by Justine Hemmestad
4-25-24
I had the pleasure of talking with a very special person from Iowa City last week, Jayne Sandler, who recently volunteered in Israel (she and her husband had also wanted to volunteer in Ukraine but there were too many variables). Sandler has a friend in Israel and her daughter volunteers with JNF - USA as a Major Gifts Fundraiser. However, she says it was important to her to make friends and have her own experience on her trip. A partner of JNF called HaShomer HaChadash organized Sandler’s trip. The intent of the organization is to safeguard farms as well as avoid food shortages in Israel, after all the kibbutzim were attacked at the same time. Sandler volunteered in Israel for five days (this was actually her 4th trip to Israel, but her first time volunteering). 30 people were on the bus with her, most of them from east Canada to Florida. “Agriculture is a big part of the economy in the Negev,” says Sandler, which was consistent with how many people volunteered to help. Sandler, an experienced gardener, weeded tomato vines, picked lemons, and mindfully planted trees in the Negev desert in southern Israel (near the Egyptian border). The majority of farm workers had been Palestinian before October 7 - though Palastinians are no longer al- lowed into Israel after Octo- ber 7 - and a minority of farm workers were Tai, whom their government has called back. Therefore, the produce would wither on the vine if not for the help of volunteers. Tomatoes are grown in vines in lattice form 365 days per year in greenhouses. San- dler says she was familiar with weeding, but not with year round growth. In the des- ert, the same plants are used, though new plants may be planted to replace the old. The desert is irrigated to make it green. Sandler also packed Purim boxes for IDF soldiers, along with notes to thank the sol- diers for their service. Sandler had a lot of contact with Israeli evacuees and became very accustomed to Israeli resilience and strength. She remarked upon Israeli resistance numerous times and said that many of the displaced families have members fighting with the IDF. There are so many Israeli evacuees, that the “Gaza envelope” is being rethought to be the “Israeli envelope.” Another of Sandler’s volunteer duties was to help evacuated families pack. In this capacity, she realized the stark difference from Hamas (who refused to allow the Red Cross into Gaza after 10- 7, though the world failed to condemn it). She met those who went through 10-7, and she says all of the communities in south- ern Israel incurred the same trauma. She makes a point to say how profound the Israeli need to move forward is; Israelis don’t dwell on their suffering and they don’t make a point to be public. I’ve also heard a survivor of the Nova Music Festival say that brutal images of the massacre against Jews won’t be shown to the public because that would be going against religious beliefs and the dignity of those murdered. The sorrow is stark, however. Sandler worked with one Israeli who said, “We cannot mourn because our trauma isn’t over.” Sandler met a woman whose family of six was murdered and placed in temporary graves. Israel’s national flower, the Anemone coronaria, was laid upon their gravestones (Sandler says of the flower, “They don’t grow in Iowa.”). Many Israelis had been smoked out of their safe rooms (reinforced bomb shelters) and murdered by Hamas. Somewhat alleviating the trauma, Israelis are doing anything they can to help each other, living as one family. “They’re not victimizing themselves, but are instead moving forward (which Sandler says she was most moved by).” Sandler says, “Israel has the 4th best Army,” though I think my friend Major Itamar Ben David would move the placement way up. Sandler also believes that Israel has to retaliate after Iran’s missile attack. She says that Israelis know they have to defend them- selves; people are told they need to be able to defend themselves for 30 minutes before the IDF can get there. I was most moved when she said she never felt unsafe in Israel, even though she “heard artillery and saw smoke.” She believes Israelis will return to southern Israel, but they want to be assured that the government will protect them instead of placing them directly in harm’s way. The Negev is their home, even though they “live with evil next door.” Sandler notes that while she and those she was with thanked Israelis for the experience, they were thanking her for being there. She says that her “experiences were different every day.” Sandler hopes to get the word out that boots on the ground are needed to help in Israel. She will also try to go back by the end of the year with her daughter.
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