We arrived back into Madison mid-afternoon on Thursday, January 3. Our flights back to Madison seemed long, but were uneventful and mostly easy. Each of us is exhausted, yet thrilled to have been part of this monumental journey and pilgrimage to Israel. We will be reflecting on our journey over the next days and weeks, and we’re only beginning to make sense of what we experienced and learned there. Yet we feel that we are now emissaries who can relate more of the substance of Israel to our friends and family members, and try to relate to them the constant struggle she feels as she searches for the right pathway to peace.
Joanna Berke and Rabbi Jonathan Biatch, your bloggers and travelers
Friday, January 4, 2008
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 – Preparations for the Journey Home
We returned to the hotel for some packing or, for those who had gotten a jump on their packing the night before, for a final shopping trip to the Old City or Ben Yehudah street in West Jerusalem.
We boarded the bus and drove to the Haas Promenade, an outlook directly south of the Old City of Jerusalem from which, in the growing twilight of the day, we could see all of the city as it has grown and as it inspires today the fervor of three world religions. From there, we went to a delicious dinner at the Olive and Fish Restaurant, and then on to the airport for our 11:25 PM departure.
If, by the way, you wish to have an account of the security inspections and interrogations that we underwent before we departed Israel on Wednesday night, we are pretty certain that any one of us could give you a question-by-question description. Suffice to say that we felt very secure in boarding a place in Tel-Aviv.
We boarded the bus and drove to the Haas Promenade, an outlook directly south of the Old City of Jerusalem from which, in the growing twilight of the day, we could see all of the city as it has grown and as it inspires today the fervor of three world religions. From there, we went to a delicious dinner at the Olive and Fish Restaurant, and then on to the airport for our 11:25 PM departure.
If, by the way, you wish to have an account of the security inspections and interrogations that we underwent before we departed Israel on Wednesday night, we are pretty certain that any one of us could give you a question-by-question description. Suffice to say that we felt very secure in boarding a place in Tel-Aviv.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 – The Memory of Israel’s Founders
Our last tour this day was an excursion to the Israeli Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl. We visited the graves of Itzhak and Leah Rabin, Golda Meir, and the other Prime Ministers, presidents, and speakers of the Knesset who are buried there. (Menachem Begin and David ben Gurion requested to be buried elsewhere, and the State complied with their wishes. We also saw the burial site of Theodor Herzl, the one who is credited with pushing for the establishment of a Jewish state in Israel.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008 – Yad Vashem
A hand and a name – the translation of the name of Israel’s Holocaust Memorial Authority. This was our first and only stop for today, and perhaps a fitting end for our journey in Israel. This institution has as its goal the archiving of the victims of the Holocaust, and in so doing, has created a large and moving set of exhibits that are interactive and inspiring. From the initial entry into its museum (where no photos were permitted, unfortunately), we knew we were in a special place.
The Holocaust is, perhaps, THE defining event in the life of the Jewish state, as Israel’s creation was accelerated by the horrifying events of WWII, where six million Jews were systematically killed, along with five million other innocents.
First we toured the museum which told the story of the Jews of Europe, who were degraded and dehumanized by the growing Nazi machine. From the imposition of disabilities to the herding of Jews into ghettos, and then into cattle cars destined for death camps, the museum documents the horrible story of the deaths of six million of our family members.
We then went to sit together in the synagogue of Yad Vashem, where we learned a bit more about the heroism of one particular Jew who, under threat of death, preserved the dignity and importance of the Jewish New Year by copying onto a paper cement bag the words of the High Holy Day prayerbook, so that he and his fellow prisoners could worship in the camp where they were imprisoned.
Walking down the Avenue of the Righteous, we saw names the like of Raoul Wallenberg and Ichiro Sugihara, those non-Jews who are memorialized for their heroic saving of Jewish lives through their defiance of Nazi laws.
The Holocaust is, perhaps, THE defining event in the life of the Jewish state, as Israel’s creation was accelerated by the horrifying events of WWII, where six million Jews were systematically killed, along with five million other innocents.
First we toured the museum which told the story of the Jews of Europe, who were degraded and dehumanized by the growing Nazi machine. From the imposition of disabilities to the herding of Jews into ghettos, and then into cattle cars destined for death camps, the museum documents the horrible story of the deaths of six million of our family members.
We then went to sit together in the synagogue of Yad Vashem, where we learned a bit more about the heroism of one particular Jew who, under threat of death, preserved the dignity and importance of the Jewish New Year by copying onto a paper cement bag the words of the High Holy Day prayerbook, so that he and his fellow prisoners could worship in the camp where they were imprisoned.
Walking down the Avenue of the Righteous, we saw names the like of Raoul Wallenberg and Ichiro Sugihara, those non-Jews who are memorialized for their heroic saving of Jewish lives through their defiance of Nazi laws.
Finally we arrived to the Valley of the Communities, large granite and sandstone sentinels upon which, over a vast complex of valleys and cliffs, lovingly preserves the names of the shtetls that were destroyed in the Holocaust. We held a service of memory in the name of the Six Million who perished in the sanctification of God’s name.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Independence Hall at night
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Independence Hall at night
Independence Hall is the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence signed by 27 members of the Jewish coordinating council. You may be familiar with this photo that is made famous in books and articles, but to sit in this place of history was truly inspiring as we learned about Herzl, his mania-like passion for the establishing of the state of Israel, and how some of the signatories of the declaration had to sign it later as they were trapped in Jerusalem by the Jordanian blockade of the city.
We left Tel-Aviv at about 9:15, and arrived home very late, too late for us to post that night. So too the next night, so this post is actually written after our arrival back into the United States. More on the next day’s activities in the next post.
Independence Hall is the site of the signing of the Declaration of Independence signed by 27 members of the Jewish coordinating council. You may be familiar with this photo that is made famous in books and articles, but to sit in this place of history was truly inspiring as we learned about Herzl, his mania-like passion for the establishing of the state of Israel, and how some of the signatories of the declaration had to sign it later as they were trapped in Jerusalem by the Jordanian blockade of the city.
We left Tel-Aviv at about 9:15, and arrived home very late, too late for us to post that night. So too the next night, so this post is actually written after our arrival back into the United States. More on the next day’s activities in the next post.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Dinner at Maganda in the Yemenite Quarter
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Dinner at Maganda in the Yemenite Quarter
We had dinner at Maganda Restaurant in the Yemenite Quarter, just a three or four block walk from the Carmel Market. We were stuffed with multiple salad courses, lamb and chicken kabobs, and coffee and baklava for dessert. Wine also came with our meal. We were stuffed, but not too full to head on then to Independence Hall.
We had dinner at Maganda Restaurant in the Yemenite Quarter, just a three or four block walk from the Carmel Market. We were stuffed with multiple salad courses, lamb and chicken kabobs, and coffee and baklava for dessert. Wine also came with our meal. We were stuffed, but not too full to head on then to Independence Hall.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Shopping in the Carmel Market
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Shopping in the Carmel Market
As if we had not had enough time to shop, Daphna let us loose in the open air Carmel Market, a Jewish market in the southern part of Tel-Aviv. For two hours, we bought and bargained our way through about four square blocks of shops and artist street fairs, and we saw some amazing sights along the way.
As if we had not had enough time to shop, Daphna let us loose in the open air Carmel Market, a Jewish market in the southern part of Tel-Aviv. For two hours, we bought and bargained our way through about four square blocks of shops and artist street fairs, and we saw some amazing sights along the way.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Tel-Aviv – Jaffa
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Tel-Aviv – Jaffa
Our journey took us to Tel-Aviv / Yafo (Jaffa), the largest (geographically speaking, at least) city in Israel. We headed into Jaffa with rush hour traffic, to visit the old port city. Our guide Daphna mentioned that they had just uncovered part of the old Byzantine port (within the last ten days), so the archeological finds are going to be expansive here as time goes by.
Our journey took us to Tel-Aviv / Yafo (Jaffa), the largest (geographically speaking, at least) city in Israel. We headed into Jaffa with rush hour traffic, to visit the old port city. Our guide Daphna mentioned that they had just uncovered part of the old Byzantine port (within the last ten days), so the archeological finds are going to be expansive here as time goes by.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam
Neve Shalom means ‘oasis of peace.’ It is a village located near Latrun the site of a famous battle of the 1948 Independence War, and is actually built upon a site of the abandoned Arab village Deir Yassin. (Read history of the pre-independence days to learn of the significance of that name.) Neve Shalom started in 1979 as an experiment in communal living of Arabs and Jews in Israel. Intended to be a community of 150 families, it still has only about 50 residents, one-third of whom work in the community (see below), and the other two-thirds work in conventional jobs in near-by cities.
Neve Shalom’s primary work has been on Jewish-Arab cooperation and coexistence, through programs for high school and adult populations in Israel. The subjects range from language and holiday celebrations, and similar cross-cultural subjects, to conflict resolution and management of problems that appear in the diverse religious populations of Israel.
This visit proved to be quite controversial, for our presenter (a resident of the community since 1984) suggested strongly, and then confirmed definitely through the Q and A, that he would like there to be a completely secular society in Israel, that there should be no distinctions between Jew, Christian, and Muslim. The main question in our group, especially after hearing from Colonel Gruber earlier in the day, was why this Neve Shalom presenter was willing to remain in Israel, or what made it a special place to be in any case? Why did he not live in America?
This set of questions gave us much food for thought as we made our way to Tel-Aviv, the significant metropolis of Israel.
Neve Shalom means ‘oasis of peace.’ It is a village located near Latrun the site of a famous battle of the 1948 Independence War, and is actually built upon a site of the abandoned Arab village Deir Yassin. (Read history of the pre-independence days to learn of the significance of that name.) Neve Shalom started in 1979 as an experiment in communal living of Arabs and Jews in Israel. Intended to be a community of 150 families, it still has only about 50 residents, one-third of whom work in the community (see below), and the other two-thirds work in conventional jobs in near-by cities.
Neve Shalom’s primary work has been on Jewish-Arab cooperation and coexistence, through programs for high school and adult populations in Israel. The subjects range from language and holiday celebrations, and similar cross-cultural subjects, to conflict resolution and management of problems that appear in the diverse religious populations of Israel.
This visit proved to be quite controversial, for our presenter (a resident of the community since 1984) suggested strongly, and then confirmed definitely through the Q and A, that he would like there to be a completely secular society in Israel, that there should be no distinctions between Jew, Christian, and Muslim. The main question in our group, especially after hearing from Colonel Gruber earlier in the day, was why this Neve Shalom presenter was willing to remain in Israel, or what made it a special place to be in any case? Why did he not live in America?
This set of questions gave us much food for thought as we made our way to Tel-Aviv, the significant metropolis of Israel.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Ammunition Hill
Tuesday, January 1, 2008 – Ammunition Hill
We departed the hotel for a 9 AM appointment at Ammunition Hill, a series of bunkers and ammunition depots originally built by the British during the time of the British Mandate, but then turned over to the Jordanians during the years of 1948-1967. This spot was located at the highest elevated point in the region, commanding a view of the surrounding hills and looking down into the Dead Sea Valley. Today there are high rise apartments overlooking this spot, but as our tour guide would say with some frequency, if we had come there in 1967, we’d only be able to do it riding on camels.
We watched a film on the military significance of this location during the Six-Day War, and then also met with Colonel Ben Tzion Gruber, a reserve colonel and computer consultant who spoke to us about the modern-day task of apprehending potential terrorists / suicide bombers before they strike. Using a sophisticated system of informants, night-vision airborne drone planes, and ingenuity, they have been able to arrest over 98% or more of terrorists before they strike. He showed a film depicting these methods using actual footage and real-time intelligence.
We departed the hotel for a 9 AM appointment at Ammunition Hill, a series of bunkers and ammunition depots originally built by the British during the time of the British Mandate, but then turned over to the Jordanians during the years of 1948-1967. This spot was located at the highest elevated point in the region, commanding a view of the surrounding hills and looking down into the Dead Sea Valley. Today there are high rise apartments overlooking this spot, but as our tour guide would say with some frequency, if we had come there in 1967, we’d only be able to do it riding on camels.
We watched a film on the military significance of this location during the Six-Day War, and then also met with Colonel Ben Tzion Gruber, a reserve colonel and computer consultant who spoke to us about the modern-day task of apprehending potential terrorists / suicide bombers before they strike. Using a sophisticated system of informants, night-vision airborne drone planes, and ingenuity, they have been able to arrest over 98% or more of terrorists before they strike. He showed a film depicting these methods using actual footage and real-time intelligence.
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