Margo Gray, a member of Hadassah Southern Arizona, wrote the following recollection of the Six-Day War period for Hadassah, the Women’s Zionist Organization of America:
I was 18, had completed my first university semester and had just returned to Chicago. I am a first-generation American whose father had escaped Germany and whose grandmother died in the Holocaust. I did not and do not take Israel for granted. I was frightened that Israel could disappear in defeat. June 10 brought euphoria. My new friends from Hillel and I spent the entire summer at the Jewish federation in Chicago acknowledging the donations pouring in, first as volunteers and later as summer employees.
Although my family sent packages to our Israeli relatives, my parents had never visited Israel during my lifetime. The victory of 1967 motivated me to participate in a six-week program in Israel as soon as I graduated from college. I spent free weekends with cousins and with my aunt and uncle. I came home inspired, sharing stories and photos. I became a Zionist for life.
When my husband asked me to marry him, I agreed on the condition he promise to travel with me to Israel. My passion for Israel led me to join Hadassah during my first year of marriage.
Editor’s note: Do you have a vivid memory from the time of the Six-Day War? Email your story, 250 words or less, to pbraun@azjewishpost.com by May 30 for publication in the June 9 issue.
