Everyone wearing creative masks after a volunteer session through Friends of Israel.

As I sat on the El Al flight to Israel last summer, snacking on kosher plane food and watching Sweet Home Alabama with Hebrew-language dubbing, I began to wonder what my summer had in store for me. Sure, I would revisit all of the important tourist sites like the Western Wall and the Dead Sea, but I wondered how I might forge a more personal connection.

Having visited and experienced Israel before, I felt that maybe there was something I could do to help the country. I wanted to dedicate my time to a cause. But to which one? Recognizing that there were so many worthwhile projects and organizations throughout the country, I considered what would be the most meaningful use of my time. After much deliberation, I decided I would devote myself to not one, but two, different organizations. 

My first experience was with an organization called Friends of Israel. I took the bus early one morning from my residence in Jerusalem all the way down to Nitzanim, the town in which many of the evacuees from Gush Katif have been relocated. Although the town had originally been constructed as a temporary residence for the evacuees—8,000 people who were forced to leave the Israeli settlements in the Gaza Strip as part of Israel’s disengagement plan—it has become more permanent than anyone could have expected because of financial issues.

The houses are all constructed identically—they are small and painted a light tint of orange. The children go to school, but with few supplies. The resources of the school are minimal, out-of-date and of poor quality. That’s where the Friends of Israel organization comes in. They supplied me and a few other volunteers with arts and crafts materials, which we brought to several kindergarten classes throughout the neighborhood. We painted, sang and played with the endearing 5- and 6-year olds, offering them entertainment and attention they would rarely normally receive. Leaving each classroom was both fulfilling and sad, knowing that we had brightened the children’s day but that the following day might be dim again.  

The second organization I volunteered with is called Atzum. Atzum works to help Israel’s victims of terror—innocent people whose lives or those of loved ones were destroyed by a mere trip on a bus or lunch at a café. Many of these victims now live in run-down apartments with hardly any money, because they or their family members are either mentally or physically unfit to obtain a job. Even those family members who were not physically affected by an attack suffer emotionally due to their sibling’s or parent’s trauma. Atzum partnered me with such a victim—a little girl named Reena. 

Reena was 6 years old, and her 15-year-old brother was severely injured in a terrorist attack. Her father moved out of the house when she was a baby, so her mother is forced to devote all of her time either to her son or her job. As I walked up the rickety steps to their apartment on the top floor, I was a bit nervous that I wouldn’t be able to communicate well enough with Reena, since she only spoke Hebrew. But once I met her, my worries quickly melted away. With my broken Hebrew and her little bit of English, we were able to communicate almost effortlessly. I brought over some markers, glitter and colored paper to do an art project with her, and when she saw all the material, a big smile danced across her face. We finished the project and I gathered my things to leave, but Reena grabbed my arm, telling me that I left all the art materials behind. When I told her they were for her to keep, her smile grew even bigger and she hugged me with all her strength.

Just as when I left the classrooms in Nitzanim, I left Reena’s home feeling incredibly fulfilled, having created an exciting afternoon for a little girl in need of attention, but sad that I couldn’t be there for her the next day. Each of these experiences affirmed for me how important and how meaningful it is to reach out and help those in need when traveling to Israel. Helping to make someone’s life a little bit better not only brought me a profound sense of personal gratification, but it connected me on a very personal level to the real people of this country that we so often call “home.” 

Shira Papir is a student at the Hillel Community Day School in Miami, Fla. In her spare time (which is not often!), she enjoys reading, playing tennis and acting. She is an avid JVibe advocate and is very happy to be a part of the JTab.