4 | DECEMBER 5 • 2024 J
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few months ago, my friend Ken 
Gold mentioned that he was going 
to volunteer for a week in Israel on 
an army base through the Sar-El (Service for 
Israel) program, and he suggested I go, too. 
Since then, I’ve volunteered in Israel for six 
weeks, four of which were on Israeli army 
bases. My daughter Rebecca volunteered 
with me for two weeks as well.
Each week, about 150 volunteers showed 
up from around the world. The communal 
living conditions on each base were no frills. 
Volunteers ranged in age from their 20s to 
70s and spoke many 
different languages. 
We wore Israeli army 
uniforms with a Hebrew 
epaulette identifying us 
as volunteers. About one-
quarter of the volunteers 
were not Jewish. 
Israel is at war, and 
you can hear it regularly, 
such as Israeli jets flying, 
booms in the distance 
and red alerts. Our work 
on one base involved 
preparing boxes of food 
for combat soldiers. We 
made tens of thousands 
of meals which were then 
loaded on trucks going to Gaza or Lebanon. 
At times, I felt the aura of what it must 
have been like for the modern Israeli 
pioneers when they collectively worked to 
establish and advance Israel. Our groups 
often spoke different native languages, but 
Hebrew and English served as the bridging 
languages between us. There was a genuine 
sense of unity and camaraderie among the 
volunteers.
While the soldiers expressed their thanks, 
the volunteers overwhelmingly expressed our 
appreciation of them. We thanked them for 
the opportunity to be useful. We recognized 
that they are the ones sacrificing for Israel, 
and not just for them but us, too.
There is a small synagogue on each 
base. Getting a minyan of 10 was not easy. 
Usually, one prayed alone or with only a few 

people. Once in a while, an effort was made 
to make a minyan. A few times, several 
volunteers came and made the minyan. It 
was a great mitzvah for all. The minyan 
is militarily egalitarian, which is a unique 
aspect of a primarily Jewish army. The 
person leading the minyan on Tisha b’Av, a 
long fast day, was one of the soldiers working 
in the kitchen, but the attendees included 
senior and other officers, enlisted soldiers 
and volunteers. Everyone counted equally, 
notwithstanding the military hierarchy.
I was initially perplexed by the non-
Jewish volunteers. For example, I would not 
consider volunteering on a Ukrainian army 
base during the ongoing war with Russia. 
However, I came to appreciate the sincere 
desire of the non-Jewish volunteers to help 
Israel. One volunteer from Bolivia described 
that she had not had the easiest time 
traveling to Israel, and the base was hot with 
rough living conditions. But by the end of 
the week, she was so grateful for having been 
completely accepted by the group, treated 
like any other Jew and useful in supporting 
Israel.
On days off from the base, I volunteered 
on different farms, planting and picking 
cucumbers and strawberries, pruning and 
picking olive and lemon trees, planting 
tomatoes, wrapping vines and crating 
potatoes for delivery. There is an immense 
need for farm volunteers to replace the 
called-up army reservists and foreign farm 
workers who left Israel. The farmers were 
extremely appreciative.
My daughter and I also spent a week 
volunteering on a variety of other projects. 
We helped on Kibbutzim bordering Gaza, 
heard first-hand accounts of what happened 
on Oct. 7, and volunteered on many other 
projects at warehouses, unloading supplies 
for soldiers coming in and out of Gaza, 
preparing 100 Shabbat meals from scratch 
and many other activities.
Did I make a difference? On the one hand, 
there were enough volunteers to handle the 
actual work that I personally performed. 
On the other, our collective work as a group 
of volunteers in Israel made a difference. 

essay
A Volunteer in Israel

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 7

TOP TO BOTTOM: Todd Mendel on base assembly line making 
food boxes for soldiers. Todd Mendel and Rebecca Mendel 
finishing warehouse work on base. Todd Mendel and Ken Gold 
after daily flag raising on base.

TODD MENDEL

