National pride a key takeaway from Israel mission

Imagine for a moment that you had served in the military, and that your mother and father served before you, and that your sister and brother and son and daughter are now serving.  Further imagine that all of you didn’t just serve in a time of peace, but that you served during a time of great national conflict with battles waged, not overseas, but in the backyard of your own country.  

Consider your friends and fellow service members who have been injured in those battles and those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. How would that reality affect you? For many, I think it would have a profound effect, especially since many Americans currently do not have direct ties to those in our active military forces.  What an interesting dinner table conversation it would make to hear the family stories of service to, and sacrifice for, the country.  

I think a reality like this would heighten one’s interest in the national conflict and the prospects for peace. Coupled with that interest may be one’s deep passion for the cause for which so much sacrifice has been required. Above all, with such a tradition of close personal connection to military service, I think that many would have and exhibit great national pride. These observations represented my own reality during our weeklong Jewish Alliance mission trip to Israel in November 2015.

From a religious, cultural and historical perspective, this trip was thoroughly rewarding and life-changing. It offered so many positive and thought-provoking experiences; interacting with the diverse people of Israel was no exception. Not since the days following 9-11, when I recall seeing so many American flags draped from homes and car windows, have I perceived a level of national pride that is present in the people of Israel.  

I recall an Ethiopian Jew working at the Yemin Orde village for at-risk and immigrant youth, who told our group that she did not truly feel like an Israeli until she served in the country’s military. This remarkable woman made an incredibly long and courageous trek from Ethiopia to Israel years ago, but it was not until she put on the uniform of her nation that she felt truly at home. I recall the steady presence of Israeli Defense Forces Reserve Col. Kobi Merom – no doubt courageous and hardened by his years of service to his country – as he delivered his presentation to our group in the Golan Heights despite the sound of al-Qaida gunfire in the Syrian distance over his shoulder. 

People in Israel are not just geographically close to the ongoing Middle East conflict; they are noticeably emotionally close to it. Regardless of their military service, they live through that conflict with great national pride. With required national military service for most though, they don’t just live through the conflict, they train, fight and sacrifice against it, as do many of their beloved friends and family.  Although in no way have I endured the sacrifices of the Israeli Defense Forces, I did serve as a Naval officer.  The Navy’s core values of honor, courage and commitment, although always important to me, may have been just a little more vivid when I was on active duty. Similarly, in Israel, I truly sensed national pride as a key part of that country’s fabric. It was vivid and very real, and a lasting and positive impression from our amazing mission trip to that great country.   

JAMES SANZI is vice president of development at the Rhode Island Foundation. The Alliance-sponsored  Interfaith Leadership Mission to Israel took place in November 2015.