April 8, 2002
Shalom.
Tonight begins the
commemoration of Holocaust Martyrs’ and Heroes’ Remembrance Day. Most of us will participate in ceremonies
throughout the country, marked by speeches, poetry, and the lighting of six
flames, each flame representing one sixth of the six million, six million,
which in recent years, has been estimated as being closer to seven million. The
enormity of six million people is so beyond human conception that, rather than
overstate we understate. One small flame symbolizing one million people.
Holocaust day, Yom HaShoah, as we refer to it
in Hebrew, has a second element, for some reason less emphasized. That is,
Heroes’ Day –when we honor the bravery, in Hebrew, gevura, of tens of thousands who risked their lives, and
many times, lost their lives, in the war against the Nazi beast.
Jews are no strangers to death, nor are we
strangers to heroes. I’d like to relate to you briefly, a short account of
modern heroism, a simple story, not unlike many others, but still, heroism, in
every sense of the word. A friend of mine, let’s call him Avi, not his name,
but he would never forgive me if I used his real name, is a multi-faceted
person, with many interests, talents and expertise. In the army he is a rabbi,
or chaplain, as they are called. In real life he is, among other things, a
first-class paramedic. When the call-up started, Avi received a phone call from
one of the soldiers in his unit. It was Friday afternoon, a few hours before
the beginning of Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath. “Avi,” we’re all here, we’ve been
called up.” Despite that fact that he had not received orders, without thinking
about it, Avi packed a bag and left his family for the base, joining the rest
of the troops.
One might ask, what does a combat unit need
with a Rabbi, but Avi doesn’t restrict himself to spiritual tasks. Rather, he
takes part in all the unit’s activities, never knowing a quiet moment.
It wasn’t long before the unit received it’s
assignment: Jenin. Jenin is the northern-most Shomron city today belonging to
the Palestinian authority. It is also full of terrorists. Why? Prior to the
beginning of the current “Defensive
Shield” war, whenever Israel began
retaliating against the PA, in response to terror attacks, the Arab terrorists
fleeing from the IDF would run north, reaching Jenin. As a result the city
filled up with more than its share of ‘natural terrorists.’ The city is divided
into two sections: the regular city and the refugee camp. Most of the fleeing
terrorists found shelter in the refugee camp, turning it into one of the most
dangerous areas in the Shomron. Jenin’s
terrorist infrastructure includes the Fatah-based Al-Aqsa Brigades, the
Islamic Jihad terrorist organization and Hamas. Numerous terror attacks against
Israeli civilian targets initiated in Jenin. Of the thousands of weapons
confiscated since the inception of the current military operation, (including
over 2,000 guns and rifles, rpgs, etc, many many were found in Jenin. In order
to eliminate terror, a house-to-house battle in Jenin was imminent.
Avi, together with his unit, made their way to the city of terror. Avi’s
commander’s, learning that the unit’s Rabbi was also a paramedic, asked him if
he would be willing to participate in the unit’s medical team. Avi’s response
was immediate, “Yes, of course.” Avi is forty years old, married with a bunch
of children, the oldest in the army and the youngest in nursery school.
The battle for
Jenin began. Avi was called to duty, “A soldier wounded, in the refugee camp.”
Avi quickly jumped into an APC – an armored personnel carrier, built like a
tank, but smaller, and without a turret. Crowded in with a few other people,
Avi found himself in the middle of the battle. The APC’s front entrance slid
open and Avi found himself inside the camp, gunfire all around. Jumping out, he
zigzagged from building to building, before finding the wounded soldier,
treating him and getting him back to the IDF encampment.
A short time later, again, an injured officer. This time Avi had to run
through a field, taking cover behind rocks, ducking down to avoid terrorist
gunfire. As he told me, “I kept thinking how easy it would be to die here.”
When Avi and the IDF doctor reached their destination, it was too late. The
officer had died of his wounds. There was nothing they could do but return the
officer’s body to the camp headquarters.
Avi came home for a few days, but made it clear. “I’m going back,” he
said. He doesn’t have to, he didn’t receive call-up orders. He didn’t have to
participate as a paramedic during the battle – his army job is as a Rabbi. When
I asked him why he had gone in the first place, Avi said, “well the whole unit
was there, so I had to be there too.”
Avi isn’t the only hero of the Defensive Shield War. Avi told me of
others, who in everyday life sell insurance, drive taxis, teach in school, who
all showed up for duty, one minute a civilian, the next minute a soldier,
running their way through ankle-high mud, in the pouring rain, eating battle
rations, dodging bullets, not always successfully. No complaints, no “why me” –
ordinary, people, all of whom have one thing in common. They all know and say,
(as Avi told me), “we are fighting for our homes.” This isn’t Falkland or
Vietnam , it is a war for our houses, our yards, our families.
Just as there were heroes sixty years ago, so today, there are heroes –
regular people who really aren’t so regular, or perhaps they are.
As I write this, writing about heroes, I’ve received very bad tidings.
As tonight we mark the beginning of Holocaust Remembrance Day, another family
is facing a personal holocaust. This morning a young man, a young hero from
Kiryat Arba, serving in the IDF, was killed in the city of terror, Jenin. A
fine person, from a fine fine family, gave his life for his people, for his
land, a terrible price to pay for the crimes of Peres, Beilin and the like.
Tonight, as we light the memorial flames, our thoughts will not only be of the
six million.
Looking forward to good news,
With blessings from Hebron,
This is David Wilder
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