On the lighter side:
Boaz is the local mobile bike fixer. As there are hundreds of refugee children in our region, Boaz is collecting donations of used kid bikes, fixing them up, and distributing them, all free of charge.
As an avid off-roadie, I am a loyal client and we've become good friends over the years.
Here you can see the two of us working on this week's distribution!
If you would like to contribute specifically for a NEW bike, please be in touch with me via Whatsapp/email and I'll direct you on how to do so.
Also, my son's paratrooper unit (on the Lebanese border) is collecting money for the protective vests they wear.
Any amount can be helpful, it all adds up!
And now for the main part:
Reengaging Disengagement: Gaza challenges 2005
The meaning of tourism is seeing places and people of interest.
The interest of educational tourism is engaging with people and places of meaning.
The way I see it, Israeli tourism is not, ironically, a spectator’s sport. Those of you who have been on tour with me know that I’m a big believer in “immersive tourism.” I try to have my people interact with the locals, grapple with the landscape, and grow from Israel's beauty and challenges.
One of the first times I fully employed this, was back in the winter/spring of 2005, when I was the tour educator for American 10th grade students, here on a 4-month study program.
During that time, Israel's government had decided to “disengage” from Gaza, and I had just received my “emergency” IDF call-up to facilitate this move. The nation was torn on the issue of this plan, (as was I), and for the first time, soldiers were unsure whether they would respond to the orders (as was I).
I decided that I would make an educational activity out of my dilemma.
Every week, I discussed all aspects of this plan with my class of 20 kids. So did other educators. However, always a believer in challenges, my kids had an additional task. I brought my call-up notice to class and displayed it on the wall. I shared my personal dilemma, and I told them that this was no longer my personal issue, nor would I be making this decision on my own. It was to be a class discussion, debate, and conclusion. They would be assisting me in deciding what I should do… what I would do. Whenever a student expressed an opinion of certainty (and I pushed them to do so), I would then say: “OK. Based on your opinion, this is what I’m going to do.”
You could see their eyes go wide, almost feel their stomach clench, and virtually hear the wheel whir in their heads.
As the months rolled by, our relationship grew stronger, and encouraging their educator one way or the other became even more challenging.
A topic that for them would have remained esoteric and theoretical became very real. It was the difference between sending soldiers to war or sending your children, as soldiers, to war.
As a life lesson, I was trying to teach these kids that often the BIG pictures in life are a compilation of the small ones.
And as an Israel lesson, I was trying to teach them what it is to be Israeli. The ultimate “Welcome to My Life!”
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Engaging Reengagement: Gaza challenges 2023
Dear reader:
The above was just the staging ground for what is to follow. I don’t have my class of 2005 anymore. But I have you.
I was released from the reserves in 2016 when the IDF retired my tank. Since October 8th, I’ve been trying through various avenues to get drafted.
Lo and behold, two options came through!
Option 1: “Locals”
The IDF is calling up released soldiers with combat training to provide security in their places of residence.
Option 2: “The Phoenix”
The IDF is resurrecting old tanks and creating a new/old unit. And yes, they need to recruit the old guys because we are the only ones who know how to use them. (From the unit's name, you can tell that somebody in the IDF has a great sense of humor...)
I’m going to choose one of them. The question is: which?
Let’s look at the pros and cons:
| LOCALS | PHOENIX |
Quarters | Home-based | IDF base |
Physical Demands | Easy | Incredibly tough |
Movement | Stationary | Mobile |
Stationed at | In my city | Gaza border |
IDF needs | They need me | They need me |
If I don’t come | They’ll find someone else | They’ll find someone else |
Danger | 1 out of 10 | 9 out of 10 |
My doctor says | This is acting your age | Take Advil… |
Can I hack it? | %100 | Dunno |
Objectively | I should do this | Not this |
Subjectively | This is where my mind is | This is where my heart is |
Location | Literally protecting my home | Literally protecting my country |
Duration | Unknown | Unknown |
All other things being equal | NO | YES |
What my wife wants | Neither | |
What my wife allows | Either |
Now let’s play that game called: “Welcome to My Life!”
Don’t think about what Israel should do… Tell me what this Israeli should do.
My dear former-clients-now-friends: I have often opened up my innermost feelings and concerns with you. I have always done so to make life here more real. More visceral. So now I am repeating this theme, but in the extreme.
Remember, the goal of this blog was to share this war through my eyes and my life – hence the title “Josh’s War.”
In this blog’s comments (below), please tell me what I should do.
You are welcome to explain, but in the end, I will need a solid one-word vote for either “Locals” or “Phoenix.”
Thank you for your help!
In my next blog, I will update you as to which way I chose!