Chicago couple return from trip to Israel to help volunteers feed Israeli soldiers

 They’re back. And it was no walk in the park.

The recent trip to Israel by Chicago Rabbi Barry Axler, 77, and his wife, Morene Dunn, 80, as volunteers helping feed frontline soldiers serving in the Israel-Hamas War, is over. 

“It was over in five hours, the time allotted to grill 700 hamburgers and hotdogs at one dinner for the Israeli soldiers,” Axler said. He and his wife had traveled from their River North home last month to meet up with members of a registered nonprofit called Grilling for IDF (Israeli Defense Forces).

The volunteer group provides meals for Israeli soldiers involved in conflict. The couple have two grandchildren who are in the Israeli military, although they were not among those the couple helped feed. Axler and Dunn had joined the effort while on a trip to attend their granddaughter’s Bat Mitzvah near Tel Aviv.

Axler had expected to serve at a front-line location of the war, but that wasn’t the case.

“My wife and I were transported ... from our daughter’s home in Israel to an Air Force Base near Gaza, which housed a military Intelligence unit,” said Axler.

“We were not close enough to hear any bombing,” he added.

They were also not allowed to take pictures.

“Once we went through gate security at the base, our cameras had to be left behind,” said Axler.

Nor could they have any extensive interactions with the soldiers, who kept a close eye on the volunteers.

“We couldn’t ask questions, and we each had to be escorted by a soldier for a bathroom break,” he said.

“Overall, it was clear our effort and support for the troops was much appreciated.”

Dunn, a former Chicago PR maven for decades, kept a daily diary of their volunteer visit and trip to Israel.

“I chopped the onions and the tomatoes, and we bought the meat,” she chuckled. 

Driven to the army base, very near the Gaza border, with a man from the U.S. now working in Dubai who brought along his 16- and 14-year-old sons and 11-year-old daughter, “we raced down the highway; the radio blasting Billy Joel’s ‘Piano Man,’” said Dunn. “We finally arrived after dark.”

Dunn said the couple had joined up with a caravan en route to the army base bearing “seven long grills, charcoal, utensils; 800 whopper-sized burgers and some chicken and hot dogs.  

“No napkins, tables or chairs … and we squeezed a thousand oranges through a giant juicer. It was supposed to be enough to feed the 700 soldiers, but we ran out of food. So one soldier took a bun, filled it with tomatoes, onions, pickles and mustard and thanked us for it,” she added. 

“Our 30 volunteers were mostly Israeli, and we were thanked and thanked and thanked. The soldiers plunked down in the grass while they ate; just a tired group of kids. 

“It was over, including cleaning up, in three hours ... plus the time it took to transport us in and out. An exhausting but exhilarating night. And a forever bond.

“I was amazed at the outpouring of gratitude from all the soldiers, most of whom were still in their teens,” she said.

Dunn also took notes during their nine days in Israel.  Here are some highlights:

“Not only are there ubiquitous posters, signs, and rallies, but there are electronic billboards that update the days, hours, minutes and seconds since Israeli hostages were taken following the kibbutz slaughter on October 7,” she wrote. 

“The major gathering place is Hostage Square in Tel Aviv, a place of tents where anyone can wander in, sit and talk with families of the hostages. I went up and hugged the aunt of a hostage. She hugged me back. We stood there. Finally, I moved away. No words were spoken. 

“EVERYONE seems to volunteer in Israel now. A middle-aged mother dives into a tank at the Jerusalem Aquarium to feed the fish until the employee/army reservist returns.  

“Many pick up laundry bags overflowing with clothes, sheets and towels a couple times a week from hotels or drop off centers. They are taken home to wash, dry and fold and required to return the bags within 24 hours.”

“Many train stations have pianos. At the Mo’d’in station (near their daughter’s home), an IDF soldier, with a large bandage on his ring finger, was playing beautifully … a security guard, taking a break, bringing over a chair to sit next to the soldier to keep him company.”  

Dunn’s notebook also ended with news “Israelis’ cell phones have a bell that rings when a missile is in the air. And a second beep tells you where it is.”

But while the Axler’s didn’t witness the war up close during their volunteer effort, that changed the next day.  

“While at a synagogue later in Jerusalem, we wound up evacuated to a shelter due to a rocket assault,” Axler said.

Sneedlings…

Saturday birthdays: Julia Louis Dreyfus; 62; actor Paytrick Dempsey, 58; ; singer Trace Atkins; 62; Shonda Rhimes, 54; actor Liam Hemsworth; 34. ... Sunday Birthdays: Faye Dunaway, 83; Jason Bateman, 55.