Helping Arad students pack boxes for IDF soldiers are (left to right) back row, Stanley Stone, Arlene Feller of Scotch Plains, Cantor Anna Berman and Marcy Lazar of Westfield (Photo by Isranet)

Jewish Federation of Central New Jersey executive director Stanley Stone has come to Israel many times, in days of war and days of peace, and has led several federation missions.

But for Stone, the federation solidarity mission that concluded last week -- which brought to Israel 30 Jews from Central New Jersey -- was special; it focused not on the land of Israel or its tourist attractions, but on spending time with its people.

Over six days, from Jan. 7 to 12, the group visited the Gilo neighborhood of Jerusalem, communities in the Gush Etzion region south of Jerusalem and Central New Jersey's Partnership 2000 sister city in the Negev, Arad. In each location, the group made a point of spending time with local residents in an effort to understand the current conflict from the Israelis' perspective.

"The goal of this solidarity mission was meeting people," Stone said on a break from the group's busy schedule. "We are making sure to connect with people and get different perspectives, especially from children, who are less protective of what they say and therefore more honest and open."

Both in Arad and Gush Etzion, group members met with 12th-grade students to hear about the difficulties of daily life in isolated locations, in light of the current wave of violence. They heard about how long it takes residents to get to school because some roads are no longer safe, and about the fears and hopes of these young people prior to their entering the Israeli Defense Forces.

Arad residents described how they are affected by the conflict because of their dependence on the tourism industry. The absence of tourists has resulted in severe economic hardship to the area as a result of the dearth of business at hotels and other facilities at the Dead Sea region. Residents are also coping with the fact that the economic boom that benefited the center of the country bypassed Arad and other Negev communities.

"Partnership 2000's objective was to create people-to-people connections that can only be made by sitting down and talking to them," Stone said. "So we made sure to stop touring and listen to the people in Arad. The connections that we made were very important and very real."

Stone was particularly impressed by the outpouring of emotion from Arad residents, who expressed a tremendous amount of gratitude to the mission participants for coming to Israel during a time of conflict.

"We are staying in a five-star hotel and I wouldn't exactly call this roughing it, but the people here perceive us as warriors," Stone said. "What we have done is a minimum. We are still going back home, but this trip crystallizes our closeness to Israel because now we can connect the country to faces."

It was the faces that will make the trip memorable for Marcy Lazar of Westfield, who is active in many federation projects and events.

"I had been in Arad before for ceremonies connected with Partnership 2000," said Lazar, "but this time had a different feel because of the interaction. The people here are what's important, and they are fighting for what's so important to Jews around the world. We just came to visit, but they are here, being brave for us."

Lazar said that by talking with different groups of people, she felt the intensity of both the conflict with the Palestinians and the conflict within Israeli society about how to proceed with the future of Israel's diplomatic policies and its relations with its neighbors.

"There's such a dichotomy within the population," she said. "There are people who want to hold firm and not give [the Palestinians] anything, and some who want to give, as long as they get back what is fair."

At the same time the mission was in Arad, thousands of Jewish students and young people from around the world were visiting Israel on the Birthright Israel program as were several other United Jewish Communities' missions from across America. UJC officials said the JFCNJ group was part of the largest solidarity mission since the conflict began last September.

El Al Israel Airlines, hotels and the federation worked together to make the mission as affordable as possible; mission cochairs Heidi Weinberg of Scotch Plains and Leonard Posnock of Clark, worked hard to make the trip a reality.

Subsidies were provided to students on the mission and to a group of participating rabbis and a cantor, whose affiliations cut across denominational lines.

Synagogue leaders on the trip included Rabbi Cary Friedman of Congregation Anshe Chesed, an Orthodox synagogue in Linden; Rabbi Gary Karlin of Temple Beth-El Mekor Chayim, a Conservative synagogue in Cranford; Rabbi Samuel Rosenberg of Elmora Hebrew Center, an Orthodox congregation in Elizabeth; Rabbi Shawn Zell of temple Beth O'r-Beth Torah, a Conservative synagogue in Clark; and Cantor Anna Berman of Temple Har Shalom, a Reform synagogue in Warren.

Stone said rabbis were included on the mission so they can better encourage their congregants to visit by demonstrating and communicating that Israel is safe. Friedman said he had already conveyed those messages many times in his sermons but that after coming to Israel, the messages will be more potent.

"I play a role in my congregation that is symbolic," Friedman said. "I have talked about coming to Israel in my shul a number of times, but it will have more power when I have just returned from here."

Friedman, who lived in Israel for five years, said his wife convinced him to be part of the mission, telling him, "If everyone is running away, now it's more important than ever to come and see for yourself what is really going on there."

The group, which was briefed on security issues by Col. (Res.) Shalom Harari, an expert on Palestinian affairs, toured southern Jerusalem and Nebi Samuel, observed the conflict area between Jerusalem and Ramle and visited a border-police base, where they met with personnel to discuss the hostilities.

David Olesker, a specialist in countering Arab anti-Israel propaganda, spoke to the group about practical techniques for identifying media bias against Israel. Psychologist Dr. Danny Brom addressed mission members on the impact of the situation on the collective and individual psyche in Israel.

To learn about the political situation, the group met with activists representing both the government and the opposition, including Hebrew University political analyst Dr. Reuven Hazan, Meretz Knesset member Naomi Chazan and Rabbi Michael Melchior, the government's minister in charge of Diaspora affairs.

On the group's final day in Israel, members volunteered at an IDF base, packing battle rations and medical equipment. The group had brought care packages for soldiers from Arad that were filled with items donated by businesses and individuals in central New Jersey.

Warren Eisenberg, owner of Bed, Bath and Beyond, donated towels to the soldiers, a local dentist donated 300 toothbrushes on a day's notice, and a sporting goods store supplied ski hats, heavy socks and shoe polish.

With support like that, Stone said, the mission showed the solidarity not only of its 30 members but of the entire federation region of central New Jersey.

With the people of Israel feeling that support, Stone said, the mission was a complete success.

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Shvat 5761 - February 2001