JFSVI helps send a volunteer to Israel

It was two months ago when I felt that, as an Israeli citizen I HAD to go back to Israel to volunteer. Farmers were desperate for volunteers since the Thai workers left the country. Many people of every stripe and colour and religion answered the call.

For the first two of my 5 weeks in Israel I worked on a farm and tourist facility owned and operated by a Druze family, which was located close to the Sea of Galilee.

When my work was completed I then relocated to the goat farm where I have volunteered many times in the past. The owners are like family. There were over 180 milking goats which provided the milk for the making of different varieties of cheese which were sold in their farm store located in Yodfat. The farm itself is located near the settlement of Yodfat which has a monkey forest on its property which gets pretty packed on Saturdays.

I spent 3 weeks on the farm doing mainly gardening chores. There were also 2 other Israeli volunteers present while I was there. I would like to note that I, as well as tens of thousands of other Israelis, if not more, wore the IDF dog tags in solidarity with the hostages.

As the farm was located far from the Lebanese border, we heard no shelling from the border and the farm was located in a more or less ‘safe area’ although in reality no place was safe.

After 5 weeks of volunteering I returned back to Canada, temporarily, as my intention is to return to Israel on a permanent basis. Israel is my real home.

Jerry Shulman