So, what has a second stint in Sar-El gained for me?

Funny you should ask.

I just completed my second commitment to the IDF as a volunteer.  I worked hard - just as I did the last time I was there.  I encountered a variety of people with a variety of ideas about life, Israel and how things happen, just as I did the last time.  What's different?  I don't have a lot to say about things this time – not like I did the last time.  I actually shared this little tidbit with a veteran Israeli immigrant when I returned from the army and her comment was:  Now you're really an Israeli.

So, what does that mean?  I'm not entirely sure – but I think part of it means that it doesn't matter what people think or say or do, there are things we have to do, think and say here that will affect our lives and it really doesn't matter what "big brother" is doing on his part of the planet.  I really got the fact that people outside of Israel don't understand what we have to deal with on a day-to-day basis.  I got the truth that even if they thought they got it, their advice wasn't relevant because they live in another reality – one that doesn't live with guns, bombs, war, suicide bombers and our current reality, here in Israel.  No matter how "knowledgeable" they are, they don't live here and they don't – in fact – get it.  That doesn't mean their hearts aren't in the right place or that they don't love the country or want the best for Israel.  It simply means that we really live in two different realities and what works in one won't necessarily work in the other.

Take for instance the different mindset.  I experience it daily.  Most of us who live here do. Folks want to measure what happens in Israel by the standard of the way things are done in America, Canada, England, South Africa, Australia, or wherever.  The fact remains that this is not America, Canada, England, South Africa, Australia, or wherever.  This is Israel.  We do things the way we do things here-in Israel.  If you want to compare it with the country you live in, then it won't fit the grid.  What to do?? Get over it.  Stop comparing and stop trying to make us fit into your paradigm.  It's not going to happen.  And – when you move here and live here and get to understand a few things, then you'll get this fact too.

This time in the army was very intense.  We were in a state of war when I entered the Sar-El program.  There were 43 volunteers, mostly American, and we were stationed at the medical supply base in central Israel.  There were many people who have been here, done this before, and several who were here for the first time.  It's always interesting to listen to the chatter when the group first gets its legs.  The "vets" are proud of their service, and rightly so.  The new people just want to serve and do a good job.  They want the minutes and hours to produce good things for Israel.  Everyone who does volunteer service with Sar-El wants it to be meaningful.  Thankfully, at the end of the day, for the majority of participants, it is meaningful, fulfilling and worthwhile.  There are, always, a few who walk away wondering why the hell they got into the program – but they are few and far between.

What was really interesting to me this time was the number of people who had been here before and somehow expected red-carpet treatment and a special place of recognition and accolades.  When it wasn't forthcoming, it was apparent they were upset but didn't quite know what to do with their issues.  Upon reflection, I think it really is shocking to people when they realize that instead of being a superstar, they are, in fact, a part of the machinery that keeps things going.  Instead of recognizing that this is probably the most important place of all, they stew over the fact that "nobody acknowledged me in the right fashion."  It's really too bad.  That is exactly the mindset and attitude that doesn't fit with the Israeli way of doing things.  We aren't about superstars, we're about working together, about being a team, about being responsible for one another and it isn't the competition that counts. 

It's taken me a long time to formulate my thoughts and write a newsletter this time.  And, truth be told, it's not finished.  I have a slew of people on my list who aren't Jewish, aren't going to come here, probably won't take the time to volunteer in the Israeli army and have other things in their lives that demand a lot more priority than Israel does.  And, maybe, at the end of the day this isn't for them.  From all of you, I ask forgiveness for drumming a beat you can't march to.  For the rest – take a minute or two to think about it.  If the shoe fits, wear it.  If it's too tight – do something proactive to change the way things are.

I'm finished with apologies.  Living politically correctly doesn't seem to get anything done.  I have a life to live and a country to live in---here in Israel we seem to be in a constant state of political incorrectness.

But – at the end of the day I've got to say – I love it, I love Israel and I love you all.

From the land of outstanding political incorrectness and the best army on the planet.