What I saw in Israel on a volunteer mission to help the nation at war

One week into a two-week volunteer work mission with the Jewish National Fund (“JNF”) into wartime Israel, my heart breaks a thousand times. 

What is it really like in Israel now?

Shattered perceptions, troubled children, self-doubt, America friend or foe, a two-state solution, no solution, whom does one trust, will the North become a full-fledged war with Hezbollah, will Israel attack  Rafah —  are some of the topics bruited about, for those who can talk. Others mutely internalise the incomprehensible fact of Hamas’ bestiality and that over 130 days later, half of the hostages are still in captivity.

Actually, it hits you as soon as you deplane. Walking towards customs, the escalators, which used to be festooned with beautiful pictures of indigenous birds, have been replaced with faces of the hostages. 

Israelis continue their daily routines, but one cannot escape the reality of their collective punctured sense of invincibility.

 In Tel Aviv, on famed Dizengoff Street, huge teddy bears — splattered with red paint and black neckties — sit askance on benches, with pictures of dead or missing Israelis affixed next to them. Storefronts are plastered with signs exhorting: bring them home NOW.

A city plaza has been converted into ‘Hostage Square.’ There, tents have been erected for each of the Kibbutzes raided. These are inhabited round the clock by rotating members of each, to answer questions, to pray, and to mourn. Around the tents, the Square is dotted with a piano — with a sign proclaiming:’ you are not alone,’ posters, artistic recreations of the hostages and the famously long table, fully set for a meal, straddled by rows of empty chairs.

One of the posters at the square reads:  “There is no medication for rape.”

Image: Lynne Lechter

Others show pictures of the missing including that of the red-haired Bibas baby. 

Civilized people throughout Israel and America cannot comprehend celebration and affirmation of such barbaric acts. And it is true, there is no medicine that can cure victims of rape, and all afflicted by such evil. 

Israel has responded with its largest call up of military reservists  — approximately 300,000. 

Citizens in the north and south of the tiny country have been temporarily relocated for safety. Most are in hotels, for which the government is currently paying for through July. Impromptu schools have sprung up in the hotels — the biggest issue being a dearth of laundry facilities. The result of this monumental war preparation has created huge gaps in the workforce and obviously, Israel’s economy.

Many Christians as well as Jews have dropped  their own daily lives, and have flown to Israel to fill the gaps, purely on a volunteer basis. Doctors, dentists and nurses were amongst the first wave.  The Israelis’ need cannot be overstated. The Saroka Hospital in Beersheba for example, treated immediately after the attacks a trauma patient every 39 seconds!  Citizens donated blood in one day equivalent to that of an ordinary year.

Two organizations combined, the  IDF and the JNF, have provided almost 30,000 volunteers who are tackling meaningful work jobs in Israel.

My JNF group’s efforts, during our first week, have included picking seven tons of lemons, painting entire buildings in an evacuated kibbutz, packing snack boxes for soldiers, cleaning out and repainting bumpers on flatbed trucks re-entering Gaza, and planting trees in memory of the fallen.

Image: Lynne Lechter

Nobody knows how long the displacements, the stress and the war will continue.  Talks of a “day after” are seen as grossly premature.