Ani Zocher:
Pilgrims' Stories

Poland Seminar 2003,
by Daniel Hochbaum, METNY

In the six weeks on Pilgrimage there were many memorable experiences, whether my group was in Poland, visiting the death camps, or anywhere and everywhere in Medinat Yisrael, the state of Israel. There is one experience that I would like to share with you, that occurred not with a lifelong friend by my side but on our free weekend.

I got off the bus in Tel Aviv and was picked up by my cousins, the Londner's. With a tan already on my face I got into the car excited for the weekend I was going to share with them. I was excited to see Or, one of my cousins who had taken me around Israel three years earlier, the last time I visited. However, Or was now in the Army and did not have a free weekend to go home. Not wanting to pass up the opportunity to see him, I was taken to Or's naval base in the port at Haifa.

When we arrived it was about 1:30 in the afternoon. I had never been to a naval base before, let alone an Israeli one. He met us at the gate wearing an undershirt, a bathing suit and flip-flops rather than his uniform. I accepted a big hug and he took us to his ship. Or was now 20 years old and getting a little tired of the Navy. He boarded his ship - a 100 foot long miniature battle ship known as a "4.5". He showed me around the deck pointing out the special features including a machine gun that can shoot three thousand bullets in one minute. I was amazed. Then he took me down into the ship. He showed me his bed, the bathrooms, the kitchen, and the engine room. I was very impressed by everything but he unhappily explained that living with five others on his ship left very little room to move.

We sat down at the "kitchen" table and began to talk. He told me about life in the Navy, his job, and how much he missed home. We began to talk about my life and my future. I am half Israeli and have citizenship. He asked me if I was thinking about joining the IDF. I had thought about this many times and was still not sure what I would like to do. I told him that it depended on the situation in Israel at the time. I figured that if the situation were very bad I would definitely come and join the Army. He laughed and said, "You see, I am not a big Zionist like you. I serve because I have to. Once I was like you, young and willing to do anything but now I will do anything because I have to and only sometimes because I want to." I thought to myself that this couldn't be true. Day after day, Or and thousands of other young Israelis are on the front lines serving their country. I responded to him saying, "That's not true Or, you are here and I am back in America. You serve your country everyday and I have never served for Israel in a way that you have. You are the 'big Zionist' not me." Humbled by the comments he nodded his head and we moved on to another topic.

Before I left the base, Or went to his room and took a pin off his uniform. It had two sharks swimming in opposite directions at the bottom, and his boat behind them. He gave me the pin and told me it was his operating license to steer any ship in the navy. I thanked him for the gift and we walked to the gate. As we walked side by side I thought of all those soldiers who serve in Israel's defense everyday. They are the true Zionists and the ones who deserve all the credit. Without them and those before them, there would be no Israel for us to love so much today. The state of Israel was not handed to us "b'magash hacesef" - on a "silver platter" - but rather through the willpower of these men and women.

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