Twenty-one years ago I rode through the Gaza Strip in disbelief. There I was on a mini bus riding slowly through the hordes of young Arab children; hands outstretched begging for Shekels. I think we did what most American or any tourists do when the used to visit Gaza---we had a kosher lunch. More than two decades later the Gaza Strip is a war zone, the battleground of an undeclared war. Mortars, machine guns and roadside bombs are common place. Since then I've been to Israel numerous times but never gave a second thought to going to Gaza. It was too far, there was nothing to see, and there was not enough time.Now the time has come to return to Gaza. In the aftermath of Madrid and Oslo One and Two and Camp David One, Two and Three we became emotionally prepared to sacrifice Gaza to the territorial appetite of a very angry and vicious peace partner. Gaza was going to be his State, a thin bit long stretch of land that from the air does not look that much different than Long Island. Somehow Providence did not allow the Arab hunger for Jewish land to swallow Gaza. So now it's time to go back.
The One Israel Fund, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance to the Jewish families of YESHA as well as other areas around Israel is hosting a nine day mission to bring us, American Jews in touch with the families, the people and the human beings who reside in these communities dotting the Israeli landscape. As we've heard repeatedly these men, women and children are heroes. Despite the death of over 100 Jews primarily from these areas and the wounding and crippling of hundreds of others, they remain steadfast and undaunted. They refuse to give up. Sure they're scared but they still refuse to give up. They are not different than us. They just happen to be there and we are here. And they are heroes.
Some come July 11 we will depart to Eretz Yisrael to stand alongside our friends and family in YESHA, look into their eyes and let them know that we are not just with them but that like them we too will never give up. It was just about a year ago that I was in Israel driving around making yet another attempt to convince myself that I know the country well enough to get around on my own. I drove to Efrat and Neve Daniel and to Ariel making numerous stops along the way to ask directions and to confirm that I was on the right road. We traveled the roads in the territories like they were the Belt Parkway, weaving in and out of traffic, passing slow moving vehicles and letting the faster ones pass us. There were Jewish license plates and Arab plates and the furthest thing from anyone's mind was that one of those cars passing us would have a gun and shoot at us.
As I recall we even picked up two hitchhikers near the Meorot HaMachpela in Chevron. They were from Georgia. They went to Kever Rachel with us and after that we just dropped them off at some street in Jerusalem. I thought they were a little strange and kept glancing back at them through the rear view mirror. My friend Shalom, a tour guide who I know from high school said it was common place to assist people trying to make there way from one part of the country to the other.
I even got lost driving alone a few days later trying to find Bet Shemesh, the city that hosts the burial sites of the mighty Shimshon, Dan the son of Yakov and my father. I've been there so many times before, it was usually a straight and easy ride. But this time I somehow did not find the exit sign to Bet Shemesh where I thought it should be. It was a spectacular moment. The majestic Judean hills in the distance and me at the wheel of my little rental. The circumstance seemed to be a moving contradiction in term. Driving a car like I do everyday in my regular life with the exception that this time I was surrounded by Eretz Yisrael instead of Starret City.
But then back in Israel this past January that all stopped. No more hopping over to Efrat to visit my friends parents and patronizing their quaint little American style Pizza store. The architect who designed some of the plans of our construction who commutes between Neve Daniel and Cedarhurst would once again go unvisited. I had spent so much time talking about Israel with Amiel, about his decision to move his family to Israel and to undertake the burden of flying between Israel and New York practically every two weeks. We had even flown over together a few times and each time he was kind enough to extend an invitation to us to come and visit, to see how and where he lives, to walk in Neve Daniel. And each time there was a reason we couldn't go. No time, too tired, had to visit relatives and so on.
But this time when we would have really liked to go we either could not go or did not have the courage to go. All of a sudden the excuses about being too busy and too exhausted seemed to be, well, exactly that, excuses. But now all that's changed. No longer is there an option to travel to and step foot into Neve Daniel or Neve Dekalim. It has to become imperative for every one of us, at least every one of us reading this. How else can we face ourselves knowing that we are taking the step of going to Eretz Yisrael, of spending quality time there but doing something other than physically demonstrating our solidarity with those of the front line of modern Jewish life.
No longer is the large, tasty and colorful Israeli breakfast a prominent feature on travel agents or tour operator brochures. Now, for those who have not stopped going to be in Israel the most outstanding feature of any visit is the bulletproof buses. Once an oddity they are increasingly becoming a staple of any Israel visit. I suppose whoever produces bulletproof buses or other similar type vehicles is experiencing a business boon. I mean we have and I'm sure you have traveled from one end of Israel to the other. But who would have ever thought that as a prelude to our reconquering Eretz Yisrael that we would have to take our physical exile along with our spiritual and emotional exile and wrap it up inside a bullet proof bus.
I mean would you go to Afghanistan or Iran on vacation? Would you ordinarily go anywhere in the world that placed you or your loved ones in any kind of even remote danger? Would you go to Miami Beach if you could only travel on Collins Avenue if you were in a bulletproof bus. I believe that this is where the problem lies vis a vis the staggering drop in tourism to Israel. For a Jew Israel can be a vacation but it shouldn't have to be one. The other day I heard someone tell a friend how instead of Israel this summer they were going to Cancun. Nice spot on the globe but Jews like us more than anyone else need to be in Israel now. And we need to be there not just to stand shoulder to shoulder with the so-called settlers but to spend money in the shops of the Jewish quarter, at the car rentals and the restaurants.
So just before I started writing this I'm looking at a memo from One Israel Executive Director Andy Goldsmith about the mission to Israel. My eyes are stuck on one line. This is it: "You will travel in bullet proof buses, with all travel arrangements coordinated with the Israel Defense Force." You can rest assured the guy I heard talking over his summer vacation plans is not having his time in Cancum coordinated with the Mexican army. If there is a Mexican army.
So the military in Israel is going to follow us wherever we go. Well, not exactly but they will be there to protect us from this sick and deranged enemy that Israel has nurtured and armed. It's as if we had this beautiful garden at our disposal and of all the things we could have planted in the garden we chose to plant cancer. Are we crazy? Who else would do such a thing?
I heard years ago that on routine flights to Israel aboard El Al that once you fly into Israeli airspace the aircraft are escorted by F-16 fighter jets. Do you understand? You are sitting there brushing off your packaged scrambled eggs, washing your face with one of those scolding but refreshing towels and you are being shadowed by MIG Jets looking for anti aircraft missiles. In Los Angeles last week someone I met who works at the Israeli Consulate told me that from the moment an El Al jet touches down at LAX it is escorted along the runway by two LAPD patrol cars for safety purposes. Delta, KLM and a couple of other airlines have halted their flights into Tel Aviv for now.
Then last week someone told me that aircraft flying into Tel Aviv maintain an unusually high altitude until they are very close to the airport. The reason for this is for the plane to stay out of anti-aircraft range. I asked the person from the Consulate in LA if this is true. She looked at me like I was nuts.
The point of all this is that Jews everywhere are targets of the current craziness. If we are being shadowed by Israel Air Force planes and escorted by police cars then even though we are not in uniform, I think that by not too much of a stretch we are all members of Israel's Defense Force. Okay so maybe you're stationed at the Plaza or the King David. It doesn't make you any less of an important foot soldier.
The One Israel Fund mission will also feature special briefings with Israeli officials on the current situation. The most recent One Israel mission met with former Prime Minister Netanyahu, Minister of Housing Natan Scharansky and Minister of Internal Security, Uzi Lnadau. More of the same is planned for the mission departing on July 11 and returning to New York on July 20.
Maybe you can successfully distance yourself and imagine that the current tragic conflict in the Middle East has nothing to do with you. But that would be a serious breach of reality. Not only does Israel need us today more than ever---but also we need her more than we'll ever know. For more information call the One Israel Fund at 212-679-0202.
