He's written many columns about Israel. Now Mark Patinkin is going there to tell its stories

I've written many columns about Israel since Oct. 7 – from afar, of course – but with some stories, that's not enough, so I've decided to journey there and see firsthand.

See where a war that has disrupted the world began.

See the inside of Gaza with the Israeli army, if I’m able.

See those with family members still held hostage in hell.

See the Palestinian side on the West Bank.

And, if possible, see, or at least hear, what life is like for Gazans under siege.

So today, Jan. 14, I'm heading 5,500 miles to the Middle East.

I'm not going alone, at least at first.

The idea began when I learned that 20 others from Rhode Island were going there, too.

After Oct. 7, Adam Greenman, head of the state’s Jewish Alliance, began to hear from local folks asking what they could do for Israel.

His answer was to put together a quick solidarity visit – just three days on the ground.

I’ll join them for 48 hours, then remain on my own for a week as a journalist.

At first, I thought I’d write a series about it when I got back. But I like the idea better of sending live dispatches, a diary of a nation and region at war.

I'm told that bulletproof vests there are now scarce, so I'm bringing one that I got while covering a war in Beirut decades ago, which is when I last wore it. It now barely fits. It must have shrunk – I can’t think of any other explanation.

Back then, Hezbollah was kidnapping journalists, so I had it made to look like a jean vest to be inconspicuous. This time, I got an overlay tank top with the word “PRESS,” hoping that will help if I end up needing to wear it.

Many going on the Rhode Island trip are older, and I was surprised they would travel to a conflict zone.

Bob Ducoff is typical.

He’s 78, a retired East Side dentist, and the guy who called to tell me about the trip.

“Israel’s in my heart,” he later told me. “I want to make a statement to my family on what I believe in.”

He’s taking his granddaughter Sydney Miller along. At age 22, she’s the youngest going.

I called Sydney, too.

She graduated from Boston University in May and plans to go to nursing school. She’s been to Israel before on youth trips, once meeting a young man from there named Hersh Goldberg. He was taken hostage on Oct. 7 at the Nova music festival. There’s a horrific video of Hersh being loaded by Hamas into a truck with his arm torn off and bone sticking out.

Sydney is going there to stand with Hersh, but for another reason, too.

She’s been devastated by pro-Palestinian voices denying the Oct. 7 atrocities and celebrating Hamas. Her younger brother, a freshman at the University of Pittsburgh, has had to shelter inside when campus rallies made Jews feel threatened.

“I’m glad I’m not at BU this year,” Sydney told me.

But she wants to stand – physically – with Israel.

I also spoke with Lydia Fascia-Wong, of Warwick, who works with children who have autism. Lydia has two kids at home under age 3, but after Oct. 7 she felt a call to drop everything and go.

Lydia is devastated at the way younger folks, including peers, have cast Israel as the devil. As she explains it, with a Chinese husband and a queer sister, she’s been to marches against Asian hate and for LGBTQ rights, as well as BLM, and is miffed that communities she stood with have turned on Israel, often crossing the line of antisemitism. She’s stunned at Jew hatred on campuses.

“I’ll never wonder again how the Holocaust happened,” Lydia said.

At one point, we 20 who'll be making the trip held a Zoom, each saying why we'd signed up.

A few had been there during the 1973 Yom Kippur War or later intifadas and saw how much their presence meant to a nation that felt alone.

Stories from Israel: His niece murdered, her son shielded beneath her body: A family's final moments in Israel

Most said Oct. 7 gave them a sense of purpose, and a need to do something. Going is their form of doing something.

I’d like to pause here to add an amusing local angle.

While seeking Israel-based connections, I’ve come across a crazy number of Rhode Island folks who now live there.

I got onto a WhatsApp chat group for journalists in Israel, and when I asked about “fixers” to guide and translate for me, one response was from Jack Mukand, based in Jerusalem for Italy’s public broadcaster. He sent me a message saying, “You were my Little League coach.”

The local freelancer I decided to work with is Robby Berman, whose mother was born in Providence and is related to the Hassenfelds.

Another person I connected with is Allison Kaplan Sommer, who grew up in Barrington and now writes for Israel’s prominent newspaper Haaretz. She formed a chat group with me and a colleague from Rhode Island named Natasha Dornberg, and my questions about Israel soon turned to comments about jimmies and Awful Awfuls.

It even happened when I sent a message to a woman who’s the Arabic editor of The Times of Israel. Her partner, also a journalist, is a Providence guy who grew up in a house on the East Side’s Dexterdale Road, where I also once owned a home.

Many of them told me Israel is like Rhode Island. Despite its mighty military and role on the world stage, it’s a tiny place where everyone knows each other.

That, in part, explains why Oct. 7 was especially catastrophic.. Most Israelis have friends, even family, among those killed and wounded on that terrible day.

To be honest, I’m a bit nervous about succeeding there as a reporter. Because things are in upheaval, with hundreds of thousands called out of their jobs for army duty, I’ve been told many of the stories I hope to do will have to be worked out when I get there. Even the stops on the Rhode Island mission are still changing.

From Patinkin: His parents survived the Holocaust, now this RIer watches as a friend is attacked in Israel

That’s Israel right now.

A country traumatized and challenged.

The West Bank is similar.

And Gaza is a war zone.

But what’s happening there is affecting the world.

Which is why I hope to witness what I can, and share with you what I find.

Mark Patinkin is traveling to Israel personally and is not sponsored by or affiliated with any organization.  He will report firsthand from the region as he has done for the past four decades through his award-winning journalism. He can be reached at mpatinki@providencejournal.com.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence Journal columnist goes to Israel to write stories from war zone