Alan – July 25

— An encounter with Israelis at a pre-military camp.
— Arab attacks & Israel responds by “blasting” Syrian forts.
— UN jeeps rush in to prevent altercation between Israel & Arabs
— The boys & girls in army makes you “real proud you are a Jew”.

Young Israelis, 15 & 16 years old at the Gadna pre-army training camp.

July 25, 1957 Thursday
Dear Alan,

Today I wish you were here with me. I am having a great time. I’ve seen the Negev, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.

I’ll tell you one thing. The Israel soldiers are real tough. I was at a pre-army camp for boys 15 & 16 and every one of them was able to beat me up. That was bad, but when the girls could do it also, I felt bad.

The Arabs started up last week & the whole Syrian Forts along Lake Huleh were blasted. You see loads of captured Egyptian guns. If the Arabs started now, I pity them. They would be massacred.

I went swimming in the Dead Sea & went for a walk near the old city of Jerusalem. About that time some Jews went to get something in Arab Jordan. The Arabs picked up guns but when Israeli armored cars approached, you saw U.N. Jeeps rushing from Arab territory.

Next week I am going to live on a Kibbutz but not near the border.

I’ll tell you one thing: When you see Israel & the boys & girls of the army you can be real proud you are a Jew. Don’t worry – they could lick all the Arabs together easy.

Your brother & Pal Bob
P.S. It was great the first time I dovened in ירושלים עיר הקודש
שבת טוב אני מדבר פה רק עברית

Comments:

July 25, 1957 Thursday

“I wish you were here with me”.
My father expressed a few times how much he would have liked his family to come along. In his first letter to his parents, while still on the plane, he wrote: “Alan even if I tried, I couldn’t smuggle you on the plane. Every last seat is taken.” He also expressed in that letter, “with Gods help, we will all be able to take the trip together someday”

“I’ve seen the Negev, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I went swimming in the Dead Sea & went for a walk near the old city of Jerusalem.”
My father has always been Israel’s greatest tour promoter. Here he is already telling his younger brother how there are so many great places to visit.

“When you see Israel, and the boys and girls of the army, you can be real proud you are a Jew.”
His visit to Israel was just one year following the Sinai Campaign of 1956 when Israel captured the entire Sinai and IDF was starting to show its prowess.

“תירבע קר הפ רבדמ ינא” (I speak only Hebrew here)
My father signed off with a few words in Hebrew as a way of practicing to converse in Hebrew with his younger brother. Both of them had learned Hebrew when attending Yeshiva of Flatbush in Brooklyn, so it wasn’t totally new to them.