Grandma's army

The IDF is commonly seen as one of the most powerful armies in the world due to the fact that there is a compulsory obligation to serve. However, it is actually the Reserves – “ miluim”,   in Hebrew, that is the largest and main force in the army.  With yearly training and drills, the IDF’s miluim are prepared and ready for any emergency/war that might spring up around Israel’s borders.  All men, up to the age of 40, (excluding men who served as officers and served until the age of 45) who served in the regular service, regardless of time served, are obliged to turn up for miluim .   Quite a few volunteer to carry on serving until older. Women who were either combat soldiers, officers, or served in other specific jobs in their regular service also serve in  miluim .  All other women who served in the army can do  miluim  voluntarily. The average amount of time one spends in  miluim  each year is between 20-30 days....

This week is almost the culmination of the “most Israeli time of year” – we still  have “Jerusalem Day” and Shavuot on the horizon. Coming after the festival of Passover - a particular Israeli phenomenon is the sudden transition from Remembrance Day, dedicated to our fallen soldiers, to Independence Day. From a day of national bereavement to the very next day - the celebrations of the Day of Independence. This year it will be the 70 th anniversary of the State of Israel. Almost every family in Israel knows personally a fallen soldier or victim of terrorism. There are a number of soldiers, however, who transcended the personal and became national symbols of heroism. One in particular stands out. Major Ro’i Klein , deputy commander of the prestigious Golani Brigade, was killed during fighting with Hizbullah guerrillas in the Lebanese war in  July, 2006.The battalion commander, Lt. Col. Yaniv Asor led Company A and Ro’i Klein, his deputy, took charge of Company C...

            When I was young, I vaguely understood that my mother’s parents came from Romania, but it meant nothing to me. In those days nobody asked questions and I never even knew my grandmother, as she died at a comparatively young age. My grandfather remarried, and we had very little to do with them. It was only when there was nobody of my generation left  to  ask that I   began to feel   the urge to find out something about my ancestry I therefore decided to spend the Passover holidays in Romania, with the faint possibility that I could discover some family background.   I enjoyed the holiday, as Romania is a beautiful country, but I still can’t go back more than two generations into my family history. Which is more than countless other Jews Today is Holocaust Day. As a result of the Holocaust,   the question of identity became a very painful issue for hundreds of Jews.   Lea...