Today was a short day at school and then I used the afternoon to catch up on odds and ends, including compiling my blog, which is not a easy task. This afternoon we had an enrichment dealing with the Remembrance Day and Independence Day coming up. We divided into groups and discussed issues that surrounded these holidays. I was in a group that discussed the mandatory military service here and if comes from a sense of obligation or from pride. For the most part we felt like it should be obligatory to serve. The basis of this country is founded on the military, it affects all aspects of life, it is what makes and helps define someone as Israeli. If people had the choice I am sure now because of the standard many would still serve but this country would not exist with out a strong uniform army. We read an interesting article about Bar Rafaeli, a famous Israeli supermodel who avoided service by marrying a family friend, a story written from an American who served in the army and a poem about military service here. It was interesting to hear everyones perspectives on the topic.
After wards we watched a movie about Michael Levin, a American who made aliyah to fight as soldier in the Israeli army. After high school he did a year studying program in Israel with the intensions of making aliyah and serving after. He was a very determined, dedicated, positive person and did whatever it took to serve Israel in the units he most desired to work in. He was visiting his family in 2006 when the Lebanon War broke out and he decided to head back to Israel to fight, they did not need him in battle and people told him to stay put and relax but again, he did what he could to serve. He made it into Lebanon and was killed trying to secure an area with his unit.
A few days later they held a funeral service for him in Har Hertzl and his family flew over, it just so happened to be on T’sha B’av. One of the commemorative fast days in the Jewish calendar where we remember the falling of the Temples and other tragedies that took place in Jewish history. His parents biggest worry was they would not have a minyan (10 adults) for the service which would prevent them from having a public service. When they arrived at the cemetery there were lines and lines of people, they assumed there were several funerals that day but it turns out people traveled from all over to support the family. Over 1,000 people showed up. The images were incredible. It seemed as Michael really was the definition of a modern day hero.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Today in school we working on teaching formal letters to the students. The first thing that confused me is why are they learning them in English class, in the states we would never learn to write a formal letter in our foreign language even if it was a commonly used language. Many of them chose to complain to principal, so I asked one of the girls, what is his name, she did not know. I could not believe she did not know, she said it was because they have a new one every year so what is the point in knowing the principle. Yikes. Their complaints were unbelievable yet completely valid. They were frustrated with the teachers no showing up, having a teacher on maternity leave every 3 months, no consistency amongst the substitues. It was interesting to hear all of their concerns. (Every school is not like this, I hope to don't paint to horrible of a picture, this is just my experience.)
After school I went to the shuk than to try out a new volunteer place. It is an alternative school for children who did not do well in regular school and they also have afterschool programming. It seems like a really nice community of students and teachers\volunteers. Everyone was welcoming and generally interesting in hanging out with us and teaching us the games they play. The kids get 3 meals a day there so we cooked up some Israeli Panini’s for them (pita, cheese, olives) and they were pretty good.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Today in school I was talking to the students about their thoughts on Memorial Day and the issues that the country faces. One of the students said that people have already died for this land and by giving it up the country is making those deaths in vain, I am not saying whether I agree or disagree with that but I never looked at it from that perspective. One of the teachers said that in the future Israel may not exist so we need to do what we can while we can, its incredible how diverse or negative some peoples’ perspectives can be. I had Ulpan this evening then I headed to Tel Aviv to see my parents who arrived today. We walked around the area where they are staying a then had dinner in Neve Tzedek, a neighborhood of Tel Aviv. It was nice to see them and I am looking forward to the next week with them.
Friday, April 16, 2010
While my parents were sleeping I went for an amazing run along beach in Tel Aviv. Its amazing how active and lively the city is. Afterwards I explored a bit with my parents, going to Rabin square and the shuk with them. I love the chaos of the shuk but I guess it was a bit overwhelming for them. We stopped and had some lunch and falafel before we headed back to their place.
We got ready for Shabbat and drove to Ashdod so I could give them a mini tour before we met up with my host family. My parents decided they wanted to experience temple in Ashdod so my father went with my host father Amram and his friend Itsik. I think my dad learned a lot about Israel and Israelis on the 8-minute walk to and from synagogue. They talked about Israel saying the country will always be at war but the people do not necessarily feel it. They asked my father if he felt like he was in a country at war? For sure you do not feel that way here. They also showed him where rocket had landed during the operation with Gaza in 2009. During the service my dad said he was waiting for just one word of English, at any point, but no such luck. I went with my mom and it was nice to experience it with her but it is definitely not as interesting as when you sit below with the men.
We headed back for dinner, it was Amram, Zahavah, my parents, myself and their nephew, Sholomi. It was nice to have him here because he and I did a lot of translating. As the food came out, salads and fish, my parents thought that was it but to their surprise the food kept coming. I was glad my mom got to taste everything so she can help me try making it when I get home. We managed to have some interesting conversations despite the language barriers. I found out Amram came in 1951 at 10 years old by himself and his family came 10 years later. That is just how it was when Israel was a young state, they needed people to come and establish the land and fight in the army. It was also common for religious women to get married to make sure they did not have to enlist in the army and this is why Zahavah and many others were married so young. It was a nice evening overall and I am really glad my parents got to meet my host family and experience life in Israel from another perspective than as a tourist.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Shabbat in Tel Aviv is so different than the rest of the country. People are out an about everywhere, headed to the beach, brunch with friends or a walk along the board walk. My parents and I went to Jaffa to walk around, we had lunch along the beach, and rested on the beach for a while. We went out for dinner and then I headed back to Ashdod with Sarah whose parents were also visiting and were in Tel Aviv.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Afterwards we drove to Haifa for a ceremony on a Navy base. When we arrived we heard a few stories from different Israelis and their military experience. Momo, the head of our program told us that only 19 of the 25 men he started in the army with are still alive today. Here, everyone has a story, everyone has served, and everyone knows several people who have not made it to tell their own story. Its unbelieveable how emotional and real this day is for everyone. I was given the opportunity to lay a rose in honor of 1 of the 31 soldiers who were killed that had served from this base at some pointing time. We sat there in the bleachers where the ceremony was set up along the water of the Mediterranean. It was quite a scene, people were calm and the mood was subdued.
Monday, April 19, 2010
This morning I went to my schools Yom HaZikaron Ceremony. The students and teachers all show up in while and some alumni who are currently serving in the army come back to be a part of the ceremony. Like Holocaust Memorial Day, I could not understand most of what was going on but it was nice to be a part of the event. There was singing, readings and at 11 am the national siren went off again.
All over Jerusalem (and the rest of the country) they have set up stages for concerts that will be happening through out the night.
At night we watched the ceremony on TV that was taking place on Har Hertzel, its incredible what a performance they put on. You feel like you are watching the opening of the Olympics all over again. Later we could hear fire works and the parties had officially begun all over the country. Anna and I went to spend the rest of the night with Amir, an Israeli who is coming to camp with us this summer.
(concert on the streets of Jerusalem)
He and his friends decided to celebrate with a typical Israeli barbeque. He lives 10 minutes outside of Jerusalem in the hills that many people drive by but never think about what may be there. So we drove to this park\forest area near by with a beautiful view of the surrounding hills where we hung out eating, drinking and singing all night. He invited us to sleep over and join his families barbeque the next morning.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
We spend the majority of the day relaxing and eating with his family and friends at their Memorial Day barbeque. Friends and family showed up all afternoon bringing salads and spreads to eat with the meat. Everything was delicious and everyone was friendly. Its amazing how quickly the time passes, it was already late evening and Amir drove us back to Jerusalem. I walked around Jerusalem with my parents at night we tried some of the street food, ice cream and pizza. Yum.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
I took a bus back to Ashdod early in the morning to go to school and voluteer and then I headed up to Tsfat to meet up with my parents. Unless you are in a big city its not always that quick to get around. I took a bus back to Jerusalem and miraculously made it just in time for a bus to Tsfat. Because a lot of religious people live in Tsfat you can only imagine what my ride was like. We stopped half way for a quick bathroom break and several of the men got off to pray. It was quite the experience, as I have said many times throughout my Israel adventure, Only in Israel.
The crying babies did not particularly start to bother me until the end when it started to get dark and the roads started to wind a lot. I could not help but picture my sister Cheryl on this bus having a nervous break down. When I finally arrived I met up with my parents and we had a some traditional “al ha’esh” (bbq) meat and salads for dinner and headed to this nice little bed and breakfast we were staying at in Tsfat.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
We spend the morning walking around Tsfat looking at all of the different art galleries. Its nice to be able to talk with the artists themselves and see where they get their ideas and inspiration. This afternoon we drove out to the country and my dad and I took a short hike around Mount Hermon.
There was basically a 360 degree view of Israel as you walk around the top of the mountain. Afterwards we drove across the country (not to far) to Rosh Hanikrah which is basically the Northwestern most point of the country where there is the border with Lebanon. We took a cable car down in the the grottos there and saw some beautiful fews of the Mediterranean. On our way back to Tsfat we stopped to have dinner at traditional Arab restaurant in a little Arab village. We had some delicious meats and salads as usual. Its amazing how much food you get everywhere you go.
Friday, April 23, 2010
(Port of Akko)
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Today we toured the Golan Heights with a guide which worked out great. First we drove directly north of Tsfat to the border with Lebanon. (It used to be called the Pan Handle, the area Israel gained in 1948 before the Golan Heights was annexed.) Almost the whole day as we drove around we could see the border fence. We stopped at a Kibbutz Misgav Am for a view. When the state was first founded people build kibbutzim and moshavim all over the north and in many parts of the south for the sole purpose of laying claim to the land, besides farming there are not really big industries there but it is necessary to use\farm\work the land, proving ones claim and love for it.
We drove North along the Hula Valley and stopped at an old UN base that was handed over to the Israelis when the UN left. There was a Koach (strength) memorial there in honor of 28 soldiers who had fallen in a battle there to secure the north. As you tour around the area you can always see the border of Israel and its neighbors because it is always obvious that the Israeli land is heavily cultivated where the other countries land is not usually be used. We drove along the northern most border of Israel where there are several Druze villages and stopped for an amazing Druze lunch, I think I ate the best falafel I have ever eaten. As we came down the Eastern side of the Golan Hights we went to Mount Mental which is a old military base which has a great look out to Syria and Lebanon. Our guide mentioned how an American Politican once argued with Israel to move the border back just a km or so but Israel refused. When one hears this story they often get angry with Israel but when you are actually viewing these borders you understand that in a tiny country moving the border a km will be giving Lebanon the tops of 3 maintains that look directly into Israel and the Sea of the Galilee which would be extremely dangerous for the country. Its really a whole other ball game when you actually visit these places and see what is going on.
(view from bunker)
I decided to skip the crazy bus ride back after Shabbat ended and my parents drove me to Tiberus to get on a sherut to Tel Aviv. I met up with Noga, a friend from camp there and than headed back to Ashdod after Shabbat.
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