Upon their arrival in Kedumim, however, the Dresners are awed by the “spontaneity of warmth—the outpouring of love—made our heads spin.”78 She recounted the image of families congregating in the streets and singing “Havenu Shalom Aleihem” [Bring Peace Unto You], a popular song of greeting and celebration, who then helped them bring their luggage into their pre-fabricated home, which had already been stocked with a full refrigerator, a spread of food on the table, a supply of linens and kitchenware, and a wall festooned with decorations by local children. Clearly, the extensive description of these home-y details was meant to be strongly appealing to readers and future participants. Later that first evening, they
joined a local family for dinner and “talked and talked”, later reminiscing, “what an exhilarating experience that was!”79 in a discourse of excitement and adventure that would undoubtedly resonate with readers back home. She digressed at length about the importance of the family living experience aspect of Operation 1000 in order to highlight the major theme of the program, highlighting her relationship to her host family and other locals, who
she considered “gracious”, “wonderfully warm”, and “gave both physically and emotionally to meet all our needs”.80 She considered that the “members of the Yishuv displayed hospitality ‘over and above’ what was required . . . I kept thinking that this couldn’t be real. How could they be that giving?”81