LETTERS FROM ISRAEL

                                                                   

Letters From Israel by Nadene Goldfoot is a book I wrote using all the letters I wrote to my family from 1980 to the end of 1985.  It was published by 1st Books in 2003, 452 pages, now Authorhouse.  

What happens when two middle-aged American West Coast Jewish teachers decide to make aliyah to Israel with their German shepherd without having first vacationed there?  

When I started to read my letters that my mother had saved, I  cried.  She had saved them because they were so very interesting.   I put the letters back in the bag and stuck them away in my closet.  It was too painful to keep reading.  After a few months, I knew what I had to do:  write a book.

Read and find out what it was like to be in Israel during this period.  I was able to meet my illustrious cousin, Stanley Goldfoot, and hear his account of his life in Israel and what it was like to be the Chief of Intelligence for the Stern Group before Israel was created in 1948.  We were able to meet with my husband's illustrious cousin, also, the rabbi who had started Boys Town.

There was one book written earlier that was given to us to read when we were in the ulpan that told of a different family that had moved to Israel with their children.  Our story is quite different from theirs.

My husband and I and our German shepherd had made aliyah.  We were teachers in Oregon and went through classes in Haifa, where we lived for 10 months, to become certified teachers in Israel.  Danny was an actor from Miami, originally, so we started our own drama group and played in hotels across Israel with our shtick of a Laugh-In style act.   I wrote plays that we put on in Safed.  We were able to take in a lot of tourist attraction visits on weekends.  The most serious time was in being in the 1982 conflict with Lebanon, which was not too far from our home in Safed.

Going from conservative to orthodox in Safed and celebrating holidays like we had never celebrated before was our personal high experience.

The book is available to buy on http://www.amazon.com and other online bookstores.   

June 1982 War: First Hand Account: Why Israel Went Into Lebanon

Nadene Goldfoot
I, an American teacher from Oregon,  was  living in Safed, Israel  in the northern Galilee at the start of the Lebanon invasion.  My husband and I, with our German shepherd,  had moved to Safed after completing our education in the Ulpan in Haifa in 1980-1981, and then moved to Safed in August where I taught English in the junior high.

During Spring break one of the other students in my Ulpan class had visited Kiriat Shimona, which was north of Safed near the Lebanon border by the Good Neighbor Fence, and wound up the whole duration living in a bomb shelter along with others.  They were receiving so many attacks that they couldn't be out in the open.  On the way to Safed, we passed an apartment building where a rocket had fallen in its back yard just 2 weeks before.  That's when I started to get a little worried.

The PLO had made life in northern Israel intolerable by repeated shelling of Israeli towns a little closer than my city of Safed.  What I hadn't realized was that 15,000-18,000 PLO terrorists were camped out in many places in Lebanon.  5,000 to 6,000 were foreign mercenaries coming in from Libya, Iraq, India, Sri Lanka, Chad and Mozambique.  Our IDF had found enough light arms and other weapons to equip 5 brigades.  Their arsenal included mortars, Katyusha rockets and extensive anti-aircraft weapons.  They had brought in hundreds of T-34 tanks into the area.

Syria had permitted Lebanon to be a haven for the PLO and other terror groups.  They had brought surface-to-air missiles into Lebanon which created another danger for Israel.  Israel was being protected in part by Major Hadad of the Christian Militia whose soldiers patrolled the border.  He was a good friend.

Israel had struck and had commando raids but couldn't stop the growth of the PLO army and could not sit around and wait for more deadly attacks against defenseless citizens.  They had to act against the terrorists.

On June 15, 1982 I was on a bus going down to Haifa to the Rambam Hospital to check on my elbow.  I had fallen and crushed it and had broken the bone as well and it needed  to have the 7 screws taken out.  I noticed a lot of tanks going up the hill which I had never seen happen before, but couldn't get answers from the people on the bus due to my lack of speaking Hebrew well.   I got to the hospital and it was almost deserted which was very peculiar.  This place was usually as popular as a department store sale day. I found the doctor's office and saw all 3 doctors, one of which was from Michigan and looked just like Paul Newman,  who had done the operation.  They  told me they could not help me right now.  We were about to be in a war with Lebanon and they, being an army hospital, would be very busy setting a lot more bones.  I should go home immediately.  Maybe they could do the operation next summer.

I taught with Ned, an American teacher,  who lived in Carmiel, a more modern city nearby.  He was called up to serve in the army a week before at one o'clock in the morning and called me to tell me that he was home for the night and was okay.  Andy, the other English teacher was also home and okay.  Even our dog's vet was called up and was serving as a medic in the army in his period of milueem service.  With these other English teachers in the army, I wound up handling all the classes along with Margolite, the Russian "English" teacher with a very thick accent.  I had reported in at the school on my day off knowing that they would be needing me.  No one had to phone.  Anyway, I lived just across the street from the school.

Avram, who lived in Hatzor, had a birthday and while we were driving there we saw lots of IDF hitchhiking to get to their posts.  Everyone gave them lifts.  It was the patriotic thing to do.  Otherwise, I was at home baking cakes for soldiers who would grab a bite to eat with coffee at kiosks set up along the way.

At this point we had 170 men killed already.  Students in school were hysterical as they all had family members in the army.  Some of my 8th graders were used in the hospital to translate or just to help out, as we had the enemy in there as well and not all nurses or doctors could speak Arabic.  One of my students told me that they saw a lot of things that a 14 or 15 year old boy shouldn't have to see in the ward.  It was quite traumatic for him.

All we knew was that the PLO was finally run out and that it was time something had been done about it.  The UN had done nothing to help Israel while the North had lived in bomb shelters.  Everyone was very upset about the casualties on both sides, but even Lebanon was happy, especially Major Hadad, of the Christian Militia whose men had attacked the PLO.  Little did we know at the time just how they had done  which wasn't kosher.  I was glued to the radio for the short English reports we could hear and read every word in the Jerusalem Post, our English newspaper.  It finally came out that Sharon had allowed Hadad's men to take care of the PLO's, and they did so, as quietly as possible, most likely with knives in their tents.  Sharon received all the blame, being the General.

During the whole episode, the elevator in our building had broken down, and a soldier on leave blew our TV reception accidentally by cutting into a live wire, so we have problems just getting along.  It could have been much worse if our soldiers and Hadad's soldiers hadn't stopped the PLO, I now realize.

Resource: Myths and Facts, a concise record of the Arab-Israeli conflict by Mitchell G bard and Joel Himelfarb
Letters From Israel by Nadene Goldfoot

My visit to Nearby Samaria-1982

Above is a home in Kfar Saba.

Nadene Goldfoot

October 7, 1982

In 1980, my husband and I moved to Israel and went into a 10 month re-training program in Haifa with 40 other people who were all preparing to be English as Foreign Language Teachers. We were hired to teach in Safed "Tzfat" in the northern Galilee, a stone's throw from the Lebanon border. We were on Succot vacation and were able to take an ACI prepared trip to Samaria. ACI stands for Americans and Canadians in Israel. They were a g-dsend to us in helping out with all our problems of living in Israel. The following is from my book, "Letters From Israel.", pages 220-221.

We picked up two older ladies in Karmiel in our new red Fiat and drove into Haifa, and met the bus we were to take on the Carmel. (This was the same area that just recently suffered a horrible forest fire). We went to the West Bank, or Samaria to be more specific, and it was quite an eye opener for us. Ha, I had to get up at 5:00 am and went to bed at midnight because we had such good late night TV. I woke up sneezing, which was a surprise, and took an allergy pill, so fought sleep all day and night. It was so terrible. Yes, I do get that way once in a while and can't stop sneezing.

Anyway, what happened was that we drove on the highway from Haifa to Tel Aviv along the coast. It is a lovely drive, and turned left at Kvar Saba, went into that little teeny town and out of it, and we found ourselves in Samaria. I was so shocked! It's practically on the other side of the highway.

We stood at a plaque where Sharon and his men had fought not too recently and saw our highway and cars. It was unreal! We drove deeper into Samaria and saw Arabs, sheep, a little Arab town outside Kafar Saba, and in the distance Ramalla, which was a larger Arab city.

I saw lots of land that looked somewhat like Eastern Oregon, and finally came some twenty-five minutes later to a Jewish settlement where we had lunch in their succa. We brought our own sack lunches with us.

This settlement is made up of mainly Israelis and a few Americans who are very dedicated and Zionistic. One of their people is a non-Jew who is a Japanese man recently from Japan who has a paper factory there where he makes paper for computers. He goes to services, and once got all dressed up in his Japanese robes and proceeded to take movies of the Friday night services until he was asked to please stop.

They are building beautiful homes but no apartments there, and are almost ready to move in. The establishment is six years old. You know that house in Ontario on the corner with the red tile roof and wood sides? One house I saw looked like that one. The other houses had the same roof but were made of cement.

The point is this. The shape of Israel decided by the United Nations is really weird. They gave us the seacoast from Haifa to Tel Aviv, and that's it. The land adjacent to us is ancient Samaria and Judea. How dumb! We should have that land.

We continued from this place to the Roman ruins where King Ahab, a Jewish king, also lived and we walked all around. The weather was so warm and pleasant. I got a suntan from it. It was incredible to see all the stonework, columns, and amphitheater. Then we went back to Haifa and drove home. We had left Haifa at 8:15am and got back to Safed at 4:30pm with lots of time to rest and explore at the ruins. No wonder Begin didn't want to give up Samaria and Judea. Remember, it's within stone throwing distance of our highway. You just wouldn't believe how close it is to us. The problem is that they don't just throw stones at us anymore.

Chanukah Disaster

A raging fire in the northern forest of Carmel near the Druze village of Usfiya has killed 40 wardens trapped in a bus that was on a narrow mountain road. This must be Israel's first forest fire. It has been caused by heavy brush and heavy winds. Thousands of dunams (10,765 Sq. feet) have been destroyed.

The wardens were on their way to help evacuate 500 prisoners from the Damon Prison. The fire is so bad that Israel has had to ask friendly countries nearby such as Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Russia for help in the form of planes to help put out the fire and also to help in search and rescue.

Groups of people were in the forest for a day's outing. HaAretz tells a sad story of a stable with lots of horses being in the path of the fire. The police seemed unaware of the might of a forest fire and didn't give the evacuation notice for that area, not knowing which way the fire could progress. This is an event that Israelis are not accustomed to dealing with. Planting trees in Israel is a major yearly event with a holiday commemorating the planting.

I remember driving into the forest just outside of Safed, a city more northern than Haifa. The trees were smaller in stature and height than our Oregon trees, but were a welcome sight, nevertheless.

6:31pm: 12/2/10 Update: "Israel has been in the grip of a severe drought. Rains which normally come in November after the hot summer months failed to materialize this year. Israeli news outlets reported that the fire, aided by strong winds, has already burned at least 7,000 dunams (about 1,730 acres) of natural forest. The University of Haifa was evacuated as a precaution as were residents of western neighborhoods, two prisons and a psychiatric hospital and at least two nearby villages. " Israel Project.
9:15am 12/3/10 Arson is suspected, 2 arrested. 7,500 acres burnt, 8 foreign planes, 3 helicopters, 3 firetrucks and 150 foreign firefighters have arrived and are being used. 17,000 evacuated.
9:51am The IDF sent soldiers and equipment, including helicopters, bulldozers, medics and army units to combat the blaze. More help came from Greece, Bulgaria which sent 100 firefighters, Spain, Azerbaijan, Romania Russia, Cyprus, France and Britain. The United States also offered aid. Israel is better known for sending its own rescue teams and medical personnel to other countries to help in their disaster-relief efforts. The Israel Project.
3:09pm Firefighting authorities are putting their hopes on a Russian aircraft that landed in Israel on Friday evening and will go into action on Saturday. The plane is capable of holding up to 42,000 liters of water. The United States is sending a three-person Forest Service team experienced in aerial firefighting to Israel NPR
Brigadier General Ahmad Ar-Riziq told Ma'an that Palestinian firefighters were able to help control the fire which has spread to Palestinian villages At-Tayba and Barta'a west of Jenin. maannews.net

12/7/10: Now that the fire is out, we find that 24 countries sent aid to Israel. Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Spain, Switzerland, USA, UK, Croatia, France, Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, Palestinians, and others helped save the country. 200 international firefighters were there for Israel. 10 of them were from the USA. 92 of the firefighters were from Bulgaria. This fire caused 42 deaths and 5 million trees to be destroyed. THANK YOU ALL SO VERY VERY MUCH.

Reference: Victor Sharpe
http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=197741&R=R1

http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?ID=197730&R=R1



http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/haifa-mayor-says-flames-spread-on-a-scale-we-ve-never-seen-1.328425
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704377004575650683263451418.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLTopStories
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/140968
Arutz Sheva: Fire or Massacre? Israeli media downplays arson suspicion by Gil Ronen
http://www.haaretz.com/news/national/as-massive-blaze-devastates-north-two-men-arrested-on-suspicion-of-starting-fires-1.328668
http://www.theisraelproject.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=hsJPK0PIJpH&b=689705&ct=8961635

Judea and Samaria, 1982

October 7, 1982, Twenty-Eight Years Ago in Judea and Samaria

Excerpt from my book, "Letters From Israel" page 221-222

We went on the ACI (Americans and Canadians in Israel) trip the day after we spoke to you (my mother and daughter) and picked up two older ladies in Karmiel, drove into Haifa, and met the bus on the Carmel. We went to the West Bank, or Samaria. to be more specific, and it was quite an eye opener for us. Ha, I had to get up at 5:00am and went to bed at midnight because we had such good late TV. I woke up sneezing, which was a surprise, and took an allergy pill, so fought sleep all day and night. It was so terrible. Yes, I do get that way once in a while and can't stop sneezing.

Anyway, what happened was that we drove on the highway from Haifa to Tel Aviv along the coast. It is a lovely drive, and turned left at Kvar Saba, went into that teeny town and out of it, and we found ourselves in Samaria. I was so shocked. It's practically on the other side of the highway. We stood at a plaque where Sharon and his men had fought not too recently and saw our highway and cars. It was unreal! We drove deeper into Samaria and saw Arabs, sheep, a little Arab town outside Kafar Saba, and in the distance Ramalla, which was a larger Arab city. I saw lots of land that looked somewhat like Eastern Oregon, and finally came some twenty-five minutes later to a Jewish settlement where we had lunch in their succa. We brought our own sack lunches with us. This settlement is made up of mainly Israelis and a few Americans who are very dedicated and Zionistic. One of their people is a non-Jew who is a Japanese man recently from Japan who has a paper factory there where he makes paper for computers. He goes to services, and once got all dressed up in his Japanese robes and proceeded to take movies of the Friday night services until he was asked to please stop.

They are building beautiful homes but no apartments there, and are almost ready to move in. The establishment is six years old. You know that house in Ontario on the corner with the red tile roof and wood sides? One house I saw looked like that one. The other houses had the same roof but were made of cement.

Anyway, the point is this. The shape of Israel decided by the United Nations is really weird. They gave us the seacoast from Haifa to Tel Aviv, and that's it. The land adjacent to us is ancient Samaria and Judea. How dumb! We should have that land.

Resource: Letters From Israel by Nadene Goldfoot copyright 2003; found in Ontario, Oregon Library and amazon.com

Haifa's New ER at Rambam Hospital and Chemical Warfare

Providing Protection from Chemical Warfare

Nadene Goldfoot
In 1981 I fell down and broke my elbow after studying Hebrew all day and night for a big three hour long test that would seal my fate as to becoming an English teacher in Israel. I was taken to the Rambam Hospital in Haifa, where I was attending an ulpan. When I left the hospital, I took the test with a huge cast on my arm and even though I was running a fever, passed.

In the summer of 2006 the hospital was one of hundreds of civilian targets that were under fire by the terrorists in the 2nd Lebanon War.

Today they dedicated a new $14 million emergency facility that provides protection from missiles and chemical weapons that may be in Hizbullah's possession. The new emergency room includes a secure underground hospital for 1,730 patients, a children's hospital and facilities for cancer care and for cardiac treatment, and a tower for clinical research. when completed this ER will be more than three times larger than the previous facility. It will cover 3/4 of an acre with the ability to treat 650 patients at the same time. Prof. Rafi Beyar is the Rambam Health Care Campus Director.

The government provided 1/4 of the construction costs. Private donors and organizations provided the rest.

Reference: http://www.israelnationalnews.com/SendMail.aspx?print=print&type-0&item=134086 arutz sheva IsraelNationalNews.com