Reflections on a Trip to Israel
By Rabbi Hershey Novack and Julie Marder
This summer, I visited Israel. As Chabad in Israel coordinated part of our trip, we were present at a Kaddish service for a young victim of terror. Chabad in Israel has a long and proud history in Israel and has been proactively helping widows and orphans of the Israel Defense Forces since 1956. Today, with a network of 230 centers spread throughout Israel, Chabad is a leading resource for terror victims and their families.
A suicide bomber killed this young man together with his pregnant wife outside the cave of the patriarchs in Hebron. His family had just finished the formal one-week mourning period called Shiva, and his extended family had gathered to visit his grave for the first time to recite the Kaddish service. The cemetery was located in Holon, a middle-class working city 15 minutes from Tel Aviv, and actually was quite plain by American standards. On the small hill of soft brown earth near the edge of the cemetery lay two large wreaths of now-dried flowers. Attached to each wreath was a black ribbon with the gold inscription, "from the government.” The traumatized mother sobbed uncontrollably, searching for consolation and not finding any. It was quite a dramatic experience.
Days later, unable to stop reflecting upon what I had just witnessed, I grappled with an emotional question. As a parent, I can understand why parents might hesitate when their children ask to visit Israel. Thus, how can I continue to support parents sending their children on programs like Birthright Israel after witnessing the realization of any parents’ worst fear?
My solace is in numbers. In rational facts.
The Birthright Israel partnership accredits some 20 different tour organizers. Being that Chabad and its affiliate Mayanot are the most popular organizers in the world, I have become personally familiar with the rigorous security protocols that are mandated by the partnership. For starters, the flights to and from Israel are on El AL, an airline with an unparalleled safety record. Similarly, only private charter buses are used on the program, and an armed guard and a medic accompany the group 24 hours a day.
The Birthright itineraries are structured with the dual function of ensuring that all major sites in Israel are visited, all the while avoiding any area of unrest. Behind the scenes, every group of students is accompanied by a GPS tracking system that is monitored 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by a situation room (“cheder matzav”) staffed by Israeli security agents and whose sole focus is students’ safety and security.
I was most impressed with the professionalism of the security staff. From the arrival at Ben Gurion International until the end of the trip, the guards and medics performed their duties with precision and dedication.
After gaining this behind-the-scenes vantage, I am confident that Birthright Israel makes participant safety their absolute highest priority. Knowing of these stringent safety measures, and personally experiencing the reciprocal impact that visiting Israel has on Jews and also the impact that Jews visiting Israel has on Israelis, I feel comfortable to assert that we must continue to visit Israel both in good times and in the not-so-good times, knowing that these organized trips are vital – and safe.
The bottom line is that during the three years of this intifada, almost 40,000 college-age students who had never been to Israel on an organized program have had the opportunity to see and tour Israel first hand courtesy of Birthright Israel. And every single one of these students has returned home to the Diaspora without a single brush with terror. That’s 40,000 to none.
I am satisfied.