High Holiday Highlights

Chag Sameach, My Name is Nathaniel Levitt, I’m a 20 year old student at the University of Pittsburgh. About a year ago, Amy Schafer suggested to my parents that my friend Jesse and I needed to do this program called Onward .“Onward” is a program which allows Jewish college students to live, explore and work in Israel for 2 months. I must admit, I was very hesitant at first. Not only was the idea of living in Israel by myself a bit daunting, but I was scared to miss out on whatever my friends back home would be doing. While it took some convincing, my friend Jesse and I decided we would go together and looking back on it, I can’t imagine having done anything else last summer- it was truly an amazing experience. Upon deciding to spend my summer in Israel, I was faced with some interesting feedback. I wasn’t surprised getting some funny looks from friends at school or even when my boss at work warned me “not to forget my bulletproof vest”, but it certainly made me more conscious of where I was going and the stigma that surrounded Israel in America.

 When I first arrived at the apartment building I would be staying in for the next 2 months, we got our keys, schedules for the month and immediately went into our first true Israeli experience- a lesson explaining how to find the closest bomb shelter no matter where we were, and where we should go in our building in case of emergency. They made it clear to us that we had 3 and half minutes from the time the sirens went off, to when the rockets were projected to land. It felt good to know where I’d be in case of an emergency, but also reiterated that I’d be here for 8 weeks and just because we were in peace now, it was not guaranteed for my entire time here.

I can’t recommend Onward highly enough. While the living situation was not particularly luxurious, my experience with work, traveling and the people I met was unlike any other. During the week, I spent my time working for a small tech company called 6Degrees, where I quickly learned the difference between Israeli business culture and ours here in America, when my new boss invited me to his wedding just one and a half weeks after we met. When I wasn’t working, I got to explore Israeli culture, go on trips with my program, and spend time on Tel Aviv’s beautiful beaches. One of the trips I had the opportunity to go on was to Kibbutz Beit Alfa in Northern Israel, where the theme was Israel’s geopolitical history. We toured some important lookouts from the 6 day war, as well as hearing from one of Netanyahu’s advisors on the importance of understanding perspective when discussing Israel, or anything for that matter. It was refreshing to hear such a neutral explanation of Israel’s conflict from someone so pro- Israel.

One night some of my friends and I were enjoying the sunset on the beach, talking about how different the experience was on Tel Aviv’s beaches versus those back at home. We spoke about how excited we were to share these experiences with our friends back home, when one of my friends on the program’s smile turned into a frown. She explained that when she decided to go on onward this summer, she too, was faced with interesting feedback from her friends, but not like mine. They asked her how she could spend time in a country with a terrorist governent, and why she’d ever want to spend time in a place representing the ideals that Israel represents. I felt horrible for her, but again, I wasn’t surprised given the stigma surrounding Israel in our society. It was troubling however, receiving backlash for being in the very place which was given back to us to ensure jews the right to their own destiny and protection after surviving one of, if not the worst human atrocities ever.

             Along with trips to Jerusalem and Haifa, we got to go to a very small town on the border of Gaza and Israel called Sderot. We were close enough to see factories, homes and some of hamas’ military strong points just over the wall in Gaza. It was certainly an astonishing experience standing so close to the border which has been at the heart of Israeli discourse for so many years. When we got to Sderot, there was a new safety lesson, as we were no longer in Tel Aviv 47 miles away from Gaza, but less than 2 and half miles away. Remember when I told you my apartment building, like most of Tel Aviv, was in the 3 and a half minute range? Meaning from the time the IDF sets off the sirens, people have about 3 and a half minutes to get inside a shelter. Sderot was in the 3 and a half SECOND radius. Despite there being bomb shelters every 40 feet throughout the town, they told us that if we heard the siren go off, to not even try to find shelter, but to lay face down on the ground covering our heads. We learned that each home has a bomb shelter designated as the kids room, so that when parents hear the sirens during the night they don’t need to use their 3 and a half seconds to save their kids lives before their own. Living in America, we all hear stories about violence in and around Israel, but I promise seeing the bomb shelters built into playgrounds and bedrooms brings a different type of understanding which was almost impossible to relate to.

The day before I left Israel, I couldn’t decide on how I should spend my last hours in the holy land. I thought about what I might be missing, or what I would regret not doing when I was back in New Jersey, and it became clear to me that I should be spending at least some of my day at the Kotel in Jerusalem. I’m proud to be Jewish, but sometimes find it hard to keep up with my family’s traditions while I’m away at school. Being at the Kotel made me feel more in touch with my Judaism and pride for Israel than anything else in the world, so I knew I needed to go back there.

            This is what brings me here today. A combination of my pride for Israel and the harsh realities I learned about during my time there. I went through the drills, and learned about their precautions, but ultimately had a very safe and peaceful trip. This is unfortunately not the case for most Israelis. It is hard to come by an adult in Israel who has not seen or been affected by some type of violence, and while we are lucky enough to be on peaceful terms with most of our surrounding neighbors we must be proactive. Our fellow Jews do not get to pick and choose to visit Israel only during the peaceful times, but are the protectors themselves when these peaceful times run out. We have always defied the odds and survived as a people when we come together. This underlines the importance of supporting our homeland, and the best way to do that is through Israel bonds. These are not donations, but you will be paid back in interest, and Israel has never defaulted on a bond. We help the Israeli government not just so our young adults can discover Israel on birthright, but for the family who only has 3 and a half seconds to hide from our enemy’s rockets, for the millions of Israelis who have served in the IDF and the Jews in Israel who have been shamed for simply existing in a place meant to be home for all of us. Together, we can continue to feel proud of and support Israel for generations to come. It became very clear to me this summer that the same way Israel is there for all Jewish people everywhere, all Jewish people everywhere must be there for Israel, so, as you review your bond packages, please think generously about how YOU are going to be there for Israel.  L’shana Tova.