Sar-El Volunteers for Israel

In the summer of 1982, in the midst of the Galilee War, Golan Heights settlements faced the disastrous prospect of losing their entire agricultural crop. The majority of able-bodied settlers were called up for army reserve duty and entire farms, with crops already ripened, were left unattended, due to the acute manpower shortage. Dr. Aharon Davidi (former head of the I.D.F. Paratroopers and Infantry Corps) was then directing the Golan Heights community and cultural activities. Touched by the settlers' distress, he sent a number of friends as a recruitment team to the United States. Within a few weeks, some 650 volunteers arrived in Israel to lend their support through volunteer labor. Realizing the merits of that action, those first volunteers expressed the wish that the volunteer project be perpetuated.

As a result, in the Spring of 1983, "Sar-El" - The National Project for Volunteers for Israel - was founded as a non-profit, non-political organization ("Sar-El" is the Hebrew acronym meaning "Service for Israel"). Over the years, volunteers from other countries came to partake in the project, and to date, Sar-El is represented in some 30 countries world-wide. Historically, Sar-El's greatest number of volunteers have come from Volunteers for Israel (V.F.I.) in the U.S.A. and Volontariat Civil (U.P.I.) in France.

Historical moment from 1955:

Second from left, back row, is (former) Major Arik Sharon, next to Lt.Gen Moishe Dayan, chief of staff.
At Sharon's feet is (former) Captain Aharon Davidi, today General Davidi, of Sar-El.

Goals

1. Goals:
Sar-El leadership adopted as its mission the achievement of the following goals:

Contribute to the promotion of Jewish continuity.
Create a cultural and educational exchange between the diaspora and Israel.
Partner with non-Jewish supporters of Israel in a mutually beneficial experience.

2. Methods:
Sar-El proposes to achieve its goals by encouraging volunteers from around the world to come to Israel for a number of weeks where they will experience one or more of the following:

Working in nursing homes.
Working in I.D.F. warehouses.
Guided tours of interesting locations in Israel.
Lectures on Jewish and Israeli topics.
Shabbat hospitality.

3. Benefits:
Sar-El is proud to note that the program provides many additional benefits to include the following:

Promotes Aliyah
Fosters new friendships
Contributes to Israel's economy
Creates ambassadors of goodwill for Israel.

Achievements

Since its inception and up through the end of 2010, the volunteer project has brought in over 125,000 volunteers of which 6% have since made "Aliyah" and have become Israeli citizens. For these achievements, "Sar-El" was awarded the Chairman of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) Award.
In 1990, "Sar-El" initiated a rehabilitation project for disabled veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces through the Ministry of Defense. The scope of the project shows constant growth, with increasing numbers of disabled veterans serving on military bases as "Sar-El" volunteers.
"Sar-El"'s chairman and founder, Dr. Aharon Davidi, was one of three prize-winners awarded the annual Moskowitz Prize for Zionism in 2010. Davidi also received the President's Award for his dedication to the volunteer project over the years. In year 2000, in recognition of the achievements of Sar-El, Davidi was given the honor of lighting of 1 of the 12 memorial torches on Mt. Herzl in celebration of Israel's Independence Day.
In year 2001, Sar-El volunteers were invited to the home of the President of the State of Israel on two separate occasions in recognition of their outstanding volunteer activities.
Many Israeli senior citizens have joined the "Sar-El" volunteer program on a part time basis.
The volunteer project's great appeal is manifested not only in increasing numbers of both new volunteers and those who return again and again, but also in the growing number of active supporters in Israel and abroad.

	2010	Country	2010
Total Arrivals	3367	Argentina	42
		Australia	45
Gender		Austria	3
Male	1665	Belarus	25
Female	1702	Belgium	8
Total	3367	Brazil	28
Age		Canada	179
Unknown	125	Chile	1
under 25	1655	Columbia	1
25 � 45	256	Costa Rica	0
46 � 65	756	Croatia	0
>65	575	Czech Rep.	12
Total	3367	Denmark	3
		England	129
		Estonia	0
		Ethiopia	0
Religion		Finland	85
Jewish	2808	France	1098
		Georgia	0
Non-Jewish	559	Germany	37
		Greece	0
Total	3367	Guatemala	0
		Holland	67
		Hungary	62
		India	0
		Ireland	2
		Israel	51
		Italy	24
		Japan	0
		Khazakstan	1
		Kyrgyzstan	0
		Latvia	0
		Lithuania	0
		Malta	1
		Moldova	2
		Mexico	11
		New Zealand	14
		Norway	26
		Panama	2
		Peru	20
		Philippines	1
		Poland	2
		Portugal	1
		Romania	1
		Russia	118
		Scotland	2
		Serbia	2
		South Africa	39
		Spain	24
		Sweden	7
		Switzerland	14
		Tunisia	0
		Turkey	0
		Turkmenistan	0
		Ukraine	27
		USA	1045
		Uruguay	101
		Uzbekistan	3
		Venezuela	1
		Yugoslavia	0
		Total	3367

According to the law in Israel we are obligated to publish the details of any donation that Sar-El has received over NIS 20,000. Such donations include:

2009 - Sar-El received a donation of NIS 57,291 from the Rashi Fund. The money was earmarked for bringing volunteers to Israel from abroad, and for looking after their welfare once they've arrived.

2010 - Sar-El received a donation of 10,000 Euro from the UPI VOLUNTARIAT CIVIL, earmarked to be used to improve the living conditions of volunteers on the army bases.

History