III. Some of Ziv’s Responses to the Ongoing War in Israel

These are difficult times for Israel and its people. In the last two and a half years of Israel’s brief history, the complex of events has brought hardship to many aspects of daily life, threatening Israel’s existence and wellbeing. There is no doubt about it.

On the streets, in living rooms, in apartments — and yes, even on buses — one often hears “Things will be well/good/fine.” This is not a blasé throwaway line — it is an astonishing statement of faith. The Chassidic Rebbi, Nachman of Bratzlav, meant the same when he taught, which my teacher, Rabbi Arthur Green, has so aptly translated, “Despair is not an option.” To be troubled, distressed, disturbed — those words may be appropriate — but not “despair.” Ziv has responded on many levels and many fronts. Following are a few of our Mitzvah activities relating to the critical situation in Israel today. Additional responses are described in the descriptions of our Special Agents section and Arnie Draiman’s work on our behalf.

A. HeroIsrael II

“I’ve just spent 10 of the most magnificent days of my life in Israel, and that amazed even me since I have been to Israel so many times in the past 30 years. In my previous visits I have certainly had some incredible “Israel Moments” that were filled with beauty, spirituality and emotion. But on this trip those moments occurred on a daily basis!”

Such were the words of one of the participants of our February trip. Words such as “awesome,” “fantastic,” and “unbelievable” do not quite do it. In truth, unless you experienced the trip you would not get the full impact of everything that each participant felt.

From the moment the group was dropped at the terminal at Newark Airport it was clear that this was not just some “ordinary mission” to Israel. To add to the “extraordinariness” of this trip was the fact that there were 27 people — many of them first-time visitors, some families, some traveling alone, and four teen-agers — willing to defy US State Department warnings and dire predictions by family and friends on the eve of the planned attack on Iraq. This band of travelers carried not only its own personal luggage but also more than 40 extra bags filled with toiletries, t-shirts, wedding gowns, candy, dental supplies, toys, games, new clothing — whatever was listed on a sheet we had distributed while planning the trip. All of these goods which, by the way, included more than 1,500 white t-shirts as well as thousands of small bags of M&M’s (soldiers’ favorites) were to be distributed to many of Ziv’s programs in Israel. It was this particular part of the trip that was the most difficult to coordinate. The amount of goods collected far exceeded the capacity of the room we used to store them before we took off!

The reception we received once we arrived in Israel was very special. We made a brief stop at the Tayelet (The Sherover Promenade) where we all said a Shehechayanu and made a Kiddush-blessing while looking out at the glorious Jerusalem landscape. The King David Hotel was incredibly generous in welcoming us, and also had a special surprise for all of us once we entered our rooms. Imagine everyone’s excitement when they pulled open the curtains on their window and saw the familiar walls of the Old City just as the sun was about to fade on the horizon. It was an auspicious start to a memorable 10 days.

Once we began the Grand Rounds of all of our Mitzvah heroes, the “Israel Moments” as described in our opening paragraph came daily — some days there were many more than one. Here is but a sampling: 

v      Recalling his words about planting trees in Israel as Israeli astronaut Ilan Ramon passed over his homeland in his space vehicle, we gathered as a group to plant a magnificent olive tree in his memory on the grounds of the Israel National Therapeutic Riding Association (INTRA). The mature tree was surrounded by smooth white rocks which each of us placed in position as we heard Reuma Weizman, the wife of Israel’s immediate past President, praise us for coming to Israel and supporting the country and its people. It was a very moving ceremony for all of us.

v      Another fabulous experience we shared also took place at INTRA. Minna Heilpern, one of our fellow travelers, had joined with her close friend, Judy Kupchan, to celebrate their milestone birthdays in an unusual and meaningful way. They asked all of their guests to donate to Ziv in order to facilitate the purchase of a new horse for the Club’s critical therapeutic riding work. In a few short months, Minna and Judy raised sufficient funds to purchase a beautiful horse, Pocahontas, who immediately started to work with disabled children and adults. What no one knew at the time of the purchase was that Pocahantas was “with child” and the purchase was actually a “two-for-one” bargain! Seeing Minna’s face as she met this special horse for the first time was awesome. Unfortunately, though she was due to deliver while we were still in Israel, Pocahontas held back until just a few days ago (March 7), at which time she delivered a gorgeous new foal, aptly named by the two savtas “Siegel”! The pictures we received of the delivery and the mother and child were incredible.

v      We mentioned the beautiful view outside of our windows at the King David. Waking up to that sight is special, for sure. It was even more special when we stood as a group, most evenings, and davened Ma’ariv in front of the open window. Havdallah at the end of our Shabbat in Jerusalem was particularly moving as we held the Havdallah candle high outside the window and sang the blessings. The group then joined, arm-in-arm and sang Hatikvah. It was a moment filled with sweetness and emotion.

v      Our group sat with rapt attention listening to Rafi Laderman, third in command of the Israel Defense Forces in Jenin, as he shared his first-hand experiences during that difficult battle. You could not help but be proud of our IDF after hearing Rafi speak.

v      There were very few dry eyes the evening we were hosted at the home of Phyllis Heimowitz, founder of the Amuta (Non-Profit Organization) for the Emotional Support of Fiancées (Girlfriends) of Fallen Soldiers of The Israel Defense Forces. The stories Phyllis shared were only surpassed by the poignant remarks spoken by Chava, a young woman who lost her fiancé several years ago, and Yael, another surviving fiancée who lost her beloved during the Yom Kippur War 30 years ago.

And so it went. Just when we thought that things could not be more exciting, we shared one more exceptional experience. We should not have been surprised when we came to the end of our trip and found ourselves in one of the heaviest snowstorms ever to hit Jerusalem. The view from our windows that Tuesday morning was breathtaking. The city was so still — nothing was moving. All we saw was a swirling dance of immense snowflakes as they fell on the Holy City. And…lest we think that that was the only “weather” we would experience, imagine our surprise as we made our precipitous departure from Jerusalem just as the roads opened up that afternoon. Along the way to Tel Aviv, we watched lightning stream across the sky, listened to huge pellets of hail as they fell on our bus, heard thunder off in the distance and marveled as Jackie, our driver, navigated through sheets of torrential rain that started and stopped in seconds. Did I forget that occasionally, off in the distance, there was a streak of blue sky? The joke on the bus was “When were the locusts and frogs going to start?”

There is no doubt that there will be a HeroIsrael III next winter. This year’s participants can assure you that it will be unlike any other you may have experienced. Indeed, one of our participants, upon returning home, wrote the following:

Hi, Naomi. When is the next trip?!?! This is my 1st day back to work and it’s so hard to reacclimate.  There were so many highlights from the trip….

We are forever indebted to our good friend, Kenny Kodish, who helped make the arrangements for the trip. Kenny is someone who truly understands what Ziv is all about and that understanding came through in everything that he arranged for us. Yasher Koach, Kenny!

B. A Listening Ear ($7,500)

The ongoing war in Israel coupled with the serious economic downturn has only increased demands on the Counseling Center for Women and its able staff. Some recent notes from CCW share that therapists have found that there is a very strong correlation between women impacted by the security situation and the recurrence of anxiety or other symptoms from previous trauma, as well as the fact that a vast number of clients state that the security situation has had a direct impact on their mental wellbeing and their ability to care for their families.

To that end, Ziv has underwritten a special project that addresses the emotional wellbeing of the wives of Israeli policemen and border patrolmen in Ashdod. With our funding, CCW offers therapeutic group sessions which help these women cope with the serious anxiety and distress that accompany their husbands’ highly dangerous job situation and their increased responsibilities.

[Counseling Center for Women, 8 Herzl St., Ramat Gan, 52431, Israel, Attn: Dana Miller, phone: 03-673-9006, fax: 673-9032, mailto:ccw@netvision.net.il. Our contact in Jerusalem: Bella Savran, phone: 02-673-3827, fax: 02-673-5382, bellasav@barak-online.net.]

C. The Gift of Comfort ($290)*

The statistics are startling:

After almost two and a half years of ongoing war in Israel, more than 5,000 Israelis have been injured, many with severe, life-altering injuries. Certainly many standard modes of treatment have been used to help these individuals regain their independence and health. The Gift of Comfort is an organization that uses licensed professional healing therapists who provide a range of therapies such as massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, reflexology, homeopathy, and deep muscle relaxation to terror victims and their families to help them heal and move forward.

The therapists offer the first four sessions for free, and then continue at a reduced rate, though it remains free for the victims and their families (and is underwritten by other sources).

We know that many victims and family members have gained relief and peace of mind from these therapies and we applaud the founders of this project for their initiative.

[The Gift of Comfort, Tova Saul, MSW, Rechov HaShofar 5, Old City, Jerusalem  97500, 02-627-6998, mailto:comfort@actcom.co.il. In the US: 1-866-583-5272. Donations can be sent to Ziv Tzedakah Fund for this program with the recommendation that the Tzedakah money be used for The Gift of Comfort.]

D. The IDF in Jenin ($3,500)*

We were honored this past summer to meet Rafi Laderman, third in command in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces)  infantry unit that fought in Jenin in April of 2002. Rafi and others in his unit have formed an Amuta (non-profit organization) whose purpose is to offer material and emotional support to the families of the 23 soldiers killed in that battle, and to those who were injured, as well as to members of the unit affected in previous wars. By sending teams of soldiers to these surviving families, the group has been able to determine specific immediate needs as well as future ones. They have provided a Shabbat retreat for many of the families and will also be taking surviving children on day trips. In many cases they are providing supplementary help where state-sponsored benefits do not apply.

We are very moved by Rafi’s efforts and are pleased to be a part of his group’s work.

[Rafi Laderman, The Fund for the IDF 5th Regiment, (Aguda LeMa’an Hativa 5), 5b Moshe Dayan St., Kfar Saba 44539, Israel, 09-766-0317, cellphone: 055-247-979, fax: 057-975-397, laderm@zahav.net.il.]

E. Ongoing Giving ($14,750)

Knowing the critical nature of interest-free loans from Biblical times and the incredible value for every dollar invested, Dr. Eliezer Jaffe founded the Israel Free Loan Association (IFLA) 13 years ago. A recent e-mail from Dr. Jaffe reported the following astounding statistics:

As of January 1, 2003, the fund has extended 18,887 loans totaling $34,514,351. In addition, they have received donations of $5,250,357 for outright grants to individuals in need. 

Each year, Ziv donates to IFLA, and our statistics are: $29,960 donated, $207,700 loaned out as 205 loans…a 693% return on our Tzedakah “investment”!

It is only now, during the current war, that we were made aware of just how important this special organization’s mission is. With the extreme economic difficulties in Israel, and war raging, the availability of free loans is even more critical.

Efficient and extremely lean in its expenses, it is a model free-loan program.

Beyond the free-loan work, though, Dr. Jaffe is Professor Emeritus and retired chairman of the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work at Hebrew University, and the person we consider the greatest expert on all social welfare issues in Israel. We cannot stress enough how important his listing of hundreds of Israeli non-profits is as a resource for anyone interested in making intelligent decisions about where their Israel donations should be sent. His book, Giving Wisely, is a must reference, and even more so, the website http://www.givingwisely.org.il/, which contains regular supplements and updates on non-profit organizations in Israel. We also highly recommend the text of his recent lecture, entitled, “The State, Volunteers and Nonprofit Organizations in Israel: The Nature of the Relationship,” and found on the web at www.givingwisely.org.il/

State.htm.

[IFLA, c/o Dr. Eliezer Jaffe, 37 Azza St., Jerusalem, home phone: 02-563-7450, mailto:mselijaf@pluto.mscc.huji.ac.il, http://www.freeloan.org.il/.  IFLA: 64 Azza St., POB 4579, 02-563-0248, fax: 566-9504.  Tax-deductible contributions through PEF.  See Section II:A above.]

Ziv is a member of The International Association of Hebrew Free Loans (IAHFL). To explore establishing such a free-loan society in your community, contact Allen Luterman, President of the IAHFL, 214-361-1370, mailto:AllenL2118@aol.com, or visit the website www.freeloan.org.

F. ATZUM: A New Response To Israel Today ($158,305)*

Since the war started over two years ago, there have been many new programs instituted that address the ongoing physical, emotional and economic devastation in that country. One of them, about which we are particularly excited, is ATZUM, founded by our good friend, Rabbi Levi Lauer.

As recent literature from his organization states:

…..  We (also) need to remember the five thousand other families similarly affected by the economic and emotional havoc caused by the bombs and attacks. While we can never heal their emotional scars, we can do something. For starters, we can help alleviate the emotional and financial suffering facing these families.

…..  These families face many challenges. The least we can do is to give them the financial means with which to deal with those challenges, enabling them to get back on their feet, physically and emotionally. 

Much of the money that Ziv has donated to ATZUM this year is the result of donor-advised contributions.

[ATZUM, Rabbi Levi Lauer, 6 Ha-Lamed-Hay, Jerusalem,  93661, 02-566-9343 (h), 02-567-5437 (w), mailto:info@atzum.org. In the US, c/o Ellen Singer, PO Box 252, Youngsville, New York 12791, info@atzum.org.]