Guest Post: Rich Sokol in Jerusalem

Shalom from Jerusalem! Rich Sokol here in Jerusalem with how you can help Israel. My travelogue and suggested charities for your consideration

Today, I’m departing from my usual format with a guest post by my friend, Rich Sokol, on the ground in Israel. While the media is overflowing with stories of the sufferings of Palestinians in Gaza, his is an eye-opening account of the situation in Israel that we’re unlikely to encounter elsewhere. For all that I know, Rich and I have our differences. He’s a practicing Jew, I’m an atheist. He’s Republican, I don’t feel at home in any party. But we stand together in supporting Israel in its fight for Western civilization against the evils of Islamic totalitarian fundamentalism as I’ve written about here and here. And if you’re inclined to donate to the cause, Rich has included a number of organizations supporting both Israeli troops and civilians. (Maria and I have contributed to “Soldier to Soldier”) I’ve omitted certain parts of his original including some pictures to fit the Substack article size limit.

Nov 3, 2023

Day 28 of the War Against Hamas Evil

Jerusalem, Israel

Hi everyone,

I am right now sitting at a desk in my brother-in-law's apartment in Jerusalem. I came two weeks ago, after the war against Hamas started.  My 18 year-old daughter, Deanna, is here in Jerusalem on a gap year program. I came not just to see her, but most important, to volunteer and help the Jewish people in this dark time in any way I can. I know that many of you want to help.  In many ways I am lucky, because I have the availability to come spend time in Israel.  I know most of you cannot just drop what you are doing to come.  But I know your hearts are here, no matter where your body may be. So let me tell you a little of what I have been up to, and the organizations I have been personally working with.  If you can help financially, please do so.  I will supply links.

The Israeli spirit:

Every, and I mean every, Israeli family knows someone who had a family member killed or kidnapped by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7. It is a tragedy almost too hard to bear. Today we learned the story of Israeli soldier Pedaya Mark. In 2016, terrorists attacked a car carrying Pedaya his father, mother and sister.  Pedaya's father, a rabbi, was killed, and his mother was shot in the eye. A young Pedaya and his sister were injured but survived. A short time ago, Pedaya joined the Israeli army.  Israeli army regulations state that if a soldier had a family member killed in action or by a terrorist, a parent must give permission for that soldier to serve in a combat unit. Despite his history, Pedaya wanted to serve in a combat unit, and his mother acquiesced. Both felt a call to duty.

During the Oct 7 onslaught, Pedaya's cousin was killed by the Hamas terrorists.  Pedaya could not go to the funeral as he leads a combat unit, and he would not leave his soldiers.  He soon after sent his mother a note in which he wrote "Challenging days are passing for the nation and for our family in particular...I am guarding/protecting you and keep you in my heart...See you soon with G-d's help...The nation of Israel lives!" We learned a few hours ago that Pedaya was killed in Gaza yesterday. Pedaya is the son of his parents.  Today he is every Israeli's son and brother. Here is a photo of Pedaya and his father.  May their memory be a blessing to those IDF soldiers who carry on the fight against barbarism:

But right now, there is no time to grieve and no time to point fingers at who is to blame for the security failure. There is too much to be done. 

Right when I landed at Ben Gurion airport, I was met at the airport by my nephew Ben, an Israeli soldier.  I delivered to him many of the items purchased by us with donations from Denver friends (thank you LPR peeps and friends!).  After giving me a big hug, Ben took the pink Barbie bag filled with gear back to his base up north near the Lebanese border.  With funds we and friends supplied, we were able to equip his unit with proper tactical gear, including ballistic helmets and cold weather gear, since members of his unit spend several days and nights at a time out in the field. […]

Since then, here’s the organizations with whom I have been volunteering, and how you can help.  All are 501c3s for US tax purposes.

1. Chayal El Chayal (“Soldier to Soldier”):

Soldiers must be equipped with all the equipment they need to fight the Hamas terrorist army in Gaza and the Hezbollah terrorist army on Israel's border with Lebanon. Israel has a standing army of about 180,000 soldiers.  Israel called up about 360,000 reservists. Quite simply, many of these reserve soldiers lack necessary gear - including bulletproof plates that are worn in a vest to provide protection from bullets, gloves, headgear, scopes, kneepads, and proper food.  The government has provided lots of gear, but there are still major gaps. When someone meets a soldier, the first question is always: Do you have plates?  What level (strength) are they?  Plates are worth more than gold right now.

Chayal El Chayal serves lone soldiers and their entire units.  A lone soldier is usually a citizen of the US or a western country who comes to Israel to join the Israeli Defense Forces ("IDF") and does not have family in Israel.  In more peaceful times, Chayal El Chayal provides a home away from home for these soldiers.  Right now, they are focused on getting any needed supplies to soldiers throughout the country.  Soldiers call all the time with requests. Chayal El Chayal continues to serve my nephew and other family friends serving in the IDF.  I brought gear for them to their office, and they immediately transported the gear to the intended bases. Supplies come in all day, and then within a few hours volunteers drive the supplies to army bases throughout the country.  The group is led by its tireless leader, Mordy Botnik. In the photo is me, Mordy, and a lone soldier from S Africa named Gabriel who is in an undercover/elite unit (and thus by regulation we had to blur his face in the photo).  Gabriel was out of the country when the war started but voluntarily came back to rejoin his unit and fight.  He had a few hours off from his unit on the Gaza border and came to the office to say hello and pick up supplies.

More info. You can donate here.

2. Jerusalem Civilian Command Center

To me, nothing symbolizes the “can-do” Israeli spirit than the Jerusalem Civilian Command Center.  Before Oct. 7, this organization did not exist.  Now it is a large, incredibly efficient volunteer-run organization buzzing with activity around the clock. They serve soldiers and displaced Israeli families. […]  I was blown away when I walked into their HQ and saw the scale of the operation.

You can donate here. Please click the box for “Operation Iron Swords Relief Effort” on page 3 (it will be obvious). […]

3. Unity Warriors

This is a group similar to Chayal El Chayal.  It was started by Shaun Benjamin who has strong Denver ties.  Shaun grew up in Israel and went to nursing school in Denver at CU, while his wife Mikey attended pharmacy school in Denver!  They now live in Efrat, Israel. Shaun gets requests from soldiers for items and then sources them either in the US or Israel.  Many Americans coming to Israel bring these items in their personal luggage.  Shaun has temporarily given up his job to run Unity Warriors and help fellow Israelis.  Everyone at Unity Warriors is an unpaid volunteer.

My brother-in-law Michael and I had the privilege of cooking at a bbq organized by Unity Soldiers for 40 soldiers a few nights ago on a kibbutz called Migdal Oz in the West Bank.  I handled the burgers and brat while Michael handled the vegetables and steaks. Outside of seeing family, that night has been the highlight of my stay here! 

The soldiers greatly appreciated the food – it was the first hot meal they enjoyed in over 2 weeks.  They also greatly appreciated us being there and showing our love and support.  They have read about all the pro-Palestinian rallies in America and around the world, which leaves Israelis feeling so isolated and bewildered.  They could not thank me enough for coming to Israel during the war, while others were fleeing.  I, of course, told them that it was I who should be thanking them – they are out carrying guns and fighting for the Jewish people while I and others stay safe.  And then I apologized for my limited bbq skills! […]

Here’s a video showing a “normal” day in the life of Unity Warriors, during these days in Israel that are definitely not normal. […]

On Sunday, I will accompany Shaun to deliver high-powered flashlights that are mounted on semi-automatic weapons to troops.

You can donate here.

4. Beef Up Our Boys – making beef jerky for troops

One big issue soldiers face is keeping fed, especially when they are operating in the field away from base for extended periods.  The surprising answer?  Beef jerky!  Beef jerky can fit in a pocket, is easily carried, provides needed protein, and lasts long.  It is the perfect food for field operations.  The standard army issue is cans of tuna, but beef jerky is far tastier.

So a local man who knows how to make beef jerky got permission to use a local kitchen synagogue in Bet Shemesh, Israel and turn it into a mini beef jerky production factory.  Staffed by volunteers working around the clock, about 500 bags of beef jerky are produced daily.  Demand from soldiers are for thousands of bags a day. My friend Neil and I spent several hours laying pieces of marinated beef onto grates to enter a dehydrater. […]

You can donate here.

4. Become penpals with displaced Jewish residents of Shlomit, a town near Gaza:

The Israeli military has ordered all the residents of Israeli towns near Gaza to evacuate.  Hamas still continues to fire rockets on the Israeli towns surrounding Gaza, and the Israeli military needs the area for military purposes.  In the northern part of Israel, Hezbollah also has been firing rockets on Israeli communities near the Lebanese border.  Thus, Israeli residents of both the south (near Gaza) and the north (near Lebanon) have been forced to evacuate to cities in the center of Israel – primarily Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.  There are well over 300,000 displaced Israelis who need shelter, food and clothing.  Many of these people left their homes with little more than their sandals and a bag of clothes.

Residents of the community of Shlomit near Gaza evacuated their homes the night of the Hamas attack.  Shlomit is located about 4 miles from Gaza.  The close-knit community is comprised of about 80 religious families.  Each family generally has many children. Numerous Shlomit residents actually lived in Gaza prior to Israel’s pullout from Gaza in 2005.  The Israeli pullout from Gaza was supposed to engender peace in the region.  It didn’t work.

The story of Shlomit residents is one of heroism.  On the morning of the Hamas attack, they received word that the Jewish community next door to them was besieged by Hamas terrorists. Many of Shlomit’s men immediately organized, holstered their weapons, and headed to the nearby town to fight the terrorists.  These men did not have to do it, yet they could not stand by while their Jewish neighbors were being attacked.  Unfortunately, four of Shlomit’s men were killed fighting the terrorists, and five more were badly injured. 

That night, Shlomit’s residents were evacuated to Kibbutz Etzion, just southeast of Jerusalem.  They came scared and traumatized.  Now many of the Shlomit husbands have been called up into the army, leaving the women and children to cope with their new surroundings – and their trauma - alone

My sister-in-law, Galia, lives on Kibbutz Etzion. She took me to meet the Shlomit residents.  Below is a photo of my daughter Deanna with Miriam, a Shlomit resident who is 8+ months pregnant and who is originally from San Diego.  My heart really goes out to Miriam.  Think about her situation: she is 8+ months pregnant, she and her family just survived the biggest trauma of their lives that will scar them forever, her husband is now in the army fighting those same terrorists and in danger, and she is with her other kids without her husband in tiny, unfamiliar quarters far from their home.  But yet she smiles and will survive.

[…]

A local resident angel named Sarah Malka is gathering the names and email addresses of some of the Shlomit families.  A friend in Denver (thank you Carol!) suggested it would be nice to connect the Shlomit families with families in the US.  Sarah and I are trying to make this happen.  If you would like to connect via email with one of the families, please send me your name, email address, and ages of other family members in your home, and we will try to connect you with one of the Shlomit families.  Many of the Shlomit families only speak limited English, but with Google Translate it should not be difficult to converse! If you are interested, send your name and those of family members, and email address to me: Rich Sokol lowtaxguy@gmail.com

If you’d like to help the families of Shlomit and others like them with a financial contribution, please consider donating to the Jerusalem Civilian Command Center. Please click the box for “Operation Iron Swords Relief Effort” on page 3 (it will be obvious).

5. Farmers need workers!  No opportunity to donate, but I thought you should know about it:

Many farm workers in Israel are Arab residents of the West Bank.  On any given day, about 150,000 West Bank Arabs cross into Israel to work on farms and in the construction industry.  Until Oct 7, about 17,000 Gazan Arabs also crossed into Israel each day to work.  As an aside, some of the Hamas terrorists killed on Oct 7 had their Israeli work permits listing their name and address in their wallets.  Some of the same people to whom Israel provided work permits became terrorists!

Because of the war, no more West Bank Arab workers can enter Israel, and obviously no Gazan Arab workers are allowed into Israel.  This has caused a huge labor shortage on Israel’s farms.  Many farms have crops literally wilting on the vine. To solve the problems, Israelis everywhere are volunteering on farms to pick the fruit and vegetables.  Michael and I spent a day picking pomegranates on Kibbutz Tzora, about 20 minutes outside Jerusalem.  The kibbutz usually has about 35 Palestinian workers during pomegranate season.  On the day we were there, there were well over 100 volunteers.  The pomegranates from the kibbutz are shipped to a factory in northern Israel where they are cleaned, sorted and packaged for export.  Most of the pomegranates we picked will end up in a European supermarket in about a week.

I never knew pomegranates could taste so good, and I probably ate more pomegranate seeds that day than I have in my life. For the record, our host Assaf told us we could eat as many pomegranates as we’d like. Here are some photos from our day:

Now more Travelogue – other thoughts I want to share

First “Boom” – fyi, the English word “boom” is now also a slang Hebrew word and means the same in Hebrew as in English.  Who could have predicted?

On my flight to Israel, I wondered how I would feel the first time the war really hit close to home.  I did not have to wait long to find out. I arrived here on a Friday afternoon.  I spent my first Friday shabbat dinner with Michael, his wife Sima, her sister Suri, and Deanna.  During dinner, I heard my first “boom”.  The boom was the sound of an Iron Dome interceptor knocking down a Hamas rocket headed for Jerusalem.  I jumped, while my relatives barely moved.  For them, this was commonplace.  On the first days of the war, they watched from their apartment window Iron Dome rockets repeatedly intercepting Hamas mortars.  My family and all Israelis so appreciate the US who helped fund the Iron Dome development. […]

Welcome to an Ikea bomb shelter:

On our way home from our pomegranate picking experience, thanks to Hamas I had the privilege of experiencing being in a bomb shelter.  After visiting Kibbutz Tzora, Michael and I stopped at an Ikea store.  Yes, Israel has an Ikea store!  While eating in the cafeteria, an announcement came over the loud speaker and everyone started running.  I had no idea what the announcement in Hebrew said, but I figured it was a good idea to start running too!  I followed the crowd into a bomb shelter.  We stayed for about 10 minutes, and then were allowed to leave.  […]

Other volunteers – the firefighters:

I am far from the only person who has come to Israel after the war started to volunteer.  While eating a delicious shwarma lunch in Jerusalem’s Old City with my niece Nili and our family friend Jonah, I heard my name being called out!  It was my old friend Scott Friedman, who used to live in Denver but moved to Philly 5 years ago.  He is now a firefighter in Philly.  Many of Israel’s firefighters have been called up to the army, so Israel needs firefighting help.  Scott and other firefighters from around the US have come to Israel on two week assignments to fill the gap! Scott’s group is part of the Emergency Volunteers Project.

[…] Also, one of the volunteers at our soldier bbq also flew in from the US just to volunteer – and he is not even Jewish!  His name is Jeff Asher, and his grandfather started a chocolate company that he and his family still run today!  So if you want chocolate, please consider ordering from his company and let him know how much you appreciate his volunteer efforts!

FINAL THOUGHTS:

Israel is a remarkable country. The people care deeply about each other and will go to great lengths to help anyone in need.  It does not matter if that person is a friend or stranger.  To help is built into the Israeli DNA.  Israel is a small place – basically the size of New Jersey – and it feels more like a big community than a nation. 

Prior to the war, there was a big debate in Israel over the issue of judicial reform.  Massive protests for and against judicial reform sundered Israeli unity.  Today, there is no division in Israel.  All of Israel stands together.  Every Israeli is laser-focused on the need to win the war.  There is a pride in country and a desire to serve that I wish we had in the US. I read in the news yesterday that since the war started, many Israelis have returned home to Israel.  So many have returned to Israel, that Israel's population has actually GROWN by 3% since the war started.  Israelis are a remarkable people!

Obviously, these are now dark days for Israelis. In many respects, civilian life has returned to a muted sense of normalcy.  But there is a tenseness everywhere. Many stores and most restaurants remain closed.  Even in Jerusalem which has been relatively safe, we don’t go to an ice cream shop without calling first to make sure there is a bomb shelter nearby.  Every time you visit a friend’s home, the first thing they tell you is where the bomb shelter is.  After all, you never know when a Hamas or Hezbollah rocket may be headed your way, and that uncertainty keeps everyone on edge.

And there are so many families with children in the army.  I have several moms on my prayer list who have sons in the army and are in Gaza. And every day, people pray for the 240+ hostages being held in Gaza.  There are reminders everywhere of the need to bring the hostages home.  After helping with the beef jerky, I visited a mall.  It is a mall similar to any American suburban mall.  Except this mall has a big screen across the width of the main floor between the shops.  On the screen are shown a continuous loop of photos of the 240 hostages and a plea for their safe return.  Jews do not leave Jews behind. As Deanna reminds me, Hamas claims because of the Israeli bombardment, Gaza has a shortage of everything: food, water, electricity.  But the one thing they do not have a shortage of is our hostages and rockets.  That they have plenty of.

Israelis disagree on many things.  But one thing every Israeli agrees on, is that Hamas must be wiped out.  No negotiation, no compromise, no “understandings”.  We’ve tried that numerous times in the past, to no avail.  Evil must be destroyed.  Period.

What You Can Do:

If you can make a financial contribution to any of the organizations above, please do so.  This is by no means an exhaustive list.  There are so many worthy organizations.  They all do great work to help displaced Israelis and the Israeli forces.  Just give where you can to whichever organization you can.  Also, please support our US Congressman who are steadfast in their support for Israel - we need to keep them in office! […]

May we all soon experience brighter days, filled with friendship, love and peace.

With love from Jerusalem,

Rich