The Michael Levin Base - Expanding Levin's legacy for lone soldiers
“As the number of lone soldiers in the IDF continues to increase, so do their needs. The Michael Levin Base is the newest organization to fill that expanding service role."
By RIVKAH LAMBERT ADLERTHE BASE staff ‘take dedication to a new level’: Co-directors Bonnie Rosenbaum (fourth from left) and Lizzie Noach (third from right) proudly display a picture of Michael Levin(photo credit: EZRA WEISER)
When Michael Levin first arrived in Israel to serve as a lone soldier in 2002, “he slept on a park bench the first two nights because he didn’t know where to go and he didn’t speak any Hebrew,” his mother Harriet Levin revealed.Levin was killed fighting in Lebanon in 2006, but his dream to provide support for lone soldiers lives on. First there was the Lone Soldier Center in Memory of Michael Levin. And now, there is The Michael Levin Base (TMLB).Run by co-directors Bonnie Rosenbaum and Lizzie Noach, TMLB is located in Jerusalem at 10 Hadekel St., adjacent to Mahaneh Yehuda.“This was crucial for us when looking for a location,” explained Noach. “We wanted it to be easily accessible. The light rail stop is just a couple of minutes’ walk away and the shuk is a place where young people go out in the evenings and do their shopping on Fridays. A lot of these lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut (young women doing National Service) live close by.”The facility features two large rooms intended to house communal meals and social activities. There are also washing machines and dryers, a lending library, a fully-stocked kitchen and a supply closet, as well as office space for the staff and multi-purpose rooms for smaller events and private advising sessions.“The vibe is warm, a welcoming place with couches and bean bags all over the place. Lots of break-off spaces to gather with board games, plenty of outlets to charge your phone and two TVs,” Rosenbaum noted.If you’re familiar with the Lone Soldier Center but haven’t yet heard of The Michael Levin Base, blame it on COVID-19.Successful launch… and then corona“Corona hit us like a brick wall,” Rosenbaum explained. “We came running out of the starting gate Purim time when we had one event after the other, including six megillah readings, one crazy Purim party at night with a huge buffet and approximately 250 lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut and then a beautiful Purim seudah with 100 lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut. We gave out almost 200 mishloach manot (Purim baskets) and then BAM! Corona.”The staff quickly reengineered their plans for Passover, scraping the planned Passover seder and the plan to serve kosher for Passover catered meals.
“We went from a place where people can hang out to a food warehouse. We were lucky enough to partner with some great organizations such as Leket Israel, Yashar L’Chayal and Chayal el Chayal.”According to Rosenbaum, over Pesach, TMLB distributed, “over 100 packages of food, including 310 kilos of matza, 450 kilos of fresh fruits and vegetables, 260 bottles of wine and grape juice, 55 kilos of frozen meat and chicken and over 1,000 pounds of dry goods including coffee, tea, paper goods, sugar, jelly and chocolate spread.”Somehow, amidst the Passover egg shortage, TMLB also managed to distribute 100 dozen eggs.“I can say with all certainty that there was no other operation of such magnitude providing food for lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut,” Rosenbaum confirmed.TMLB also provides services to former lone soldiers and bnot sherut whose active service has ended.“Many of them are employed part-time as waiters and waitresses or in the hotel and bar industry because they are students; most, if not all, lost their jobs due to the virus. These kids were plain out hungry and broke.“We even helped them get pots and pans to cook with. We were dealing with an emergency situation on an epic level only four weeks after we opened and we came together as a team. We helped whoever came through our doors get through the chag. It was incredible!”MIKE MEYERHEIM, the man behind the medical volunteer team, advises a lone soldier. (Photo Credit: Ezra Wesier)The teamRosenbaum’s pride in TMLB staff is obvious.“Our staff takes dedication to a new level. Literally there is no hour of the day that I cannot reach out to any of them and know that they will respond,” she emphasized.Mike Meyerheim is the senior director of advising and parent relations.“Mike is the man behind our superb group of medical volunteers who assist lone soldiers or lone bnot sherut get through any medical emergency they may have” said Rosenbaum. “With almost 10 years working with lone soldiers, he has helped countless lone soldiers during some of their hardest days.”Ari Wruble serves as the senior advisor for lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut, helping young people solve any issues that come up. Avi Lurie is TMLB’s post-service advisor, helping those who have finished their service find their place in Israeli society by providing help with resume writing, interviewing skills and networking. In addition, he is actively working to help those who lost their jobs due to the coronavirus find other employment.Day-to-day operations at TMLB are overseen by logistics coordinator JJ Brenner and Shira Zeev is the programs and events coordinator.“Lizzie and I know how lucky we are to have such a first-rate team. We are truly like a family,” Rosenbaum shared with pride.Post-Passover servicesPassover may have ended, but the needs did not.“After Passover, we were all on lockdown, but the needs of the lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut were still there and getting worse,” Rosenbaum explained.TMLB moved to a model of providing “Shabbat take-away days.” Lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut sign up online and come to TMLB on Friday mornings. “We give out challah, grape juice or wine, frozen meals for them to have in their fridge for during the week and fresh, ready-to-eat meals. Certain weeks, we [are able to] include a large bag of fruits and vegetables that we are lucky enough to be getting from Leket Israel. These meals have made a huge difference to ‘our kids’,” she elaborated.Take-away meals for Shavuot included homemade dairy meals for the holiday as well as a homemade Shabbat meal, plus two extra meals, as well as fresh fruits and vegetables and an array of homemade desserts. The staff even prepared a small gift in honor of Shavuot.Support from Michael Levin’s familyMichael Levin’s parents Harriet and Mark are fully supportive of efforts of TMLB.“As the number of lone soldiers in the IDF continues to increase, so do their needs. TMLB is the newest organization to fill that expanding service role,” the Levins shared. “The dedicated and competent staff members are well-positioned to face this challenge. Knowing the staff as well as we do, we know how much they care about lone soldiers and also keeping Michael’s z”l memory and dream alive.“As a US-based foundation, we proudly support a number of lone soldier organizations and projects in Israel. In doing so, we are fulfilling our son Michael’s hope and vision that ‘lone soldiers are never alone,’” they explained.MEGILLAH READING at The Base. (Photo Credit: Ezra Weiser)Serving, but not in uniformLone soldiers aren’t the only young people serving the country without family support.“The rules for bnot sherut have changed over the last few years. Today, if a girl wants to do Sherut Leumi (National Service), she must make aliyah. Period. No exceptions,” notes Rosenbaum.There are approximately 200 young women who are new immigrants doing National Service. They come from all over the world; the largest groups are from the US and France.“They deal with many of the same issues that lone soldiers have – coming home after a long day or week to an empty fridge, no parents or siblings to help them with shopping, laundry, cooking or even figuring out how to read their credit card statement,” Rosenbaum explained. “This simply should not be.“When Michael was alive, the struggles of lone soldiers were very new. Therefore, the struggles of lone bnot sherut were never even spoken about. We at TMLB see them as equals. Both are serving the State of Israel and its people to their fullest. We don’t believe that a lone soldier or lone bat sherut should go hungry or not have a safe place to hang out, read a good book from our library, wash their clothes in our washing machines or get a good bowl of cereal from our breakfast bar. We are here for both populations. “In addition, we welcome new olim who made aliyah with their families that are either about to enter the army or are currently serving. We believe that the stronger network of friends and community we can offer lone soldiers, the better chances they have of staying in Israel after their service, making Israel their home,” Rosenbaum elaborated.To help the lone bnot sherut build a sense of community, TMLB plans meaningful programming for them. The young women are able to come in mid-week “to share, to cook for each other and feel that they also have someone looking after them,” Noach said. TMLB strives to help them “not feel left out because they are serving, but not in army uniform. We are trying to create a community, a place where lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut feel comfortable to come to us with issues, just to hang out and to help create a network of friends and colleagues, not just lone soldiers or just lone bnot but a mix of young people, to help build a stronger foundation for once they finish their service.”This is important because those in service have very little free time.“For most olim without family in Israel, the friends you make are family, so with little time and no defined place to meet one another this can be difficult to build these relationships,” Noach elaborated.Educating immigrant parentsTMLB will also be providing innovative seminars for immigrant parents whose children will be joining the IDF.“Parents of olim soldiers have little knowledge of the army and how things work. They struggle to find out basic things, such as what their children need when they are drafted besides the list sent by the army. Israelis just know these things,” Noach related. “In essence, these olim parents are similar to lone soldier parents who we also support in the same way, providing information and helping when soldiers have issues that need solving.”Seminars for olim parents are being planned for communities such as Ramat Beit Shemesh and Efrat, where large numbers of English-speaking families live.Dignity and honorTMLB’s Board of Directors is led by well-known Jerusalem personality Richard Corman. Former development director of StandWithUs, Corman feels a personal connection to lone soldiers and bnot sherut.“When my wife and I made aliyah at the age of 59, I could not enlist. Yet I wanted to ‘give back’ in some way to show my appreciation and support for what the IDF does for our country,” he said.Corman’s role was to help form and fund a new nonprofit organization that would expand on services for lone soldiers and bnot sherut. As chairman of the board, he created a grant proposal, including a start-up budget and quarterly allocation request, to submit to The Michael Levin Foundation in the US.“We quickly developed a strategic plan that included developing a 15-person Board of Directors (unusually large for Israel standards). Board members were selected for their expertise in various professions, their past involvement with volunteering to support lone soldiers and for their devotion to launching a new amuta (non-profit),” he elaborated.Rosenbaum shared that the board members are divided into sub-groups, including human resources, fundraising, PR and finance. “This way, we can make sure that there are proper checks and balances in place and we are operating above board,” she emphasized.“Having two experienced, capable and dedicated female co-directors in charge of an amuta is probably a first in Israel!” Corman noted.Noach directly addressed a key issue that comes up again and again.“One thing that people always ask us is ‘Why is there a need for another lone soldier organization? Why not team up with an existing one?’ The answer is that we have a different vision. We realize that there are so many amazing organizations out there. The best thing we can do is to work on collaborations so that we can all complement each other and work together toward the [shared] goal of supporting lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut in the best possible way.[We strive] to make their service meaningful and to help them to transition to life in Israel [after their service ends].”Although The Michael Levin Lone Soldier Foundation provides the majority of TMLB’s funding, Rosenbaum emphasized that there are many smaller ways people can help, including running drives in their communities for basic toiletries, linens, underwear and socks.Many other volunteer opportunities exist.“We are always looking for talented individuals to help us expand and diversify. Together we can help our lone soldiers and lone bnot sherut serve with dignity and honor, which is the least they deserve,” Rosenbaum stressed.For more information about The Michael Levin Base: info@thebase.org.il.
