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July 18, 2003/Tamuz 18 5763, Vol. 55, No. 47
Experience sights, sounds of Israel
JOE CHARLAFF
Special to Jewish News
Phoenix resident Brad Cohen tours Hadassah Hospital's new emergency room, currently under construction, one of the highlights of a recent United Jewish Communities Young Adults mission to Israel.
Photo courtesy of Joe Charlaff
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More than 100 young adults from 13 communities in the United States, including Phoenix, visited Israel for six days in early July to see and experience the country in person.
Highlights of the United Jewish Communities mission included visiting the Golan Heights and seeing bunkers used by the Syrian army during the Six-Day War in 1967. Standing at the Manara cliff lookout, they had an uninterrupted view of Lebanon on the northern Israeli border. At the renowned Golan Winery, they tasted some of Israel's finest wines, followed by a picnic lunch at Tel Dan, one of Israel's famous nature reserves. They also shared breakfast with the American Ambassador, Daniel Kurtzer, and his wife on the first day of their trip.
"It is hard to find any other vehicle that accomplishes as much as participating on a mission," says Robin Loeb, Missions Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix. "When someone goes to Israel and sees and experiences everything firsthand, it's an incomparable experience - to talk face to face with people that are going through experiences that come with living in Israel, whether as immigrants or through terror situations, and to see some of the wonderful projects done with the dollars raised."
Loeb emphasizes that in recent years the federation has been active with its own community missions, in conjunction with United Jewish Communities, and has also participated in national missions.
Participants in the most recent mission visited projects funded by the UJC, including an absorption center for Ethiopian Jews. Co-chairman Rael Gorelick spoke excitedly about how they "banged drums with the children" and painted a wall in the absorption center.
Later in the mission, participants inundated a Magen David Adom station, Israel's version of the Red Cross, eager to donate blood. "We didn't only get to raise money, we got to raise blood," notes Gorelick.
On the morning of July 4, mission delegates streamed into the dining room of Jerusalem's Inbal Hotel. They chatted about the week's events while indulging in a varied Israeli breakfast.
Sipping his orange juice at one of the tables was Phoenix resident Brad Cohen. This is his second trip to Israel.
"(My) most vivid impression is that life is surprisingly normal - people going to work, people shopping. They don't seem to be fearful," says Cohen. "Everything seems quite normal. Something that is pleasantly surprising."
Cohen remarks that he was not nervous about coming to Israel.
"I watched recent events on TV and felt that the situation was improving and I was not worried," he says. "If you have been hesitating to come to Israel because of terrorist issues, the situation is much better than one would expect, and I would encourage people to come. Israel needs your support."
Cohen notes that the highlight of the trip was traveling with 100 other young American Jews and building relationships.
Outside in the hot Jerusalem sun, buses were waiting to take the delegates to Hadassah Hospital at Ein Kerem. There, they gathered in the air-conditioned conference room to hear firsthand from one of Hadassah's senior surgeons about the treatment of terror victims, and one victim's mother spoke of how she handled her ordeal.
Immediately afterward, the group donned hard hats and trooped outside to see the hospital's new emergency room, currently under construction. The addition will be a state-of-the-art unit, the largest in the Middle East, with a final cost expected to be approximately $40 million, according to Audrey Shimron, director of Hadassah offices in Israel.
Mariana Nanu, Missions manager of UJC in Jerusalem, said the latest intifada has affected mission participation as well as programs.
"Programming is sometimes changed to suit both circumstances and the mission leaders' requests," she says.
She points out that there has been a significant decrease in the number of participants, not only because of the security situation in Israel, but also because of concerns after Sept. 11.
Past missions had approximately 400 participants; the latest mission included 125 participants, Nanu notes.
Still, they made the most of their experience. The delegates welcomed the Sabbath with a festive dinner in a Jerusalem hotel. Two cantors conducted the worship service. In honor of July 4, every challah was adorned with a miniature "Stars and Stripes." The atmosphere was charged, with singing and dancing.
Nanu summed up the feeling of the delegates on the eve of their departure back to the States.
"They were very happy with the mission, but I would like to see them coming back on 10-day missions, to see more and enjoy more."
Joe Charlaff is a free-lance writer living in Jerusalem.
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