By Jeff Lipton
I was inside a convenience store and when we heard the news on TV. Everyone froze together, all the employees and everyone in the place simultaneously froze, said Rabbi Wolowik of the Tuesday, Aug. 19 suicide bomber attack on the bus, which was carrying mostly ultra-Orthodox Jews on the way back from the Western Wall.
Our reaction was one of horror and shock, he said. It's different when you watch it on the news here [in the U.S.] and you live with it in Israel. The average person in Israel will not drive alongside a bus because they are afraid of a bomber.
Wolowik was among more than 100 people on a solidarity mission to Israel organized by five different Chabad centers from across the U.S. The solidarity mission ran from Monday, Aug. 11, to Thursday, Aug. 21. A group of 10 residents went from the Five Towns and were joined by members of the Chabad in Connecticut, New Mexico, Virginia and California. The Chabad Center of the Five Towns is based at 74 Maple Avenue in Cedarhurst.
One newlywed couple from the Five Towns decided to forego their trip to Bermuda and instead went along on the solidarity mission, because they felt it was more important to show support for the Jewish State in these times, the rabbi said.
They told me they could go anywhere for their honeymoon, but there is nothing more important than showing support for Israel, Wolowik said.
The intent of the mission was to show financial and moral support to Israel, which included shopping in its stores. Israel has been hurt financially by the non-stop violence, which has taken a heavy toll on the country's tourism trade.
Although Israelis hold out little hope for peace, their mood is very uplifting, said Wolowik. They try to live life as normal as they can. They think any talk of peace from the Palestinian leadership is just lip service. People in Israel don't see it happening. Time after time, there is no one they can trust.
Wolowik said security remains tight all over Israel and no one can get into the market places without being thoroughly searched.
More customers could be seen in the marketplace nowadays, Wolowik said. Ben Yehuda, a marketplace, entertainment center and popular night spot in Jerusalem which was empty last year but was packed this summer, has still not quite seen the numbers of patrons of several years ago.
People are overcoming their fears, the rabbi said. It was unbelievable. We are seeing a turnaround.
The members of Chabad also visited with victims of terror and their families, went to an army base in Hebron and spent some time with settlers in a kibbutz.
One settler they met in Hebron showed the group a stray bullet that went through a window of his house. The settler said he could not find the bullet until months later when he was cleaning in preparation for Passover and found the bullet stuck in a book.
We had an unbelievable time in the Old City of Jerusalem, Wolowik said. Tourism is down, but thank God it is better than last year.
The Chabad is planning a return trip in January.
