10 | DECEMBER 21 • 2023 J
N
PURELY COMMENTARY
T
he sheer horror of Oct.
7, its scope, unimag-
inable barbarity and
emotional devastation wrought
grief and anger. It was so much
more than per-
sonal. It was a
riveting awaken-
ing from a long,
self-imposed fic-
tion that we Jews
were accepted in
this world as part
of it.
Immediately
following, donating money,
participating in rallies, petition-
ing, sharing grief and mourn-
ing, even praying didn’t seem
enough. Immersing myself in
news only heightened my sense
of futility. Faith and hope were
markedly waning while frustra-
tion, rage and darker thoughts
grew. I had to be there. Not that
it would make a difference in
the grand scheme of things, but
I needed to look Israelis in the
eyes, breath the same air and
stand together in that place of
our mutual destiny.
The words of Abraham
seemed prophetic as he
answered God, “Here I am.
”
Volunteers for Israel, and their
partner, Sar-El in Israel, was my
connection to apply and become
a civilian volunteer to perform
whatever functions were needed
in Israel. At 78, I was fortunate
to be in good enough health
and was approved after a
background check and doctor
recommendation.
That was the easy part. The
hard part was explaining my
decision to my loving wife,
sons, family and friends. To a
person, they expressed deep
concern and worry for my
safety and circumstance. So
much pressure, all with the
best intentions. No doubt,
leaving for Israel in a war can
be frightening with unknown
results. So is everyday life if you
think of it.
On Nov. 8, I left Detroit to
Tel Aviv via New York. It was
a Thursday. El Al Airlines
would fly me as the only airline
servicing Israel from the U.S.
That New York City segment
was so impactful. Going
through the El Al terminal, I
found myself among hundreds
of Orthodox Jews heading
home to Israel before Shabbos.
It was packed with families,
most having three to five
children accompanying their
parents. A sea of black and
white coats, fur hats, kippahs,
fringes, long skirts and head
coverings. Young children toting
little roller suitcases, backpacks,
and a myriad of electronics,
books and stuffed animals.
Not a spoken or demonstrated
fear. It shouted to my mind in
silence, “We are all going home.
”
From that moment, I knew with
certainty that this volunteer
experience would be amazing.
Sunday, Nov. 11, was the
day to meet, check in with Sar-
El and get assigned to a base
to begin my two-week duty.
About 200 volunteers from all
over the world were there as
well — from France, Canada,
Germany, Brazil, Argentina,
Italy, England, South Africa and
the United States. Israelis came,
too. Assignments were given,
dispatching some south to be
housed in Bedouin villages
and commute to a base for
food distribution. Others for
agricultural duties necessary
to harvest or plant crops
that represent a third of the
economy.
A DAY ON THE BASE
My group of 30 went to Tel
Hashomer for medical supply
distribution. Sar-El volunteers
are part of the Israel Defense
Forces, housed at bases,
given uniforms with work
assignments and supervised by
Israeli soldiers who are part of
the unit. The daily schedule was
breakfast at 7 a.m., flag raising a
8 a.m., work from 8:15 to noon.
Then came lunch, followed
by more work from 1-6 p.m.
Dinner was at 6, followed by
a group activity, education,
demonstrations and mingling
at 7.
The work environment was
comfortable. The base had
several large warehouses with
dozens of smaller “assembly”
sections. These were air-condi-
tioned and served as each team’s
unit where “missions” (the work
to be processed) were assigned
daily under the direction of
Alan Vosko
guest column
Being There — One Volunteer’s
Experience Assisting in Israel
Alan Vosko working to distribute medical supplies at Tel Hashomer