Well at least I think his name is Asor. He’s a soldier in one of the IDF’s elite commando units and his dad is Haim Watzman, author of Company C and A Crack in the Earth: A Journey Up Israel’s Rift Valley (a finalist for the $100,000 Sami Rohr Prize for Jewish Literature). In his spare time Haim blogs for South Jerusalem – a Jerusalem-based blog that leans firmly to the left. I don’t personally agree with everything he writes but he’s principled, reasonable and a pretty darn good writer. His latest post discusses his experience with the IDF that began when he enlisted in 1984. A perennial problem it seems has to do with socks. The IDF Quartermaster doesn’t give its soldiers enough, the latest generation of space age commando socks are darn expensive – and the cost has to be borne by the soldier and his family.
When I reached reserve retirement age I thought I had done my part for my country and that I, and my bank account, could rest on our laurels. Surely, I reasoned, by the time my children reach military age someone in the quartermaster corps will have realized that a pair of socks does not last for six months… Instead, the opposite happened. The army cut back further on supplies, and technology advanced. We are now in the age of the laser rifle sight, the smart bomb, and the $23 commando sock… I’m proud to have a boy who has chosen such a difficult and demanding way of serving his country. But must I pay through the nose for the naches?
Well who can argue with that? That being the case, I thought wouldn’t it be great if we kicked in some spare change to buy Asor some socks? Below you will find a PayPal donate button. All proceeds will go to the Buy Asor Some Socks Fund. Now I don’t know Haim, and I don’t know Asor, but Israel is a small country and what with the Internets and all that it ought not be too hard to find them and give them the Jewlicious-raised cash so that they can buy some socks. No donation is too small. I myself have already donated enough for one high tech commando sock ($12.50) – will you help me buy the second sock?
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I just came across your blog and wanted to drop you a note telling you how impressed I was with the information you have posted here.
-Susanne
I have been a frequent visitor of this blog for some time now, so I thought it would be a good idea to leave you with my thanks.
Regards,
Albertina
I’m Asor’s aunt, so I decided to kick in $5. I like to think of him wearing warm socks. And if you decide to send the money to someone else, that’s fine with me too. Warm socks are important.
The secret to tolerating the army with a smile is definitely the socks and underwear. When I was drafted, thor-los were the ultimate, but none came in the right colour anyway. You could choose the cheapest polyester ones, or go for the I think, a wool-blend. Frankly, I’m still using them after ten years, and the more expensive ones are holding up the best. I just can’t bring myself to wear white socks with my boots.
Haim: Does someone else in the unit need socks? Otherwise I guess we can send the money to Mavoi Satum or the Task Force for Human Trafficking or Table to Table or the ck goes to Thailand… again fund
I really appreciate the thought, but please donate this money to a worthy charity!