Standing a Post (Article# 76) 3/6/2008

Unless you are a hermit (and if you are reading this paper, it is clear that you are not), you know that the level of violence in Gaza and other spots has increased lately. In discussions with Larry Gordon (editor of the 5TJT) I commented to him how there seems to be a mini cycle of escalations and withdrawals as each side tests the boundaries of the other side.

This is part of our existence here in Israel, the constant concern about security and safety. It exists in such a contrast to the general daily life in which we (and especially our children) enjoy incredible amounts of freedom and independence in our daily activities. The kids do so much on their own here without needing adult supervision, since everyone looks out for the kids.

As the tensions ratcheted up, I had a chance to speak with my sister about my oldest nephew Yonatan, the first Katz (OK – so his name is Uzan) to serve in the Israeli army. He finished his basic training and had just returned back to the base after a week at home to begin advanced training (his training takes the better part of a year, I think). As we talked, she mentioned that she hadn’t spoken to him all week, which was unusual, but shrugged it off as a probable result of a multi day training exercise in which he is incommunicado.

She confided to me that her real concern was for the possibility that he would be called to active duty either in Gaza itself or doing security watch in another area of high concern. I didn’t think they would do that, with a group of soldiers still in training, but she assured me that depending on the needs of the situation the army would not think twice. After all, they have completed basic training and if assets are needed, then they are needed.

We ended the conversation hoping that the needs of the country would not come to that. Of course, I could stop writing at this point and you would already know the rest of the story.

The very next morning Goldie came to talk to me all shaken. While I was out, my sister had called to tell us that she had finally heard from Yonatan. He had been out traning in the field, but had just been told that this week they were being assigned to a one week rotation doing security patrol duty in a settlement in an area that has a high arab concentration (that is all I will say). It seems that this assignment is definitely a part of the advanced training that he was scheduled to get – although he wouldn’t tell her if it was supposed to happen at this stage of their training or they advanced it because of a specific need.

In either case, by now he is out there somewhere. Most probably on a post with 3 or 4 of his “buddies”. Standing a post for 8-10 hours at a time. All of them with a gun in his hands, protective gear on his body and a target on his back.

He does this for himself for sure. It is certainly a rite of passage in this country, our country. Yet, he does it for his parents as well. His parents, his brothers, my family and even yours. He is standing this post putting his safety and his life on the line so that each and every one of us can continue to live here in security and safety. No matter what your politics are, if you are the biggest hawk or dove, you cannot deny the fact that as things stand today it is Yonatan Uzan and the thousands like him who stand posts every day that allows us all to remain in our country – either to live or to visit.

On the first day of basic training, unbeknownst to him, members of his unit were trying to put together a minyan before morning wakeup. They had nine men and needed another. Suddenly, one of them remembered seeing “Uzan” with a pair of tefillin as he settled his gear into his locker for the first time the day before. They ran to get him and even though he didn’t expect to be able to have one in this very specialized combat unit, with most of its members being non religious - he has been the tenth man of the minyan ever since.

Even though I have said this before, I ask you again to think of him as you daven. Think of Yonatan and the thousands of other men and women who volunteer to stand up and be a shield to defend us, the Jewish people in our home. Although he (or they) is not your son, he is someone’s son.

A mother and a father who love him dearly raised him and watched over him as he grew. They nurtured him and instilled in him a desire to do this very noble thing that he is doing. They taught him to care for his country and its people. They were caught a little unprepared for this to happen quite so soon, even though it was something they knew could happen.

And now they have entrusted his well being to He whom we all rely upon for well being and they (along with the parents of all the service men and women) pray that their precious treasure will be returned to them safe and sound.

You don’t have to approve of the government or its policies. You don’t have to like some of the things that people here are doing. Just daven for us, your family here who are in need of your prayers and of divine protection and guidance. Daven that our youth should be protected from harm and that they successfully protect us in turn.

Unfortunately, one of the sources and continuing signs of our exile is the fact that we Jews cannot seem to get along with one another and we faced those issues this week as well. Although she has not shared all the details with us, Goldie’s oldest friend Chaia Broderick (who made Aliyah just a month after us) was involved with an incident on the bus to Tzfat.

She had gotten on the bus in Jerusalem with a girlfriend to go to Tzfat for Shabbat, and they sat in the front half of the bus. THIS WAS NOT A “DESIGNATED” SEPARATE SEATING BUS. The bus continued on and some men got on the bus and demanded that the two of them move to the “women’s section” at the rear of the bus. They refused.

As Chaia relates it, the men continued to yell at them and the women, afraid that they would be attacked (one woman was slapped around on a bus in a similar confrontation several months back) called to the bus driver for help. He ignored them. Chaia insisted that she needed to be in the front half of the bus so she would not get motion sickness and would not move. Eventually, when they saw she would not be moved, the men retreated.

This intolerance of other people and their way of life (of which I am guilty as well as evidenced by my repeated criticism of the chareidi element in our midst) and inability to simply work things out between ourselves is awful. I just wish I knew how to solve it.