My Experience in SAR-EL

By Brad Jacobson (with Preface by Pamela Lazarus)

Brad Jacobson is the epitome of a Sar-El volunteer. I had the pleasure & good fortune to get to know him well this summer, 2003.  Everybody who meets Brad sees his special character, feels his warmth & sensitivity.  His madrichot cry when he leaves.  Each year he adds a couple new friends to his special circle of close friends. I hope I am one of them because I anxiously await his arrival next year.  All of the volunteers that I have met during my 8 year affiliation with Sar-El & especially during this past year that I have been the program coordinator are wonderful. It’s an honor & a privilege to meet you at the airport, visit you on bases, & spend weekends in Tel Aviv together.  But those of you who know Brad will agree with me that he is “mashu, mashu” something very special.

Please read Brad’s account of last year’s trip. I know when he writes about this year’s program, it will be just as meaningful. 

Pamela Lazarus

This summer I lived and worked on an Israeli army base as part of the Volunteers for Israel Program. I have been a volunteer for 15 summers.  An Israeli friend told me that I must be getting more out of the experiences than I give. He is right. This past summer was even more of a special experience.

There were more volunteers than ever. In each of my three volunteer groups on the base there were over 50 people. We were only one group out of many. Michael, a fellow volunteer from San Francisco summed up the feelings of many volunteers. After watching all news from the Middle East on television he wanted to help in any way possible. There were volunteers from all over the world including Botswana, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Holland, Norway, Finland, England, France, and the United States.

June 12

After work the volunteers went on a short bus ride along the beach in Tel Aviv. We were free to explore. I love the beach and walked along the sea. My first stop was a falafel stand. I was surprised because the beach and shops were crowded.

I decided to take a long walk to the Dolphinarium. The Dolphinarium was the club in which there was a terrorist attack a year ago and twenty-one people were killed. The Dolphinarium has never been just any place to me. It is near Yaffo and I have jogged by there at least a hundred times. It is located on the part of the jog where the rocks go out into the sea. It is beautiful. After the attack last year I cancelled my summer plans to go to Israel. By not going last year I knew more than ever that my heart was in Israel.

It was a long walk. The Dolphinarium looked the same except that there was a monument nearby. Next to the monument were photographs of the people who were killed. I saw young faces and I saw life. There were no words. I prayed.

June 19

We usually are done work by 4 p.m., but today we also worked in the evening. After dinner the volunteers were standing together in a group to be assigned new jobs. My boss came over and waved for me to come with him. I felt good.

I am the only volunteer working with reservists. Our job was to pack medical supplies that were delivered all over the country. We packed and unpacked boxes, sealed bags, counted supplies, and made labels. One volunteer said that a gorilla could be trained to do the work we did. It wasn’t just the work that made the experience. It was also the soldiers that I worked and ate with. The reservists included a computer operator, a bus driver, and a university professor.

Yehuda Amichai in the poem “The Tourist,” tells the reader that the real way to see Israel is not by simply visiting the sights, but by getting to know the people. Dr. A. Davidi, founder of Volunteers for Israel, told us that the volunteers have a unique opportunity to look Israelis in the eye. 

June 26

Today was a special day at work because we went to another base. Almost all the volunteers went and we worked with the medics in training. There were 80 female soldiers that helped us.

Our job was to fill up boxes with food on an assembly line.

There was a sense of urgency to our work. We worked late and filled 11,880 boxes of food. Each box provided four meals. My job was putting cans of tuna fish in the boxes. The boxes went by fast and I sweated a lot. Julie, a soldier, kept the boxes of tuna close to me so I could put them in the boxes quickly. The soldiers would break out in to song. In the evening, one of the volunteers said this was one of the best days of her life. I agreed. We worked hard. We worked together. It was a wonderful feeling of solidarity.

June 28

Standing in the post office line in Jaffe was interesting. There were Muslim women and Jews standing in line. One Muslim woman looked like she could be a college student; she was dressed in the traditional dress. I noticed one Muslim woman talking casually to a Jewish woman. I thought they should be the leaders.

July 1

After work I visited Shully and Avraham. Their house is only a 15- minute bus ride from the base. I was first greeted by their barking dog. He didn’t remember me even though I have been to their house many times in the 12 years that I have known them. We sat in the back, shaded by a garden and grapefruit tree. Shully prepared a wonderful dinner.

During our conversation I told Shully about my bruise. She is a physical therapist and asked to look at it. I said no. It was on my behind. “What’s the difference?” Shully asked. I gave up and showed her, just like she was a member of my family. She told me to see a doctor.

At Shully’s and Avraham’s I get a special feeling. It is similar to the feeling when I am in my hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, visiting my neighbors, who have known me since I was a little boy. When I left Shully gave me a big container of homemade brownies to take back to the base. She also made a deal with me: I won’t be polite with them and they won’t be polite with me.

July 13

I woke up early and went jogging along the beach and swimming in the sea! I had lunch at Shabtays house. Shabtay’s son and daughter-in-law were there, also. Shabtay’s son is a lawyer. He recently returned from the West Bank where he had to do his reserve duty. Usually he is notified well in advance but this time there were urgent orders and he was given almost no notice.

Last night I had Shabbat dinner at Nitzan’s parents house. Nitzan’s father gave me a book of which he was the editor-in-chief and Nitzan did much of the research. It is titled, Israel 50.  Four years ago, Nitzon was my madricha(leader of the volunteers). It felt like a dream to be eating Shabbat dinner with her family. For dessert we had my favorite ice cream.

July 15

On Sunday morning I go back to the base. It is a nice feeling to show the guards my volunteer card and get in to the base just like one of the soldiers. On the base are a Burger King, Shekem (canteen), and a swimming pool. I like to run early in the morning. It is quiet. There are just the soldiers keeping guard and me. When I run past them they give me thumbs up sign, wave, or clap.

July 19

I am in Jerusalem. Last night was Tisha-Be-Av.  It is a day of mourning and people fast because the temple was destroyed 2000 years ago. I took a bus to the Kotel and arrived before sunset and the end of Tisha-Be-Av.  After sunset children gave me cookies and cake.

Today I went jogging and ran to the Kotel. When standing at the wall, I looked back because I sensed that someone was looking at me. I saw an old religious man, with a long white beard and warm eyes looking at me and smiling. He has talked to me after my early morning jogs before. I have not seen him for two years. His glance gave me a feeling of being home.

I met Gill at the Kotel, where many people were dancing and celebrating to welcome Shabbat. Gill invited me to Shabbat dinner at his house in the Old City. As we started to walk to dinner four British Yeshiva students joined us. We walked up the steps and instead of taking a right to the Jewish Quarter we turned left and found ourselves in the middle of the Arab Quarter.

This was the same way I walked earlier in the day when I was taking a short cut to the Jewish Quarter. While walking several Palestinian shopkeepers invited me to look at their stores. I hesitated, but finally stopped in a store called The Oasis. The owner invited me to sit down and drink coffee with him. He said I was his first customer in twelve days. As we talked, he said he wished for peace. He said that both Palestinians and Jews have a heart. We both have similar needs.  I decided to buy a candleholder but I couldn’t find my wallet.  The storeowner found it under the pillows where I had been sitting. He teased me and we laughed together.

Later, as I passed the Palestinian shops with Gill and the British students, I felt somehow different. We eventually arrived at Gill’s house for dinner. We had many questions and he had many stories. I asked Gill about happiness. He started his answer with a question. What would I rather have my baby finger or a million dollars? The simple lesson was that there were many beautiful things in the world. Gill told us that each one of us could each make a difference. He gave us the example of when he was at the Kotel helping people with tefilin (Orthodox tradition of prayer). Gill approached a group of soldiers. All the soldiers put on the tefillin except the lieutenant. No matter how hard Gill tried to convince him, the lieutenant politely refused. A group of children surrounded the lieutenant, and encouraged him to put on the tefillin. The lieutenant’s heart melted and he did it. Gill said that this story shows us that we may be able to reach someone that our friend may not be able to.

July 22

In the time between arrivals and departures of volunteer groups I found myself to be the only volunteer at flag raising. I stood in the back so not to be noticed. The officer looked at me and said, “Shama”(there). He pointed for me to stand in front, right by the soldiers. I watched the flag being raised, and I thought that this experience better then staying in a 25- star hotel. Yes, it was true that I had to sleep with seven other people in a room. I ate in the dining hall with the soldiers. But I was proud to be part of something much bigger than myself. Looking at the flag being raised I was proud to be a volunteer.

July 31

Today I lost a bet today with Amy. She is from Canada. We bet on who had a darker tan. Amy said I was darker because of the hair on my arm. To prove Amy wrong I shaved my arm. When we went to settle the bet, Amy rolled up her shirt sleeve. She was darker. She had painted her arm brown.  

One of the things that I enjoy most is meeting volunteers from many different countries. On the weekends the volunteers can stay at a hostel by the beach in Yaffo/Tel Aviv. Up to eight people share a room so it is not always the first choice of many of the volunteers, but I find it interesting. Volunteers are there from all over the world. Our volunteer group has almost all native English speakers. In the hostel I hear many languages. It feels like a little United Nations. I have made friends from all over the world. For instance, in Yaffo while sitting on the hill overlooking the sea my friends from Russia, South Africa, and myself are contemplating the tastes of our favorite foods that we miss in our native lands.

August 4

I woke up by the Red Sea and saw the sunrise over the mountains in Jordan. I am camping in Eilat. This morning I went snorkeling. I saw a Lion Fish, an octopus, and various types of colorful fish. After snorkeling I went parasailing. I was high in the air over the Red Sea and the mountains were on both sides. One side was Israel and the other Jordan. It is desert so the mountains are brown. It was the closest I ever felt to being a bird.

August 10

I was walking into the new city of Jerusalem, from the Old City, to get my hair cut. My favorite barber is Shai and his shop is located off of Jaffe Road near the Ben Yuhuda walking mall. Jaffe Road was unusually quiet and the soldiers were keeping guard. There have been several bombings in this area. When I turned the corner to go to Shai’s, two soldiers stopped me. They were serious and wanted to see my I.D. I showed them my passport and then my base volunteer card. Their serious look melted in to smiles. They wanted to know where I was a volunteer and what I was doing, why I came, and other things about me. They really appreciated volunteers being here. When I arrived at Shai’s he was up to his old antics. In the middle of my haircut he began mimicking animal sounds. Although it seemed silly, it made me laugh. After my haircut I walked back into the quiet road. I turned up Ben Yuhuda Street and soldiers once again asked to see my I.D. All of a sudden I was in an outdoor festival. There was music, food, and dancing. Israelis continue to live.

August 12

Today is my last day in Israel. Last night, a friend I met at the Kotel gave me a ride from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv. It was near sunset, and the sun and the light against the hills was beautiful.

I stayed in a hotel for the first time this summer. After the man helped me take my luggage to the room I tried to give him a tip. He would not take it, and said that he appreciates very much volunteers coming to help.

Efrat picked me up at about 6 p.m. We went to dinner and then to the airport. She takes me to the airport every summer when I leave. I met Efrat in 1987 when she was a lieutenant on the Volunteers for Israel Program and we have been friends ever since.

When I was on the airplane I reached for the 5 shekal coin that Avi gave me. When I return to Israel he asked me to give the shekels as tzadakah(charity).

September 4

I am back in Missouri. Besides my job at the Disability Services Office at the University of Missouri I am taking a class on Israeli culture. The professor is from Israel and told me that I seem to fit in to Israel. That is what Dorit, a fellow volunteer told me. Dorit was in Jerusalem during the 1948 siege.

I do have a special feeling about Israel. Vividly, I remember the flag raising and I feel close to the people and land. Almost every weekend my friends invited me to Shabbat dinner. On the base I was becoming friends with the soldiers. The man who worked next to my station thought that I was a reservist and not a volunteer. Now, in the United States, people ask me if I felt danger. No. I felt at home.

Brad Jacobson

Volunteers for Israel

Summer 2002