Hadassah president speaks of Israel’s resilience in face of war

by Debra Rubin
NJJN Bureau Chief/Middlesex

Israelis are proving their resiliency by returning to their normal lives following the recent war with Hizbullah, even as they question the government’s handling of the conflict, according to the national president of Hadassah.

“Everybody agreed the capturing of the [Israeli] soldiers was unacceptable,” said June Walker. “Everyone believed the government should have [gone to war] — but it should have been done better.”

Walker made her remarks Sept. 19 at the East Brunswick Jewish Center, as a guest of East Brunswick Hadassah.

“We wanted her to give us in the East Brunswick area an update on Israel and Hizbullah and also provide the opportunity to meet her and ask questions,” said Sheila Temkin Davidoff, who serves as chapter copresident with Andrea Tobias Kostick.

As unified as the country was at the onset of the war, Walker said, she found many were now angry and resented their political leaders. Yet there was a general feeling that it would not be a prudent time to topple the government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Walker, who lives in Rockaway, described how Israelis had tackled the job of fixing the damage caused by Hizbullah rockets, although in some cases the damage was so severe it will take years to repair.

“Three or four days after the cease-fire, the damage had pretty much been all cleaned up,” she said. “These people are a living miracle. What is pathetic is the forests in the North. These forests were planted a tree at a time 60 years ago — 800 acres, gone. Everything is black and red because the fire-retardant chemical they used to fight the fires was red.”

Walker described the surreal feeling of seeing people sip coffee in cafes in war-torn areas as if nothing had happened. “Last Friday night, I was out walking and everyone was in shul and all was quiet,” she said.

Walker visited Kibbutz Kfar Giladi in the North between the Syrian and Lebanese borders, where the destruction of fields has left no place for cows to graze. Instead of wandering free, the animals were being kept in pens and fed imported hay and feed.

That kibbutz visit also brought into perspective the struggle Israel has endured for decades against its neighbors.

“Israel is in a bad neighborhood,” said Walker, who has held many positions in the Zionist women’s organization over several decades. “Her neighbors prefer she not be there.”

On Aug. 6, 12 Israeli soldiers gathered at the edge of the historic cemetery next to the kibbutz were killed by rocket fire. Walker noted the sad irony of soldiers dying in the shadow of a cemetery where so many early Zionists are buried. Among them is Joseph Trumpeldor, killed in 1920 fighting against Arabs and famed in Israeli history for his dying statement, “It is good to die for our country.”

“All that remains is a big hole and wreaths all around,” said Walker of the site where the 12 died. “Joseph Trumpeldor is there, and our soldiers died there only yesterday.”

Walker also spoke with pride of the 600 members of Young Judaea — Hadassah’s youth movement — who were in Israel on summer programs during the fighting; only six were called home by their parents. The remaining teens were kept safe as they were constantly moved out of harm’s way.

“I got letters from at least three of the parents apologizing,” said Walker. “They said they were wrong, they never should have made their kids come home.”

Those who stayed worked at immigrant absorption centers, taught English, and enthusiastically assisted where they could.

Walker received the loudest applause of the night when she announced that the organization had already delivered more than $2 million to Israel during the recent crisis, including $250,000 for Ethiopian olim and $300,000 for rehabilitating the hard-hit North — including Rambam Hospital in Haifa, which was so heavily damaged that doctors were conducting surgery in its basement.

For Sue Warren of East Brunswick, the issues Walker spoke of really hit home.

“My brother and his family live in Beit Shemesh in Israel, so I have a special connection,” she said. “Next year my nephew will be in the Israeli army. I thought she was well spoken, engaging, and very well informed.”