From trauma to tranquility: Israeli delegation finds respite in Pittsburgh
'Before I came here, I did not know how much love and care there was from the Jewish people in the world'
Since arriving in Pittsburgh on May 4, a delegation of Israelis has rested.
That’s the point, Point Breeze resident Sandy Zelekovitz said.
Seated in his landscaped yard beside his wife, Barbara, and the coffee-drinking clan, Zelekovitz told the Chronicle the seven-member group of wounded Israeli war veterans was given a specific message upon arriving in Pittsburgh: “You won’t go hungry, you won’t go thirsty.”
Such care is contingent on heeding a daily reminder, Zelekovitz said.
Each morning, he asks the group, “Did you smile, did you laugh and did you do a mitzvah?”
Hearing Zelekovitz recount the episode and reiterate the questions, the visitors chuckled.
As the Pittsburgher promised, for nearly two weeks, the group was feted and fed. Community members shared their homes and refrigerators. Educators from Community Day School and Hillel Academy of Pittsburgh welcomed the Israelis into their classrooms. New members and longstanding participants in the 412 Friends of Zahal project toasted the veterans following a May 10 Havdalah service and commemoration honoring 50 years of bringing wounded Israeli soldiers to Pittsburgh.
The annual relief effort, which was started by the late Sylvia Robinson, was spurred by an observation.
Robinson noticed that despite being only 5,000 strong, the Jewish community of Geneva, Switzerland, delivered calm to 30 wounded Israeli veterans.
There was no reason, she mentioned in a 1996 recording with the National Council of Jewish Women, that Pittsburgh — which at the time had nearly eight times as many Jews — couldn’t offer the same experience.
Since that pledge, Pittsburghers have continued opening their homes to wounded Israeli veterans. In recent years, the Zelekovitzes have led the charge, finding hosts for the delegates, partnering with Beit Halochem, the Zahal Disabled Veterans Organization, planning a suitable itinerary and ensuring the primary purpose — respite — is achieved.
Two weeks of pampering leaves an imprint, delegation members told the Chronicle.
“I came here mini, now I’m a bus,” Shlomi said while pointing to his stomach.
“Before I came here, I did not know how much love and care there was from the Jewish people in the world. But after being here, I feel like it’s my home and that Barbara and Sandy are like my second parents,” Lior said.
Delegation members’ surnames have been withheld for security purposes.
The group, which spanned more than 30 years in age, consisted of former IDF soldiers, current reservists and security personnel. Several of the individuals mentioned exposure to terrorist attacks and other traumatic incidents sustained in service; speaking with the Chronicle for nearly 90 minutes on May 15, the delegation opted to focus on alternative topics. In lieu of addressing politics or the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, the group stressed how meaningful it is to join a 50-year partnership between Pittsburghers and wounded Israeli soldiers.
When enlisting in the delegation, “I didn’t know what to expect,” Shai said.
The first thing he did — as did several other visitors — was Google “Pittsburgh” to learn about the area.
Having spent almost two weeks here, “it’s an amazing city with amazing people,” he said. “It’s hard for me to receive things from strangers. And I know it’s cliche, but people here have treated me like family from the start.”
Erez, who like most of the group had never before been to the U.S., said the experience reaffirmed his appreciation for bolstering Diaspora-Israel ties.
“This program is very important to saving the community’s relationship between Israel and the U.S. We need the American people,” he said.
A once impermeable bond between the two countries has shown fissures. Post-Oct. 7, 2023, polling shows partisan and generational divides.
“Americans’ sympathies with the Israelis continue to decline, largely because of Democrats’ dwindling support for the Israelis in the long-standing conflict with the Palestinians,” Gallup reported.
Within the same March 6 finding, Gallup noted less than half of all U.S. adults (46%), 18 and above, express support for Israel — marking the lowest percentage of support in 25 years.
Similarly, when asked to weigh sympathies by Pew Research Center last year, 14% of respondents ages 18-29 said they were more sympathetic to the Israeli people; 33% said they were more sympathetic to Palestinians.
In March, Brookings Institution reported young Americans differ from their elders when it comes to defining Israeli actions in Gaza since Oct. 7: Whereas 17% of interviewees under age 30 called the actions “genocide,” just 7% of those age 30 did so.
Sitting in the Zelekovitzes’ backyard, members of the delegation mentioned their children — some of whom belong to Generation Z, people born between 1997 and 2012. The visitors said they’re aware of shifting attitudes toward Israel, the U.S. and even interpersonal relations.
“It used to be that when you were a kid and you had your opinions about something, politics, anything, you would go and talk to someone about it. You’d see them face-to-face,” Avner said.
“You bring social media in and now, ‘You’re the devil. You’re the fascist right or you’re a Commie leftist.’”
Given the inability, or even reluctance, of people to physically be together and how easy it is to manipulate messaging “you can see how the divide happened,” he continued. “I lived through such a divide. I saw Brexit happen in front of my eyes and I couldn’t understand why.”
New apps emerge, but social media remains. “We need to learn how to work with it,” Avner said. “How to live with it.”
“It’s like post-traumatic stress disorder,” Shlomi interrupted. “We must live with that.”
The Israeli delegation left Pittsburgh on May 18. Three days earlier, before heading to lunch with several U.S. veterans, the Israelis told the Chronicle that after visiting Pittsburgh they were emboldened to return home.
Zelekovitz said he’s seen how two weeks of care can make a difference.
“We live under a flight path of helicopters,” he said.
The choppers transport patients to nearby hospitals, but on the first day the delegation was here one of the members mentioned how in Israel “everyone looks up because we know they’re coming from Gaza, we know they’re coming from Lebanon,” he said. “Today, when the helicopters flew over, no one looked up. Mission accomplished right?” PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
comments