Israeli Army Volunteering

While researching places in Israel to volunteer at, I came across Sar-El.  It is a branch of the Israel Defense Force (IDF) where volunteers from around the world, from all backgrounds (after a security check), can volunteer to help the IDF.

I arrived at the Yiftach base near Elifelet in Northern Israel.  Some of the units represented on this base:

This base is mainly for "armor," which means tanks.  We could take pictures of tanks and artillery but were supposed to avoid photos of license plates, serial numbers, and identifying markers.

Israel has been reorganizing its bases and closing some of the smaller ones that were redundant or in disrepair.  This was one of them.  Soldiers on base told us that this was one of the crappier bases.  Also, it was an open base, meaning that many of the soldiers left the base at night to go home.  Though still very secure and guarded, it had a weird, abandoned feel.  Also, since it wasn’t home to that many soldiers, it wasn’t in great shape, the food was pretty spartan, and there was no commissary to buy snacks or necessities.   

This is the barracks where we slept:

Our daily schedule:

We had to wear IDF uniforms during most all activities.  Not everyone received uniforms that fit and Lev was pretty skinny so some improvisation was needed:

 

The work was fairly cool though.  Every 2 years the tanks, APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers), and other vehicles went in for a major maintenance service.  One of our tasks was to strip everything loose off the tanks and put it into a warehouse for storage so that the tank was clean and ready for its tune-up.    Working on the roof of an APC:

This is an armored personnel carrier.  Armor and treads like a tank but with no main gun:

We removed fire extinguishers, periscopes, boxes and boxes of machine gun rounds, explosives, giant tank-sized wrenches, anti-mine equipment, the large mounts for exterior machine guns…  Did I mention explosives!?!

 

We got to crawl in and out of the tanks, from commander’s seat, to driver’s seat, to gunner’s seat…

Standing near running vehicles, in the 90+ degree heat, I almost passed out one day.  I pushed past army officers(!) into an air-conditioned office and dove onto the floor.  I learned long ago that if one passes out while standing, it’s a lot further to fall than if you pass out while you’re already near the floor.  Regardless, cold water and some rest and I was back on my feet at work.  I thought it was weird it hit me that day since I had been in Israel’s heat for over 3 months and some of that was hiking in temps over 110 degrees.  Note to self – it’s hot in the desert.

We had other less exciting tasks like reorganizing and counting stuff in the warehouses.  Some of the warehouses are set-up and organized so that in case of emergency, reserve troops can arrive at the base, go into a warehouse, and 10 minutes later leave with every supply they need for war.  And some stuff is even separated depending on what kind of war the enemy is waging on Israel – standard weaponry or chemical…

After a couple days at that base, our Madrichot/counselors decided that the conditions at that base weren’t acceptable for volunteers (few soldiers on base, bad conditions…) and they moved us to Shimshon, a large communications base.  Here communications equipment was cleaned, tested, and retrofitted.  This included everything from large base/HQ size radios, to tank mounted radios, to helmet radios…  Here’s me cleaning radio headsets:

I cleaned hundreds that day.  Whenever I finished my stack they’d pour out another bag of them:

 

The radio kits fit into the interior helmet padding shown below:

Then the radio kit and interior padding fit into the helmets like the finished one I'm wearing:

I did some of those tasks, cleaning radio equipment, testing wires and connections, sorting hundreds of (realistically possibly > 1000) helmets, prepping helmets for repainting…  I sorted all these helmets by type, quality, missing straps…

The good ones then went to a different crew of volunteers for painting.  They looked like new after a fresh coat of paint.

It was very cool to know that we were helping the Israeli army.  The soldiers were very thankful for our help and regularly thanked us.  While testing radio equipment, I knew that in times of war, an Israeli soldier would have working radio equipment because I tested it.  Here's me testing connections on the radio headsets:

The food was pretty good at the second base.  A day’s food might be something like:

Breakfast – hard boiled eggs or plain omelets, sliced cucumber and tomato, cottage cheese, bread, and chocolate milk.

Lunch – chicken or beef and rice or pasta.

Dinner – pizza or chicken or beef, couscous, potatoes, and a brownie or treat.

Some things were missing – milk, hummus, maybe a salad or veggies.  All in all, it was better food than I expected.  FYI – they obeyed kosher rules.

In the morning we talked about the daily news.  I watched TV for the first time in probably 2 months.  Then we worked for 7 hours a day with a lunch break.  And at night we had nighttime activities – learning about the history of the IDF, learning about the Druze in Israel, discussions about Jewish topics like observing Shabbat or the Haredi not serving in the military…

My fellow volunteers were aged 22 to approx. 80, had occupations in teaching, law, military, music… and hailed from Germany, Russia, Australia, Scotland, France, Italy, Canada, NY, Alabama…  I think all of them were Jewish, though like I said, any faith is allowed to volunteer.  The several page application, apart from needing a physician to sign off on your physical and mental health, also asks your religious background, and if not Jewish, asks if you intend to proselytize while on base.  That’s a no-no.

Us volunteers thought all of the gear we were working on was so cool.  We'd walk around with helmets and gear on.  The soldiers looked at us like we were idiots, all dressed up in their military gear.  But that’s an everyday thing for them and it was still pretty novel for us.  I'm all decked out:

A memorial to fallen soldiers from this base:

It was an interesting week.  I learned about the history of the IDF and how the brigades were organized, I saw 2 different bases, met some new friends, and I helped out Israeli soldiers and the state of Israel.

Farewell Kibbutz Gal-On

We wrapped up our final days at the kibbutz.  It was so hard to say goodbye to all of our new friends!

I bought this handy pink bucket to do my laundry in!  Love it!

We got together with friends to watch the finale of the European Open, I think is what it was called.  The European Soccer Finals...  This is our Ulpan teacher and friend, Omer.

Joel is from Italy and let's just say that Italy didn't do so well in the finals...

There's a lot of anger during this soccer game!

Our friend Sagi

One of the benefits of living in this climate is the abundance of beautiful fruits and vegetables!  Our friend Yaron gave us the cucumbers from his personal garden and Nachshon gave us the avocados from the kibbutz's orchards!  Cliche to the point of not even being funny, but... Holy Guacamole!  Sorry, you were warned.

We drove like 30 minutes to play softball on this field in Rahovot.  I swear Jeremy and I played better than our videos depict!

Whip bruise from my jump rope!  Doin' mad double-unders during our Crossfit workouts!

Ever wonder what hipster Jeremy looks like?  Here he is!

On one of our last nights at the kibbutz, there was a big community party complete with tractor rides through the fields and a huge potluck by the pool, with a band!

I'm packed and ready to go.  Farewall Kibbutz Gal-On!

Kibbutz Outings - Jerusalem

Since pretty much everyone in the kibbutz program had been to Jerusalem, they opted out of the day trip, but Jeremy and I went since I had never been.  It was awesome to have a small group of us with our own tour guide and to experience my first time in Jerusalem with Jeremy.

We started at a promenade that overlooks Jerusalem.  We were standing in land Jordan occupied, pre-1967.  In 1967, Israel was at war with Egypt and Syria (The Six Day War) and Israel told Jordan to stay out of it.  Israel held Jerusalem and Jordan attacked Jerusalem as an ally of Egypt, and at Egypt's demand.  Israel defensively held Jerusalem, took back the Old City (which contains the holiest site for Judaism, the Western Wall, which Jews had not been allowed to access for the past 19 years) and took the nearby land that was occupied by Jordan, in order to hault Jordan's attacks.  This is how Israel gained control of the West Bank (it's called such because it's the West Bank of Jordan, but no one calls it the West Bank here in Israel).  Many refer to it as Judea and Samaria since that is what the Israelites called this land was called in ancient times.  Israel signed a peace agreement with Jordan in 1994, so it seems that Jordan doesn't really care about the land that they lost.  As a side note, Israel signed a peace agreement with Egypt in 1979.

In the center, you can see the golden dome of the rock, which sits atop the Temple Mount.  South of the Temple Mount is the ancient city of King David, which was just prior to the First Temple being built by his son, Solomon.  To the right of the Temple Mount is a valley and on the other side of the valley is the hill where the Mt. of Olives cemetery is built on the hillside.  I believe the communities on the far right edge of the picture are mostly Arab communities and further right, outside of the picture, are the Palestinian territories which Israel currently administers.

Not the greatest action shot of us, but we can say we were in Jordan pre-1967, so that's kind of cool.

As you enter the Old City via Jaffa Gate, you'll find this restaurant!  We had breakfast there one morning, just to say that we've been to my restaurant!

The Jewish Quarter of the Old City.  Behind Jeremy is the newly reconstructed, beautiful Hurva synagogue.  You can see a mosque to the right of the synagogue, which was probably built pre-1948.

Getting close!

My first time visiting the Kotel; a small portion of the Western retaining wall of the Temple Mount, where once the First and Second Temples stood.  Words cannot describe the feelings being here evokes.  The historic significance and impact this place has, not to mention the great importance it has to the Jewish people.... it's indescribable.

Here I am approaching the wall.  I was very emotional, very deeply moved.  This moment was so special and I cherish sharing it with Jeremy.

I said the Shema and I slipped a piece of paper with my own personal prayer into a crack in the wall.

Jeremy on the men's side.

The Kotel has separate areas for men and women to pray.  Some say men and women should be able to pray together.  Some say that the women's side should be equal size to the men's side.  Some say that prayer is for the individual and the opposite sex will only pose a distraction.  But, most will say that we are blessed to be here at the Kotel.

Afterwards, we went to the Davidson Center, an archaeological museum literally built at the Southwestern corner of the temple mount.

This is a large scale model of the Second Temple at the Israel Museum, which we actually didn't visit until returning to Jerusalem.  I want to show you this so you can see the arch!  You can see on the left-hand side, the Southwestern corner, a stairway which leads up to a bridge with an arch under it.



Here's a close up of the arch.  I didn't really realize it at the time, but in the video below I first show the ancient mikveh (ritual bath) and then I show the Western Wall which has a large chunk of rock on it - that's the remnants of the arch from the Second Temple period!  Sebaba (slang for cool)!

Our guide took us to the beautiful Austrian Hospice in the Muslim Quarter, where there's an excellent view of the Old City from the roof.  Afterwards, we ate some delicious hummus and foul, which is similar to hummus, but it's made with fava beans.  My favorites are hummus mixed with tehina or hummus mixed with foul.  We've also become fond of labneh, which is kind of like sour cream or Greek yogurt, except it probably has a way higher fat percentage.  Cottage cheese from the grocery store here is usually 5% or 3% and even milk is 3%, though they do have low fat options for milk, yogurt, etc.  Sorry, I got way off topic, back to the panoramic view of the Old City.

We walked along the Via Dolorosa and explored the Christian Quarter.

We visited the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, which is believed to have been built atop the hill of Golgotha.  Here, beneath a shrine, people bend down and reach into the earth and touch the rock.  It is believed that this is where the cross was erected that Jesus was crucified on.

This relatively new mosaic depicts the Jewish tradition of cleaning and accompanying Jesus' body after death.

This stone, which I believe was a gift in the 1800's, was placed in the place where it is believed Jesus' body was cleaned and prepared for burial.  It is believed that any item placed upon the stone becomes holy.  We saw people placing all kinds of things on it, like water bottles, sunblock, and makeup.

Looking up into one of the domes in the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

It is believed that this marks the center of the Christian world.

Next to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher is an Ethiopian Church.  It is believed that when the Queen of Sheba visited King Solomon, she returned to Africa pregnant.  Thus, the Ethiopian Jews are descendants of the Kingdom of David.

What an amazing trip - my first time visiting Jerusalem!  Our guide was excellent and gave us the history and stories about the different groups of people that live in this fascinating city!