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June 1, 2007
One soldier's journey
Moving from Vancouver to Israel and back again.
FREEMAN PORITZ
It all happened so fast. On the morning of April 29, I threw on
my olive green military dress uniform with my sergeant chevrons
neatly sewed onto my upper sleeves and laced my neatly polished
black army boots for the last time as I travelled the familiar route
to the Tel Ha-Shomer base just outside Tel-Aviv.
Tel Ha-Shomer is the last stop in any Israeli soldier's army service.
After several long years in the Israel Defence Forces, most soldiers
await their release date with eager anticipation. Along with returning
all the gear they've accumulated in the army and being welcomed
into the "real world" of civilian life, most soldiers
opt for the 20 shekel (about $6 CDN) Double Whopper Combo at the
kosher Burger King located on base – a special discount for
discharged soldiers.
Having watched numerous soldiers enjoy their release from military
life, now it was finally my turn. As I boarded the bus from my usual
North Tel-Aviv stop, images of the past two-and-a-half years played
over and over in my head: the intense, sometimes relentless training
as an infantry soldier in the Golani Brigade, constant travelling
around the country by public and private transportation, the disengagement
from the Gaza Strip in the summer and fall of 2005, the endless
movement from one base to another throughout Israel, the 2006 war
in Lebanon and all of my different jobs in the IDF's foreign relations
branch - from military travel agent to army translator.
I arrived at Tel Ha-Shomer as a soldier and, within an hour, I left
as a civilian with my official release documents in hand and a new
feeling of mystery and anticipation - a cautious optimism as I headed
into the unknown. It was the excited uncertainty that affects anyone
who leaves a job or school to start a new stage in life.
After exploring Zionism in Israel for three years, I decided to
return to Vancouver to sort myself out. I reflected on my early
Israel days. In 2004, as a fresh-faced 19-year-old living on Kibbutz
Degania Bet (the same kibbutz block where both Moshe Dayan and Levi
Eshkol lived), I used to wake up before six every morning to run
miles on the nearby kibbutz lands and then swim in Lake Kinneret.
I remembered struggling through Hebrew exam after Hebrew exam, trying
to throw off my English speaker's accent and sound more like a native-born
Israeli. I recollected on my induction into the IDF and the many
challenges I had to overcome throughout my service. And then, on
May 14, after a two week sojourn in Europe, I returned to the city
that I had left three years before.
The reverse culture shock of returning to Vancouver has already
been overwhelming, but slowly and surely I am coming to terms with
it. As an American-Israeli friend of mine wrote me: "How is
the unholy land treating you? Have you gone into utter shock, exposed
to such things as a demilitarized general population, functioning
banks and customer service?"
Once again, I realized what great Jewish life there is here, as
I sat down at Sabras the other day for a shwarma with some friends.
"I mean," I exclaimed to them, "there are four synagogues
and the JCC on Oak Street alone! It's not Israel, but it's also
home."
Jewish identity in western democratic societies and the future of
Zionism are only some of the important questions on my mind as I
return to the routine wear and tear of civilian life in Vancouver.
It's good to be out of uniform.
Freeman Poritz grew up in Vancouver. He lived in Israel
for three years and served in the IDF. He will be a contributing
writer to the Jewish Independent for the summer.
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