Asher’s is the face that immediately popped into my mind when I heard a school bus from Sha’ar HaNegev High School was hit by an anti-tank missile last Thursday (April 7), critically wounding Daniel Viflic, a 16-year-old student. (Editor’s note: At press time, Daniel Viflic’s condition had worsened. He went into a coma and has been unresponsive, in spite of exhaustive medical care.)
I visited the high school, located about 3 miles from the Gaza strip, a little more than two weeks ago as part of a Jewish Federation mission for marketing directors. Admittedly, I was nervous about visiting Sha’ar HaNegev and neighboring Sderot. Especially since rockets had fired on the very same areas just the week before our arrival.
That said, even with its campus dotted with bomb shelters, and the knowledge that blue painted walls marked the fortified rooms created to withstand the rockets that almost daily bombarded the area two years ago, I soon forgot about anything but the people at Sha’ar HaNegev High School. There was Aharele Rothstein, the school principal, whose main focus is to teach the students not to hate — in spite of the fact that they spend much of their time on the receiving end of rocket fire. And, of course, Asher and his group of ninth-grade friends, who toured us around their campus.
As my small group’s tour guide, Asher told us about the high school and what made it so great. He also talked about the things he likes to do in his spare time: hang out with friends, play sports, and play his guitar — mostly rock music.
Like the rest of his classmates, Asher doesn’t have a political agenda. He wants the same things most other teens want: a chance to grow up and live a good life, and a chance to make his own mark on the world.
In fact, Asher reminds me of my 14-year-old nephew, Jared: Except Jared doesn’t have to worry about staying close to a bomb shelter when he’s hanging out with his friends. Nor does Jared have to use a laptop to do coursework, sequestered in a bomb shelter as rockets rain down on his school. (The laptops are provided by Jewish Federation’s partner agency, World ORT, and are made possible through donations to the Jewish Federation’s annual campaign.) The bomb shelters and armed guards that are a part of Asher’s daily school life are not something my nephew will ever experience.
Jewish Federation pride
I’ve spent the last three years on staff at the Jewish Federation describing what the organization does. I’ve told stories about how we are helping our fellow Jews in Kansas City recover from economic despair during the U.S. economic crisis. I’ve explained how we are providing elderly Jews in the Former Soviet Union with basic necessities such as food, shelter and medication.
And now, I’m proud to talk about another partner agency, Jewish Agency for Israel and its Fund for Victims of Terror: A fund supported by Jewish Federation dollars. This fund helps victims like Daniel Viflic during their physical recovery. It helps people like the bus driver, found hysterical at the scene of the attack; recover from the psychological trauma of seeing Daniel lying, unconscious, with severe head injuries. It helps the families learn how to cope with the damage inflicted on their loved ones.
I feel helpless as I worry about these Israeli children, thousands of miles away. But at least I proudly carry with me the knowledge that, in my small way, I am making a difference in their lives through my work at — and my annual gift to — the Jewish Federation.
Jane Blumenthal Martin is the director of strategic marketing for the Jewish Federation of Greater Kansas City. She and her husband, Joseph, have two children.