistent audience of 50. Each session
was three hours but, afterwards, the attendees
lingered to talk to the speakers and each other.
The effect was heightened awareness of our
history, religion and peoplehood. Ministers,
priests and other military chaplains asked how
to implement interfaith dialogue, and I wrote a
guide for clergy to model this program.
Word of the successful dialogue series
reached Menachem Begin who, at the time,
was the leader of the opposition party in the
Knesset. You can imagine my surprise when

I received a copy of Begin’s book personally
inscribed to me.
The dialogue project earned me a U.S. Army
Commendation Medal and designation as
Army Chaplain of the Year. But, more than that,
it earned friends for Israel.
Similarly, as chaplain in Seoul, Republic of
Korea (my second posting), I traveled from base
to base to serve our troops, to teach Judaism,
to administer our U.S. Army religious school and
support Israel. Israel was on my mind, as it was
in my heart.
This year, upon my retirement from the pul-
pit, a group of friends, unbeknownst to me, pri-
vately arranged to honor me on Ammunition
Hill. It was the perfect choice. I received a letter
of notification from Jewish National Fund that
reads, in part: “ … In appreciation for your
wisdom, your pastoral care and your selfless
dedication in serving your congregants, the
community and Israel for 47 years.”
I was overwhelmed by their generosity.
Serving to defend freedom was a highlight of
my rabbinic career. Defending Israel in word
and deed is a constant in my life. It is gratifying
to be identified by those hallmarks and con-
nected to a site that carries such a powerful
message and meaning. I was blessed to stand
with my loved ones before the Wall of Honor on
Ammunition Hill in Jerusalem. •

Herbert A. Yoskowitz is rabbi emeritus of Adat Shalom
Synagogue in Farmington Hills. He is the Jewish chaplain
at the John Dingell VA Medical Center, Detroit, and, for
many years, served as chief rabbi, Department of Michigan
Jewish War Veterans.

jn

August 2 • 2018

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