Page 5-THE NEWS-August, 1984
Israel, As Seen Through The Eyes of Its People
By Roz Greenspon
After spending five
glamorous vacation days in
Athens, Greece, now rested
and “ready to work”, my hus
band, Stanley, and I were on
our way to Tel Aviv, our first
trip to Israel. The excitement
was overwhelming when they
played the song, "Avenu
Shalom Alechim” as we were
landing. As President of
Charlotte Jewish Federation,
this trip was especially mecm-
ingful to Stan. Since our
return, he has often said, “I
went at an ideed time because
1 finally could feel and see
what the many years of my
work in UJA has meant for
Israel. I now feel even more of
a challenge to increase com
munity awareness of the im
portant work supported here
and abroad by Federation.”
We pleinned our trip dif
ferently than many other peo
ple. Since there was no UJA
Mission available, we con
tracted a private car £ind UJA
guide/driver to take us on the
tour. What we experienced
was not the typical tourist
view of Israel. Through the
many Israelis with whom we
spent personal time, we were
able to see and feel the coun
try through the eyes of its own
people.
ADI YAKAR...guide/driver.
Adi, with us 9 hours a day for
6 days, was not only our
historian, our bible teacher
and political scientist. He
became our friend as we ex
changed thoughts and at
titudes about family, children
and Judaism. Through Adi’s
story-telling ability, we felt the
Roman soldiers marching
through Caesarea. The passion
of his patriotism to Israel
made us think more of our own
attitudes toward our country,
America. As we touched an an
cient Torah and marveled at
sparkling new desert cities
blooming with flowers £md
trees, Adi’s belief in Israel was
summed up when he said,
“They (Arabs) plant bombs,
we pleint flowers.”
YAFFA AND VICTOR
NICHZI... my family who have
lived in Haifa since 1949. Yaf-
fa and Victor welcomed us by
serving a typical Israeli dinner
(including eggplant, of
course!). We spent a wonderful
evening together as we talked
about family and memories.
They also shared with us the
reality of raising a family and
having a business in the midst
of serious inflation and
governmental problems. Their
expressions were touching and
so positive about the strength
of the Israeli way of life. It is
wonderful to have a family
connection to Israel.
BRUCE LEVIN...Yeshiva
student in Jerusalem and son
of Jerry and Barbara Levin of
Charlotte. Bruce took us to
the Western Wall at sundown
Shabbat eve. Bruce and Stan
were on one side of the Wcdl
while I was alone on the other
side amidst hundreds of other
women and children. I simply
stood and so£iked up the feel
ing of ancient Judaism that
The Wall imparts. The chants
and rocking, the wails, the soft
prayers of so many different
kinds of people brought clear
ly to us that Judaism has in
deed spanned time and the
Universe. After sundown,
Bruce took us to a very tradi
tional Hassidic home for Shab
bat dinner. In this home, in
Old Jerusalem, prayer was
paramount — the men and
boys held the place of honor
around the dinner table while
the women and girls were ex
pected to participate quietly
and serve the meal. The even
ing was so like our own
Passover Seder with songs,
wine and a multi-course meal
beginning with chicken soup.
Dinner ended with dancing, a
festivity in which the women
were not allowed to par
ticipate. It was a unique ex
perience for us as American
Jews. As different as
Hassidism is from our own
way of life, we could clearly
feel the beauty and strength
those traditions bring to its
followers. This night will
always be a lovely, memorable
Shabbat for Stan and me.
AVI ROCKLIN...college stu
dent and the daughter of Rab
bi Richard Rocklin and
Marilyn Perlman, both of
Charlotte.
DAVID GORIN...soldier and
graduating law student. Here
were an American and an
Israeli; two young people who
helped us feel the youth and
vitality of the country. They
know that the future for
young people in Israel is
rather tenuous. College
studies, career eind family all
must be closely tied to the
harsh reality of war and immi
nent danger. This reality has
a strong bearing on the plans
and attitudes of Israel’s young
people.
BEDOUIN CHILD...selling
vegetables by the side of the
road in the desert. The
temperature was 100“F, and
she was dressed in many
layered rags, begging for her
pennies. This child, a stark
contrast to the modem Jewish
children of Israel, is a paradox
of cultures.
OFIRA EREZ NAVON...wife
of ex-President Yitzak Navon.
Ofira was an exchange student
SUNNY REALTY
4715 PARK ROAD
Free Scholarship To A
Re2il Estate School
Ben Massachi Marilcc Ortagus
527-2426
at my sorority, Delta Phi Ep
silon, at the University of
Georgia. She lived with us
from 1959-1961. I had not
been in contact with Ofira
since 1961, yet, when I called
her in Jerusalem, she im
mediately knew me (us!) and
said, “Roz, did you marry the
young boy you were going
with?” My smswer was, “Yes,
and I even ‘brought him with
me’!” Ofira came to our hotel
for an afternoon’s visit. She
exhibits that Sabra spirit I
remember from college days.
It’s that positive attitude that
nothing is impossible. Ofira
now has a number of national
projects that she directs. We
hope that she will visit
Charlotte within the coming
year.
THE MAN AT A
RESTAURANT...in Tiberius.
This man, wearing a pistol,
heard our queries to the waiter
and he offered to share our
table and einswer our many
questions. This man gave us
yet another view of Israel and
its people. His attitude was
one of aggressiveness and
distrust. When he traveled, he
always wore his pistol. He
openly declared his atheism
and vehemently stated his opi
nion that very few Israelis
practice traditional Judaism.
He strongly suggested to us
that our only hope was to
leave the U.S. and move to
Israel in order to be “real
Jews”. An eye-opening
conversation!
GEORGIAN (RUSSIA)
FAMILIES...at Project
Renewal, Nazaret Illit. Jew of
a culture so vastly different
that a special project has been
set up to slowly and carefully
help them assimilate into
Israeli society. Culture so dif
ferent, yet religion and roots,
the same.
A SMILING ARAB
SHOPKEEPER...in Jericho.
After having a nice conversa
tion with this very handsome
shopkeeper, our guide warned
us that the smile is not what
it seems to be
SWIMMING IN THE DEAD
SEA...Arabs and Jews happily
together, looking across to the
mountains that work to keep
Arabs and Jews apart.
Sadness—recognizing the con
tinuous sepcirateness.
JOKE HEARD IN
ISRAEL...“Israel is the only
country where you can be call
ed a ‘dirty Jew’ and it simply
means you need to take a
bath.”
The country is beautiful.
The Arab Market is so ex
citing. The Hassidic section is
quite mysterious. The Chris
tian sites bring a new meaning
to the New Testament. Oil,
flowers, fruit, guns; the very
still Dead Sea, the very active
Mediterranean; the Romans,
the Greeks, the 'Turks, the
Jews, the Arabs, the
Americans; ancient Temples
and modern highways, all
mingle as a continuous
reminder that we are but
specks in the unfathomable
vastness of time.
Stanley and I thank UJA
Atlanta and Edith Steindler,
Rabbi Richard Rocklin, Mar
vin Bienstock and the many
other fri&tda who gave us ad
vice as we planned this special
trip to Israel.
Stan Greenspon (second from left) with guide and Arab children.
Stan Greenspon (third from left) with staff from Project Renewal.
(I. to rt.) Ofira Navon, Stan
Greenspon, Roz Greenspon
visiting in Jerusalem.
Stan & Roz Greenspon with
teacher (top right) and Georgian
(Russia) children at Project
Renewal.
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Roz Greenspon at Yad Vashem.
CRC Needs Your Help
The Community Relations
Committee (CRC) of The
Charlotte Jewish Federation is
organizing a letter writing net
work. People are needed to
write letters to our elected
representatives in
Washington, D.C. or to the
editcHial pages of the local
newspapers expressing their
opinims as issues arise concer
ning the Jewish Community.
By generating letters from
individuals within the com
munity, with background in
formation supplied by the
CRC, it may be possible to in
fluence a critical vote.
Please call Morey Sheffer
during the day at 372-5332 or
in the evening at 364-8790 if
you can be called upon
periodically to write a letter as
part of this network.