Day 3 (part 2) Latrun and the army
Day 3 (part 2) Sunday, 3/13/05
We left the Masorti campus and Jerusalem for the Latrun Museum, the home of the Israeli tank corp.’s memorial and museum. We entered the grounds to see an impressive array of tanks used by the Israeli army from the War of Independence to the present.
The museum is operated by the army and the officer that oversees it spoke to us about the history of Latrun (it was a former British police station and a key battle site during the War of Independence) and the tank corp. Ellen Goldner and Hannah Goldman laid a wreath before a memorial wall which displayed all names of all those who fought to win and defend Israel.
We went into the museum/memorial for a quick tour. One room was made of tank steel which had been hit by anti tank fire. It is frightening to think that a tank can tear through thick steel.
Following the tour we went into a conference room to meet with officers and soldiers who participate in programs sponsored by Beit Morasha, a modern Orthodox institution which promotes Jewish identity and values. We provide funds for a training program for officer candidates. Professor Beni Ish-Shalom is the dean of the program and he spoke to us. He discussed how the Army’s chief of command was concerned about the weakening sense of Jewish identity and values of the military and wanted to develop a program which would ultimately reach all levels. Beit Morasha is an attempt with the IDF education staff to train officer candidates so that they have a thorough understanding of these values as they move up the chain of command.
We then met with about 12 soldiers (men and women), all but one were either officers or officer candidates. Each soldier introduced themselves and spoke about the program. As always these young adults are very impressive. They described their process, issues they faced and what they get out of the program. They are appreciative of the program because it helps them understand the soldiers under their command so that they can work with them. It also helps build the teams that are necessary for successful missions.
As Professor Ish-Shalom pointed out, during the Matzav, when split second decisions are necessary in circumstances no Israeli wants, the issue for Israeli soldiers today is why do we do what we do? To communicate the answers it is necessary to teach the history, values and traditions of Judaism. For the prospective officers it helps with command leadership and mission success.
We ate lunch with the soldiers and folks from Beit Morisha. The big, big issue in Israel, the issue that has quite frankly has pushed terrorism to the side, is the withdrawal from Gaza and the potential for violence between Jewish Gaza residents and Jewish soldiers or police. As someone said it takes Jews in America about six months to get a sense of what is going on in Israel. Terror is not gone but the sense in Israel is that terror is now and will be “under control”; not ended but infrequent and less “substantial”.
Soldiers in Beit Morisha program
The concern about potential civil war, Jew against Jew, is palpable here. Over and over people I have met have expressed true and deep worry. The divide between religious and secular (terms which poorly describe the parties to a great rift) goes back to the founding of the State. Now chickens that have been feeding on bitter seed and angry steroids have grown large and are coming home to roost. All the years of distrust and dispute are focusing their force on the Gaza withdrawal.
Beni Ish-Shalom (R) Paul Wimpfheimer (C)
How the army or police (it is not clear yet which) handles the evacuation may well determine the future of this society for years to come. And of course this is all in the hands of young men and women, many of whom, if they were American kids, would be staying up late in their dorm rooms having late night conversations about what to major in. In this critical time Jewish values, how to treat each other with respect and seeing the other as tselem eloheim (made in the image of God), will be necessary to holding the society together. The soldiers are being taught they will be confronting not an enemy but a brother. This is what the Beit Midrasha, Rabbi Ish-Shalom and the army education corp are focused on. Frequently, spending on Pluralism and Jewish Identity in Israel is questioned and called a low priority. I believe the spending by MetroWest on these programs will be proven to be high priority and of the greatest value to Israel and the Jewish world.
(As an aside but an important one – Prof. Ish-Shalom has also been very involved with the “conversion issue”. Thousands of olim from the FSU who are not Jewish by religious law live in Israel. Bringing them “in” has been a difficult process made more so by a negative religious establishment. In the Army however, which has its own chief rabbinate, conversion has been more open and more successful. Gesher has been an important player in improving the situation in the Army.)
There were two more stops on Sunday which I’ll describe in the next email.
Gary
We left the Masorti campus and Jerusalem for the Latrun Museum, the home of the Israeli tank corp.’s memorial and museum. We entered the grounds to see an impressive array of tanks used by the Israeli army from the War of Independence to the present.
The museum is operated by the army and the officer that oversees it spoke to us about the history of Latrun (it was a former British police station and a key battle site during the War of Independence) and the tank corp. Ellen Goldner and Hannah Goldman laid a wreath before a memorial wall which displayed all names of all those who fought to win and defend Israel.
We went into the museum/memorial for a quick tour. One room was made of tank steel which had been hit by anti tank fire. It is frightening to think that a tank can tear through thick steel.
Following the tour we went into a conference room to meet with officers and soldiers who participate in programs sponsored by Beit Morasha, a modern Orthodox institution which promotes Jewish identity and values. We provide funds for a training program for officer candidates. Professor Beni Ish-Shalom is the dean of the program and he spoke to us. He discussed how the Army’s chief of command was concerned about the weakening sense of Jewish identity and values of the military and wanted to develop a program which would ultimately reach all levels. Beit Morasha is an attempt with the IDF education staff to train officer candidates so that they have a thorough understanding of these values as they move up the chain of command.
We then met with about 12 soldiers (men and women), all but one were either officers or officer candidates. Each soldier introduced themselves and spoke about the program. As always these young adults are very impressive. They described their process, issues they faced and what they get out of the program. They are appreciative of the program because it helps them understand the soldiers under their command so that they can work with them. It also helps build the teams that are necessary for successful missions.
As Professor Ish-Shalom pointed out, during the Matzav, when split second decisions are necessary in circumstances no Israeli wants, the issue for Israeli soldiers today is why do we do what we do? To communicate the answers it is necessary to teach the history, values and traditions of Judaism. For the prospective officers it helps with command leadership and mission success.
We ate lunch with the soldiers and folks from Beit Morisha. The big, big issue in Israel, the issue that has quite frankly has pushed terrorism to the side, is the withdrawal from Gaza and the potential for violence between Jewish Gaza residents and Jewish soldiers or police. As someone said it takes Jews in America about six months to get a sense of what is going on in Israel. Terror is not gone but the sense in Israel is that terror is now and will be “under control”; not ended but infrequent and less “substantial”.
Soldiers in Beit Morisha program
The concern about potential civil war, Jew against Jew, is palpable here. Over and over people I have met have expressed true and deep worry. The divide between religious and secular (terms which poorly describe the parties to a great rift) goes back to the founding of the State. Now chickens that have been feeding on bitter seed and angry steroids have grown large and are coming home to roost. All the years of distrust and dispute are focusing their force on the Gaza withdrawal.
Beni Ish-Shalom (R) Paul Wimpfheimer (C)
How the army or police (it is not clear yet which) handles the evacuation may well determine the future of this society for years to come. And of course this is all in the hands of young men and women, many of whom, if they were American kids, would be staying up late in their dorm rooms having late night conversations about what to major in. In this critical time Jewish values, how to treat each other with respect and seeing the other as tselem eloheim (made in the image of God), will be necessary to holding the society together. The soldiers are being taught they will be confronting not an enemy but a brother. This is what the Beit Midrasha, Rabbi Ish-Shalom and the army education corp are focused on. Frequently, spending on Pluralism and Jewish Identity in Israel is questioned and called a low priority. I believe the spending by MetroWest on these programs will be proven to be high priority and of the greatest value to Israel and the Jewish world.
(As an aside but an important one – Prof. Ish-Shalom has also been very involved with the “conversion issue”. Thousands of olim from the FSU who are not Jewish by religious law live in Israel. Bringing them “in” has been a difficult process made more so by a negative religious establishment. In the Army however, which has its own chief rabbinate, conversion has been more open and more successful. Gesher has been an important player in improving the situation in the Army.)
There were two more stops on Sunday which I’ll describe in the next email.
Gary
posted by Gary A at 1:28 AM
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