Jewish War Veterans Post 210 Commander Michael Chambers’ military past is surprisingly diverse. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy after high school, then after making aliyah, spent six years in army intelligence in the Israel Defense Forces. He then volunteered for the U.S. Air Force reserves when he returned to the States. Not only that, but Michael has been married to an IDF veteran for almost 40 years. His wife, Ahuva, served in munitions supply during the Yom Kippur War.
The two met on a blind date on Michael’s first night in Israel, back in June 1976. He had just graduated from Syracuse University and had decided to make aliyah, after previously having spent nine months in the country. Just after arriving, he asked his Israeli cousin to fix him up with a date for that night. Ahuva feigned a headache to get out of her scheduled plans. She says that as soon as they were introduced, that was it. They were married four months later.
“I didn’t know Hebrew that well, but, because of how I grew up, I had to ask her father’s permission to marry his daughter in Hebrew; he didn’t know English at the time. He accepted and I never saw a man cry so much. I don’t know if it was tears of joy or tears of regret, but he was bawling,” Michael says.
Michael served in one of the IDF’s elite intelligence-gathering units during the first Lebanon War. He was in the third IDF vehicle to enter Lebanon when the war started. Michael says he was “just outside the U.S. Marine barracks” in Beirut when they were attacked by a truck bomb in October 1983.
The couple lived on Kibbutz Nirim, on the border with Gaza in southern Israel, until 1986, when economic considerations drove them to move their family to Delaware, where Michael had grown up. He got a job with the postal service and Ahuva pursued a career in nursing. Missing the camaraderie of the military, Michael joined the U.S. Air Force reserves until Operation Desert Storm, when Ahuva insisted that he leave. She could not bear the possibility of her husband being sent off to another combat zone.
When Michael retired in 2010, they moved to Phoenix because the desert climate was so similar to their kibbutz in the Negev desert. In their backyard garden, they grow an abundance of trees and plants that remind them of Israel, including figs, pomelos, white peaches, loquats, lychee, pomegranates and prickly pear cactus.
They quickly became involved in the North Valley Jewish Community Association – a synagogue in Anthem. Shortly after they started attending services, Ahuva was asked to lead their monthly Shabbat services because of her fluency in Hebrew. She invites other congregants to lead English readings and prepare d’var Torah commentaries, involving as many people as possible. About three years ago she bought a 150-year-old Torah scroll for the synagogue while visiting her uncle in New York. She also designed and commissioned a custom mantle for the Torah. Michael currently serves as president of the NVJCA board.
Michael joined Jewish War Veterans Scottsdale Post 210 shortly after moving to Phoenix. He has served as commander of the post since 2012 and is also senior vice commander of the Department of Southwest.
“What attracted me to Jewish War Vets? The camaraderie and friendship of the veterans,” Michael says. “Being veterans, we all have something in common.”
