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MISSION
TO ISRAEL
In
These Times of Trouble,
Friends Come on the Double
By
Raphael Rothstein
 S
a veteran over the years of hastily organized missions of North
American Jews to Israel in times of trouble, I’ve learned that
despite the brevity of the stay, Israelis genuinely appreciate the
affirmation of connection and expressions of sympathy and concern.
Social
psychologists say that beleaguered people need to know that they are
not alone, that in some fashion, no matter how distantly, others
share knowledge of their plight.
This
consciousness helps them endure.
For
the participants who come for two and a half days it is a question
of being what in Hebrew is called shutaf la’inyan, a partner in the experience.
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For
many of the 200 or so
participants on our
Presidents Conference-
JNF-Israel Bonds mission
it was a defining moment,
making vivid and real the
anxiety of vulnerability to
terrorism and bewilderment
over where things are
heading. |
As
fleeting and evanescent the emotions and responses are during the
packed days and many meetings – formal and informal – a shared
sense of Ahm Yisrael emerges.
It’s
always hard to predict what parts of a mission’s itinerary will be
the most affecting, but encounters with young people are invariably
moving.
Such
was the case at a JNF forest in Drom Hasharon near the green line,
which was recently torched by arsonists identified as coming from a
nearby Arab village.
A
teen-age girl spoke of the pain of seeing the woodland destroyed. At
her invitation the delegates gingerly walked over the charred acres
and placed small green flags amid the stumps in their determination
to replant and rebuild.
For
many of the 200 or so participants on our Presidents Conference-JNF-Israel
Bonds mission it was a “defining moment,” making vivid and real
the anxiety of vulnerability to terrorism and bewilderment over
where things are heading.
Another
such vignette crystallizing emotion and empathy was meeting with
relatives of the soldiers lynched in Ramallah.
In
a rare spasm of inter-organizational coordination, those responsible
managed to unite the Canadians, Americans and European solidarity
missions and the Jewish Agency Board of Governors at key gatherings
with President Katzav, the Prime Minister and the Mayor of
Jerusalem.
A
large audience in the impressive city council chamber heard Mayor
Ehud Olmert declare that the current wave of violence is nothing
less than the battle for Jerusalem.
The
next night, Prime Minister Ehud Barak beamed as he made his entrance
to the Jerusalem Theatre, cheerfully shaking hands and reciting
“shalom, shalom” to the obviously delighted participants.
For
these few days, contentious issues such as Conservative and Reform
enfranchisement were muted and the meetings were decorous.
One
minor exception was a delegate’s irritated retort to U.S.
Ambassador Martin Indyk’s welcome.
“How
is it,” the questioner demanded, “you welcome us when your State
Department tells us to stay away?”
And,
at the President’s residence, the head of the French-Jewish
Community was roundly booed when he mentioned Jacques Chirac’s
“efforts for Mideast peace.”
Reports
of large-scale tourist cancellations and over-all economic
dislocation hardly prepare the visitor for the reality of empty
hotels and restaurants and the generally gloomy atmosphere.
TO
strengthen its mission
of promoting traffic to
Israel, the Ministry of
Tourism has dispatched
Uzi Gafni to New York in
the role of Deputy
Commissioner for Tourism
in North America as well as
consul and director of the
Israel Government Tourist
Office (IGTO) in the
northeastern United States. |
Lunchtime
found us at the Minaret, a popular Jerusalem restaurant featuring
tangy Mideastern salads and skewers of grilled lamb and chicken.
There were barely half a dozen customers in the newly opened,
spacious dining room.
We
schmoozed with one of the owners, the scion of a long-standing
Jerusalem-Arab family.
Lamenting
the current strife, he firmly rejected any notion of future
separation, saying that the Jews and Palestinians were like “two
fish in the sea – remove one and the other dies.”
Maybe something lost in translation, but we got his drift.
Back
at the hotel, more briefings with the serendipitous element of
surprise guests, some of them quite well known, such as former UN
Ambassador Dore Gold and Raanan Gissin, the ubiquitous Israel Army
spokesman whose energetic clarifications are a mainstay of CNN
coverage.
The
demands of the volatile situation make it difficult for government
officials and others to adhere to fixed schedules. So there were
many last-minute cancellations.
Malcolm
Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Presidents Conference, was
on his cell phone resembling nothing so much as a desperate
mountain-resort impresario whose stellar holiday weekend program is
falling apart at each moment.
That
Malcolm succeeded in finding qualified, expert replacements was a
tribute to his personal connections and the considerable media
attention the mission received soon after arrival.
The
much-maligned Jewish Agency, buffeted in recent years by charges of
redundancy and so-called post-Zionist revisionism, still has the
knack of staging public rallies complete with bands and school
children, flags and signs with such quaint and dated slogans as
“Zionism will win!” (as if it hasn’t).
We
gathered with hundreds of Israelis on Mount Zion for a march to the
Western Wall where once again Mayor Olmert would address us.
While
waiting, an unaccounted for brown paper bag was spotted on the
ground and the security forces in a well-practiced drill cleared the
area, probed the bag and then shot it, presumably to disarm any
charge that might be inside.
The
incident passed without mishap and one wag sighed, “Another lunch
bag bites the dust.”
A
few hours later, the good-natured group again experienced the
overall tension when a visit to Gilo, at the southern end of the
city, was cancelled because of continuing sniper fire from the
neighboring village of Bet Jalla.
Some
speakers wear well. Such was the case with Natan Scharansky who made
a second appearance at our farewell dinner.
Despite his years in politics, the popular Sharansky remains
an original and thoughtful speaker.
He
reiterated the importance of Israel knowing that she is not alone.
He asked us to bring back a message of the nation’s firm resolve.
“Well,”
said one exhausted participant as she looked around the jammed
ballroom, “we can at least thank Arafat for bringing Jews
together.”
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