When I drive in Israel, I like to listen to the radio in Hebrew even though I know that my level of understanding is a bit less than average. One of my favorite commercials is for a nationwide electronics store that seems to always be advertising a special deal “Echad Plus Echad”, or as we here in the diaspora of America like to say, “BOGO, or buy one get one free.”
This past Monday was a BOGO holiday with Memorial Day and Yom Yerushalyim falling together. Memorial Day in the US was set up to remember the many soldiers that have given of their lives to ensure our freedom while Yom Yerushalyim is a celebration of the reunification of the city of Jerusalem towards of the end of the Six Day War in 1967. This combination of days made me think of my father, Abraham H. Levy z”l, who served in US Army during WW II and then went to fight in Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. Specifically, my dad was part of a group that tried valiantly but unsuccessfully to break the siege around Jerusalem.
As I thought about my father with pride of his willingness to serve his adopted country—he immigrated to the United States in 1938 from Palestine—and his determination to return to his country of birth and help it secure its independence. I have often thought about the sacrifice he risked in both instances, and how I would have approached either decision.
Fortunately, I came of age just after the mandatory draft to fight in Vietnam and I never felt the need to serve in Israel’s modern defense forces, the IDF. I have, however, felt a duty to do my utmost to help defend Israel’s right to exist and to thrive as the only democracy in the Middle East. My work as Interim CEO of our Jewish Federation for the past eight months have reminded me of the importance and relevance of the work we continue to enable through our philanthropic management of your donations. We save lives on a regular basis. We help educate children and welcome new citizens to a country that is growing despite a constant stage of war. We are truly helping to make the world a better place for all—Jews and non-Jews alike.
The final memory that came back to me this week is of my father and mother, Mildred Levy z”l, who traveled to Israel in December 1967 to see the first Hanukah candles being lit at the Kotel (Western Wall) in close to 2,000 years. This memory reminded me that all the sacrifices that have been made on Israel’s behalf were worth it because there is now a light that shining brightly in Jerusalem, and throughout the world. This is the light of hope.