My interest in the Sar-El programs started when I attended a meeting in a large San Francisco synagogue. The highlight of the meeting was a talk by a young Israeli reservist; the subject was “Life of an Israeli soldier”. The reservist started saying: “You may think that an Israeli soldier is a gung-ho Zionist imbued with heroic, patriotic thoughts. Actually the reality is much different. Most soldiers are kids, often only 18, who may have to face situations requiring a judgment usually not available to inexperienced teenagers.” He then proceeded with a story about a small platoon of young soldiers who had to set up an ambush near a Palestinian village. The soldiers spent the night hiding in bushes. At dawn a herd of goats led by an old Arab stopped near the bushes and started grazing them. The soldiers initially were not visible, but the more the goats were eating away at the bushes, the more the hideout was disappearing. Eventually the old goatherd spotted the Israelis and blanched with fear. Now the kids were confronted with a dilemma: what to do? The alternatives were, 1) do nothing, and the man would run back to the village with his goats, alerting his compatriots that maybe would have attacked the small group of soldiers. 2) Kill the man, but the goats would have run back to their pen, alerting with their unexpected return the villagers. 3) Kill the goats, and sure enough the man would have started a riot, back at the village. 4) Kill everything in sight, an even worse solution from moral and tactical standpoints. “These are the decisions often confronting inexperienced young soldiers,” concluded the reservist. He did not give us the solution of the conundrum, and nobody in the audience had the chutzpah to ask for it. My curiosity about the IDF was tickled. I signed up for a 3-week program. A few weeks later I flew to Tel Aviv to report to an army base on the appointed date.

I did not know what to expect when I joined the program. I was delighted to find out that the work load was reasonable, the food was good and abundant and the lodging adequate. Most of all, I enjoyed the camaraderie with the members of my group. One remarkable aspect of our group was that 27 people lived together for two or three weeks, sharing accommodation, meals and transportation, and getting along with each other in an uncanny, perfect way, even though it was a mix of ages, genders and nationalities:  young American girls giggling, middle-aged couples, single men and women, older guys like me. People came from the United States, Canada, Europe and South America. Many of them were Jews, some followed various creeds. Sar-El accepts everybody, the rule is reciprocal respect.

 All the soldiers I met – men and women – were friendly and likeable. From my conversations with them I was able to learn more about the country and the challenges faced daily by the people of Israel. Dr. Aaron Davidi, founder and president of Sar-El, was at the airport to greet us on our arrival and came to visit us twice at the camp. The two young soldiers in charge of our group, the madrichot Danielle Chaimovitz and Hadas Avrech, have been very helpful. Pamela Lazarus, the local Sar-El organizer, was indefatigable. I am grateful for the tours of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv sponsored by the program and felt privileged to have had the opportunity to live in the middle of the IDF.

One can fall in love at first sight with a country as with a woman. The romance with Israel, this exotic, exciting, fascinating ancient-young country was alluring. I’ll have to return some day, to hug again those ancient stones of the Kotel HaMaariv that speak of gory and glorious stories.

I traveled to Israel as a sympathizer for the Jewish cause. I left as a Zionist in the mold of Herzl’s dream, that of a country inspired by principles of liberality, tolerance and love of humanity. I hope the political decisions of the Israeli government and the Palestinians will eventually lead to the resolution of conflicts with neighbors and the establishment of a true Zion.

 Glauco Romeo