How was Temple Shalom’s volunteer mission to Israel?

Deborah Rosen Fidel, JD, MAJPS Executive Director

How was your trip?” Dozens of people have asked me this question since we returned home on Jan. 31 from the third Temple Shalom volunteer mission to Israel with EVP (Emergency Volunteers Project). I don’t really know how to answer, because I am still sorting out a jumble of conflicting emotions. However, the joy and satisfaction that I felt every time one of the IDF soldiers smiled and thanked us (!) for being there and making them a special meal was a great feeling — pure and simple.

It was beyond fulfilling to meet and personally thank the Israeli Air Force helicopter pilots who rescued and returned hostages from Gaza and flew a daring and covert mission in which Israeli special forces dismantled an Iranian missile factory in Syria last September.

A barbecue lunch sounds like such a small gesture in the face of such immense heroism, but they appreciated that every steak and shawarma was made with love by our team from Temple Shalom. They were also delighted to read all the cards made by our YESh students, which we used to decorate the picnic tables.

We were speechless when we learned that we were the very first civilians to step foot on the Syrian side of Mount Hermon, captured by The Israeli Air Force’s elite Shaldag unit in December. We met the reservists of the Alpinist unit who were serving on the mountain top, in the snow and the cold, far from their homes, families and jobs.

I was proud to be part of a community that stepped up to the plate and donated the necessary funds to buy them heavy-duty, warm boots and specially insulated outerwear. Their gratitude was palpable, but we were the ones who felt indebted to them for their service.

It was such a privilege to prepare a beautiful barbecue and share a meal with the young men and women soldiers of Oketz, the IDF canine special forces unit on their training base. We walked among the stone markers in the dog cemetery on their base and heard incredible stories of the many soldiers whose lives were saved by their four-legged friends.

As we had on our previous trip, we visited the sites of the Nova massacre and the battle for the police station in Sderot. We also stopped at a memorial to the young female lookouts or “spotters,” created by their parents, and the wall of burnt cars memorial, made of almost a thousand bullet-ridden and burnt cars whose owners had been brutally attacked at the Nova Music Festival. We heard the accounts of survivors of that “Black Shabbat” that made us gasp and cry.

We went to Hostages Square on both days hostages were released during our stay. I don’t think there are words in the English language to adequately capture the way I felt when I saw the helicopter carrying 80-yearold “Saba” (Grandpa) Gadi Mozes land on the roof of the hospital nearby. My heart filled with relief and joy for his family and then broke into pieces as I remembered how many of the people gathered all around me would have to continue waiting in agony for their loved ones to return.

In addition to feeding soldiers, we cleaned the children’s area at Kibbutz Neot Mordechai (near the border with Lebanon) where Naot sandals are made. We also toured the Knesset and met with Speaker Amir Ohana before paying our respects to the recently fallen at Har Herzl, Israel’s Arlington Cemetery. So, how was the trip? Since I started writing this article, I figured out how to answer the question. It was intensely satisfying and meaningful, and I can’t wait to do it again!

If you think you might like to join me on a future trip, please let me know as soon as possible. You can reach me at Dfidel@naplestemple.org or 239-455-3030.