TO ALL MACHALNIKS 6th April, 2014
MACHAL’S YOM HAZICHARON SERVICE
ON MONDAY 5TH MAY, 2014
Once again, we shall meet at the World Machal Memorial to honour the memory of our 123 Fallen Comrades. I do hope you will make a special effort to attend this year’s Remembrance Service, and of course you are more than welcome to invite relatives and friends to join us.
THE SERVICE WILL COMMENCE AT 10.55 HOURS SHARP! Please aim to arrive at Sha’ar Hagai by not later than 10.15 a.m., so as to avoid being late for the sounding of the siren which marks the commencement of the service, and in case you wish to buy some Machal items which will be on sale. Early arrival at the Memorial Site will also give you the opportunity of meeting your former Machal comrades.
I would like to remind you that road signs to the Machal Memorial appear on Route No. 1 from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem, and from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, and there is a sign to the Memorial Site itself on the Sha’ar Hagai-Bet Shemesh road.
Following the Memorial Service you might wish to take the opportunity of enjoying a picnic lunch with comrades and friends in the delightful picnic area of Sha’ar Hagai, in which case please bring you own picnic lunch
A plaque in honour of the late Stanley Medicks who passed away in June 2013 will be unveiled at the ceremony. This plaque is being donated by the Medicks Family in honour of Stanley who was the key figure behind the creation of the Machal Memorial.
Transportation will be provided from Tel Aviv to Sha’ar Hagai for the ceremony. If you wish to save a seat on the bus, please call Doreen on 03-621=2724. There will be a charge for transportation in order to cover the cost of hiring the bus. The bus will leave from the Metropolitan Hotel, Trumpeldor Street, Tel Aviv at 9.30 a.m. sharp. Please phone Doreen on 03-621-2724 as soon as possible if you wish to reserve a seat.
All the necessary facilities and logistics for our service will be provided by our very good friends at Keren Kayemet L’Yisrael. In order to cover expenses, Machalniks and friends who will be attending the service are requested to make a donation to Machal of NS50 per person, for adults only. Payments should be made only in cash at the cashier’s table at the ceremony. Please be sure to have the exact amount of NS 50 available as finding the right amount of change may be a problem.
WORLD MACHAL EXHIBIT AT BEIT HATFUTSOT (NOW CALLED “THE MUSEUM OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE”) IN TEL AVIV
The World Machal exhibit “On the Ground, in the Air, and at Sea 1948” at Beit Hatfutsot which was opened to the public on 1st June 2012 is still running. The opening ceremony held on 31st May can be seen on the World Machal website:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2983103A4D0013A9.
WORLD MACHAL WEBSITE
New material is constantly being uploaded to the World Machal website, which is well worth visiting. The website address is: www.machal.org.il. If you have not already supplied your personal Machal story for uploading to the website, please send it in English to Doreen (doreen@sw.co.il,), and if possible please also attach a photograph of yourself taken during the War of Independence.
THE MICHAEL LEVIN CENTRE FOR LONE SOLDIERS AND THE MACHAL ROOM
With generous donations from Machalniks and friends worldwide and in particular the Medicks Family, Machal has donated an extention to the Michael Levin Centre for Lone Soldiers in Hayarkon Street, Tel Aviv. This extention will be known as “The Stanley Medicks Machal Room” and wall panels will depict the history of Machal from Aliyah Bet through to the current day, with a continuous screen presentation of photographs from Aliyah Bet and the War of Independence. You are most welcome to visit the Centre at your convenience. First call Brian at the Centre to ascertain whether the time of your visit will be convenient for the Centre: Tel: Brian – 052-565-8218.
CURRENT MACHALNIKS OF TODAY
Every year approximately 200-300 volunteers from abroad follow the Machal tradition and volunteer for 14 months of service in the IDF. This program is under the auspices of the Ministry of Defense, and Mr. Udi Dror is in charge of the program. Tzemach Bloomberg and Doddie Gordon (1956-65 Machalniks) who are on the World Machal Committee are in contact with Udi Dror.
THE MUSEUM OF THE JEWISH SOLDIER IN WORLD WAR II
Construction is progressing on the “Museum for the Jewish Soldier in World War II”. The Museum is located in the Armored Corps complex at Latrun which houses the world-famous exhibition of military tanks. The purpose of this Museum is to tell the world and to honour the 1,500,000 Jews who served in all the Allied Forces in World War II – 550,000 Jews in the USA Forces, 500,000 in the Russian Forces, and those who served in the British Empire Forces (U.K., Canada, South Africa, Australia, India), the Free French Army, the Free Polish Army, the Palestinian Jews as well as the Partisans, the Underground Forces, and the Ghetto Fighters. There is of course a very strong link between the Jews who served in World War II and Machal, as Machal was composed primarily of veterans from World War II. There will be a room in the new museum devoted to the Machal Story. Those Machalniks who served in World War II are invited to enter their details at the following link:
http://www.jwmww2.org/show_item.asp?levelId=65023. For those who do not have access to a computer, please contact Doreen at the World Machal Office (03- The Museum’s website address is:
http://www.jwmww2.org/show_item.asp?levelId=65021
TWO MACHAL ENTRIES ON FACEBOOK
Machal can now also be found on two sites on Facebook:
New Generation –
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Generations-of-Machal/272679762744148?sk=wall
Machal Legacy –
http://www.facebook.com/pages/MACHAL-LEGACY/107041309317122
FORTHCOMING DOCUMENTARY ON MACHAL’S ROLE IN THE IAF IN THE WAR OF INDEPENDENCE – ‘ABOVE AND BEYOND, THE BIRTH OF THE ISRAEL AIR FORCE’
Nancy Spielberg, sister of the film director Steven Spielberg, was in Israel recently and made contact with the World Machal office which helped her with information and with interviews of Machalniks and Israelis who served in the Israel Air Force during the War of Independence. The trailer for this 55 minute film can be viewed on: https://vimeo.com/54400569 (password: iaf.). The film will be premiered later this year. We will keep you posted as to how you can view the full film in due course.
BRITISH, EUROPEAN, AND SCANDINAVIAN MACHAL ASSOCIATION –Stanley Medicks was the Chairman of this Association. His daughter Elana wishes to continue his heritage and to maintain contact with the Machalniks in these countries. She will do this via the services of World Machal in Israel. It is therefore important to let World Machal have details of your email addresses since world-wide postage by airmail is not an option. Please therefore notify Doreen at doreen@sw.co.il the full details of your name, postal address and telephone number, and most importantly, your email address.
THE MACHAL BADGE
Our attractive Machal badge is still available at a cost of NS25.00.
VICTORY AND FIGHTER MEDALS (ALEH AND OT HAKOMEMIYUT) – If any Machalniks have not yet received the Fighter and/or Victory medal ribbons, please get in touch with Doreen at Smoky Simon’s office.
ADDRESSES AND TELEPHONE NUMBERS – Please inform Doreen at 03-621-2724 of any changes in the above, and wherever possible, please also give Doreen your e-mail address so as to avoid the cost of mailing by regular post.
We very much look forward to seeing you on Monday 5th May, 2014, at this year’s Yom Hazicharon service as well as at our future services, so please stay healthy, take good care, drink lots of water, and keep pedaling.
Sincerely,
Smoky Simon
for ISRAEL MACHAL COMMITTEE
(Sol Baskin, Murray Greenfield, Sol Jacobs, Zipporah Porath, Smoky Simon, Migdal Teperson, Joe Woolf, Tzemach Bloomberg, Doddie Gordon, Harry Shaer)