Our Sar-El Volunteering Experience

By Hank Schonzeit and Doreen Woogen

Dear Friends, 

The site below contains the pictures of our adventure with Sar_el. Please feel free to look at them and contact us. 

http://picturecenter.kodak.com/share?invite=GErr4MzckPYthkro7hek

My wife Doreen and I had postponed our trip to Israel once and then postponed it again and again. We finally realized that there is never one right time to go. If we kept on waiting, we might wait forever. We should just buy our tickets - and go.

When word got around about our decision a fellow congregant approached us and described how he had volunteered in Israel. He encouraged us to follow his example. This was different - perhaps a better way to experience Israel and support the beleaguered Israelis. Perhaps the idea had some merit. His enthusiasm and description of the Sar-EI program convinced us.

Along the way, we learned that the Sar-EI program had gotten its start in 1982, during Operation Peace for Galilee. The Golan Heights farms were in danger of losing whole harvests because so many reservists were called up for army duty.

General Aharon Davidi, former head of the IDF Paratroopers and Infantry Corps, took action. He sent several friends on a recruiting mission to the US and some 650 volunteers responded to work the unattended fields. This was a great success, and Sar-EI, the Hebrew acronym for "Service for Israel", was born.

Today, the program takes volunteers from all over the world, Jew and non-Jew. Last year more than 3,500 people participated, saving the IDF millions of dollars. Volunteers work for two weeks or longer on an IDF base in a non-combat area. They are given tasks that require little or no training, that are doable by people of all ages and that have a tangible, positive impact on the effort to support Israel.

Our Base

For security reasons, Sar-EI cannot tell you ahead of time where you will be assigned. So when we arrived at Ben-Gurion Airport, and the Israeli immigration officials asked us where we would be staying, it was awkward - we didn't have a clue. But we answered "Sar-EI". That was enough; they smiled and waved us through.

We were picked up at the airport and driven to Batzap 382, our assigned base, in the Tel Aviv vicinity. The base was just across the highway from Ramla, a small city that is 40% Arab.

Ramla was interesting: a real mishmash of secular, rigidly observant and everything in-between Jews; and also Christian and Muslim Arabs. On the streets, in the market, Jews and Arabs were all mixed together. We were allowed - in small groups - to walk into town to shop and try their restaurants. There was an Internet cafe, schwarma and falafel stands, and for those inclined, a kosher McDonalds. The falafel was about as good as it gets, even in Israel.

Upon our arrival at the base, we were warmly greeted by a 19 year-old soldier, Yuli, our "madricha" - combination guide, and all-around problem-solver for the volunteers.

Our barracks accommodations were sparse, but clean and air-conditioned, and once you figured out the trick of placing cardboard between the paper-thin mattress pad and the springs actually comfortable. We had showers with plenty of hot water. We even had a washing machine and a lounge room complete with cable television and a soon-to-be-working computer. The soldiers loved to watch action movies on TV; occasionally the volunteers got a chance to watch CNN.

We were issued uniforms - army shirts, pants, a hat, a belt and boots. My 7½ EEE feet were a bit too much of a challenge for them, so I wore the work shoes I had brought along. Boots were available for those with normal feet.

Our uniforms could be exchanged for fresh ones once a week. These uniforms were the same as the soldiers', except that the female soldiers had all had their pants tailored - ranging from nicely tapered to unspeakably skin tight - and they all looked great! We, the volunteers, on the other hand, looked like clowns in our baggy pants. But guess who was more comfortable.

We were part of a team of 22 volunteers, an interesting mix, young adults on break from school, adults like us on a short vacation from work, and retirees. We had a 75-year-old in our group. An earlier session had an 87-year-old.

Volunteers came from Australia, New Zealand, France, South Africa, Holland, Germany, Canada, the UK, and of course the United States. They were lawyers, nurses, teachers, social workers, technologists (like us), professors, psychologists, real estate agents, and students. Chaim was an ex-paratrooper; Jeff had been a fencing instructor. Annie, who wore glorious turbans the entire time, was a dancer.

All the volunteers spoke English; some were fluent in Hebrew, something that came in handy when we were off base. Just about everyone, even the married volunteers, came by himself or herself. We were the only couple this time, but there was one mother-daughter pair.

Not all the volunteers, however, were Jewish; about 20-30% were Christian. And observance varied among the Jews; some were conservative, some reform, and some secular. Several brought tfillin and davened outside before breakfast. All of us, non-Jews included, were Zionists. Daily Life was a Trip. Think of life on the base as summer camp for adults in the desert - men and women in separate barracks, bathrooms outside, mosquitoes reminding you that it was summer and scrawny cats reminding you that this is a hard land. When your timing was off, you found yourself queuing up for the showers - four to a stall for men, individual showers for the women. The women's barracks were off-limits to the men, the men's off-limits to the women - even for married couples, even for Doreen and me. And like summer camp, we had a blast. We were an eclectic group: different ages, different nationalities, different backgrounds, different lives, all thrown together, all sleeping, eating, joking, schmoozing and working together and all committed to helping Israel. You can image the camaraderie that resulted, and at times the chaos. I had hoped to get in some running while in Israel; and as our luck seemed to be holding, within our first 5 minutes on the base, I had found other runners. Together we became the "ad-hoc Batzap 382 running club". At one point there were 6 crazy volunteers willing to get up at a ridiculous hour to go running. Remember, by noon the temperature could be almost 90 degrees. So, every morning at 5, it was my routine to walk through the men's barracks, touching a shoulder here, grabbing a toe there, and when my fellow runner seemed to want to go back to sleep, threatening to yank him out of bed. We ran nearly every morning.

Breakfast began at 7 AM in a huge mess hall. We had to wear our uniforms; shirts tucked in, buttons buttoned. There was a protocol to follow. We ate with the soldiers and often had to squeeze by or step over their M16s and Uzi machine guns to get to a seat. You got used to that quickly.

The breakfast fare included scrambled eggs, cheese, sliced white bread, tomatoes, cucumbers, yogurt, and hot sweetened tea. No coffee, a necessity for Doreen and me. Luckily, there was a coffee machine outside of our barracks. Breakfast and dinner were always dairy and for the most part not terribly different. For dinner, you could expect different vegetables, club soda, some humus and perhaps olive dip, but the rest was pretty much the same.

Lunch was the main meal of the day and fleischig, usually chicken or beef. Twice we had some unnamed but tasty fish. Overall, the food was quite good, fresh, plentiful, and everything was kosher.

Shortly after breakfast we attended the 8:15 flag raising ceremony. We gathered with the soldiers in a large courtyard and stood in formation as the Israeli flag was raised. We couldn't help feeling a deep sense of commitment and pride, as that blue and white flag was unfurled. It was a great way to start the day and it provided inspiration as we disbanded and went off to work. The IDF took flag-raising seriously too; one of the soldiers was two minutes late to the ceremony and wasn’t allowed off base for 4 days.

There was Real Work to Attend to After Flag-raising.

Batzap 382 was responsible for refurbishing communications equipment and then sending it back out to the field. We were there to support that effort in any way we could.

When we arrived at the base, they were responding to a large order for refurbished tank helmets that needed to be filled quickly. Doreen and several other volunteers were assigned to this task.

Doreen's group became part of a rough and tumble assembly line, first disassembling the helmets’ lining, earphones, microphone, straps, and padding. Each component had to be inspected, tested and replaced where necessary. The outside shells had to be plastered, sanded and painted; the earphones and microphones rewired and tested; and then the whole package reassembled and boxed.

I spent my days testing communications batteries that had been returned from the field. Almost half the batteries that came in could be returned to some sort of service. I spent 8 hours a day, standing at a workbench, testing and labeling batteries. It actually was good exercise. None of the work though was strenuous.

Other jobs included sanding and painting radio antennae, constructing sidewalks, landscaping, and of course, the occasional latrine duty. But no matter what we were working on, no matter whom we were working with, we always had lots of fun and very interesting conversations among ourselves and with the soldiers working next to us.

Not surprisingly, spending our workdays performing manual labor, side-by-side with the young Israeli soldiers, turned out to be a refreshing change from our sedentary desk-bound jobs back in the States.

We worked from 8:30 until 5:00 Sunday through Thursday. Evenings were always interesting. Sometimes we had guest speakers. During our first week on base, the Sar-EI founder, General Davidi came to thank us personally and deliver a sobering lecture on the spread of Islamic extremism.

Living with the Soldiers

Just like summer camp, living on the base was like living with teenagers. The soldiers were great and we had a lot of fun with them, but to really appreciate them we had to remember that they were teenagers - loud, super slobs, who smoked way too much, and fought over the TV. But they were sweet, and we couldn't help but admire them.

They were young, mostly eighteen to twenty year-olds with some older reservists mixed in. There were Ethiopians, Russians and even some Asian soldiers in addition to all the Sabras. Most of the soldiers were very friendly, and eager to practice their English skills with us.

These young men and women told us of their frustrations over the current conflict. All of them hoped for peace, of course, but none expected to see it any time soon. They asked us, "What are you doing here? Why did you come to work on an IDF base? Why come to this dangerous country?" It's not certain they understood our reasons for coming, but unfailingly they appreciated that we came.

Recreation

Each week there were tours, one evening to Yaffa and another to Tel Aviv. On Friday morning, our last day at Sar-EI, we were taken to the Tank Museum at Latrune. The museum's memorial is a very emotional experience, especially the Wall of Names - inscribed with the more than 4,800 names of fallen Armored Corps soldiers. Its impact is similar to that of the Vietnam Memorial here in Washington. Weekends we were free to go touring on our own. We just had to be back on base by Sunday morning. Our first weekend was special because it coincided with Shavuot. We spent the holiday in Jerusalem attending study sessions most of the night and going to the Kotel at 4:00 AM. There were masses of Jews there - it was quite a sight. Am Yisrael Chai! One Saturday night we went to Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem to eat and do a little shopping. The shortage of tourists was striking. Many of the stores were not open, and some were vacant. There were hundreds of teens hanging out, socializing with their friends, showing off, and checking each other out – just like in the states. The war and terrorism seemed far away. Conclusion At our farewell get-together, Sid the psychologist announced that he was now addicted to the program; from now on all his travel would be to Israel for Sar-EI. The mother-daughter pair told us this was their eight trip in 2 years. Randy, who seemed to be always smiling, had arrived in February for a few weeks of service. When we left in mid-June she was still there, and now planning to remain until November. She wasn’t the only one who glowed; we all were mildly intoxicated by the experience. Upon our return to Virginia, the question most asked was "Did you feel safe?" Our answer was a definitive "Yes". The base, of course, was safe. The hotels, restaurants, and shopping centers we visited had obvious security measures in place; guards, bag checks and detectors. We never felt in danger.

It is a great feeling to know that our two weeks in the Sar-EI program helped Israel and that our presence was an effective show of support during these difficult times. We were thanked a million times. But without doubt, we received more than we gave - fabulous memories of our experience, new friends, and a better appreciation of what it means to live and work in Israel. We hope that some of those reading about our experience will become interested in participating. If you go, you will come back a different person, buoyed by the sense of personal accomplishment and the gratefulness of the IDF soldiers and every Israeli that you meet.

We will do this again.

Hank Schonzeit and Doreen Woogen

Reston, VA

June 2003