The Work We Do Is Really Important

Our IDF base near Tel Aviv is huge, we are on a small base within the larger base. The area where our group lives has rooms for 5 or 6, men and women separate, surrounding a communal area where we sit and chat when we have a little time.

It is very hot but we have air-conditioning in our rooms and work areas and even a washing machine. Bathrooms and showers are communal but close and clean.

The 34 people in our group aged 15 - 70's are Jews and non Jews. 

(Left:) Suzanne and Stewart Levin in uniform.

They come  from USA, Canada, England, France, Australia,  Italy, South Africa, Holland via Ethiopia, Germany and Japan. Couples, singles, siblings and parents with children. Many returnees and first timers like ourselves.

The food is OK, breakfast and dinner are always dairy meals, lunch is the large warm meal. Tomatoes, cucumbers and olives, so delicious, at every meal.

Halva or chocolate paste to eat with a spoon at breakfast, an Israeli thing, yum! We actually wear uniforms, however ill fitting and attend flag raising each morning before work.

Our Madrichot, Maya and Rebecca, (counselors, bosses and Moms), 2 young female Israeli soldiers, are delightful young women who do a great job of taking care of all our needs and just making sure we do our jobs, get fed and just generally care for us. The work we do is really important-- helping pack all the medical supplies used by the Israeli military during war, at their hospitals and clinics and for training of their medics. Also supplies and even whole hospital units sent around the world for disaster relief like to Haiti and Japan in the last year.

We also unpack expired stuff, which at first upset me since we had just packed similar packs and then I thought how great they were not needed. Most are recycled if at all possible, very little is destroyed. Also working with us are young Israeli soldiers training to be medics and a couple of times for a half day a group of senior citizens who volunteer weekly, some for as long as 20 years now. In the evenings we have informational sessions and some of us are studying Hebrew.

The work week on the army base is Sunday thru Thursday. This Thursday instead of working we went on a tiyul or field trip to Tel Aviv and we walked around its oldest neighborhood where the very first homes were built in the desert just over 100 years ago. It is now a gentrified artist and yuppie area called Neve Tzedek. Then we toured the IDF (military) museum which was very interesting.

Afterwards [we] went off to the huge central bus station and people went to where ever they were spending their weekend.