Departing Israel and the CCAR

Dear Friends:

Last night we joined together for our last dinner in Israel - a Farewell Feast at the Dan Panorama Hotel in Eilat. We shared our stories - places we liked and places that I really do not need to include for a future trip. We all had a great time and were ready to come home.

This morning, we picked up our incredible boxed breakfasts and went to the Eilat airport for our flight to Tel Aviv. Afterwards, we transferred to Ben Gurion as I bid farewell to all of them. I continued my travels to Jerusalem for the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)Convention. Today was a day devoted to Tikkun Olam - "fixing the world." I participated in a track entitled, "The Elderly and Terror." First, I visited Yad LaKashish - Lifeline for the Old. This is a non-profit organization offering needy elderly and disabled individuals from the Jerusalem area the opportunity to remain active, integral members of society. Founded in 1962, Yad LaKashish provides creative work opportunities, invaluable support services, and intergenerational programs to 300 needy elderly and disabled participants, most of whom are recent immigrants from the Former Soviet Union, Ethiopia, and South America. Yad LaKashish provides the aging population with a warm, supportive social and professional environment in which they can utilize their skills and maintain a sense of self-sufficiency. Imagine - a program where the elderly are treated as full members of society!

Next, I went to the One Family Fund office in Jerusalem. One Family began with a selfless act by one twelve-year-old girl. Michal Belzberg was preparing for her Bat Mitzvah in Jerusalem when a suicide bomber struck the crowded Sbarro restaurant in the city's downtown. The attack murdered 15 and wounded 130 Jewish men, women, and children. It was the most deadly attack in Jerusalem since the beginning of the Intifadah in September 2000.In the wake of such sorrow and destruction Michal felt she could not hold a celebration, so she cancelled her Bat Mitzvah party in order to contribute the party's funds to victims of the attack. In addition to that, she encouraged friends and family to give the victims everything they planned on giving her. Michal and the Belzberg family raised over $100,000, but quickly realized that was not nearly enough to address the suffering of the growing number of Israelis affected by terror. In that moment, One Family was born.Since its inception, One Family has grown into a large volunteer-based non-profit organization providing much-needed assistance to thousands of terror victims throughout Israel on a daily basis. The terror that so many deal with is heart-breaking.

Finally, I went to the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma of Herzog Hospital. This program has been active since 1989 as a project of the Herzog Hospital Latner Institute to contend with the growing phenomenon of psychotrauma in Israel, where an estimated 9% of Israelis suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), three times the level of that in the US and other western countries. ICTP is today a world-recognized innovator in the research and treatment of the widespread effects of trauma. There are a variety of opinions about the effect of these programs, but we are fortunate that we are not living in a world of terror 24/7.

This evening, I went to the Jerusalem Cinemateque to preview a film about the Ethiopian community here in Israel - "Zerubabel, The Diversity in Judaism - Filmed on Ethiopian Jews in Israel. It was very interesting and the director afterwards offered some wonderful insights about the racism that exists in Israel.

I'm exhausted. Tomorrow, we visit Tel Aviv for a day on early Israeli life. Stay tuned!