Salute to Veterans
Supplement to Jewish News November 7, 2016
DESIGN ENHANCEMENTS LIGHTING OUTDOOR LIVING MAINTENANCE
Veterans Published 22 times a year by United Jewish Federation of Tidewater.
Dear Readers,
V
eterans come in all sizes, ages and genders—and today, with myriad accents and hairstyles.
The three local veterans highlighted in this section prove the point. Jim Eilberg, for example, retired as a Captain from the U.S. Navy in 1988 after 31 years of service. He recalls his ship’s (USS Blandy) participation in the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. His story is one of ingenuity. You’ll see what I mean when you read it on page 16. Jason Capossere, director of security and safety at the Reba and Sam Sandler
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Family Campus, served 20 years in the United States Navy. Now, in addition to keeping the Campus safe, he spends his spare time creating flags—both
Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community 5000 Corporate Woods Drive, Suite 200 Virginia Beach, Virginia 23462-4370 voice 757.965.6100 • fax 757.965.6102 email news@ujft.org Terri Denison, Editor Germaine Clair, Art Director Hal Sacks, Book Review Editor Sandy Goldberg, Account Executive Mark Hecht, Account Executive Marilyn Cerase, Subscription Manager Reba Karp, Editor Emeritus Sherri Wisoff, Proofreader Jay Klebanoff, President Alvin Wall, Treasurer Stephanie Calliott, Secretary Harry Graber, Executive Vice-President www.jewishVA.org The appearance of advertising in the Jewish News does not constitute a kashrut, political, product or service endorsement. The articles and letters appearing herein are not necessarily the opinion of this newspaper.
American and Israeli. His story is on
All are invited to
The 7th Annual VETERANS DAY SERVICE on the Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus of the Tidewater Jewish Community
Friday, November 11, 2016 9:30 A.M. 5000 Corporate Woods Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23462
We hope you will join us to honor those who have served our country, and continue to serve, with true dedication and bravery. Brunch will be served.
page 15.
© 2016 Jewish News. All rights reserved.
Naty Horev is a different kind of veteran. An Israeli, she served her time in the IDF and now is the cultural arts specialist for the Simon Family JCC. Her
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story is on page 18. On Friday, Nov. 11—as we should every single day—we salute these and the countless women and men who have helped keep our world safe. Consider starting your day at Tidewater Jewish Foundation’s annual Veteran’s Day
About the cover: photograph of Jason Capossere by Laine M. Rutherford QR code generated on http://qrcode.littleidiot.be
Service. The event is always meaningful. For details, see page 26. We owe a great deal of gratitude to those who served, as well as to their families for their own sacrifices and support. Thank you.
RSVP to Ann Swindell at aswindell@ujft.org or (757) 965-6106 by Friday, November 4th.
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Campus security director creates patriotic art from discarded wood Sales benefit area youths living in shelters
J
ason Capossere brings an impressive list of resources and skills to his position as Reba and Sam Sandler Family Campus director of security and safety. He’s a veteran of the United States Navy, where he spent 20 years aboard five different ships, deployed 14 times, worked with the base police and served as an anti-terrorism officer before retiring as a First Class Petty Officer. He’s well educated, having used his G.I. bill to earn four different degrees including science, criminal justice, energy management and Homeland security. He’s developed networking and planning savvy, which have made the community safer, and since beginning work at the Campus in 2008, he’s established strong relationships with area emergency and public safety departments throughout H a m p t o n R o a d s . Through his initiatives, he’s helped the Campus, area Jewish organizations, and synagogues receive more than $150,000 in grants to improve their security set-ups. Now, Capossere is sharing another of his skills with members of the Tidewater Jewish and greater communities—a skill newly honed this year. He’s become an artistic craftsman, creating one-of-a-kind pieces of rustic home décor—specifically, painted wooden flags made from upcycled wood pallets.
action: he’d try his hand at creating an Israeli flag version also, and if he did get any orders for his handiwork, he’d make them and contribute the proceeds to Seton House Youth Shelters— an organization for which he’s volunteered since his days in the Navy. “When I got out, I didn’t want to stop helping and just leave them hanging, “ he says. “They had their federal funding cut by 70 percent this year, and they can really use the contributions—they help thousands of kids every year who don’t have a safe place to live.” Capossere’s goal is to raise $2,500 for the nonprofit. In addition to the cash donation, he’ll use some of the flag proceeds to supplement the Christmas gifts project he leads every year, and treat the kids to dinner and a movie. “It feels good to fill a void. Especially when you’re used to getting up and serving your country every day— and these kids need our help.” Capossere’s flags take a minimum of three days to make and can be hung indoors or out. They come in three different sizes and range in price from $20 to $50; more if customization is requested. He will have pieces on display and for sale at the Leon Family Art Gallery on the second floor of the Simon Family JCC this December. For more information and to see more flags, visit www. facebook.com/Seton-Youth-Shelter-Elves. photography by Laine M. Rutherford
Laine M. Rutherford
Jason Capossere
“I saw one of these flags and wanted one for myself, but they were too expensive,” says Capossere. “I thought maybe I could build one from the pallets we have here at the building— that we normally just throw away—and I started from there.” The first ones, he says with a grin, weren’t that good. There was a lot of trial and error fitting the wood together, finding the right kind of paint and technique, and coming up with a design he liked. Last spring, Capossere felt confident he’d achieved the look he wanted. He mounted one of his wooden American flag pieces on the wall of the security booth at the entry to the Simon Family JCC. Enquiries came in from patrons interested in purchasing a flag of their own—which had never been his intent. However, the attention the flag got spurred him to
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V e t e r an s First Person
Something funny happened on the way to the Cuban Missile Crisis Jim Eilberg, CAPT, SC, USNR (RET)
I
had just finished supper when the telephone call came from the Petty Officer of the Watch. “This is not a drill,” he announced. “This is a 100% recall. Return to the ship immediately.” That was Monday, October 23, 1962, about 6:30 pm. The call came from my ship the USS Blandy (DD 943), a Sherman class destroyer homeported in Newport, Rhode Island. I was the Blandy’s Supply Officer. I quickly donned my uniform, that of a Navy Lieutenant. I grabbed a few personal items and drove the five miles to the pier
where Blandy was moored. Foodstuffs that I had requisitioned for delivery the following day were being stacked on the pier for immediate loading. These were mostly perishable items such as milk, eggs, vegetables and fruit. Otherwise, the ship always attempted to keep a 60-day supply of frozen and canned goods in stock. At 8 pm, the officers not on watch gathered in the wardroom to view President John F. Kennedy’s address to the nation on TV. He advised the country of the Soviet military buildup on the island of Cuba just 90 miles from the U.S. He further announced a strict quarantine
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of all offensive military equipment under shipment to Cuba. At that point we all realized why our recall had been initiated. As I looked around the wardroom I realized my assistant LTJG Steve Jackson was not present. I knew he had just married and was no doubt still on his honeymoon. The two of us shared logistic responsibilities aboard Blandy. I was the department head and handled the ship’s budget as well as procurement of all supplies and materials. I was also in charge of feeding the crew of 350 enlisted and chief petty officers. The officers had their own dining arrangements overseen by the rotating jobs of mess caterer and mess treasurer, aided by several stewards. Steve was the disbursing officer in charge of paying the crew and officers twice monthly. He also oversaw the running of the ships store, the vending machines, the laundry and barbershop. Initially I didn’t anticipate Steve’s absence would create any problems. About one hour after listening to the President’s speech Blandy got underway, steaming out of Narragansett Bay in calm seas. The ship had been given only a southerly course and a speed of 25 knots, which was well above our normal cruising speed of 12 to 15 knots. The next morning we arrived off the Virginia Capes and received more specific instructions by classified messages. We were to be part of an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) group consisting of several destroyers traveling with the aircraft carrier USS Essex. We would also serve as one of several ships enforcing a quarantine (blockade) 500 miles northeast of Havana, an outer barrier named the Walnut Line. It was the mission of the ships on the Walnut Line to intercept any incoming Soviet merchantmen delivering war materials to Cuba. They were to be stopped and inspected for such cargo and directed to turn around if they failed the
Jim Eilberg
inspection. Aboard Blandy we did not really have the big political picture that was developing in Washington. This period of time later came to be known as The Thirteen Days (October 16–28). A fine reconstruction of that period was made into a movie starring Kevin Costner and called The Thirteen Days. Never since that time has the U.S. come as precariously close to a nuclear engagement. We did know that there were at least four Russian Foxtrot class submarines deployed in the waters around Cuba. We did not know that each was equipped with several nuclear-tipped torpedoes. Nor did we know until much after the conflict that the sub commanders had been given authorization by Moscow to use this weaponry if attacked. Blandy spent the next days on plane guard duty for Essex which continued to launch its aircraft in search of the Russian subs and Russian freighters. We then broke off from time to time to investigate sub contacts or intercept merchantmen. Meanwhile, as the Supply Officer, I was concerned as we went from normal steaming to sudden general quarters that there were always at least sandwiches, cold drinks and plenty of coffee available around the clock. Fortunately, I had two chief petty officer commissarymen, WW II veterans who made the task easy. The weather of course was hot and only the dining areas had air conditioning. Keeping the laundry machines operational 24 hours a day was a challenge and fresh water was at a premium. But, as we
V e t e r an s
approached the end of the month and without a disbursing officer, I was beginning to wonder how I could hold payday on the 31st. By law, I had no access to the disbursing officer’s combination safe, nor did anyone else. Happily, money was being regularly spent in the ship’s store and in the vending machines and as we approached payday, I had about $9,500 in cash on hand. But with a crew of close to 400, that sum was not nearly enough. On the other hand, most of the senior enlisted and officers had allotments which sums were taken out of their salaries and sent directly to their banks ashore each payday to benefit wives, mortgages, car payments, etc. So, I made an appeal in the ship’s Plan of the Day requesting the crew to ask for only as much cash as they thought they would absolutely need for the next two weeks or until the next payday on 15 November. Of course, none of us knew where our travels might find us at that time. So, with the consent of the Captain, I devised a plan to pay only half the crew on the regular end of the month payday (October 31). Then, depending on ship store and vending sales in the following days, I could probably raise enough cash to complete payday. If we were lucky enough to be able to borrow cash from one of the replenishment ships when they drew alongside to refuel us, I could also get lucky. That did not happen. A few days later I did have sufficient funds to pay about half the crew. Three days later, I held a second payday, and three days after that, the last of the crew was paid. October 30 was in fact a fearful day aboard Blandy. We had made contact with a Russian sub designated B-130 shortly after midnight. Contact was continuously
maintained for nearly 17 hours while neither C.O. knew what the other might do. In fact, B-130 was severely disabled with two of her diesel engines out of operation and rapidly running out of fresh air. We were driving her crew to distraction by continuing to ping on her hull with our powerful SQS 23 sonar. Otherwise, we dropped only hand grenades in the sub’s direction, not really wishing to inflict real damage. Fortunately, the Russian skipper had the good sense to forego launching torpedoes. A nuclear strike against us, he was aware, could also destroy his own boat. Finally, B-130 had no recourse but to surface and face the music. We could see immediately that he was disabled, spewing black smoke from his one operational engine and able to make no more than two knots on the surface. We did not then realize he could not submerge again. Bravely, he refused all assistance and headed back to the north. A few days later he met up with a Russian sub tender who nursed him back home to the North Sea. Well after the sub adventure and the innovative payday, LTJG Jackson, my Disbursing Officer was finally highlined back aboard. He was able to hold a normal payday in mid-November. Blandy returned to Newport after nearly 30 days at sea well after the missile crisis was averted and the weapons removed from Cuba. To my surprise, the story of the novel payday I held was picked up by The Providence Journal and later, Time magazine (Dec. 7 1962). The payday crisis had been nicely resolved as had the Cuban one. —Jim Eilberg served 31 years in the U.S. Navy, both active and reserve and retired as a Captain in the Supply Corps in 1988.
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V e t e r an s Becoming an Israeli butterfly—insights from an IDF veteran Laine M. Rutherford
T
he life of a 17-year-old Israeli high school senior isn’t much different than a 17-year-old American student. They’re both listening to music, hanging out with friends, acting goofy, possibly dating, probably working, and thinking about graduation and the future. At 18, though, their lives veer significantly. American young adults can choose to head off to college or work. They may voluntarily join the military, or spend time in a gap year program while they figure out what they want to do with their lives. The Israeli teen doesn’t have a choice. Eighteen means military. It means leaving home and everything you know and taking on the tremendous responsibility and obligation of protecting your country. It means growing up. Quickly.
Naty Horev, cultural arts specialist at the Simon Family JCC, is a veteran of the Israel Defense Forces. Her experience in the military is similar to that of hundreds of thousands of other IDF vets. “My birthday was in June and I was drafted in November,” says Horev, 34. “There was no question about going—it’s the way you’re brought up in Israel. It’s very important that you give back to your country and your service is not something you miss.” Seeing still-maturing youths walking on the streets, shopping in malls or visiting schools with rifles strapped across their backs may be shocking for Americans, it was an everyday sight for Horev growing up in Tel Aviv. And as prepared as she thought she was for military duty—she was active in Tzofim, the Israeli Scouts, and knew many friends in the Army—it was much
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Naty Horev, lower right.
harder than she thought it would be. “I started in the north, and I didn’t know anyone at first,” she says. “You get there, and you’re stripped of your life. You get handed a blanket, a helmet, a jacket, boots, one white t-shirt, one green t-shirt, a weapon. It’s very strict—no jewelry, no nail polish, your hair has to be worn a certain way. You’re told what to do and what not to do, and when to do it.” A test she had taken at 17 determined Horev’s job in the Army. She was a drill sergeant, teaching soldiers how to throw grenades, shoot their M-16s, and deal with civilians in combat situations. She liked the job, and was good at it, but had to take another position following ankle surgery. For the remainder of her service, Horev was a personal welfare affairs officer. She helped provide resources and support for soldiers who had significant home problems—whether their parents were in jail and they needed housing, or they had to work to support their families and needed more time away from the base. “I loved that job,” Horev says. “It gave me hope, because no matter what, these kids still wanted to help. They wanted to protect their country. I never had anyone say I don’t want to do this anymore.
“We become what we call the Israeli butterfly. You go to school. You go to the Army. You travel the world. And that’s what I did.” The many lessons Horev learned from her service in the military have shaped her life she says, and have influenced the woman, mother, and professional she is today. “Serving my country taught me that everybody has a story. It taught me to be patient, to look at both sides always. To realize how fragile life is,” she says. “You grow up fast. You cope and you continue. It’s part of being an Israeli.” Horev has great respect for U.S. active military and veterans, but she notes their experience is different—and she also sees a huge difference between a 24-year-old Israeli and a 24-year-old American. “In the United States, someone sees being in the military as their job. They decided they wanted to do it. In Israel, it’s mandatory. You go because it’s part of your life. I wish it wouldn’t be that way, but it is. Watch insights from other IDF veterans in Tidewater on videos here: http://tinyurl. com/zejkyb8, or visit www.youtube.com/ UJFTidewater and click on the Jewish News Links playlist.
V e t e r an s
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Soldiers with autism take on key roles in IDF Ben Sales
TEL AVIV (JTA)—Sitting in front of a computer at the center of Israel’s largest army base, a soldier stares at the screen, moving pixel by pixel over a satellite photograph, picking out details and finding patterns. A few years ago N.S., who has autism, thought the Israel Defense Forces wouldn’t take him. N.S., who like other soldiers could not give his name due to IDF protocol, spent his childhood in mainstream classroom settings, where he had focused on studying film and Arabic, but expected to miss out on being drafted—a mandatory rite of passage for most Israeli 18-year-olds. Now, more than a year into his army service, N.S. is a colonel who spends eight hours a day doing what few other soldiers can: using his exceptional attention to detail and intense focus to analyze visual data ahead of missions. Soldiers with autism can excel at this work because they are often adept at detecting patterns and maintaining focus for long periods of time. “It gave me the opportunity to go into the army in a significant position where I feel that I’m contributing,” he says. “I’m really swamped. I’m a perfectionist. I want everything to be perfect.” N.S. is among some 50 soldiers and trainees in Roim Rachok, Hebrew for Seeing Far, a program aimed at drafting the one in 100 Israeli children diagnosed with autism, according to statistics from the Israeli Society for Autistic Chidren. Based in the IDF’s Intelligence Unit 9900, which maps and analyzes visual data, the soldiers of Roim Rachok decipher aerial reconnaissance photos to provide information to soldiers ahead of combat missions. Other tracks train candidates to be army electricians, who deal with devices like night vision goggles, or optics technicians, who work with binoculars. “There’s an agenda to show people on the spectrum have abilities and can do things,” says T.V., a former Defense
Ministry official who co-founded Roim Rachok in 2012. “A big part [of the work] is to notice changes and a certain routine repetition.” Autism diagnoses are rising in Israel. According to the Israeli Society for Autistic Children, about 10 times more Israeli children have autism as do adults. In the past, T.V. says, these children at 18 would enter the IDF and be given menial, frustrating jobs. Participants in Roim Rachok attend a three-month course at the Ono Academic College near Tel Aviv, where they receive training for their army service and an introduction to army life. Along with photo analysis or optics, trainees learn about following orders, staying on schedule and working with a team. After three additional months of training on base, participants are drafted and placed within Unit 9900—sometimes as the only soldier on the team with autism. Before they arrive, their fellow soldiers and commanders receive training on working with people with autism, and every team meets weekly with a counselor to discuss the group dynamic. After their discharge, Roim Rachok soldiers will face new challenges in finding jobs that suit their abilities. But army service will have given soldiers with autism experience in overcoming obstacles like coping with a changing environment or strategizing to complete a complex assignment. “The soft skills people learn in their service are no less important than the profession itself,” says Benjamin Hazmi, academic director at Beit Issie Shapiro, an Israeli disability activism organization. “The army is people’s first encounter with authority, with a schedule.” N.S., the soldier from Roim Rachok, says he feels privileged to be a part of what most Israelis his age consider an obligation. “The day I enlisted, I got very excited,” N.S. says. “I was really like, I’m an inseparable part of Israeli society.”
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