Wetherhorn

I applied for graduate school to the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. I was accepted. But classes started only in June so I had almost 6 months to wait. The Student Zionist organization, of which I had been a member , was looking for a regional director for the Middle Atlantic States area. I got the job as a temporary position until school started. It turned out to be a very bust summer.
My new office was located at the American Zionist Organization headquarters in New York at 515 Park Avenue. One of the first things I needed was an apartment. I had never lived in New York, so the neighborhood differences meant little to me. I made a list of possible apartments and went off to visit them. I soon found that those available on the Ease Side were priced much above what I felt I could afford. It was already growing dark when I shifted my focus to places on the West Side. I walked across Central Park and was fortunate to find a place on West 76th. When I mentioned my walk to people at the office they were astonished. Walking across Central park at night was an invitation to be mugged. Crime was rampant there at the time. They said I was lucky nothing happened to me.
I met many of the student leaders and helped organize a summer student convention. Then came a summons from the parent organization downstairs.
A local TV talk show was hosting an Arab propagandist, Fayez Sayegh. Part of the show format included questions from the audience so several organizations, both pro and con, got free tickets to the show. The idea was to have them ask controversial questions. I got a ticket and spent a little time doing homework. A question, or statement, from the audience is a one shot opportunity. Your target has the floor afterwards and can spend as much time as he wants either ignoring or trying to refute what you say. So your comment needs to be well prepared and delivered.
The night of the program the guest, Mr Sayegh, pushed an agenda of having Americans avoid travel to Israel. I was allowed a turn to ask my question.
It went something like this;
“Mr Sayegh, are you an American citizen?”
“I’ve lived many years in the United States”, he began.
I interrupted him. “You’re not an American Citizen!” I said.
Then I continued,”You’re a registered foreign agent. And I resent you telling me where I should or should not travel. I was just released from active duty after serving in Vietnam and defending this country. When you can say the same I might be willing to listen, but as things are, you are lacking authority and background to give any such advice to me!”
That was what happened on my first TV appearance. A while later I got another call. This time the interviewee was Rabbi Elmer Berger. He was a former Reform Rabbi who had written some anti-Israel books. He had lost his congregation because he had an affair with the wife of one of his congregation members during World War II. Not something I was prepared to speak about on TV.
This time the question was similar and went something like this.
“Rabbi Berger, did you serve as a chaplain during the war?”
He had not, despite being asked to do so by the Jewish Welfare Board twice.
As on the earlier occasion my continuation was like this;
“So you didn’t serve, even after being asked. Well I did! I was just released from active duty after serving overseas in the Vietnamese War Zone. You lack the moral authority to tell me, or anyone else, that Israel is not deserving of our support when you wouldn’t even serve the United States after being asked twice!”
There were summer programs in Israel for students, and one of the participants stayed with me for a couple of days before departure. We participated in a Salute to Israel parade and then visited some friends. He went on to Long Island to see another friend and I went home. The door was ajar when I arrived. Thieves had broken in and stolen a few things. The s,all TV was missing, as were my empty suitcases. They didn’t take his because they were fully packed for his upcoming journey. They took my bank account forms and check book. His similar items were packed in the suitcases and so remained safe. I notified the bank immediately in the morning. Someone did try to withdraw funds, but the teller asked him to wait a moment while he verified the balance. The man obviously knew what was afoot and quickly fled. Later someone tried to use one of my checks to buy things. He even said he had to pay by check because his other bank items had been stolen! It was an out of town check, so the proprietor telephoned to Kansas City to try to verify validity. He was referred to my mother. She asked for a description of the person. He was not wearing glasses and had a thick head of curly dark hair. “That’s NOT my son!” she told him. But, as in the previous attempt, the individual did not return.
Another noteworthy event that took place during this time was the US Conference for Soviet Jewry that was held in Philadelphia that summer. I went with a handful of students to represent the participation of youth in the struggle. The adults dominated the discussions and made a lot of speeches. We offered to act on campus to help bring the problem to a wider audience. I came away feeling our presence had been more of an embarrassment than a help, and our offers were politely sidelined. But I did, and still do, feel that it was something important for us to have done.
The students gave me a send-off party when I left for Israel. One of them was in touch with me again only recently.