2025-03 Israel

Israel 9,

Mar. 28-29, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

We got back to Tel Aviv at around 4:00 pm. Most of the volunteers took a taxi to the hotel. I elected to take a bus as I have a pass and wanted to do some shopping in Dizengoff Square which is a circle. I purchased a few necessities and then walked back to Maxim, a distance of 10 minutes. I was glad to get back to the hotel and get my old room back. At 6:00 we had the usual wine and soup and then 3 of us went down to the beach for supper. As usual in the evening there was a cool breeze and we could hear the waves lapping up on the shore.

Friday morning I usually go to the laundromat to wash my week’s laundry. Friday was no exception. It’s silly I suppose, but I love laundromats. They are always the same, buy the powdered soap, choose a washing machine, and pay for 30 minutes. Usually I go for a cappuccino at the cafe next door. I was disappointed to find that the cafe had closed so I just sat outside on a chair and read my emails. The dryer lasted for another30 minutes and I then I was on my way back to the hotel with a fresh batch of clean clothes.

I skipped lunch and went off to the beach which is just across the street. They were not renting chairs yet so I just found a place on the sand. The beach was crowded but you can always find a 10 ft private space for yourself. I lathered up with lotion and lay down to get my first suntan. When I was hot enough, I went for a swim. It was 30C with no breeze and the water was dead calm. The beach was black flagged, meaning no swimming, or swim at your own risk as there were no life guards. There were no swimming signs everywhere. Every hour or so, there was a taped announcement that swimming was dangerous and prohibited. That did not prevent the Israelis from going into the water and swimming. I swam out to the breakwater twice, a distance of 250m, 1 km in total, not bad for a first swim since October.

The Tel Aviv beach is fabulous. The boardwalk extends for miles with restaurants, cafes and bars all along the way. The Israelis are incredibly fit. I did not see 1 overweight person on the beach. The men are 6ft tall, dark skinned, muscled, and very good looking. The typical Ashkenazie Jew that we think of is long gone. There has been 3 generations of intermarriage between the Ashkenazi Jews from Europe, the Sephardic Jews from North Africa and the Mizrahi Jews from the Middle East. Add to that the new arrival of Russian Jews, Yemenites and Ethiopians and you get an incredible mix of genes and cultures. When you see a French person, you usually know by their look that they are French. The same is true for Italians and Greeks. Now, with the intermarriage there is a typical Israeli look both with the men and the women. The women are relatively tall and absolutely gorgeous. They are usually dark skinned with dark hair. Once again they all appear to be in good shape. The men wear shorts for bathing suits. The women wear strings, front, back and top. Everyone is playing soccer, keep the soccer ball in the air with everyone in a circle, volleyball, paddle ball and frisbee. You have to dodge the balls if you are walking on the beach. I had a Magnum ice cream for lunch at 4:00.

I was invited for Shabat dinner at Vickie’s. As usual she had other invited guests. Her brother and sister-in-law were there. Her sister-in-law is from New York and made Alliah in 1970 about the same time that I came to Israel for the first time. I was close to making a similar decision at the time but in the end elected to go to France to study medicine. A Swiss-American doctor was also invited and is working as a paramedic on an ambulance like me. We had a splendid evening together.

Today was more of the same. I had some business to catch up with with the College des Medecins de Quebec that took several hours. I then headed off to the beach. It was slightly cooler today with a 20 knot breeze on the water. There were many sailboats out and I envied them. There were 3 foot waves and the usual no swimming signs and announcements. There were a fair number of surfers out taking advantage of the waves. I swam out to the breakwater. I had to do a breast stroke to see the waves coming and to get past them. Every time I saw a wave, I dove down and let it go ever my head. Eventually, I reached the breakwater. I was the only swimmer out there and the surfers looked like they were wondering what I was doing there. I will admit that it was a little crazy on my part and perhaps somewhat dangerous, but I felt really good and I was swimming well. After my swim, I rested for half an hour and then ran 10 km along the beach in 1:10. Overall it is not a great time but for me it is not bad. Richard asked me to run a 10 km with him next Friday so I must practice a bit this week.

We sat around the table for for our usual wine and soup. A young German girl told us that she was supposed to go to the Nova Festival but some how ended up giving her ticket to her best friend. Her friend was one of the persons killed at the concert. She is in the process of converting and making Aliah. Her husband who is Israeli and in the army was killed several weeks later. Several persons at the table did their best to comfort her and a few of them were crying with her. What a tragedy. How do you get past an experience like that and continue with your life.

Love,

Brian

2025-03 Israel

Israel 7,

Mar. 26, 2025

Hi Everyone,

Last evening after supper, we all gathered in one room for a get together. We sat on bunk beds, drank coffee and ate cookies and cakes. It reminded me very much of summer camp in the Laurentians when I was an teenager. After lights out for the campers, the councillors would gather around a campfire. There was always someone present with a guitar and we would all sing campfire songs until midnight. Last night was the same, with the same atmosphere but lacking a guitar and an indoor campfire. We chatted about many subjects often telling stories of trips to foreign countries and adventures that we had had. I never have a shortage of stories to tell.

Today we finished off packing the soldier’s bags. Some of the bigger and stronger fellows worked loading and unloading the trucks. I was not chosen for this job. I am not sure why! Instead, I volunteered to work in the kitchen. This was very interesting and rewarding work. We sweeped and washed the floor in the dinning room. We set the table for the officers. We prepared the coffee table. We laid out the plastic dishes for the evening meal. We then did a major cleanup in the bathroom, halls and our bunk rooms. It was over 30C but I still went out for my afternoon 6 km run. It was not easy but I felt good after finishing the run and taking a shower.

This evening we had our last evening together. The madrihots thanked us for the great week that we had together. They will move on to another group next week but we will be coming back to the same base for work and a continuation of our Krav Maga training. The madrihots were wonderful and much appreciated by all the volunteers. Each of us had to give a small speech on their 1 week experience here. Everyone was extremely happy with our group, the madrihots, the base in general and the work that we had to do. The 16 volunteers come from 7 different countries and it was amazing how well we worked together. Of the 5 weeks that I have worked with Sar-El, this was by far the most cohesive and friendly group to work with. I am very happy that we will be together next week.

As usual, when it came my turn to speak, I was not at a loss for words. At first my sentiments echoed the sentiments of the other members of the group as I explained in the last paragraph. There are 4 pictures of myself on the base, receiving my shoulder pads and with the madrihots. These pictures have been posted in previous entries of my blog. I sent the pictures to my good friends and to my hockey team. The majority of them are not Jewish. I asked them discreetly if they would like to join me. I received many positive responses.

This past winter I worked as a ski patroller at Mont Blanc for the first time. The head patroller, Philippe had heard about my experience with MDA as a physician on an ambulance in Israel. When he introduced me as a new patroller in the group, he asked me to say a few words about my experience in Israel on an ambulance. I gave a small talk and mentioned of course that my experience is well documented on my blog which they could read. I never miss an opportunity to self promote. Montreal is a very cosmopolitan city with many languages and nationalities. ⅔ of the city is French speaking. When you leave Montreal and go north into the Laurentians, the population is Quebecois and 100% French speaking. When I spoke I was not sure what the reaction would be as I do not hide my feeling of being a Zionist. I am very happy to say that I received a very positive reaction from the group, many of whom went on to read my blog. Many of the patrollers went on to ask me questions about my stay in Israel in a positive manner. When I finished working with the patrol, I sent an email to the patrollers thanking them for a great season and for welcoming and integrating me into the group I mentionned what I would be doing for the month in Israel. Philippe asked me to post some pictures. I posted the same 4 pictures on our web site on Facebook as requested. Within 12 hours I received 17 likes and several encouraging comments. That made me very proud and happy.

Love,

Brian

This is a shelter. We have 45 seconds to get there. We did not have to use it this time.

2025-03 Israel

Israel 5,

Mar. 24, 2025,

Hi Everyone,

We found out that it was the Houthis that sent us a rocket on Sunday. I guess that we were lucky. We were in the van and had time to file out and get to a shelter. 2 more minutes and we would have been driving along in the van when the sirens went off. The standing orders are that if you are in a car when you hear the sirens, you stop the car, get out of the car, lie down on the ground, on your stomach and cover your head with your hands until all clear. Imagine 20 of us doing this on a major highway. This is an everyday occurrence in Israel that I have not yet had the occasion to try. I have an app that shows where the rockets go off, minute by minute. We have been under rocket fire since I have been here but I only went into the shelter once. We hear the boom-boom several times a day even where we are.

Today we were up bright and early for work. ‘Hi ho,hi ho, it’s off to work we go’. We arrived in the warehouse and worked on army bags. The bags are 3 ft long and 1 foot wide. We had emptied and sorted the equipment yesterday. Today, our task was to fill the bags. We divided ourselves up into several teams to make the work go faster:

1, make a plastic bag, 2, seal 1 end of the bag, 3, put a uniform or jacket in the bag according to size, 4, seal the bag, 5, bring the bag to another team, 6, place the jacket, the sleeping bag and the uniform in the large army bags that someone is holding open, 7, haul the bag to another place, 8, close the bag, 9, put the bag on the shelf, 10, erase the date on the label of the tagged bag, 11, put a new date on the label of the tagged bag

Did I miss any step? I hope not because they are very strict on precision. An improperly sealed or torn bag can mean a wet uniform for a soldier.

In the afternoon we filed into a room for Krav Maga instruction with a young, well built and well trained instructor. He gave us a history of Krav Maga which is an Israeli developed self defence system. We were going to be taught commie, which is a more advanced method of fighting, faster and more adapted to fighting an opponent of a different, usually bigger size. We lined up in 4 lines of 4 and paired off with an opponent of the same size. He then taught us different punches and kicks and how to parry them away and strike back. We took turns as the aggressor or defender saying in advance what the attack would be in order to avoid contact. It was hard work for 1.5 hours, a 10 minute brake and a second 1.5 hour session. I got through the day with all my teeth, no black eye, no bruises and no broken bones.

I did my residency with a fellow who had a black belt with several dans. I asked him what he would do if he were challenged to a fight on the street. He said: ‘I would run away’. I asked him why? He said: ‘I don’t know if he has a gun or a knife and I have nothing to prove.’ That seems to be rather wise position to take and I will keep it in mind.

After work at 4:00, I did a 6 km run for 45 minutes listening to 60s light rock music. After supper we had a 1 hour lecture by the madrihots on IDF slang. The lecture was great and rather humorous but I was exhausted and could barely keep my eyes open.

This morning we had flag raising and then the singing of Hatikvah. We then received our Sar-EL Volunteer Blue Shoulder Patches. Each regiment has a different shoulder patch. Every time you go up in grade in the IDF or receive a shoulder patch, you receive the traditional punch on the shoulder by your commanding officer. One of the fellows was a football player for Kansas City. The Madrihots really had to reach high to punch his shoulder. The last 2 pictures are the before and after pictures of the volunteers when we received out IDF uniforms.

Love,

Brian