Day Two of my Sar El Adventure

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Today we got down to work and made great progress. We have 2,500 gas masks that need to be inspected to make sure they are functional and then cleaned and packaged. What makes it feel worthwhile is that there are actually a number of defective gas masks so weeding them out could be important, if they are actually used. I’m working with 4 other people one woman from Las Vegas and three from Manchester. What is really shocking is their description of the Antisemitism in the UK. There are community patrols that escort observant Jews to synagogue because people shout and them, threaten them with violence and occasionally beat people up. It is a different world for Jews as compared to the US.
We worked from 8 until 11:30 then broke for lunch and returned to work from 1 – 5. At mid-morning the base commander came to talk to us and thank us for coming.
The soldiers working in the warehouse for the most part are basically children, between 18 and 21. The officers and members of the Air Force are older and look and act like grownups.
Meals continue to be a pleasure. There is always a great selection of salads which makes me very happy.
Our evening program was led by the two leaders-in-training. First they explained the process by which young people are inducting into the IDF and placed in various units. One of the exercises they put the kids through is having them give a presentation with the officer evaluating them continually interrupting them. In another exercise they are put in front of a computer with shapes flashing and they need to hit a key whenever a red square appears. By the end of 10 minutes they are bleary eyed. I’m sure testing for young people who want to serve in a combat unit or intelligence face far more rigorous screening. After that, we were asked to match the various units with the color of beret they wear. Needless to say I was hopeless, but one of the other participants guided me to the correct answer. Basically, the “game” was an opportunity to explain what all the units actually do. We talked about the fact that “IDF” stands for the Israel Defense Force. The mission is to defend Israel not to act aggressively against other countries. I think that the choice of this name means something that is often ignored.
I took the opportunity give out the hats I knit. I must admit that the response wasn’t overly enthusiastic. Oh well, the hats weren’t that hard to make. You win some and lose some. Brutal honesty has always been a problem for me.
I’m about ready for bed now that we’ve hosted several guests who don’t have hot water. I’m hoping that by tomorrow I can adjust my shower so it I can opt from something other than extremely hot or scalding water.

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Photos

Participants from Poland and France
Peter from Poland was on his second Sar-El serviceJean from France was on his 19th Sar-El service

Our dorm
The trailer on the left

Our room
It looks nicer than it was, but based on what I expected it was the Four Seasons