About the deep connection to Israel

Rolf and Uta Zeidler provide voluntary help in Israel

The couple Rolf and Uta Zeidler from Chemnitz have been travelling to Israel regularly for 15 years. They provide help on the ground and support wherever they can. Since Hamas attacked Israel a year ago, the help provided by the two Chemnitz residents has been particularly important. They told us in an interview how they can help in concrete terms.

Mr Zeidler, you come directly from Kiryat Bialik. There was a rocket attack there on 22 September. Houses were destroyed and people were injured. What is the mood in the town and among the people?
Rolf Zeidler
I'm not directly from Kiryat Bialik. We've been in Jerusalem over the last few days. There's a German base there, so to speak, and we've been there several times. It's a Christian house where people come from all over Germany who are in favour of a good relationship and help for Israel. They support the country, sometimes helping with the harvest or in other places, preparing food for soldiers, helping to feed the poor. Things that we also did in January of this year, at that time mostly further north, up to the border in the evacuation area.

I have since been able to speak to Dr Alona Eisenberg, the secretary to the mayor of Kiryat Bialik, Eli Dukorsky, on the phone again. She told me that there is a great deal of insecurity in the town at the moment and a lot of help is needed. They are working around the clock to help concerned citizens and provide assistance in the town.

We therefore only had a brief re-contact after our longer meeting a few days earlier. I reassured her once again that we really stand with them here in Chemnitz and support them, that we are with them from the bottom of our hearts. And I realise how good that does them.

What connects you to Israel? Why do you go there regularly?
That's a longer story. We were in Israel for the first time a good 15 years ago and the occasion was a trip to celebrate our silver wedding anniversary. One reason is our special historical relationship with Israel; a lot of suffering was inflicted on Jewish people by Germany, by our ancestors. There was also a grandfather in our family who was involved on the Eastern Front during the Second World War, which we only found out later through research. So it was important to us, as Germans, to show that we are friends.

My wife has already helped out twice in a home for Holocaust survivors. We were in Haifa in a home that is run by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem, supported by funds from Germany, among others. It turned out that a nurse was missing because a volunteer helper suddenly had to leave the country. My wife used to work as a nurse and spontaneously said she would take time off work and then spent two months helping on site. I now know that Holocaust survivors in the north, in the evacuation area in Maalot for example, where one of our sons also worked in a social service for a few months, have had to live underground for months. They are cared for there without daylight. You have to imagine that.

7 October marks the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel. What did the attack trigger in you?
The massacre in October moved us deeply. My wife and I asked ourselves: How and where can we help now? When we were able to travel again, we flew to Israel to support the country and encourage the people. In January, we deliberately travelled to the north of Israel. We also went there to prepare food for soldiers, which was packed and donated by local communities in the area. We also went to the harvest, as there was a shortage of harvesters. Israelis were called up as reservists and many guest workers had to leave the country. This long period of war is also a major economic problem, and we were particularly moved by the plight of the hostages in Gaza, as we met the mother and sister of a hostage from Kiryat Bialik in person in January.

When was the first time you travelled to Chemnitz's twin city Kiryat Bialik?
Before we travelled to Israel in January, we got in touch with Dr Ruth Röcher, Chairwoman of the Jewish Community of Chemnitz [editor's note]. Through her, we got in touch with employees of the town hall and thus also with the twin town of Kiryat Bialik. So we visited the town. We didn't know which day we would be going there and then at some point, when it was convenient and we had a car available, we simply drove over between our assignments and made a quick call: "We're coming today."

When we got to Kiryat Bialik, five minutes later an event started to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the kidnapping of the hostages, including the soldier Matan Angrest from our twin town. We got to know the people better. There was the mother of the kidnapped man and his sister. Then it happened spontaneously that the mayor invited us to his office after the event, together with Matan Angrest's mother and his sister.

What happened to the soldier?
Matan Angrest was deployed as a soldier in an armoured division as part of his regular military service at the Kibbutz Nahal Oz border crossing, 800 metres from the border with Gaza. Fighting broke out during the raid. And this tank was shot at and hit. All his fellow occupants in the tank died. He was the only survivor. And they then captured this sole survivor and took him into the tunnels. He has been in this tunnel system ever since. We have learnt from internal sources that he is still alive. In the meantime, his sister has volunteered to serve as a soldier and deliberately allowed herself to be deployed in Gaza. What that means for this family, for his mother. He has been there for a year and now his daughter is going to Gaza to fight in this war.

Together with the Jewish community, you collected money for projects in Israel. Which projects could be realised with the money?
When we were in Israel in January, including in Kiryat Bialik, we visited one of the children's kindergartens. It was completely deserted because it didn't have a bunker. Then we visited the children who actually go to this kindergarten. This replacement room was in the city library, in a room that was also secured with a bunker. But that meant that they spent months in rooms without daylight. The children played there. With the money that was collected in Chemnitz, organised by the Jewish community, a bunker has now been installed for this kindergarten in Kiryat Bialik, among others. When we were back in Kiryat Bialik, we visited this kindergarten again. And now the kindergarten is alive and kicking. That was so nice. The kindergarten teachers and the children welcomed us with a children's song that is also well-known in Germany, which we were able to sing along to spontaneously. We were able to take a look at the bunker that now stands there. Yes, and now the children are out in the light again, playing happily with their play equipment and enjoying a certain degree of safety.

How can you imagine that? Is the bunker a building complex that stands next to it?
Exactly, it's a single building standing next to it. It's about five metres from the door of the kindergarten. It's very sparse. There are lots of little chairs inside, a small music system for playing children's songs. There is also an integrated system that filters the outside air and a supply of water. The bunker is protected against blast waves. If there is a bomb alert, the children can seek shelter immediately.

Are there any further endeavours on your part to continue helping there?
In the meantime, only one kindergarten, out of a total of around 70, still lacks a bunker. Other needs remain, of course. We are connected with our Luther Church and the city-wide association "Miteinander für Chemnitz" (Together for Chemnitz) as well as with the Jewish community. We've had a WhatsApp group since our travels and there are around 50 people in it who take part in our activities, pray or donate. The contact will continue. In the meantime, further rocket attacks have also hit residential buildings in Kiryat Bialik.