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After feeling powerless to save lives when the World Trade Center was in flames, Alan Leventen, 49, came to Israel to volunteer in the IDF.
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| By Ellis Shuman July 12, 2002 |
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"When the World Trade Center was in flames, I wasn't able to save any lives. But if while I am here, doing reserve duty in the army, I can save even one life, it will be as if I have saved the whole world." Merrill Lynch executive Alan Leventen, who came to Israel to volunteer with the Israel Defense Forces this week in the Jenin area, says he'll keep coming back to Israel to help as long as his knees hold up.
"We're doing a little bit to help take some of the pressure off the army and to help deal with the potential of a suicide bombing," said Sgt. Leventen, 49, who holds dual Israeli and U.S. citizenship. "When I talked to my wife and other colleagues in New York they told me they haven't heard me be so happy in a very long time."
Leventen is one of a handful of American-born Jews who have participated in a volunteer program launched by the IDF a year ago. Over 2,500 people, most of them Israelis too old for reserve duties, have helped free regular troops for patrols and other front line operations.
On their 12-day stint of army service, Leventen and 11 other mainly middle age Israeli men, including bus drivers and kibbutzniks, have been posted to a dusty police base overlooking Jenin.
"We do what we are asked to do," Leventen told Yediot Aharonot earlier this week. "Roadblocks, patrols, guard duty. It could be that I can't run like I used to, or do long hikes, but I can still contribute in other ways."
This is not Leventen's first stint of Israeli army duty. In 1970, the Detroit native came to Israel at the age of seventeen and enlisted in the IDF for ideological reasons. He served in a paratroopers unit, and as a shooting instructor.
Upon completion of his service, Leventen returned to the United States and began studying economics and business administration. Afterwards, he lectured at Columbia University. But his connection to Israel remained strong, and he served as a guest lecturer at both the Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University.
"Eighty percent of my friends live in Israel," Leventen said. "Most of them I have been in contact with since the army. They are like my family."
In 1990, Leventen began working at Merrill Lynch in New York City. Today he's a vice president there, and he lives with his wife, Julie, and three cats on Central Park West. His offices are located some 200 meters from the World Trade Center.
"Everyone ran to the windows, and stood there frozen, unable to move," Leventen said, recalling his actions on September 11. "I knew I had to do something. I shouted, 'Everyone out of the building, now!' Everyone began running down the steps, including my wife, who also works in the company."
Leventen said he saw the bodies falling from the Trade Center towers. "For ten minutes I was the only person there, and I couldn't do anything," he said. "It was a horrible feeling of powerlessness. I wanted to help, but I couldn't do anything."
Leventen treated a few people suffering from shock, and bandaged some superficial cuts. Moved to further action after his traumatic experiences on that day, Leventen vowed to fight terror by volunteering for the IDF reserve duty.
Asked by Yediot Aharonot if he was afraid, Leventen replied that no one is able to plan the moment when he/she will die. "If we are going to die, I would rather die as a soldier. I could never live with myself if I didn't do everything possible to prevent the next terror attack."
Leventen said that he'll keep coming back to Israel until the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is over. "I'm aiming for two times a year for the next few years, as long as the knees hold up."
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