30 | NOVEMBER 2 • 2023 J
N

OUR COMMUNITY

A

lthough retired 
healthcare 
professional and 
physical therapist Barry 
Chesterman planned a trip 
to Israel in advance to help 
his mother recover after 
a surgery set in October, 
his trip took on a new 
meaning as the war in Israel 
unfolded.
Chesterman, 65, of 
Huntington Woods and 
a former IDF volunteer 
medic, knew he needed to 
support his nephew, Eitan 
Chesterman, who serves as 
a supply sergeant with IDF 
paratroopers.
After tallying up equip-
ment available to the troops, 
Eitan Chesterman realized 
the troops were in need of 
more supplies, particularly 
ammunition vests, missile 
carryall bags and multi-
tools.
Chesterman immediately 
sent a message to his 
chavurah, or Jewish 
community, asking if 
they’d be willing to donate 
funds for purchasing 
more supplies. His son 
and daughter-in-law also 
posted the request to their 
Instagram pages.
The response was 
immediate. In just a few 

short days, the Chesterman 
family raised $16,100 
from 75 donors, which 
will go directly toward the 
paratroopers. If their needs 
are fully met, the funds will 
then be distributed to other 
soldiers on the front lines.

GETTING TO ISRAEL
Still, like many others, 
Chesterman faced canceled 
flights trying to get to Israel 
as airlines quickly began 
stopping flights to and from 
the war-torn country.
After two canceled flights, 
Chesterman was finally 
able to arrive in Israel, 
flying El Al via Boston and 
London’s Heathrow airport. 
He plans to be in Israel for 

10 days to help his mother 
recover and to continue to 
support Israeli troops on 
the ground.
“The mood on the plane 
was serious,” he explains. 
“Almost all passengers were 
Israeli, most appearing 
younger or older than the 
call-up age.”

A SENSE OF PRIDE
Chesterman, who is affil-
iated with the Isaac Agree 
Downtown Synagogue and 
volunteers with Kosher 
Meals on Wheels and Yad 
Ezra, says despite the serious 
mood, there was an incred-
ible sense of pride on the 
plane.
Like many heading to 
Israel this week and last, 
there is a purpose to the 
trip. Some, like Chesterman, 
are en route to be close with 
family during the crisis, 
while others arrived armed 
with duffel bags full of 
supplies and goods for the 
Israeli people and soldiers.
“It’s not unusual for 
passengers to applaud 
when landing in Israel,” 
Chesterman says. “This 
flight, they spontaneously 
broke out with ‘Am Yisrael 
Chai,’ or ‘The People of 
Israel Live.’” 

Former IDF volunteer medic and healthcare 
professional raises more than $16,000.

From Detroit to Israel: 
Raising Funds to Assist 
IDF Soldiers

ASHLEY ZLATOPOLSKY CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Barry Chesterman

Ethics Complaint Filed 
Against Rashida Tlaib

On Oct. 19, The Lawfare 
Project’s (LP) filed an official 
ethics complaint against Rep. 
Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) with 
the Office of Congressional 
Ethics (OCE). The complaint 
asserts that Tlaib directly vio-
lated Rule 1 of the U.S. House 
of Representatives’ Code of 
Official Conduct by publishing 
a statement on her X (formerly 
Twitter) account that false-
ly and recklessly accuses the 
Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) of 
being responsible for the recent 
deadly attack on a hospital in 
Gaza.
LP’s complaint calls upon the 
OCE to immediately launch an 
investigation into Tlaib and to 
refer the matter to the House 
Committee on Ethics.
“Despite compelling evidence 
showing that the terrorist 
group Palestinian Islamic Jihad 
(PIJ) was in fact responsible 
for the attack, and President 
Joe Biden along with the 
White House National Security 
Council also attributing blame 
to PIJ, Tlaib has not deleted 
her social media post nor apol-
ogized for spreading dangerous 
disinformation,” said Brooke 
Goldstein, Executive Director 
and Founder of The Lawfare 
Project. 
“Instead, she spoke at a pro-
Hamas rally where she dou-
bled down on the lie and has 
refused to retract it. This mod-
ern-day blood libel has sparked 
rioting across the Arab world 
and has been used to justify 
demonstrations supporting 
Hamas on U.S. college campus-
es and beyond.”
LP is urging individuals 
to contact their local con-
gressional representatives in 
the House and demand that 
Congress launch an investiga-
tion into Rep. Tlaib. 

