Jewish News of Greater Phoenix

MISSION POSSIBLE

Federation mission to Israel energizes participants

ANNE RACKHAM
Special to Jewish News
Barry Zemel at the Valley of the Destroyed Communities memorial
Barry Zemel at the Valley of the Destroyed Communities memorial at Yad Vashem. He is standing in front of the names of destroyed Polish towns, including the towns his parents came from, Bielsk and Drobin. Visiting Israel on the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Mission 100 was "one emotional high to the next," according to Craig Dean, owner of the Miracle Mile Deli in Phoenix.
Visiting Israel on the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix's Mission 100 was "one emotional high to the next," according to Craig Dean, owner of the Miracle Mile Deli in Phoenix.

"It's almost as if the whole trip was a highlight," said Dean. "At times, I'd be walking through Jerusalem, and I'd just start crying out of the clear blue sky. I don't know why. It was fantastic. I can't stop thinking about it."

Dean was one of 69 participants in last month's fourth Federation-sponsored community mission. The mission raised $332,194 in donations from its participants for the 1997 UJA/Federation Campaign.

Dean had been to Israel in 1975, but said going with the Federation was an opportunity to "see it from the inside."

"It's so educational," he said. "You get incredibly different perspectives."

One of the most emotional moments during the trip came at the cemetery on Mount Herzl, where mission participants held a service at the gravesite of slain Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

"There was a group of teens, with pierced ears, with tattoos, just like American teens. We were praying in English. As we began to say Kaddish, they joined in. That never would have happened in the States," Dean said. "There is a reverence and respect for Judaism that you don't have anywhere else, even among teens. But then, I guess you grow up fast there."

Other mission high points included:

  • Dinner at Lido Island with entertainment by Metzitzim Mehaezba, a group of teens from the Hula Valley.
  • Visiting a bomb shelter at Kiryat Shemona on Israel's northern border, where mission participants met with high school students.
  • Speaking with Rachel Korazim, child of a Holocaust survivor, at the Yad Vashem memorial.
  • A memorial service in the Valley of the Destroyed Communities, featuring a presentation by Helen Handler, president of the Phoenix Holocaust Survivors Association and a mission participant, on the importance of strong communities.
  • Camel rides at a Bedouin camp at the Dead Sea.
  • A visit to a grade school in Kiryat Malachi, highlighted by a musical presentation.
  • A Tel Aviv treasure hunt, culminating at Independence Hall.

The mission just returned brings to some 500 the number of alumni in the community who have traveled to Israel with the Federation since 1990, according to Berry Sweet, who co-chaired the mission with her husband, Errol. Nearly half of this year's participants were first-timers to Israel, Sweet said, and participants represented a wide range of ages, congregation affiliations and levels of involvement in the Jewish community.

One purpose of the mission is to give contributors to the campaign some insight into where their dollars go and into the nature of the work in which recipient agencies and programs are involved.

Federation is making plans for a 1998 mission in celebration of the 50th birthday of the State of Israel.
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