Joe Berger and other mission members listen as Ofer Baram of the Jewish Agency for Israel in Sderot shows them remnants of rockets launched from Gaza that landed on Sderot.
Photos courtesy Ofer Baram/Jewish Agency for Israel
November 20, 2008
When the Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey hired Sael Abecassis as its shaliah from Israel in August, they knew that they were getting an inspiring young man who has lived a challenging life in the rocket-stricken Israeli town of Sderot.
But what they may not have known is that they would forge connections with his family back in Sderot that would serve as a living bridge between Abecassis’s temporary and permanent communities.
That bridge was more evident than ever last week when participants in the Israel at 60 Celebratory Mission from Central New Jersey visited Sderot and ate a gourmet Moroccan meal at the local community center made by Abecassis’s mother, Zahava.
During the meal, the shaliah’s parents received an outpouring of support from their son’s admirers in New Jersey.
“It was so emotional for my wife and me to see how much the people of New Jersey love and appreciate my son,” Ilan Abecassis said. “We know his skills and his character and how much of a good heart he has, but it is wonderful to hear it as feedback from the community where he is serving.”
Amy Cooper, the federation’s associate executive vice president, said it was important to her when planning the trip to make the connection between the mission participants and the Abecassis family.
“Sael is part of our community, and we can relate to him,” Cooper said. “His mother barely spoke English but she was hugging and kissing us because we are watching her ‘baby.’ The visit was more meaningful because of that connection. That’s what makes missions unique.”
Members of the mission ate a gourmet Moroccan meal prepared by the mother of Central community shaliah Sael Abecassis, Zahava, far left, at the community center in their hometown of Sderot. With her is Sael’s father, Ilan, and aunt, Zahava, and Amy Cooper, far right, the federation’s associate executive vice president.
The oldest of four children, 22-year-old Sael is a former substitute teacher who completed his military service in February as a sergeant major. His father is the assistant principal of the only religious Zionist high school in Sderot.
Ilan Abecassis said he was especially touched by Sharon Rockman of Scotch Plains, who chaired the mission with her husband, Ron. Sael recently joined the Rockmans in their home for Shabbat, and on the trip they invited his parents to do the same when they come in the summer to visit him.
“Sharon told me that said she fell in love with Sael as if he was her child,” Ilan said. “Their support for him was more important than everything.”
Rockman said she was excited to meet the Abecassises and that coming to their community helped her comprehend what Sael and his family have endured over the past several years of rocket attacks from nearby Gaza.
They are, said Rockman, a living bridge, and that relationship is important. The fact that we were welcomed into their home, so to speak, is very special. Being there made me understand him better, but until I’ve been there during an actual attack, I can’t really feel what they feel. I don’t know how people live like that.”
The Rockmans came close to having that experience. While no rockets fell in Sderot and its environs during the time the mission was there, 15 fell within the 24 hours after they left, injuring one woman and damaging property.
Ron Rockman said he noticed that no children were hanging out on the streets of Sderot, and he realized that the children back home in New Jersey take their safety and freedom for granted.
“I think a stronger stand needs to be taken internationally about the plight of Sderot,” he said. “I wish international conferences, cultural events, and sporting events could be held on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip to make a statement to Hamas that we are going to go on living and they can’t get away with doing what they do.”
Formative experience
The mission was built around the United Jewish Communities General Assembly in Jerusalem that took place this week. While it included all the standard tourist attractions in Israel, the mission also included a visit to the Central federation’s Partnership 2000 sister community of Arad in the Negev and a dinner with residents.
The Rockmans said they wanted to introduce Israel to first-time visitors on the trip and to familiarize them with the many projects that federation is involved with to improve the quality of life in Israel.
“My first trip to Israel was on a mission, and it was formative for me, and now we have friends who are here for the first time,” Sharon Rockman said. “They are seeing why Israel is so special and learning how much federation is helping and where our money goes. Until you see it first-hand, it’s very abstract and you can’t conceptualize it. I feel that by bringing them here, I’m giving them a gift.”
First-time visitors Joe and Lois Berger are in their 60s and have traveled around the world, but they never came to Israel because they were concerned about their safety. They said that the moment they arrived they felt safe and that they would encourage their friends to come to Israel.
“Since we got here, there has been nothing to make us fearful,” Lois said. “It took a long time for us to come, and we are really happy that we did. It’s Israel’s 60th anniversary and we wanted to be here for that. But I wish we would have come to Israel sooner.”
Joe said he learned a lesson: “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.”
Cooper said she planned the itinerary so that people on the mission would have the opportunity to meet Israelis; she hopes they will stay in touch.
“I want all the first-timers to realize that coming to Israel is not like visiting Paris,” Cooper said. “They are coming home, and there’s a personal connection here. The Sderot visit was important not just to show support and solidarity but also to make Israel more meaningful and personal for people.”
Now that the Rockmans have that personal connection with the Abecassis family, Ron said, he wants to put together a cookbook from mothers in Sderot for people in Central New Jersey.
“It would create a stronger connection via the palate, so Sderot won’t be something you read about in the news but a living place that you can touch and taste,” he said. “When I see Sael, I’ll tell him his mother’s a great cook and that she made my favorite food, schnitzel, and that her hospitality just reinforced the sense that we are all a part of the same family.”
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