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CNN Live Saturday

Wall Street Trader Joins Israeli Border Police

Aired July 20, 2002 - 18:13   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN ANCHOR: Well, for many Americans the bloodshed of September 11 sparked a renewed sense of patriotism and a desire to give something back. Many donated their time, their blood, even their money. CNN's John Vause catches up with one American whose renewed sense of duty took him all the way to Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He normally spends his days trading on Wall Street. He's 49. The knees aren't what they used to be. But for the last two weeks, Alan Leventen, an American Israeli, has been Sergeant Leventen, patrolling a five-mile road in Israel's Megiddo Valley. Armed with an M-16, carrying full pack, it's hot, hard work.

SGT. ALAN LEVENTEN, ISRAELI BORDER POLICE: Provided that I don't end up with a bullet in my ear, or being blown into cat food from a roadside bomb, I'm probably going to be a very healthy person when I get back to New York.

VAUSE: After surviving 9/11, Alan said he was overcome with a sense of duty. He wanted to do something, anything, so he volunteered for two weeks with Israel's Border Police.

LEVENTEN: Thinking about if I was a terrorist, where would I want to be if I was going to conduct an ambush against a vehicle like this?

VAUSE: Alan had wanted to join the U.S. action in Afghanistan, but there was no call for part-time volunteers. So he came back to Israel, his second stint here in 30 years.

(on camera) This is the green line; it was drawn up after Israel's War of Independence in 1948. Palestinian territory is just over there, the town of Jenin only a few miles away. And Israeli authorities say in the last year and a half, at least 24 suicide bombers have come from that part of the West Bank.

(voice-over): It's also a path many Palestinians take to get to work in Israel. Eventually, though, there will be a electrified electronic security fence along this road, but in the meantime, it'll be patrolled by volunteers like Alan, along side regular IDF soldiers, some less than half his age.

LEVENTEN: If I have to take the bullet, I'll take the bullet. I am willing to give my life to protect these people.

VAUSE: He's one of a few dozen foreign volunteers here, and he plans to come back at least twice a year for the next few years, as long as the knees hold out.

John Vause, CNN, the Megiddo Valley.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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