Newspapers / The Charlotte Jewish News … / May 1, 1985, edition 1 / Page 11
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Page 11-THE NEWS-May, 1985 »ns of Israel — Part I My Special Visit To Israel Jonah Rohde as a volunteer on Israeli mili tary base. 1 24 to January 3,1986 Idren to Israel, to our neland. )ple, and to meet sabras ^al neighborhoods, and nd desert plains, ory and to forge a link jgether! >urce persons, buses. >elors. eceived six ^/New York, and land ntry fees, buses. imber of adults and r the trip is taken. Mission ition, or Our Project Renewal Neighborhood By Vicki Hopkins The visit to Nazaret Illit, our Project Renewal commun ity, was a joyful one. We arriv ed in this very special neigh borhood amid the Purim cele bration. We observed the physical make-up of the neigh borhood: a series of four to five-story garden apartment buildings built on the hills in a six block area with grassy areas in between. We were escorted into the Community Center where we met members of the Commun ity Council and other com munity workers. We began to realize that it is the direct funds we raise in our local southern communities (Char lotte, Columbia, Memphis, etc.) that make this center possible. We observed kinder garten children with their moms learning to work zmd play together. This is a com munity of Georgian Jews who believe it is important to marry young. So some of these moms were, to us, still children themselves. They needed the parenting skills being taught in this program. All the children were in costumes and very excited. The teachers read stories and then explained to the moms and their children the work plan for the afternoon. There were learning stations set up with a variety of manipulative activities for the moms and kids to team up and play with. We, of course, join^ in with this learning play. One of our group members, with an in stant camera, became the star of the day, taking everyone’s picture. We saw the obvious success of this program by the sheer gleam in the eyes of the children and their moms. Next we visited a program for abused children. It was a center based upon a “family setting”: one of the staff, be ing a positive father role, another the mother. The children remain in this setting during the time they and their real families are getting treat ment. We brought gifts and toys to share with these and the other children. We sang songs, danced and had a Purim celebration with Hamantaschen and punch. The Senior Adult Center is a gathering place for most of the older Russian Jews in the neighborhood. This is a meet ing place for social and craft activities. It, too, was gaily decorated for Purim. The Center director spoke to us in Russian which was then trans lated for us by a member of our Mission group. The direc tor emphasized his pride at be ing in Israel and wished we could join him there. At this point the language changed to Yiddish and experiences be tween members of both groups were shared. During the trip back to Tel Aviv, members of our group told of their impressions and feelings of the day. Some Mis sion members stayed on in Nazaret Illit to participate in budget hearings. We would hear their impressions later. We all felt a much clearer understanding of Project Renewal and a direct linkage to the fimds we raise. Editor's Note: Vicki's detail- ed account of the entire mis sion trip will appear in next month’s issue of the “CJN. ” Th« K*v \ to • SucctMf ul \ RmI Ettata Tranaaction ANN LANGMAN **Servlng your reai estate neeits Mince 1972** Mary Ryder Realty Office 364-3300 • Home 364-1691/1693 By Jonah S. Rohde Two summers ago I had the opportunity to spend time in Israel as a volunteer and I would like to share my ex perience with the community. As I planned my journey, I sought an inexpensive way to get to Israel £uid wanted to be more than just a tourist. I in vestigated the various pro grams for college-age students such as the Kibbutz and University studies. After fur ther consideration I dis counted both of these options because only 3% of Israelis live on the Kibbutz, and I couldn’t afford the University program. Finally, through my brother in New York, I found out about a program called Volunteers for Israel. This program entailed work ing as a volunteer on an Israeli military base doing mainten ance or warehouse work. They provided a subsidized round trip airfare from New York, as well as food, shelter and clothing. They also provided several gratis guided tours to Jerusalem, Masada, the Yad Vashem and the Diaspora Museum. I decided this sound ed like an inviting experience which would offer a chance to really meet Israelis since everyone must serve in the army. We dep£u-ted as a group of about 25, and much to my sur prise many in the group were older retirees. After an 11-hour flight, we arrived and were greeted by retired Israeli army General Aharon Davidi. He gave us an orientation and told us where we would be liv ing for the next month, which in our case was near Beer- sheva in the Negev. Breakfast was served at 6:30 a.m. and work began at 8:00 a.m. There were three meals served in the mess hall with the rest of the soldiers. The work week ran from Sun day until Friday at noon at which time we were allowed to go where we would like as long as we were back around 10:00 a.m. Sunday. If we wanted to, they would arrange for us to go to £m Israeli family’s home at this time or we could make our own arrangements with soldiers on the base. In my case I received and accepted many invitations to soldiers’ homes and even to the beach one weekend. Most of the Israelis spoke some English. One of the benefits, however, was that I was forced to pick up a little Hebrew because some speak no English at all. In a group they naturally speak only Hebrew, so if you want to participate, you learn quickly. There also were classes taught on the base in elementary Hebrew and my years at Hebrew school did pay off. Surprisingly, Israelis have very little up close con tact with Americans, and so they were very happy to have us there. This program is relatively new (it has ordy been around since the Lebanon war) to Israelis and so they didn’t quite know what to make of us. Our efforts help relieve soldiers from reserve duty, during which time the things we were doing would normal ly be performed by them. Therefore, by taking part in this program, I got to see Israel from a perspective few get to see, and to really con tribute to the country. What I gave were the only things I had to give: my time, physiceil labor, and, of course, my great wit and humor. I highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to see Israel -from an insider’s perspective. It was a most rewarding experience, and 1 would certainly do it again. It does help to be a little indepen dent and outgoing, as well as to be tolerant of hard work; we did have a few “casualties” who quit the program. The ac commodations are of a very basic nature and certainly not the King David Hotel. Anyone desiring more information can call me at 365-3616 or the Volunteers for Israel office in New York. The number is (212) 608-4848. Editor’s Note: Jonah, 22, son of Mr. and Mrs. Gerard Rohde, has an associate degree in Technical Engineer ing Electronics from Central Piedmont. He is currently at UNCC and is a senior major ing in business administration. ARTHUR'S RESTAURANT AND WINE SHOP Purveyor of fine wines from around the world. Located at Ivey's Uptown, SouthPark & Eastland. RESTAURANTS AwrjE SHOPS
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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May 1, 1985, edition 1
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