A Message from the Chairman

A Message from the Chairman By Jeremy Rosenstein

This year is the 40th year since I came to finish high school in Israel and first got to know our Shul and Kehillah. I have many memories over the years—including sitting in my matriculation exams in June of 1982 in my school just outside Haifa and hearing Israeli aircraft flying overhead from the nearby airbase during the 1st Lebanese war; or one year later when I was a soldier in the Nahal corps not knowing how much I would have to pay for the bus every week when going out for Shabbat, as there was very high inflation and bus fares changed every week; or spending days in South Lebanon in 1986 looking for kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

There were two special occasions during my army service that I will always remember.

The first was 24th December 1983 when our unit, made up of many “Olim”, was taken to do guard duty in Bet Lechem for the local celebrations. I spent that evening on the roof of the Church of the Nativity guarding and listening to the carol music below. My friend and member of our Kehillah, Ralph Portner, who was one of the sergeants in our unit, was with a group of English speaking soldiers walking the narrow streets, when he came across a group of English tourists (who could not understand how Israeli soldiers were speaking with broad “Mancunian” accents) and managed to explain to them that he was part of an elite British army unit who travel the world protecting British tourists! My second memory is of Pesach 1985. At the time I was based as a Sergeant in “Machane 80” of the Nahal brigade with soldiers doing their basic training.

It was decided that our unit would come to Netanya for Seder night and that the soldiers would spend the evening patrolling the streets of Netanya. The idea was to have two soldiers patrol in the square, two patrol south of the square and two patrol north of the square on David Hamelech

Street. Having arrived in Netanya in the morning before the Chag, we set up base in the dining room of the police station that was at the time near the Kupat Cholim on Raziel Street. (This was the first and only time that I slept in a police station!).

Our officer immediately went off to the local hotels to arrange for them to take groups of soldiers in for the Seder meal.

At the time my parents lived just off the square on Ussishkin Street so I arranged to be able to be at home for the Seder with a walkie talkie. Throughout the evening when we had a change in shift with the soldiers, they would meet under our apartment, I came down and supervised the shift change and went back to continue the Seder – with my walkie talkie.

The following night, Motzei Chag, we were patrolling the square when someone thought that there was a suspect car parked. So there was Sergeant Jeremy with his soldiers clearing Kikar Haatzmaut of people. My brother and friends of ours from the Dor Hemshech who were on holiday from the army were out in town and cheering us on, shouting “Jeremy, Jeremy, savior of Netanya!”

I would like to take this opportunity to thank once again all those who keep our Shul and Kehillah running smoothly – Laura and Moshe, our beloved Rav & Rabbanit Raphael & Ora, ladies of the Irgun Nashim, our Gabbaim, those working behind the scenes, members of the board and executive and our members who participate in activities. חג כשר ושמח o