Israel 11,

March 24, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

I packed last evening before bedtime leaving half of my belongings in a suitcase which I checked at the hotel. I brought too much clothes, not realizing that they provide full uniforms at the base which can be wear all day and in the evening. I managed to keep my army jacket which is really useful as it is chilly in the evening and in the morning.

We took a pre-arranged van to the airport and were assigned to our respective groups. Several of the volunteers are staying a 2nd week and there was of course a new contingent. On arrival to the base we were given uniforms and rooms which are shared. Apparently this base is somewhat more luxurious than other bases where people sleep in tents with 8-10 ‘guests’.

We sorted medical supplies in an open tent which is nicer than a warehouse. The work itself is tedious but we all realize that we are helping the war effort and that there is no one else to do it. The soldiers are all off at the front and foreign workers are non existent.

We had a meeting in the evening with our commanders who are once again young very enthusiastic girls . One is from the Ukraine and the other from Argentina. Each of them as well as the volunteers had to present themselves, state their reasons for coming to Israel and recite one funny thing about themselves. A few of us were missing spring skiing. The theme was quite similar among us. Each of us came because they just couldn’t stay at home when the war started.

The Israelis are very disappointed with the reaction of the world and especially about the vicious antisemitic demonstrations, cloaked as antizionism, that they see and hear about everywhere. It is as if Oct. 7, didn’t exist. If Israel does not put an end to the organization that did this to them, it will happen again. The leaders of Hamas make no secret of their intentions in the future. Cease fire means, Israel ceases and they fire! There is rocket fire from Hezbolah in the north and 150,000 people have been displaced. Where is the out cry about this in the world?

Love,

Brian

Israel 10,

March 23, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

I had a great relaxing day today even for me. I woke up at around 8:00 and had breakfast with my colleagues. I wrote my blog for the day on the roof top terrace and then went off to the beach which is as I mentioned across the street. I rented a beach chair for free as no one came along to charge me for it. It was 23C with a 10K breeze which was very comfortable. I took a suntan for a white listening to my Hebrew lessons on the internet. I then jogged along the beach for 1 hour. I went up to my knees in the water but didn’t really swim as the water was rather cold and rough. I had a light dinner in Dizengoff Square and topped it off with a gelato ice cream at a place called Golda’s. Tomorrow I will go back to the army base.

Love,

Brian

rocket fire

Purim in the tunnels . We have not forgotten them.

When we left the base, our 3 commanders, who were 18 to 20 year old girls thanked us profusely for donating time and effort to come to the aid of Israel in her time of need. They told us: ‘You are welcome to come to Israel to join us. We will always welcome you here. We are here to stay. We are not leaving here. We have no where else to go.’ Some of the volunteers had tears in their eyes!

Israel 9,

March 23, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

It’s 10:30 Saturday morning with a temperature of 23C, a bluebird ski, only the occasional wispy cloud and a slight breeze to off set the heat. It is the first day that I feel inclined to remove my shirt and bask in the morning sun. I am writing my blog ‘up on the roof’ where I have a gorgeous view both of downtown Tel Aviv and the endless beach. Tel Aviv is wonderful. It stretches for miles along the Mediterranean. I am staying at a hotel on Yarkon St which runs parallel to the beach. It is a shopping street. On the streets which run perpendicular to Yarkon are other streets with shops and restaurants galore. A 10 minute walk takes me to Dizengoff Square which is the center of the lively night life.

A street parallel to Yarkon runs along the beach. It’s a 2 lane road with cross walks every 50-100m. The Israelis are very respectful of the pedestrians and the pedestrians only cross at the designated areas and even wait for the little green light man to cross. This is quite different from Montreal where ‘J’ walkers seem to cross at will. Next to the street is a narrower 2 lane walkway which is reserved for bicycles, small scooters and motorized skate boards which you can rent by the hour. This is a major form of transportation and can take 2 people. I have not tried one yet as the traffic here can be quite daunting. Do not walk on this lane if you value your life as they will not stop for you and you can be fined accordingly.

Next to the bicycle lane is a broad boardwalk filled with people strolling along and jogging. The board walk alternates with cement, wooden lattes and cobble stone. Cafes and restaurants line the boardwalk. The beach is 25 to 50m wide in most places. The sand is beautiful. The breakers keep rolling in and swimming was prohibited so far this week probably due to an undercurrent. The wind was up yesterday and there were a lot of wind surfers and kite surfers out. Today I see a number of sailboats out. 1 or 2 blocks from the beach are high rise hotels which are placed far enough back from the beach so as not to impede the view. The Hilton and Sheraton are of course present but there are enough 3* low rise 6 story hotels around such as the one where I am staying. Gaza is situated to the south of us. It has the same beautiful beach. Over the last 75 years the Israelis chose to build up and gather the tourist dollars. Palestinians chose to (not forced to) dig down and build a useless tunnel system financed by oil rich countries who have nothing better to do with their money except to buy European football teams, golf tournaments and Ferraris. Where is the sense in that? Why did the bleeding hearts around the world allow this to happen?

Yesterday morning I went to Carmel market with a friend who showed me around. Carmel market is great. The lanes are very narrow. You can buy anything that you want. Fake jewellery, fake brand name tee-shirts and the usual local artists goods. You see this type of merchandise in all the sooks around the world. One must be careful not to buy something that looks great here and then is placed in a drawer, never to be seen again, when one returns home. The food smells were tantalizing but unfortunately I had just eaten a good breakfast. I did have a capuccino with the vice-president of Birthright who explained how the organization ran around the world.

I came back to my hotel with the help of Seri (apple) as I can easily get lost in a paper bag. I ran along the beach for 5-6k which took about 40 minutes. I am not a great runner so I run 10 minutes then walk 1 minute. I will be doing 3 triathlons this summer so I must keep up my running which is my weakest of the 3 disciplines.

I then walked around and bought a good bottle of French wine from Bourgogne. I was invited for Shabat dinner to my cousins house, and according to my rule 1, never come to dinner as a guest empty handed. I met her family including her charming daughters who showed me around the neighbourhood. They are starting a Whats App international family group that they asked me to join. I will forward the invitation to my kids as well.

Love,

Brian

Israel 8,

March 22, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

I got home rather late last night and decided not to write my usual report for the day. We had to ‘pack up your troubles in your old kit bag…’ and leave the base. We all did a massive clean up the night before and the morning of, to leave the base as clean as possible for the next group. We were taken to Tel Aviv in big buses. The 20 minute journey took 1.5 hours due to the major traffic problem in the city. There are building projects everywhere and they say that the national bird of Tel Aviv is the ‘crane’.

We went to the ANU museum which a renovated ultra modern museum of Jewish History through the ages. We had a guide for the most part of the day and were free to roam around the museum ourselves as well which I usually like to do. Several times I lost our guide and the group as I got side tracked reading and looking at a particular exhibition of my liking. We came back to the hotel and I did my washing in a laundromat. It reminded me of my student days in Reims where I went to a similar laundromat once a week. The decor in laundromats does not change from country to country and has made no progress in 50 years.

Last night I went to Dizengoff Square for dinner. The square and the adjoining streets are filled with great restaurants. I thought that there were a lot of people present but apparently since the war started, the number of people is much less and the population much more subdued. There were a lot of negative comments about the recent Canadian parliamentary decision. The tail (ie the NDP and the Bloc) is wagging the dog. We need an election soon before we lose our good friends and gain new ones that we really don’t need at all. We are aligning ourselves with countries which have no voting in their own respective countries, or if they do, the vote can always be countered by the king, emperor, dictator or president for life. The only voting that many countries do is in the UN where the major vote is against Israel.

Love,

Brian

Israel 7,

March 20, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

Today was our last day with Sar-El at this base. The day started off as usual with breakfast, flag raising and the singing of Hatikva, the national anthem of Israel. Most of us returned to our regular jobs as we were now experienced in ‘quality control’ and ‘medical supply distribution’. I can not say that the jobs were particularly interesting, however, the spirit of the volunteers who came to Israel to help Israel in her time of need after Oct. 7, was unmatched in any other volunteer organization that I have witnessed. Also the respect and the thankfulness that we received from the Israelis was much appreciated. These people realize that all of us have busy lives in other countries, yet were willing and able to donate their time and energy when the need arose.

I finished the day off by running 7 km around the base in reasonable time. I took a different route than usual, cutting through the base where the regular soldiers live. I was allowed to take pictures as long as there were no soldiers present and no signs indicating the location of the base.

After supper we gave back the uniform and then had a group meeting with our commanding officers, 3 young and dedicated Israelis, 1 of whom was a Sabra (a person born in Israel) and the other 2 who had come as immigrants here. We were given tee-shirts, a certificate and a pin which can be stuck on our dog-tags. Each of us then had to give a small spontaneous talk of our experiences. As usual I had no trouble expressing my thoughts.

Tomorrow we will visit a museum and then return to Tel Aviv where I will stay at my beach front hotel. It is Purim which according to my Hebrew teacher will be party time in downtown Tel Aviv and hopefully we will meet up for drinks. I will swim in the Med, run 5 km on the boardwalk, take some sunshine and enjoy my ‘leave’ from the IDF.

Love,

Brian

Israel 6,

March 19, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

It rained all night and continued doing so this morning so unfortunately the flag raising ceremony was cancelled. We had breakfast and went to work. My partner and I were assigned the same job of packing medical supplies. We have gotten it down to a serious manufacturing speed with union coffee breaks at scheduled times. We are an unofficial union with 2 members. Yesterday we packed 300 supply bags and today with our unique coordination we packed over 350 in a shorter length of time. They told us that we will be moved to another section tomorrow. Our reputation for speed has gotten around and we are in high demand.

I wasted some time after work as my hotspot didn’t work. Once I got to the right person, it took 1 minute to fix. It was cold today so I was able to drum up a winter type jacket. My colleagues were jealous as there are not enough of them to go around.

We will work tomorrow but we will go to a museum on Thursday. We have a big clean up to do on Wed before embarking on Thursday.

Love,

Brian

Israel 5,

March 18, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

I woke up to nice weather and had breakfast in the main dining room. We had flag raising and everyone sang Hatikva. The army girls then presented us with our volunteer, blue shoulder straps that we wear proudly on the base. They then give you the customary light punch on the shoulder welcoming you as a member of the IDF. Wow.

We were given our daily tasks. Yesterday I was Director of Quality Control of medical supplies, including medicines. It is a nice we of saying that I separated supplies that were out dated from supplies that were still good and then re-packaged them. Today, I was Quartermaster of the Medical Supply Distribution. This means that I packed certain items in plastic bags to be used by the medic team on the battlefield. Today I brought my radio to work and to the delight of the Israelis, we listened to Elvis and 60s music.

After finishing work at 4:00, I ran a 5k around the base in about 35 minutes.

After supper our army girls ran an Israeli based discussion to hear our views of Israel and for them to tell us theirs. It was thought provoking.

Love,

Brian

Israel 4,

March 17, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

Last evening I went out to eat with my Tel Aviv Hebrew tutor and his lovely girlfriend. We went to an upscale Israeli restaurant with the usual young crowd that we see at restaurants. I don’t know where people of my age hang out in the evenings. I certainly was the oldest customer there. This was a sharing type restaurant so I asked Elior to pick the different dishes. We drank a great Bordeaux wine of my choosing. I entertained them with my usual stories of how I met my wife in France and how Dominique got pregnant with the twins.

This morning we were all up bright and early for breakfast. Several pre-arranged buses picked us up at the hotel and brought us to the airport. There we were give our final instructions as to which group we would be with and which base we would be volunteering on. We also were given dog tags, a rather sobering moment I felt. I am staying on an army base 20 km south of Tel Aviv, well away from any action. There have not been rocket attacks here.

When we arrived here we were assigned 3 very young female soldiers in whose care we would be. They are very charming and helpful. We were given instructions of what we can and can not do. This does not seem to be too restrictive. I can write my blog and take pictures as long as I avoid taking pictures of soldiers and sensitive army equipment and be discrete about what I write. There is no censorship. We were given IDF uniforms with a special insignia that distinguishes us from the real military. I believe that my white hair may also be a distinguishing factor. We were also assigned rooms in a barracks. We are either 2 or 3 volunteers per room.

We had a get together at the beginning and end of the day to introduce ourselves. Most of the volunteers are American with a few Canadians, French, Argentinians, Germans, and Norwegians. The atmosphere is very friendly and up beat. When we presented ourselves we had to give our reasons for coming here. Some had been with this organization before. Everyone came to help Israel in her hour of need after Oct. 7.

Lunch was pretty good and plentiful. There is no alcohol allowed on the base. I have rarely had a meal without wine in 50 years. In the afternoon, we were give our assignments. I worked with an American sorting medical supplies. It was the type of job that my mother warned me I would have if I didn’t study and go to university. It was a shame, as much of the equipment as well as many medicines were out dated and had to be thrown away. This is a terrible waste.

Love,

Brian

Israel 3,

March 16,2024,

Hi Everyone,

It is always somewhat difficult to get used to a 6 hour time change. Coming to Israel and sleeping more or less on a 10 hour flight was no different. The seats and the space between the seats gets progressively smaller and inversely proportional to the inflated airline prices. Nevertheless, I should not complain as El-Al is the only airline to keep ferrying paying customers into a war zone with no interruption of service.

Yesterday, I spent most of the day walking up and down the beach. There is a boardwalk extending for miles along the sea. The boardwalk is lined with expensive and medium priced hotels. There is an endless supply of restaurants, snack bars and cafes to choose from. Young men and women are jogging on the boardwalk and on the sand. Volleyball is the favourite game here and there are dozens of nets where people play. Everyone is having fun on a warm spring day away from the war.

Further down the cost is Gaza. It has the exact same sandy beaches. In 75 years they have managed to build, no hotels, no restaurants, no cafes, no snack bars, no boardwalks and no volley ball nets. There is of course a tunnel system that could be used for a future metro. If I owned 10 meters of sandy beach on the Mediterranean, even with my poor investment knowledge, I certainly would know what to do to bring in the tourist dollar.

I woke up late today and had my first good night sleep in a week. I had breakfast at the hotel and chatted with several people who had just finished their first week of volunteering. I am excited to start tomorrow. I got a call from my cousin who had made Aliyah some 20 years ago. We drove to a Memorial Square for the kidnapped men, women and children. It is very sad. Their pictures were posted on a wall and there is a tunnel, mock-up which you can go through and write some words of encouragement. My cousin bought me a ‘bring them home’ tee shirt written in Hebrew and a similar supportive dog tag. We then went back to her house for lunch where I met her charming family. They will be coming to Montreal this summer.

Every house, apartment and hotel has a bomb shelter or safe room. Theirs is no exception. We went down into the basement which is an unfinished room with cots and some kids designs on the walls. The atmosphere was damp and there was some water leakage. The family takes shelter in the room when the sirens go off which has happened many times. I still can’t understand why ‘they’ make ‘us’ live this way. I can still remember my father saying to me ‘children don’t hate, adults hate, adults teach children to hate’.

This evening I will meet my Hebrew tutor at the hotel and we will go out for dinner.

Love,

brian

Israel 2,

March 16, 2024,

Hi Everyone,

I flew from Montreal to New York and then to Tel Aviv yesterday. The flight was uneventful, the food was pretty good, except that I had to keep asking for a refill of my wine glass. I hope that the airplane did not run out of wine because of me.

I am staying in a downtown hotel on the beach with a beautiful roof top terrace with a view on the beach. Many of the guests here at the hotel are volunteers with the same program as mine. We all ship out tomorrow to our respective army bases. The army bus will pick us up at 8:45.

It is spring here, 20C and was quite breezy yesterday. There was 20K of wind and there were a lot of boats out. As the bumper sticker says ‘I would rather be sailing’. The water was rough with no swimming signs, but that did not stop people from going into the water.

Last night I was invited for Shabbat dinner by a lady who takes care of MDA ambulance volunteers. I might be able to do that later in my trip. Here at the hotel I have met people from all over the word, not all of whom are Jewish.

Tel Aviv is a wonderful city. I will write about it later as I get to see it more. The city seems to be running normally; you wouldn’t know that there was a war going on. On the other hand, Hezbollah fired 250 rockets into the north of Israel. They obviously have not had enough yet.

Love,

Brian