40 | OCTOBER 19 • 2023 J
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something like that,” he said. 
“I’m also 42. So at my age, 
I’d be dismissed from service 
anyway.” 
Lieberman still wants to 
find a way to return to Israel 
and help in any way he can.
“If it means to push a 
gurney, I’ll do that. If it 
means to help bring people 
water, I’ll do that. Whatever 
it needs to be, I’m willing 
to do it. And I am trying to 
make it happen.” 
Leiberman is coordinating 
with the head of the 
anesthesia department at 
Henry Ford Health, who has 
connections in Israel and is 
in talks of getting Lieberman 
there in some capacity. 
Leiberman knows that 
as the war rages on and 
intensifies, they’ll need every 
able body they can get. 
“People are working there 
for long hours, and they’re 
tired,” he said. “They need 
some kind of help here and 

there; it’s really easy to crash 
and make mistakes when 
you’re really tired and there’s 
no help.”
Though not in Israel 
yet, Leiberman has already 
started to help. After 
receiving requests from 
friends in different IDF 
units for all kinds of gear, 
Leiberman drove all over to 
different places in Michigan 
and collected items in hopes 
to provide for them. 
“I’m talking about thermal 
underwear and stuff like that. 
It’s going to be winter soon 
in Israel. And my friend told 
me they were in the rain, 
and they didn’t have proper 
rain gear. I also bought some 
flashlights, so simple stuff 
like that, not even something 
crazy,” he said. “I want to give 
them whatever I collected 
over here.” 
Understandably, there’s 
a lot going through 
Leiberman’s mind right now 

when thinking about a return 
to Israel in the middle of a 
war.
On a personal level, he 
wants to first make sure his 
75-year-old mother, who’s 
living alone, is OK and all 
set. Same for his cousins, his 
friends and other people he 
knows. 
In 2020, the Leibermans 
hosted a community 
shinshinim, Yuval Aviram, 
who stayed with the family 
for an entire year in Detroit. 
They formed a close bond. 
Three years later, Aviram is 
an active IDF soldier on duty 
in the middle of this war. 
“He’s like our son,” Brooke 
Leiberman said. “I’m not his 
birth mother, but I worry 
about him as if I was his 
mother. It’s terrifying to think 
what he’s going through. 
Even though we’re scared, 
we’re so proud of him.” 
Chaim Leiberman is going 
to try to see Yuval in Israel 

and give him a big hug. 
“And maybe give him 
something from Detroit. 
Maybe some Sanders 
chocolate,” Leiberman said. 
Chaim Leiberman says his 
body is physically here in 
Michigan, but his head is in 
Israel. 
“I’m kind of climbing the 
walls. Aside from the fact we 
cannot allow something like 
this to happen in the world, 
I definitely cannot allow it 
to happen to my brothers 
and sisters,” Leiberman 
said. “It’s really hard for 
me to see, I broke down in 
tears when I saw that video 
of the 5-year-old that was 
kidnapped. And then hearing 
all the other stories. This is 
the most brutal attack on 
Jews since the Holocaust. 
I’m going crazy sitting over 
here and not being able to 
do anything. So that’s what’s 
going on in my mind. I’m 
physically here, but mentally 
there.” 
There are certain logistics 
Leiberman is still working 
on, such as finding flights 
and figuring out where he’ll 
stay when he gets there. 
Leiberman is aware of the 
uncertainty of what going to 
Israel right now could bring 
and, of course, is worried 
about being away from his 
wife and three kids. But he’s 
motivated to help.
“It’s about the principle. It’s 
about the principle that we as 
Jews need to help each other. 
We need to be there for each 
other. We need to be united. 
And we cannot allow other 
Jews to go like lambs to the 
slaughter.” 

OUR COMMUNITY

continued from page 39

LEFT: The Leiberman 
family with their 
shinshinim and “son” 
Yuval.

