2024-03 Israel

Israel 20,

April 1, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

The 5 other guys in my room were in bed sleeping by 9:30-10:00 pm. I stayed up to 12:15 watching an Argentinian movie. I must have fallen asleep at 12:45. The war came home to us at 1:22 am. The sirens went off waking all of us up. We have 30 seconds to get to the bomb shelter. Dressed only in my underwear I made it in 28. Some of the veterans knew to grab some clothes. The shelter is 10 m from my door. It looks like a sewer pipe 20 feet long, 5’10” in diameter and about 8-10 inches of thick concrete.

There were about 30 of us crammed together. The volunteers were mixed in with the non combatant soldiers, male and female. The soldiers with weapons ran to their designated posts. 2 min later there was a loud boom. Our planes flew over head for the next half hour. Everyone was calm. The people with cell phones went right to X (twitter) where we learned that the naval base had been hit with a drone. There was a hole in the building, but not do too much damage. We had visited that warehouse earlier in the day. The drone hit 100 m from where we were hiding in the bomb shelter. One of the American fellows travels around with a harp (about 4 feet high). He thought to bring it with him to the shelter. We heard the background noise of the fighting, air planes and I think the iron dome defence. He played the harp, singing Hebrew songs like Aveno Malkainew. It was surreal.

It is hard to get comfortable in the shelter which is concrete with round walls. Next time I will grab some clothes and a pillow. We were in the shelter for 1 hour. Time passed quickly. People had already posted the battle on Twitter. You can see the boom as we were hit and you can see the iron dome taking out some drones and rockets. It is amazing to see some of the mean comments made by people in the States and Europe, like we really deserved what we were getting.

I was back in bed by 3:00 am and slept until 6:30. We had a meeting in the morning with a commander who told us not to take any pictures. I am only repeating what is already posted on Twitter. Hit Twitter, Eilat, drone attack to see the videos.

I am safe.

Love,

Brian

2024-03 Israel

Israel 19,

March 31, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

We said good-bye to our ‘older’ new found friends and made a new group of friends going off to a new base. I chose this time to go to the naval base in Eilat. It was a 4 hour drive through the desert that is very arid with no sand dunes. There were occasional oasis’ to break up the scenery and far off mountain ranges.

53 years ago I spent 3 months in Israel, 2 months on a kibbutz and 1 month exploring Israel and sleeping out on various beaches. I hitch hiked back and forth from Tel Aviv several times. In those days, hitch hiking was easy and safe. Often I would hitch hike with a girl which made it rather easy as a couple is less aggressive looking to a driver. When I came here in 1971, there was nothing. There was 1 small youth hostel, 1 cafe and no place to buy a beer. There were no hotels or restaurants and very few inhabitants. The 2 lane semi paved road has been replaced by a 2 or 4 lane very well maintained road. There are large apartment buildings and hotels as Eilat is now a medium size city.

We arrived at the base after 2 pit stops along the way. We were greeted by the soldier in charge who showed us around the base. We went down to the naval port and saw the ships in the harbour. We will probably be invited for a tour of the ships later this week. We could see Jordan across the Gulf of Accaba. The border runs in the middle of the gulf. Here, they are very strict about taking photos. We are absolutely not allowed to take photos of soldiers or ships. We were given our uniforms and were allowed to take pictures of each other and the water. The accommodations are so-so, 6 in a room with bunk beds, smallish, but with air conditioning. It is 35C outside, and hotter in the sun. We have not yet been given our duties.

Love,

Brian

2024-03 Israel

Israel 18,

March 30, 2024

Hi Everyone,

I told myself that I would write everyday so this day should be no different. After breakfast, I went up on the terrace overlooking the sea and studied some Hebrew. At 74 years of age, I am making very slow progress.

I then headed down to the beach as I needed at least 1 day of total relaxation after the ‘hard work’ at the military base. I rented a beach chair and had an ice cream cone for lunch. The water was rough with nice size waves do I did some body surfing. Swimming out to the breakwater was out of the question. I am off to a naval base in Eilat early tomorrow morning.

Love,

Brian

There is Israeli dancing every Saturday on the beach with music for everyone.

2024-03 Israel

Israel 17,

March 29, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

Today was an easy day for me. I woke up a little later than usual as the clocks were turned forward by 1 hour here for daylight saving time. The breakfast here is ‘wholesome’ with a variety of vegetables that I can not eat for breakfast. I prefer fruits, yogurt and a bagel, Israeli style, which is fatter than our St Viator style. I figured out that if I fill 2 cups separately with 1 cappuccino, I can fill the rest with 2 espressos which gives me the coffee taste that I desire.

I proceeded to the local laundromat where I washed 1 weeks worth of clothes. There is not too much as we wear army, IDF uniforms on the base. While the clothes were washing and drying, I had another cappuccino at a coffee shop around the corner that I discovered on my last trip. I walked by an exercise club where the local girls were practicing kick-boxing-shadow-boxing to music for 1 hour. It was great to watch but I don’t think that I would last 3 minutes with them.

After dropping off my washing at the hotel, I walked over to Hostage Square. Although I was there 2 weeks ago with my cousin, Rochelle, it was much more sobering to me today. Having been in Israel now for 2 weeks, I can understand the horror to realize that these people, whose only crime was to be dancing at a music festival or living on a socially minded kibbutz, have now been in Hamas’ hands for 5.5 months. How many are still alive? How many have been raped? How many are now pregnant? I took many pictures that you can see below. A music band set up in the central area and played quiet type music. Leonard Cohen’s, Hallelujah, was one of the tunes that was played making me proud to be a Canadian. This, in spite of what the Canadian government and some Canadians have done, and are continuing to do now with their on going demonstrations. The misinformation and the lies that are being spouted in Canada and all over the world goes beyond all comprehension. When people scream ‘Free Palestine’, do they really understand that that means putting Hamas back in control? If not, what are they offering as an alternative?

The weather was warm today, but for the most part cloudy with sunny periods. In any case it was good enough for a swim out to the breakwater, a distance of ‘20 minutes’ there and back. The manager of the hotel was there to congratulate me for my effort. Although there were some people in the water up to their knees, I was the only one to swim out that far.

I was invited to Shabat dinner once again by one of the executives of MDA with some of her family and another Sar-El volunteer. They were united in their dislike of Bibi but wonder if he should be replaced in the middle of a war. They blame him for the failure to prevent the Oct 7 massacre. No body knows what to do now or how it should all end. No one can predict the future or have an idea as to what an ideal situation should be as a final solution for a 75 year old conflict. 7 rockets fell near Tel Aviv and 100 in the north. 200,000 people can not return to their homes. People are going on with their lives here in Tel Aviv but there is a general sadness in the air. Is this at all reported in the western press? Don’t talk to them about the Haredis who don’t serve in the army and spend their time ‘studying’.

I still don’t understand why 1.8 million Gazans don’t revolt against 10,000 Hamas ‘fighters’. Golda Myer once said that ‘the war will end when the Arabs learn to love their children more than they hate the Jews.

Love,

Brian

The photos above, taken in Hostage Square, the ones that no one in the west sees, especially the teddy bears, are devastating. Take 2 minutes to stare at them and you will understand why I feel that I must be here now. While writing my blog, I am sitting out on a terrace, overlooking the Med, sipping a beer in the cool evening air, listening to soft music at 11:30 pm, wondering what lies ahead. the contrast is too much to imagine.

Brian

2024-03 Israel

Israel 16,

March 28, 2o24,

Hi Everyone,

I was up late last night writing my blog and studying Hebrew. Everyone seems to go to bed around 9:30 leaving me alone to study Hebrew by internet in the common room until 11:30. This morning we were up as usual at 6:30 to wash up and then at 7:00 for breakfast. We had a short day of work until 10:30 to finish off the emergency packs. We then had to clean up the base, have lunch at 12:00 and then catch the bus to Tel Aviv at 12:30. We took pictures with our hosts and had a nice speech from our commander. He thanked us profusely, and invited us all to his house next week for a ‘cocktail’. He realized the time and financial sacrifices that we all have made to be in Israel now. He is very handsome and all the ‘girls’ wanted to have their pictures taken with him.

On arrival at the train station-bus station in Tel Aviv, 4 of us elected to walk for 47 minutes to our hotel. It was hot and we arrived rather sweaty as it was 28C. We have heard that it is 10C in Montreal with 32 cm of snow. I took a quick shower, had a cappuccino and headed to the beach across the street. The beach is beautiful, as I have said before. It stretches for miles with a board walk and has a beautiful sandy area stretching 200 m to the sea. The sun was shining and the sea was calm. Although there were ‘no swimming signs’ as there were no life guards present, everyone was in the water swimming. I dropped my towel on the beach and swam out to the breakwater. The water was calm and refreshing. The swim took me 20 minutes to the breakwater and back, not bad for a first swim since Sept.

I then walked along the beach for an hour. The beach was full but not backed like in the summer on the Riviera. The guys wear short type bathing suits; there are no speedos. The girls all wear bikinis varying from the French style to the Brazilian style bathing suits. There are very few blonds here; most of the Israelis on the beach appeared to be Sephardic in origin. Even with my tan, I am very light skinned here. Everyone was playing volley ball or soccer in a group without allowing the ball to touch the sand. Impossible…

At 6:00 in the hotel we have a 5-7 with wine and refreshments. Our 5-7 lasted until 8:30 with the appropriate amount of wine as I was with a French couple and a Norwegian girl. The Americans seem to drink less wine than us. Afterwards I went to a beach front restaurant-bar-cafe with a French couple. He lives in Versailles and has a secondary residence in Cassis, near Marseilles. He did not know the JB family.

I am enclosing a picture of a German-Israeli girl that won ‘picture of the year’. She is lying on an SUV with a bunch or Palestinian ‘hero’s’ celebrating with their guns in the air. In the video a Palestinian woman comes up and spits on the poor girls body. One day I would like to meet that woman and ask her why she spit on that girl. Would she like to spit now? If you ask me one reason why I am in Israel now, that is the reason.

Love,

Brian

Doris asked me challenge the big guy to an arm wrestle. He laughed…

2024-03 Israel

Israel 15,

March 27, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

Today we saw the fruits of our labour. We filled the Emergency Trauma Back Packs with medical equipment to be used for major injuries at the front. We then had our last meeting with the group of volunteers. It was a wonderful group. Everyone had to give a little talk and everyone agreed that the camaraderie that we had developed together was unbeatable. I can only compare it with the camaraderie that we all have with the group of guys that I play hockey with.

The volunteers came from Canada, the USA, France, England, Norway, Argentina, Chile and South Africa. 30% of the volunteers were not Jewish and have no attachment with Israel except for their willingness to come to help. We received a pin, a tee-shirt, a hat and an IDF diploma. I will have 4 diplomas at the end of my service. Where will I hang them all?

Tomorrow we leave for Tel Aviv and I intend to be on the beach at 3:00 pm.

Love,

Brian

2024-03 Israel

Israel 14,

March 26, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

’Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and smile, smile, smile.’ That more or less sums up what we did today. We started by placing 50 medic bags on the table and opening them up. There are a dozen zippered compartments in each bag, each of which weighs about 40 lbs. The bags contain everything that a medic would require on the field: bandages of all shapes and sizes, oxygen masks, tourniquets, needles, syringes, dozens of medications, IV solutions, cleansing fluids, etc. etc.

We took out all the supplies and sorted them accordingly in different boxes. Many times supplies were missing and will have to be replaced tomorrow. Some supplies and some bags were out dated and were discarded. Tomorrow we will fill the bags. No mistakes can be made so as to insure that the medic has the appropriate equipment in case he/she has to treat a patient in an emergency.

At 10:00 am we had a 2 hour break. A bus picked us up and drove us to a designated area on the base. There we mixed with the soldiers and had a Purim party. There was music, and great refreshments including salads, sandwiches, crepes, smoothies and cappuccinos. Everyone was singing and dancing the rock and the hora in the middle of the day. The Israelis really know how to party.

I was given my assignment for next week. I will be driven through the desert on a bus and work on a naval base in Eilat. Great.

Love,

Brian

When my grandchildren ask me, ‘what did you do in the war papy’ I will be able to tell them that I was with the IDF (Israeli Army) and MDA (Israeli Ambulance Corps).

2024-03 Israel

Israel 12,

March 24, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

Today was a very productive day. We were a team of 4 packing boxes, sealing the boxes, taping a name on the box, putting the smaller boxes in bigger boxes, piling the big boxes on a pallet, and pushing the boxes to another place with a manual forklift. Each of us specialized in 1 part of the production and we had a real live assembly line. I call it ‘Boxing Day’ without the gifts.

At the same time the UN had another ‘I hate Israel day’. Ignoring the other 100 wars, border disputes, refugee camps, mass starvation problems, illegal gun running, mass rapes by one population against another, revolutions , invasions, mass incarcerations….. have I missed any? The Security Council passed a unanimous resolution against Israel with the US abstention. Once again if the Palestinians were not fighting the Jews-Jewish People-Israelis-Zionists, would anyone be able to spell Palestinian. Is it with an I or a Y?

There are 120 active border disputes in the world today. Name 3. Uh, Palestine vs Israel, ummm…? Canada has several mostly with Denmark of a few islands with snow, ice and no people. South Africa, that bastion of Democracy and the rape capital of the world, UN stats, just passed a new motion which rivals Canada in stupidity and anti-semitism. Any South African who goes to Israel and volunteers, ie what I am doing now, will be arrested and charged with the crime of aiding an enemy power. I am working with several South Africans who are appalled as well as worried about what will happen to them on their return home. The Bloc and the NDP are falling behind in their hatred of us.

On that note… I ran 6 km today before dinner.

Love,

Brian