A Soldier's Sacrifice

The sun was shining, the temperatures were a pleasant 75 degrees, and we found ourselves on the way to a cemetary.   We were about to have the most emotionally and physically taxing day since the start of the mission.

This is Israel where there is not a single person who hasn't experienced the loss of a mother or a father or a sibling, or a friend to the violence of war in the 60 years of Israel statehood.  Today we would confront this head on when we joined Rosie Binamo at Military Cemetary in Haifa where she has laid to rest her eldest child, Uri, yet another victim of the suicidal terrorists.

Rosie is a pretty woman with strawberry blonde hair, an American accent, and a figure many other women would be envious of.  Her manner is quiet, yet friendly and you get a sense that if it were not for this setting where we have met her, she'd be the sort of woman you'd want to go shopping or out to lunch.  But we were here to listen to Rosie tell her story and that of her son, Uri.

Rosie has three children, of which Uri was the eldest.  She and Uri's father were divorced and she works as a family/marital therapist in Haifa.  She raised Uri and his siblings in Haifa near Nesher Park, our next stop.

In the photos of Uri in his uniform we can see how young he is.  His eyes are large and he has the hint of a smile.  In one photo his hair is cropped very short and in the other we can see the rich dark waves of his unshorn locks.  We are told that he liked the girls and it is obvious that he did not have any trouble attracting them.

Like everyone else, Uri began his army service right out of high school.  Yet unlike the majority of his peers, he thrived, excelled and showed a strong aptitude for leading other soldiers.  Shortly after his 21st birthday he was made a Lieutenant.  He was exceptionally proud of his men and his division; and used his artistic talents to design a t-shirt to be worn by his soldiers (Later Rosie gave each of us a key ring and black t-shirt with Hebrew writing and the emblem of Uri's unit and their motto).  It was obvious that the military would become his career.  Despite this fact, Rosie dragged Uri to America at one point so that he could receive an American passport like her (Israelis can carry duel citizenship).

In December 2005, Uri volunteered for a detail which was inspecting cars crossing the border, in order to protect revelers at the Hanukah carnival festival.  Uri and his men stopped one car and became suspicious of the occupants.  At Uri's order, one man stepped out of the car and realizing he was caught detonated the bomb strapped to his body, as did another man in the car.  Uri was killed immediately in the explosion.  Yet, he completed his mission as none of the persons attending the Hanukah carnival were harmed.  The following day the newspapers read "Uri Saves Hanukah".

Afterwards I wandered a bit around the cemetary looking at the graves.  Unlike other Jewish cemetaries whose graves are only marked with the occasional stone left by a visitor, these graves were covered in flowers, candles and one grave was even shaded by a lemon tree placed behind the stone.  As I could not make out the Hebrew inscriptions on the stones, I tended to read the ages in arabic numerals.  They ranged in age from 19 to 56 years, with the majority falling in the younger range.  Among the Hebrew were a few stones in Arabic which were in memory of Druze, who also serve in the IDF.  Also among the stones were the occasional photo of the deceased.

In keeping with tradition, I stopped at the water font and spilled water from a pitcher on my hands and left the cemetary.  I sat by myself on the wall opposite the cemetary and watched life in this Haifa neighborhood go on around me.

Soon after we began our drive up and over the tall hills that surround Haifa.  There are many modern hotels, malls and office buildings with the names of well-known corporations in clear view.  Haifa once known primarily as the seaport and center of Israel's shipping industry, has become in recent years the high tech capital of Israel.  The shipping industry and the harbor are obviously still in existance, but the emergence of the information age has made the microchip the more predominant factor in commerce.

Moshe stopped the bus at the entrance to Nesher Park and we were treated to a magnificent view into the valley below.  We got off and made our way into the park for a tour and discussion with Hannah Yaffe the JNF-KKL award-winning architect and designer of the hanging bridges of Nesher Park.  Hannah explained that she was given the job to rehabilitate the Park by the municipalities of Haifa, Nesher and the University of Haifa.  She then transformed a polluted area into a scenic overlook and vital asset to the communities.  Evidence that she was an utter success, little schoolchildren and their teachers were everywhere enjoying the bridges and natural environment.

Remarkably, Hannah did all this following a cancer diagnosis.  When she was honored with the Landscape Architecture award in 2007, she originally believed she was given it in sympathy for her illness.  She then remembered the scope of her accomplishment and understood that she indeed deserved this accomodation.

We added to Hannah's honors with a JNF Certificate indicating a tree would be planted in her honor --- could anything be more appropos.  We also honored Rosie Binamo who came to the Park with us with a JNF Certificate for the strength and honor she has shown in her time of grief.  Rosie added to the conversation by telling Hannah that even though the hanging bridges weren't named for Uri, she always remembered Uri playing in this very park during his youth and childhood, and in those bridges she sees Uri.

A picnic lunch awaited us at the conclusion of hike through the park.  We had so much to digest from this morning alone, and this setting was perfect to contemplate where we'd been and what it meant to each of us.

From the tranquility of Nesher we moved on or I could say back in time with our visit to the Atlit Illegal ImmigrationCamp.  The Israeli gov't has maintained Atlit virtually the same as the British had left in 1948.  The British, who had been given a Mandate following World War I to adminstrate Palestine, found themselves mired in conflicts from the start.  In appreciation for services rendered His Majesty's government by the Jews of Palestine during WWI, who sided with the Allies by joining the British forces battling the Turks (whose Ottoman Empire was seeing its last days) they were given a promise, known as the Balfour Declaration.  The Balfour declaration was in fact a letter sent by Foreign Minister (former Prime Minister) Lord Balfour to Lord Rothschild (a leader in the Zionist community) stating that "His Majesty's Government view with favour the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people, and will use their best endeavours to facilitate the achievement of this object, it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine, or the rights and political status enjoyed by Jews in any other country".  Sadly, this promise was later negated in the form of "White Papers" issued by the British to appease the Arab population who protested Jewish emigration to Palestine.  The White Papers had deadly consequences for Jews desperately trying to escape Europe during the Nazi era, and in the 3 years following WW II.

During these desperate times the Jewish Agency (essentially the Jewish gov't in Palestine) under the auspices of Ben Gurion and in conjunction with the Haganah (the underground Jewish army in Palestine) attempted to bring in refugees from Europe in what became known as Aliyah Bet.  In a clandestine operation the Haganah herded refugees across Europe by any manner possible and in broken down fishing boats attempted to run the British blockade.  Often as not the boats were captured, turned around and sent back to their destination.  Jews who had survived the holocaust were sent back to detention camps in Europe, or put in British detention camps the Island of Cyprus or in some cases they were sent to Atlit near Haifa.

To be clear Atlit was not a concentration camp in any way.  The British had the Jews administrate the running of the camp and the detainees were given all the basic necessities.  Still it was humiliating and reminiscent of Nazi policy to be stripped and deloused and assigned to barracks, when one was hoping to find freedom after more than a decade of oppression.  This was all explained to us by a young man who was doing part of his army service as a guide at Atlit.  His lovely clipped accent ilicited us to inquire about his background and we were told that one of his parents came from St. Louis, MO. explaining his facility with English.

In a conference room we were introduced to the Gutman's, an elderly couple well into their 80's.  Mr. Gutman was a professor of political science at Hebrew University and Mrs. Gutman had been a nurse.  If there story sounds familiar than you have either read "Exodus" by Leon Uris or seen Otto Preminger's film of the same name.  Mr. Gutman, who had emigrated from Germany as a youth, was a member of the Haganah (he also served in the British armed forces during the war in His Majesty's Jewish Brigade) and it was his job to lead refugees from Europe to Palestine.  Mrs. Gutman, who was born in Palestine, was a young nurse sent by the Jewish Agency to aid the refugees in the British detention camps on Cyprus.

The first time Nechama (Mrs. Gutman) laid eyes on her future husband, Emanuel, was when he came through the gates of the Cyprus camp as part of Golde Meir's retinue.  Having lived in Palestine all her life, Nechama did not speak a word of Yiddish, the native tongue of the refugees.  She would have to quickly learn and adapt in order to aid her paitients.  It must be remembered that the refugees were physically weakened from years of malnutrition and exposure to the elements, so much so that they were vulnerable to every sort of parasites.  Keeping the camp clean was paramount to avoid scurvy, typhus and other illnesses.  But life being as it is, people married, gave birth, and died in the detention camps and it was up to volunteers like Nechama to help them.  You can only imagine what sort of bond this made between the Jewish volunteers and the refugees; and sixty odd years later Nechama is still in touch with many of them.  As she shared their grief, she now can share in their simchas of children and grandchildren.

Emanuel went on to an illustrious career first working in the Israeli consulate in New York and later as a much published professor at Hebrew University.  He and Nechama, who married upon their return from Cyprus, will celebrate 60 years of marriage at the same time that Israel celebrates 60 years of statehood.

Interesting footnote about Atlit - the Haganah's Palmach staged a successful escape of the detainees.  The man leading this rescue was none other than the future Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin.

Another emotional moment would be experienced before we departed Atlit.  Knowing that the late mother of Zehav, one of our group, had been detained at Atlit, Tali contacted the administrators of the Atlit Museum & Archive and during the course of our visit this woman was presented with the ships manifest (SS Max Nordau) with her mother's name on it.  A strange turn of events took place when the researchers at looked for Zehav's mother's information.  They came upon a woman who had been on the same illegal ship with her mother, in Atlit with her mother and then at a kibbutz with her mother.  Zehav had no knowledge of this woman whatsoever prior to our trip to Atlit.  Later she was told that she and the woman shared the same name.  This woman was still living and although she felt a bit too frail to join us that day, she extended an invitation to Zahev to visit her in her home.  Zehav, incidentally, grew up in Israel and served as an officer in the IDF.  She is also a successful business person and gifted artist.

Having heard these stories, my heart was heavy as I passed the barracks, barbed wire fences and gates of Atlit.  How much more freedom means to someone who has never known it.

We next pulled up to a lovely restaurant and test kitchen between Haifa and Tel Aviv.  The setting was reminiscent of Napa, with fragrant herbs growing in the garden and garden furniture.  We had arrived for our Israeli Cooking lesson with Tel Aviv restauranteur, television presenter and chef, Ayelet Latovich.

We were a bit of a rowdy crowd descending on the quiet of the test kitchen, but Ayelet, with her sweet smile and easy going air handled the situation with absolute aplomb.  A working Mom with a pixie hair highlighting her youthfulness, Ayelet takes a sensual pleasure in the textures of her ingrediants and the workings of her kitchen.  She has created a fusion of Sephardi and Ashkenazi dishes and given them her own twist.

Following her demonstration we were treated to a light dinner of fish and salads we had watched her prepare.  Served family style with everyone pitching in to serve we laughed and joked our way through dinner.  Fortunately Elisa, our JNF Professional was busy keeping notes and translating measurements for our American kitchens home, so we could cook authentic Israeli fare when we got home.  Sadly, our time with Ayelet came to an end much to quickly and we had to board the bus to return to Tel Aviv.

As it had been an awfully long day, we were given the chance to either rest at the hotel or head over to the Tel Aviv Harbor for a saunter through bait BaNamal (House in the Port) and a quick meet & greet with Sybil Goldfine, CEO of Comme il Faut.  I was tired like everyone else, but the chance to view this unique group of women-owned businesses all together under Hangar 26 was too good to turn down.  Goldfine created Comme il Faut with the idea that the feminist perspective needed to be addressed in the retail fashion industry.  She did this by creating a sort of collective of fashion forward boutiques and retail shops to appeal to women and to celebrate women in all their colors, shapes and sizes.

The Tel Aviv Harbor is a lively place with upscale restaurants and shops, and at night with the ocean crashing against the pier it is quite dramatic.  Comme il faut is at the far end of the pier in Hangar 26 and it consists of a few boutiques, a sex toy store, gift shop and restaurant.  While Roommate Jane sat down to interview Goldfine, I wondered this unusual mall.  The clothing in one boutique were amazingly artful with a strong sense of counter-culture.  The the tiny little woman with the peter pan haircut, skin tight jeans and leather jacket managing the shop engaged me in conversation, and when told I was looking for jewelry with a rough edge and unique design quickly gave me the name of a shop I should go to in Tel Aviv.

Eventually I met up with Jane and Miri, our unflappable guide, and with her help hailed a taxi back to the Carlton for a good night's rest.

Funny Aside:  Miri told us that she took her mother to the sex toy shop at Comme il faut.  Miri told us that her English-born mom, who she describes as "more British than the Queen" thought the sexual apparatus for sale in the shop were telephones.