Personal Journey: On Vacation and On Duty
By Debra Skaroff, 4/16/2013

Was this really me, committing to two weeks in Israel as a volunteer working on an Israel Defense Forces base? Completely out of character, but I was leaving my husband, children, and grandchildren for an experience beyond anything I could have imagined.
It started when friends spoke at our synagogue about Volunteers for Israel. I attended, thinking it would be an interesting morning, and perhaps a few members would investigate the program for themselves or their teenage children. I never expected the presentation to have an impact on me.
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Your Uniform is Waiting For You
By Michael Weinberger
March 2013

At least once a year for over twelve years now, my parents have been, volunteering with the Israeli Army, through the amazing programs run by the Sar El organization. If you add up all the army time they've done throughout the years, it would total about six months of service.
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Loving America by serving in Israel's army
By Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, in the Times of Israel, March 3, 2013

I met with a group from the American military last week. After I think thanked them for their gallant service, one of them inquired about my daughter serving in the Israel Defense Force. I told him I'd write him an explanation. Here it is.
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An Amazing Experience on an Israeli Army Base
Irene Dicker January, 2013

It's always hard to leave Israel! But this time it was even harder because I felt like I lived there. And indeed for two weeks I did live there on an army base somewhat near Beersheva. Together with other Volunteers for Israel in the Sar-El Program I lived on a base with other soldiers, slept in adjacent barracks, ate the same food and did similar work. In fact, one of the main goals of the program is for volunteers to free-up soldiers so that they can attend to other responsibilities.
Our group met early on Sunday morning (a workday in Israel) at the central bus station in Tel Aviv.
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The Strip
By Elie Klein
Published February 24, 2013

Note: The Philadelphia Region of VFI donated $100 to the "fleece" project described below. Elie Klein in one of our own, having participated in the Sar-El International Youth Program years ago and is now a paratrooper in the IDF. Read the whole blog post; you'll learn a lot of military vocabulary.

Good morning, afternoon, or evening, depending on where you are, but to all chag sameach! For my gentile friends today is the Jewish holiday Purim, which in party terminology is the Israeli Halloween. Street festivals flood Tel Aviv with many "lachiams" going around,
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My time with the IDF
But, I am A Liberal
Posted By Roland Dodds,
Saturday, January 12, 2013

This last year was a crazy one. I ended up finishing up a Masters project for UC Davis on teaching pluralism and Islam in public schools (and was then accepted to this year's American Educational Research Associationconference in April), worked extensively at a new school to develop their English and history curriculum, and took a trip around the world in my free time. The blog suffered thanks to this.

This summer, I had the opportunity to volunteer on an army base in Israel for a few weeks and travel the country extensively. I had meant to make this trip for years, ever since hearing about Sar-Elthe volunteer program in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Since I had moved between locations, jobs, and schools over the last 6 years so often, I never had the opportunity to set aside a month of time and make the leap. Thankfully, secure employment at a school in California presented me with just the opportunity (and time off) required.

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GRITTY AND REWARDING LOGISTICS WORK ON AN ARMY BASE IN ISRAEL
Vera Schwarcz
Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies, Wesleyan

The bunk beds in which we slept (four to a room) were narrow and hard. The army issue sleeping blanket warm enough in the cold desert night. No hot water for two days. Army food included lots of humus, fresh tomatoes and cucumbers, some omelettes, and most days hot dogs for lunch. At dairy meals we had three kinds of cheese and "leben"-the tasty, sugarless Israeli yogurt. Why leave the comforts of home in the USA for this modest fare? For me the answer was simple: because after the last war (during which Israel was hit with over 1500 bombs and its people cowered in bomb shelters day after day), I could not let my hands stand idle.
As one in a group of 14 "Volunteers for Israel," I was assigned to a paratroopers' reservist base called B.I.L.U. This acronym recalls the dream of a 19th century Russian writer who took to heart a passage from Isaiah: "House of Jacob, let's rise and get going!" These words sparked the rebirth of a Jewish homeland. Last month, this IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) base had provided training and supplies for 800 of the 70,000 troops called up in the Gaza war. Now, the uniforms and duffel bags that had been used by the reservists had to be cleaned and re-packed for the next national emergency. Everyone I spoke with is convinced that Israel will face, alas, another threat. Most likely from Syria's rebels who are inclined to use of chemical weapons and Egypt's Moslem Brotherhood. Our job was to help with logistics for the next war.
Each day, I reported for work in a warehouse overseen by a female officer, the mother of two young children. We, the American volunteers worked alongside young soldiers (mostly girls who were 19 years old) and male reservists in their late 20s--all sent to this base to help out with the massive task of repairing and resupplying the paratroopers' tanks, jeeps and field uniforms. The mixture of backgrounds and races on our team was astonishing: Russian, Yemenite, Ethiopian, Moroccan and American. We worked side by side using a mélange of tongues that included French and Spanish along with English and Hebrew.
The job of my group was simple and essential: First, we had to sort uniforms according to size. Next, we checked small backpacks for helmet, fork, knife, spoon, canteens, hat, and belt. We had to replace missing items. Checking the ammo vest for size and dead bullets was done one day with the help of teenagers with Down syndrome bussed in once a week. They glowed in their green fatigues and the importance of their task. More experienced soldiers checked the size of each parka to make sure it matched the uniform size. Checking magazines for 5 inserts and holster was done by Chris, a non-Jewish cabinet-maker from San Francisco. (Weapons are handed out to reservists only in the field during active duty exercises.)
The last step was to stuff all these supplies and a plastic tarp into a duffle bag. I helped with each task. Since I am fluent in Hebrew and turned out to be the oldest and the most "administratively experience" (as a result of serving as Chair of Wesleyan's History Department and Director of East Asian Studies), I was put in charge of the final checking. I was asked to sign my Jewish name -Tzivia-on each finished bag. In the next war, some of Israel's soldiers will grab a bag that I had supervised. This was a huge and humbling responsibility-beyond what I had imagined when I set off for this service trip. Yet here at B.I.L.U., it all made sense. I gladly breathed in the dust and swept the floor to get rid of strings, tags and mouse droppings at the end of the workday. In a miniscule way I was making a difference.
I was also privileged to witness the peace-loving values of hardened soldiers. Each day at 1PM I attended services in the army chapel, heard the Torah readings and witnessed officers and draftees pray together fervently for "Shalom"-that deeply Jewish longing and commitment which is, alas, unmatched by most other nations surrounding Israel today.
One morning, after the usual flag raising ceremony attended by all volunteers and all soldiers, our group leader was giving us the daily news. This day, she began: "Iran blames Israel..." As a joke, I chimed in: "for the murders in Connecticut." It turned out not to be a joke at all. Iran had indeed accused Israel of masterminding the Newton killing of children "to retaliate against USA's passivity during the UN vote on Palestine." I realized suddenly that the magnitude and madness of such lies cannot be countered by facts or reason. Instead, I had to use my two hands and aching back to help Israel survive. This knowledge was enough to carry me though two weeks of gritty volunteering for the only democracy in the Middle East.

Looking for a Change of Pace? Join the Israeli Army.
July 13, 2012 by Blogfinger
Paul Goldfinger

When a Jewish colleague asked Ocean Grover Clark Cate, age 58, to join him on an adventure to Israel, Clark said "Why not?" Clark was in the mood for a unique travel opportunity, especially with a good friend. At first, that was all there was to it. Clark is not Jewish, nor is he a Zionist, a historian, or someone seeking his religious roots. But by the time the journey was over, he found surprises that he never anticipated.

It turned out that Clark was participating in an organized program called "Volunteers for Israel." People come from all over the world to temporarily join the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). According to Clark, "Every year volunteers serve for one to three weeks with the IDF. Their job is neither paid nor armed and is mainly in the logistical, maintenance, catering, supply and medical services." Since Clark's status was that of a volunteer, he was not officially sworn in, and thus there is no violation of American law.
Read the Blogfinger from the Jersey Shore

Sar-El Israeli Army Volunteering
Posted by: rmschwab | December 20, 2012

Dear ecstatic followers,
In about 5 hours my family will be landing in Tel-Aviv, and I will meet them at the hotel in about 6. Although I have a long bus ride from Arad to Tel-Aviv in between I am incredibly excited to see them. I can't wait to show my brother around Israel since it is his first time. But if I can contain my excitement I would like to tell you about this past week.
This past week I have been volunteering (and living) on an Israeli army base. My commander has asked me not to post certain things on the internet and this includes the name of the base I was at. All I can say is that it is about 15km from Gaza and 15km from Egypt. Sar-El is the name of the army volunteer program, and a week long participation in Sar-El is mandatory for everyone doing Marva (which is the two months of basic army training I will start after break). Sar-El is a part of the logistics unit of the army meaning that soldiers can spend their entire army service in Sar-El.
Read more at http://schwabinisrael.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/sar-el-israeli-army-volunteering/

Schwarcz to Promote Solidarity, Goodwill with Volunteers for Israel
Dec. 11, 2012 by Olivia Drake in Wesleyan Connection

Professor Vera Schwarcz will spend her holiday vacation working with Volunteers for Israel.
After visiting Israel several times to lecture about Chinese and Jewish history, Vera Schwarcz, the Mansfield Freeman Professor of East Asian Studies, professor of history, decided to do something different during her next trip abroad.
"I wanted to let go of the 'specialness' of my training and skills and do something more basic, something more grounded and more urgently needed at the moment," she says.
On Dec. 16, Schwarcz will begin a two week service trip with "Volunteers for Israel," a 30-year-old program that promotes solidarity and goodwill among Israelis, American Jews, and other friends of Israel. Since 1982, more than 30,000 American civilians have joined Volunteers for Israel and signed on as short-term volunteers doing noncombatant civilian work with the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) on bases throughout Israel.
Read more at http://newsletter.blogs.wesleyan.edu/2012/12/11/schwarczvolunteers/

Israel 2012 by volunteer William Gordon

Shalom haverim (hello friends): I'm back from Israel and obviously survived the rockets from Gaza and bombs.
I was in Israel for about five weeks...two weeks on one army base, a week of vacation, then two weeks on another base. It became obvious that Israel would have to respond to the ever increasing rockets fired at Sderot, Beer Sheva, Ashkalon, Ashdod, and elsewhere. One week-end, there were over 80 rockets, the next week-end over 100. It was absurd to me why Israel had not responded sooner. Of course, the reason is Israel's concern over potential international criticism even though Israel would only be defending its citizens from aggression from Hamas.
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Elie's Aliyah & Lone Soldier Journey
The Mcklar: Automatic Grenade Launcher

Hey Everyone, it feels good to be in my apartment after a long 21 days in the army without a break, and I have another 21 days starting tomorrow. I'm going to write this post quickly, so I can skpye with my family and get a good night of sleep in. The first week I was at a different base called Bizlach, where I learned about my new gun; the Mcklar (Automatic Grenade Launcher). August 11, 2012
Read more at http://klein36.wordpress.com/

THREE WEEKS IN ISRAEL III

During my stay in Israel I spent two weeks volunteering in what is called the Sar-El program - a voluntary and non-governmental program that recruits people from all over the world to spend from one to three weeks on a military base - as the civilians we are - to live and work alongside Israeli soldiers. We do chores for the soldiers so that they are freed to do more important things. More importantly, we get to know what it means to be an Israeli in today's world... July 3, 2012, by Jim Wilson
Read Jim Wilson's blog

Elie Klein's Aliyah & Lone Soldier Journey Blog

Elie is a recent lone soldier from NJ and traces his IDF experiences all the way to becoming a paratrooper. His descriptions are real and convincing.
Read Elie's Aliyah & Lone Soldier Journey Blog

Dave-Go-Round - Voluntourism: Sar-El and the IDF

Dave-Go-Round is a terrific, thoughtful blog from a young volunteer who spent a year traveling around the world, including a wonderfully recounted stint with Sar-El and a mixed group of volunteers. Great writing, great pictures and a well-shot video. I contacted Sar-El, the organization that coordinates volunteers for the IDF and bought a plane ticket. I was warned that coming from Turkey and Morocco, I might be asked a few extra questions on my way into Israel. This is ... Nov 14, 2010 by Dave
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Matthew Rothstein's Blogspot

Awesome Two Weeks blogspot from Matthew Rothstein, a VFI volunteer who served on the Lebanon border and participated in a short tour with Oranim, which also leads the VFI optional tour weekends for volunteers.
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The Traveling Hippie Blog

Margeaux from Baltimore has a short piece in her Traveling Hippie blog on her Sar-El experience. Dec., 2010
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The Poem - Sar-El!

Do you know it? Have you heard about it ? What is it... SAR-EL ! - do you know it? well I'm gonna tell you... When you feel that you would like to volunteer to do some lightweight duties in Israel Defense Force... on a base or in a hospital, in Israel..., then Sar-El is the organisation... Dec 15, 2005 by Louis the Scooterer
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Gingit in Israel: Second week of Sarel

1-9-2011: Sunday morning, we met at the El-Al Junction to head back to the base to continue our volunteering venture. The volunteers and myself were a bit disappointed in our madrichot being a half hour late to our meeting... Jan 13, 2011 by ginger_rose
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Modern Mormon Men: Eye Out for Israel: Volunteer Opportunities

The opportunity to work on Israeli military bases is made available through two non-profit organizations: Israel-based Sar-El and United States-based Volunteers For Israel (VFI). Sar-El started in 1982 as a response to the first... Mar 16, 2012 by Bradly Baird.
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The Fat Guy Times: Sar-El volunteering: welcome to the Israeli...

Today was our first day of Sar-El. We'll be volunteering with the Israeli Army for the week. It's nothing too exciting, basically we're a big working party. But I absolutely had a blast today. Immediately I began remembering things... Dec 9, 2010 by Daniel Lee.
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Our Destinies are Intertwined << Donning The Yellow Star

Now that I am a 'veteran' I have been trying to analyze the dynamic of Sar-El within the context of modern Israel, and think that I at last, may have it. But first (for the benefit of all the other veterans more accomplished than I... Jul 7, 2011 by Roger Neill.
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Mosley Memoirs: Sar-El

Sar-El. Hey folks, ... Our chaperones took us to the spot where Israeli soldiers were captured by the Hezballah in 2006 and where a small shrine has been set up in their honour. A superior combat officer told us the story of the... Dec 11, 2010 by Max Mosley.
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Lindsey's adventures in Israel!: Sar-el Experience: Kalbot Meshugaot

Sar-el Experience: Kalbot Meshugaot. Last week we volunteered for the IDF (Israeli army) in Mahane Ishay, a base in East Jerusalem. On Sunday, busses took our two groups to different bases (the other Ashdod group got to... Dec 12, 2010 by Lindsey
Read Lindsey's adventures in Israel!

Last day of Sar-El :( - Herzlia, Israel Travel Blog

Last day of Sar-El :(: Read the story and see photos of a visit to Herzlia, Israel by TravelPod member spsadventures. Sep 22, 2011
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Day One of my Sar-El Adventure

It was a hectic morning, but by paying an outrageous amount of money to return the car with the tank half empty and my making a couple of illegal left turns, I made to Ben Gurion only 10 minutes late... Audrey Kadis, March 4, 2011
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Day 5 (& the end) of my Sar-El Adventure | Travel Blog

Our day started out uneventfully. As I had been warned breakfast was pretty sketchy. Since so many soldiers leave the base for Shabbat, the food... Mar 4, 2011
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Han's Experience in Israel: My Sar El volunteer experience in Israel...

My Sar El volunteer experience in Israel, November 2011. November 2011, Volunteer with Sar El This was my fourth visit to Israel in 3 years! I was drawn to Israel to volunteer, did for 2 weeks, and went solo!! Always in life... Dec 14, 2011 by Han's Experiences in Israel
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My Journey Through Israel: Sar-El

For two weeks, I along with 9 other Otzmakim volunteered with a paratrooping army base. Upon arriving to the base, we got our uniforms, which would be our wardrobe for the next two weeks. We started to do our volunteering... Feb 16, 2011 by Becca
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Gilad Amzaleg blogs about Sar-El - FZY Year Course in Israel

With Sar-El now finished, Gilad Amzaleg from Scotland reflects on his experience. When sitting in orientation in the U.K., asking about Marva we suddenly got told that we are also doing a month of Sar-El. Everyone's heads... Oct 5, 2010
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Sar-El Volunteers for Israel

Sar-El Volunteers for Israel. Volunteer for Israel by Fred Heins. Last August I joined a group of 28 volunteers, who came to spend 3 weeks in the Israeli Army on a Sar-El Program. Many of these people, have done this program numerous times. Jan 9, 2011
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I Volunteered With Sar-El in Israel (Part 1) | Journeying Josh

Topics: Israel. I heard about Sar-El while I was at a hostel in Tel Aviv from two Americans who had just completed three weeks with the program. The program takes volunteers from all over the world who want to help out Israel... Aug 13, 2011 by Josh, part 1 of 5
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Purim fun, birthday party, and Sar-El

Israel Blog Post #5: Week three of volunteering was a fairly normal one. I started Sunday with a morning volunteering session at the middle school (Idanim). That night I had soccer with the disabled as my volunteering but I felt... Mar 15, 2010 by Josh
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Outside the Blogway: The Volunteering Experience in Israel

I will continue my AIPAC coverage shortly (I'm still feeling a bit jet-lagged) but in the meantime, I thought you all would enjoy reading about my friend Paul's most recent experience in Israel with Sar-El. We volunteered in Israel... May 27, 2005 by Esther
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Sar-El: One week in the IDF - Israel. Australia. New Zealand. What's...

Israel. Australia. New Zealand. What's next..? This was set up as a means of keeping in touch with my family and friends back home. After 3 months of living in Israel I discovered that I was not the best at keeping in touch, so. Dec 12, 2010 by Jessica Lauren Bitton
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April 12-19 << Weber Israel Experience '07

I shall now tell you about our adventures in Yokniam and Sar-El. Yokniam, for those of you who've never heard of the small town in Israel, is Atlanta's sister city. Weber has an exchange program with one of the schools there,... Apr 19, 2007 by Jamie
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Sar-el!!!!

So today I leave on a program called Sar-El. Sar-El is an army based program, sponsored by the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) which allows non - Israeli citizens to volunteer on base before starting Marva. Marva is another army... Sep 18, 2011 by Pechner
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Sar El 2006 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Raising the Israeli flag. ... Sar El 2006. Raising the Israeli flag. Comments and faves. Want to format your comment? By trankie Aaron ... This photo also appears in. Sar El - August 2006 (Set). Advertisement. Want to go ad-free... Jan 14, 2003 by nobody@flickr.com (atrank)
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We volunteered on an IDF base for my birthday << Allen's Board

We volunteered on an IDF base for my birthday. November 10, 2011 - Allen Miller... Volunteers for Israel (vfi-usa.org) is the US arm that handles applications for the Sar-El program. VFI does a thorough job to make sure that applicants are... Nov 9, 2011 by Allen Miller
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The Other Side: Volunteers for Israel: Beneficial Experiences for...

Volunteers for Israel: Beneficial Experiences for Israel and Participants. This is a continuation of my previous post about the IDF. I studied abroad at Tel Aviv University from January until May of 2010. I stayed in Israel for two... Apr 24, 2011 by Rachel Ben-Eli.
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Three Weeks with the IDF, 2008 << Zinder History

Three Weeks with the IDF, 2008. December 23, 2010 at 3:45 am Leave a comment... Now there are offices of Volunteers for Israel in many countries through which the volunteers come and become part of Sar-El. I was one of those volunteers... Dec 22, 2010 by zinderhistory1
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My Misadventures on an Educational Sabbatical: Taking a Step...

Volunteers for Israel (VFI) is a non-profit, non-political organization whose mission to American to Israel through hands-on, civilian volunteer work in hospitals, nursing homes and on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bases. Mar 14, 2008 by jo
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This IsREALi Cool << JChoice.org: The Social Network for Young...

I finally came across Sar-El Volunteers for Israel, a program where students and adults from all over the world can spend a few weeks volunteering on an army base. After talking to the President of the program and submitting the necessary paperwork, I booked... That moment when I felt the limitless possibilities was when I put on the Israeli Defense Forces uniform for the first time. Turning around to show the others, one of my friends had said, "You know you actually... Nov 22, 2009 by michellegoldenjchoice
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Outside the Blogway: Volunteering For Israel

Among these booths was a sign reading Volunteers for Israel. Intrigued, we went... One of our fellow volunteers had spent the weekend in Jerusalem with his friend, a sharpshooter instructor with the IDF. The night before, he... Jun 26, 2005 by Esther
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