opinion
I BY SHERRIE SAVETT
t is not often that one gets to
experience a transformative life
experience. This July, I had the
privilege of traveling to Israel with
35 other leaders from cities across
North America on a four-day national
solidarity mission. I knew the trip
would be an emotional one, but
getting the opportunity to support the
country that I love in the aftermath
of the recent Gaza conflict was an
important journey for me to take.

We focused on three big issues on
this trip: the 2021 Gaza conflict, Israel’s
new government and its challenges,
and internal social issues. Israel is
ever-changing and evolving, and
always seeking effective and creative
solutions. While the strength and
effectiveness of the new coalition
government remains to be proven,
many are hopeful and see its diversity
as an asset. The new government has
members from left- and right-wing
parties, as well as, for the first time in
history, an Arab party.

Israel faces many complex internal
issues and external threats. Most
recently, more than 4,300 rockets
targeted Israel during an 11-day period.

The civilian population all over the
country experienced these attacks and
the constant sirens warning them to
run to safe rooms and bomb shelters.

Residents of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem
had never experienced missile attacks
before and were stunned by the
experience. Trauma among Israelis,
and especially children, is widespread.

We were fortunate to meet many
people during our trip, inspiring people,
trying to overcome the incredibly
challenging problems and working
to heal themselves, others, and their
country. Taly Levanon, director of the
Israel Trauma Coalition, introduced us
to talented and brave therapists who
risked their lives amid rocket fire to
comfort families.

16 Like all mission trips, our days were
packed. Each person we spoke to and
each story we heard were important
testimonials to the unwavering
strength of the Israeli people. We
visited the parents of 5-year-old Ido
Avigal, who was killed by a Hamas
rocket in Sderot.

Despite having access to a modern
safe room and being able to make it
there in time, shrapnel pierced the
metal and concrete of the room, killing
Ido and wounding his mother. It was
devastating to see the safe room
frozen in time with childrens’ posters
on the walls and to meet his incredibly
resilient parents who honor their
wonderful son and find the means to
look forward.

At the Kfar Aza kibbutz in the Jewish
Federation’s partnership region, just
five kilometers east of Gaza, we met
AUGUST 26, 2021 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Chen Abrahams, a woman who lived
all her life in this kibbutz founded by
her grandparents. She showed us a
disturbing array of rockets and weapons
that had been targeted toward her
community over the many years of
bombings. Despite the constant threat
of war and violence, there is a waiting
list to live at this kibbutz, and the city of
Sderot is growing rapidly. We saw this
love of country and sense of community
everywhere we went — an unrelenting
pride in Israel, and an unwillingness to
give into the terror of Hamas.

Another major issue that emerged
during the recent conflict was the
rioting that occurred in some of the
mixed cities where large populations
of Jews and Arabs live together. In
Lod, where the worst riots took place,
we visited a community center and
saw how staff are working with the
Joint Distribution Committee to help
people coexist. We learned of JDC
programs aimed at closing the social
and economic gap between Jews and
Arabs. We spoke with Arab women
who participated in a program that
helped them to secure good jobs in the
high-tech arena.

Jewish community members often
don’t understand where their money
goes when it supports overseas work
by organizations like JFNA, the JDC
or the Jewish Agency’s Israel Trauma
Coalition. Every gift to the Federation’s
Jewish Community Fund goes in part
to these critical efforts, which support
life-saving and well-being programs
that encourage positive changes to
the complex Israeli society. Our Jewish
philanthropy contributes to a more
vibrant Israel.

I walk away from this trip with a
deepened connection to Israel, as
well as a firm belief that as American
Jews, it is our responsibility to serve
as ambassadors for Israel. We must
diffuse lies and correct misinformation
being spread about Israel by its
detractors and the media, and listen
openly and speak calmly and factually
about the struggles Israel faces.

When we met at the Knesset
with MK Nachman Shai, minister of
Diaspora Affairs, he emphasized how
American Jewry is a security asset for
Israel. We open doors, protect them in
our Congress and encourage solidarity.

He and the other three MKs we spoke
to all emphasized that American Jewry
is just as important to Israel as Israel is
to American Jewry.

In the end, this trip was about
solidarity and support to our brothers
and sisters abroad and the feeling that
we must stand together as one people
united by our common heritage and
Jewish values. Am Yisroel Chai!
Sherrie Savett is the chair of the
Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia Campaign.

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My Four Days in Israel with JFNA:
Standing in Solidarity with Israel