How David Greenfield Earned Your Vote

By: Yad L'achim

 "My younger sister, Adina[i], is being held in Gaza against her will,” a woman tearfully reported to the Yad L’Achim hotline operator. “She’s in an abusive marriage and desperate to return to Israel and start life anew,” her sister added.

Yad L’Achim’s investigation confirmed that Adina was Jewish and born in Ashdod some 27 years ago. She married an Israeli Arab named Abdullah, who took her to live in El-Arish in Egypt and had four children with her. When he suspected that she was getting tired of the beatings and contemplating escape, he decided to move the family to Gaza, under the pretense of admitting her to a private hospital for treatment of an illness. But when they crossed the border from Egypt, instead of heading to the promised hospital, they went to his parents’ home, in the heart of Gaza, from where escape would be practically impossible.

Yad L’Achim learned that Abdullah, who has a criminal record, was now serving time in an Egyptian prison and was due to be released shortly. Understanding that time was of the essence, the organization contacted the woman on her cell phone, and instructed her step-by-step on what she would need to do to get out of Gaza[ii].

At the same time, Yad L’Achim Chairman Rabbi Shalom Dov Lipschitz contacted Interior Minister Eli Yishai, who arranged the paperwork for her return and coordinated between Yad L’Achim and the Defense Ministry.

On Tuesday morning, Abdullah’s parents left the house, placing Adina and the children in the care of a niece. Adina told the niece that she wanted to take the children downstairs to the local store to buy them candy. She later related to Yad L’Achim officials that as she left the house, she made a pledge to Hashem that if He helped her make it safely to Israel with her children, she would light Shabbat candles every Friday night and fully observe Shabbat.

“Except for one bag, I didn’t take anything,” she said. “I hid my passports in my little daughter’s diapers. I went out with the children to the street and stopped the first cab that passed by. I asked the driver, ‘How much to the Erez junction?’ He said, ‘70 NIS,’ and I said, ‘Take 100 and step on it.’”

“On the way, we passed Hamas-manned roadblocks; I covered my face with a veil and tried to talk as Arabic as possible so they wouldn’t notice my accent. It was frightening. I thought that at any second they would get word from Abdullah’s family and shoot me and my children.”

Then the driver grew suspicious. In keeping with her instructions from Yad L’Achim she told him, that her father was very sick and waiting for her at the junction. When the driver arrived at the Palestinian customs station on the Gaza border, Adina’s cell phone rang. She shook with fear; it was Abdullah’s brother.

“Where are you?” he demanded.

“I’m taking the children for a walk,” she answered

“You’re lying!” he screamed. “Get back here now! I’m going to catch you and kill you.”

She hung up, determined to continue.

Throughout the tense escape, Rabbi Lipschitz was monitoring Adina’s progress from his office. He instructed Yad L’Achim activists around the country to stop their regular activities and recite Tehillim for the success of the mission.

At the customs station, the Palestinian clerk asked her where she was going and she told the story of her ailing father waiting for her at Erez. Then one of the guards suddenly screamed, “Send her back to Gaza!”

“I thought that was it,” Adina recalls, “that this would be the last day of my life. But another clerk told me, ‘You can go.’ I went through the revolving gate and started to run. I was afraid they would catch me.”

Eight hundred meters separated the final Palestinian roadblock and the Israeli border crossing. Adina and her four children hurried across the no-man’s-land, as Israeli sharpshooters followed their progress.

As Adina and her four children came into view, her sister became overcome with emotion and began to cry. Even the toughest of the IDF soldiers present at the scene couldn’t hide their tears upon witnessing the touching reunion.

“I’ve heard about the work of Yad L’Achim and I contribute regularly,” said one officer. “But I had no idea that they conducted such intricate missions. I feel like a partner in this rescue.”

Members of the General Security Service were waiting at Erez junction to question her, before turning her over to her sister and Yad L’Achim staffers. Adina and her children were then brought to a safe house, where they will be able to begin their rehabilitation.

For more information, visit www.yadlachim.org or email info@yadlachim.org. Contact Yad L’Achim at 4018 18th Avenue, Brooklyn, NY, 11218, (718) 633-0776, fax