Some thoughts from a weekly volunteer responding to the call of our brave soldiers
By Adrian Wolff
Introduction
In the face of challenging times, Israelis take up the challenge – including ordinary civilians of all ages. Many are volunteering to assist in the war effort by making the lives of our soldiers – most of them reservists – a little easier, such as delivering much-welcome hot homemade meals to army bases in the severest war zones.
One such volunteer is Adrian Wolff, who each Friday, delivers multiple parcels of home cooked food to multiple military basis either in the north or south.
For Adrian it all starts early every Friday morning in Ramat Hasharon in the center of the country where he resides and where the food depot is located.
In the light of the heart-wrenching horror saga of the Bibas family of kibbutz Nir Oz, his earlier visit to this kibbutz, was all the more gut-wrenching.
Below is Adrian’s story.
David E. Kaplan Lay of the Land Editor
No Jews live in Gaza and have not since Israel’s withdrawal in 2005 that involved unilaterally dismantling all 21 Jewish settlements.
On the Jewish festivity of Simchat Torah on 7 October 2023, 4, 300 rockets were fired toward Israel, as over 5500 Hamas terrorists invaded the Israeli communities that surround the border. Simchat Torah marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of Torah reading and the beginning of a new cycle. On this occasion it most certainly demarcated the end and the beginning of a new cycle in the turbulent history of our people, much of it still uncertain of where it will lead.
Over 3,000 young people from all across the world attended the Nova festival at Reim, where 347 were murdered at the site, many of the young women, raped. By day’s end, 1320 were killed, including 257 security forces. There were 251 hostages taken into Gaza of which 59 still remain, some of whom – at least 35, probably more – are dead.
To date, 1,004 civilians and 846 soldiers have been killed, with approximately 10,300 Israeli civilians and 15,000 soldiers wounded.
The entire Israeli Military and political echelons were caught napping. While IDF recovered quickly and within 36 hours successfully removed all of the 4000 Hamas terrorists from Israeli territory, the Israeli government failed to function effectively except for the Ministry of Health. Compounding the state paralysis particularly in so far as facilitating mobility, public transport was unavailable for soldiers to travel to and from their units because the attack was launched on the Sabbath.
It was the Israeli population who immediately opened many ‘Volunteer Centers’ all over the country to provide clothing for the displaced population and prepare meals which were brought to various army units. Nearly half of Israelis took part in volunteering activities at the start of the war and this participation spanned across all segments of Israeli society.
I cannot remember how I became involved in November 2023, when I volunteered to join the Ramat Hasharon delivery of home-made meals to army units in the south and latter to include those units stationed in the north.
My motor car is too small to deliver 300 – 400+ meals, and quickly contacted friends who have larger SUV’s.
The ‘Volunteer center’ explains to the various volunteer house-holds in Ramat Hasharon what meals/foods are required – schnitzels, meatballs, pastas, cooked vegetables, salads, dry-cakes, Challah etc.
These meals are delivered early on Friday morning to the center, where they are divided into portions, placed in boxes and labeled.
I arrive at about 09.00. We fold down the rear backrests, load the cars with volunteers from a local high schooland off we go. All very efficient and professional. We DO NOT enter Gaza, but meet a representative of the unit at a point close to the border.
I am given a few sheets of data – the name of the unit, contact person and location. It is essential to have a driver and navigator. Once leaving I look at WAZE to learn of our expected arrival time and connect with the unit to let them know we are ‘on our way’. About 15 minutes before arriving, I will call again to update arrival time, as often the unit has to send a vehicle from inside Gaza to meet us. The location point can become difficult as WAZE and Google Maps often does not operate in the border areas. I always bring maps to assist us in finding the basic area/location.
The satisfaction I get from these deliveries is the warmth and appreciation I receive each time. Not that the army is short of food, but the home-made, not industrial meals, are most welcome for Shabbat which improves their morale, and for them to know the civilian sector is thinking of them.
I am always taken in by the quality and maturity of the soldiers, be they conscripts, reservist or officers, male or female. I frequently reflect how better equipped they are for the future than the ‘woke’ crowd we see protesting against Israel in foreign universities.
Sadly, I sometimes read in the newspaper during the week that IDF soldiers participating in the units I delivered food to have been killed and/or wounded. That is hard-hitting.
I have delivered home-made meals to an additional reserve army unit stationed Nir Oz. A few months ago, when I delivered meals to soldiers at Nir Oz, a local woman resident in her forties approached me and offered to show me around. I understood she wanted to talk to some-one. She took me to her mother’s home which was completely burnt out. She showed me the shelter in the home, which did not have an inside lock as it had been constructed to safe-guard against incoming rockets from Gaza not terrorists on the ground. How totally unprepared they were for this eventuality!
Her mother stood no chance.
The terrorists threw hand grenades into the shelter. Only bits of her mother’s body were found.
Body parts, burnt out homes and overturned, wrecked tricycles. Images seen; never to be unseen. How does one process this?
Until next Friday and back to food deliveries…
About the writer:
An economics graduate of the University of Cape Town (UCT), Adrian Wolff transitioned from a lifetime in the commercial world to becoming a qualified Israeli Tourist Guide and is the author of ‘ISRAEL A CHRONOLGY – from Biblical to Modern Times’ available through Steimatzky, Amazon, Israel Museum, B-G Airport, Yad Vashem and ANU Museum. Rising to the rank of major in the IDF, Wolff is a member of The Israel Military History Society.
While Israel is presently at war, every Friday, he delivers home-made meals donated by Ramat Hasharon families to army units alternating between the north and Gaza areas.
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