Sderot and Gaza Seminar

To learn more about the Gaza situation and its effects on Sderot, a city that borders the Gaza Strip, we went to Sderot for a seminar. Learning about the situation in the place where the historical moments, wars, etc occurred is so much more powerful than learning from afar. Sderot is mostly inhabited by Moroccan immigrants and is constantly under threat of Kassam rockets fired from the Gaza Strip. Every home has a bomb shelter, as do buildings and parks. We were lucky to be able to visit for the day, since it's been relatively calm there over the past 6 months.

View of the Gaza Strip Border (~2 miles away)

When we first arrived in Sderot, we went to Beit Chabad to hear a little about Sderot's history before and after the 2005 disengagement from Gaza. The speaker was from an organization called Kol Voice (all the voices) and we learned a lot about the past decade of life in Sderot. Basically, people live their normal, everyday lives, and when they hear the rocket siren they have 15 seconds to get to a bomb shelter. Once they hear the explosion, they go back outside and carry on with whatever they were doing. A very, very difficult way of life, and extremely emotional and stressful for families and their children.
Our next speaker was from the Sderot Media Center, and he was a journalist that talked more about the rockets and life in Sderot from the perspective of a journalist. At the time of the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, the country was split in half between those in support and those against it. The supporters all wore blue ribbons/ tied them to windows, cars, wherever they could. Those in opposition did the same thing but with orange. The result was a country that was half blue and half orange (Ray Bucknell!). If you were in Israel in 2005, you would see the mobs of blue and orange and the different protests.
Finally, we met two representatives from Other Voice, which is a group of Israelis that communicate with Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip, mostly by phone and email. They hope to establish connections and that the groups will see some similarities in their lives being surrounded by the rockets and fighting. One woman spoke about how she lived in Egypt for 4 years with her husband and children. Her 5 year old daughter became good friends with a Palestinian girl in her class at school, but the girl's mother would not let this woman's daughter go to her daughter's birthday party at her house because 'their people hate each other.' This went on for some time, and the girls' teacher did lots of lessons in the classroom about accepting differences and not hating people. Finally, it was the Israeli girls birthday and she wanted to invite the Palestinian girl to her birthday party. The girl's mother would not let her go to an Israeli's house, but she agreed to let her go if the party was in a restaurant. Eventually, the girls started to be allowed in each other's houses and their families became good friends. The girls even became regulars at each other's houses. This took 3 years to progress, but both mothers were amazed looking back, since they never dreamed they'd be so close with a family they were supposed to hate on principle. After the speakers, we stopped at the police station to see some of the kassam missiles that have been collected over the years. They're about 3 feet long but can do a lot of damage.

Kassam Rockets Collected at the Police Station

We took a break for some falafel after a long, intense morning, then dove right back in. We went on a security tour of Sderot and went to a viewpoint about 2 miles from the Gaza Strip. We heard some more stories, took some pictures, and got back on the bus. Our next stop was Nitzan, a community of people that were evacuated from Gaza in 2005. They were forced to leave by their own people, which was an extremely emotional situation for the whole country. The soldiers that evacuated them could have had family and friends there, and thankfully everyone cooperated and left their homes peacefully. The people in Nitzan live in temporary homes given to them by the government when they were forced to leave Gaza in 2005. Their homes are tiny apartments, but they are building them large homes now, somewhat subsidized by the government. It's been 5 years since they left Gaza, so it's about time they have a real home to start their lives again. Many of them were farmers, so they have to learn a new trade, although a lot of them are 45-55 years old and don't want to change their occupation.
It was a very informative, intense day, and we're all still formulating opinions about the situation and digesting all the information we were given.

Shabbat on Kibbutz Gazit

A really interesting and unique way of life in Israel is living on a kibbutz, a community where almost everything is shared- from the work to the food to clothes and childcare. Ellie and I are lucky to have a friend from camp that lives on Kibbutz Gazit, a farming kibbutz near the Kineret, and over the weekend, we had a chance to experience life there. Ellie, Keren, Becca, and I set off for Kibbutz Gazit on a never-ending bus ride, and our friend Guy picked us up when we finally arrived. The kibbutz is near Mount Tavor and the Kineret, but it doesn't need these beautiful surroundings to make it incredible; the kibbutz itself is beautiful. As we drove through, we noticed how calm and quiet it was- especially compared to the busy streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. All the houses are beautiful inside and out.

There are about 300 families on the kibbutz and everyone knows each other. There are family houses in one part of the kibbutz, and young adult studio apartments for ages 18+ are a few minutes' walk away. There were also soccer/ basketball courts, a big dining hall with buffet style meals, classrooms, a nursery, and playgrounds. Since Kibbutz Gazit is a farming kibbutz, there were lots and lots of cows and sheep.

After we arrived on Friday, we met Guy's parents, brother, sister, and nephews. We all had mint tea and a small snack to hold us over until Shabbat dinner. As always, the food was amazing! We had dinner in the dining hall, where there was rice, chicken, potatoes, vegetables, and more- mmmm good. After dinner, we headed to the moadon (social lounge) for some chocolate milk and pretzels/ wafers. We sat outside with a bunch of families and watched the kids and dogs run around. Dogs on kibbutz's have the life: they can wander about as they please, everyone feeds them/ knows who they are, and no one bothers them. Guy's dogs walked between his apartment and his parents house whenever they felt like it or wanted to see another family member.

As if we didn't have enough for dinner/ dessert, when we went back to Guy's parents' to relax, we were served brownies with ice cream! We learned a lot about the kibbutz and had a great time with Guy's family over the 2 days. Also on Friday night, we met a bunch of Guy's friends and went to the Kibbutz pub. We sat outside and played cards while enjoying a few beers. All in all, it was a great night.

On Saturday, we woke up early for breakfast at Guy's parents' and then headed out for our walking tour of the kibbutz and the local orchards. It was beautiful! The view from the kibbutz is great- all greenery and trees on mountains. The trees in the orchards included almond, avocado, sabras, and pomela. Pomela is a very large green citrus that is somewhat sweet and very delicious. We picked one from a tree and sat outside to enjoy our snack after a long morning of walking and learning about the kibbutz. We also went to visit the cows and sheep, and saw the cows getting milked. They have machines/ suctions that milk the cows, so Guy's job is to get the cows in/out, set up, and clean up. Becca was brave enough to see what it's like to milk a cow by hand! We also visited the baby cows, which apparently will suck on your fingers if you put them in their mouths, hoping for some milk (weird, but Guy told us to do it).

When we got back to Guy's parents', it was time for lunch: empanadas, chinese noodles with chicken, and chicken stuffed with veggies. We had another brownie ice cream treat for dessert! After our delicious lunch and recovery from over-eating, we got in the car to drive up Mount Tavor. There are quite a few Arabic villages in the area, and it was interesting to drive by and check them out. The view from Mount Tavor was amazing: the Israel Valley, more mountains, and you could even see Tzfat! We also drove up to a really pretty church but couldn't go inside. 

As the sun set, we headed back to Guy's for a quick nap and then it was time to head back to Tel Aviv. It was an incredible experience seeing first hand what life is like on a kibbutz and the advantages of a sharing culture. 

Trip to the North: Golan Heights, Tzfat, hiking, the Kineret!

To celebrate the completion of Ulpan, our program took us on a 4 day trip to the north of Israel. We woke up bright and early Tuesday morning and drove for a few hours up north to begin our first hike. We hiked along the Keziv Stream, which offered beautiful views and a natural pool at the bottom of the mountain that we could swim in. We hiked for a few hours, but we stopped along the way to hear stories and swim in the pool. The view from mountain to mountain while hiking was incredible- so green and natural. After the hike, we went to a really cool lookout along the northwest coast of Israel. Rosh Hanakra lookout was on the border of Israel and Lebanon. We took cable cars down to the water, where there were a bunch of really interesting caves and very beautiful blue water. We were there for sunset, which was the perfect time of day to see the coast. After the caves, we headed to Tel Hai Youth Hostel, very ready for a shower and dinner. We had the typical Israeli hotel buffet dinner- burekas, schnitzel, potatoes, other chicken, hummus, vegetables. Delish. After dinner, we went on a night walk to the Tel Hai monument and heard some stories of the history between Israel and Lebanon.

View of Lebanon/ homes of Hezbollah from the Kibbutz

We woke up early on Wednesday and drove to Kibbutz Misgav Am, which borders and looks over Lebanon. It overlooks the homes of Hezbollah and their followers. We could see their houses, schools, army bases, everything. One of the members of the kibbutz gave an amazing talk about his life on the Kibbutz, the politics of the area and the situation between Israel and Hezbollah. One thing he pointed out that really struck all of us was that none of Hezbollah's buildings have windows or any glass. This is because it's much easier to shoot/fire missiles at Israel if there's no glass in the way. Right now, the sitaution on the kibbutz is a watching game. The armies watch each other and monitor their every move. Both sides know the other is watching and listening.

Harry Potter broom candles!

After the incredibly powerful and moving lecture at the Kibbutz, we headed to an Arabic village for a coexistence seminar. We heard about the struggles of the Arab Israeli population and then went to a local high school to talk to 11th and 12th graders about their lives. We sat in small groups and had guided conversations with the high schoolers- it was very interesting hearing about their lives. Some of them were surprised to find out that we were Jewish and even a little afraid because of the way they are treated by some of the Israelis. It was really hard to see their reaction when this was the case.
Wednesday had quickly become a very intense day with a lot of heavy emotions- deep passion for Israel and the cause of the Jewish people there followed by a little shame to learn how some of the Jewish Israelis treat the Arabic Israelis.
Soon after, we switched gears and drove to Tzfat, home of the Kabbalah art of Israel. It also is home to a lot of religious Jews. We walked through the beautiful streets and explored the artsy shops. We went to the candle factory and tasted Yemenite pizza. The candle factory was very cool- they even had Harry Potter broom candles. We had dinner in Tzfat, but we didn't have a lot of time so we settled for schnitzel.  When we got back to the hostel, we were exhausted so we hung out for a bit and went to bed early in preparation for another day of hiking.
On Thursday, we went on a 4 hour hike through the Golan Heights, following the Jilabun River. Before we started, we heard a story about a famous Israeli spy that saved the Golan from being captured, which gave us something to think about as we started the hike. The view was incredible as we climbed through the mountain. We stopped at a waterfall that formed a pool for lunch and bit of swimming. The water was freezing! We went in anyway and swam over the be under the waterfall. After we dried of a little, we climbed back up the mountain and got back on the bus. We went to a war memorial at the border of Israel and Syria and heard the story of the Yom Kippur War. While we were there, a group of soldiers was given a talk by an older Israeli that had actually fought in the war- we were surprised how young the man was, which goes to show that these events are not that far in the past. After the talk, we got a surprise trip to the Naot Factory! It was tough, but I managed to find a new pair of sandals there.
Friday morning was another early morning as we packed up and left Tel Hai and drove to the Kineret. We got to swim in the Kineret and hang out at a beach bar/restaurant on the water. Ellie and I met up with our friend Guy Waks from camp this summer! He lives on a Kibbutz near the Kineret, so he visited us for a bit. It's so great seeing so many camp people in Israel!! After the Kineret, we drove back to Tel Aviv and spent the rest of the day watching movies/relaxing. The trip was a whirlwind of events, from hiking to history lessons to Lebanon and Sryia's borders. It was nice to unwind a bit in Tel Aviv before thinking about starting our internships in a few days.

Camping out on the beach and a visit to the Jerusalem Zoo

Our Campsite

The great thing about September in Israel is that at least a part of every week is a holiday! For the final holiday of the month, a few friends and I decided to camp out on a beach called Nachsholim, somewhere between Netanya and Haifa. We caught a bus to the area, got off, and looked around. We were about a 30 minute walk from our destination, but luckily we knew which way to go. When we got the camp site, it was nearly dark, so we set up the tents and started cooking dinner. We cooked our meals on a small burner we brought with us, and sat around the campsite with the nearby sound of waves crashing and a beautiful view of the sea and stars around us. The stars were incredible! We saw lots of shooting stars and some new constellations that we don't have in the US.

Pools under the Cliffs

We woke up early the next morning, with the sun burning through our tents and begging us to come outside and swim in the sea. And so, that's what we did all day. We explored the area, found some really cool ruins of the city of Nachsholim, and some pools that had collected under the cliffs. After a long day of relaxing in the sun and swimming in the Mediterranean, we watched the sun set and cooked dinner. The stars were even better the second night!

So Many Shells!

The next day, I stopped in Tel Aviv to shower and repack before heading off to my weekend with Anat and Yoyo! We relaxed almost as much as we ate, which was a lot! That night, we made a tv dinner and watched Avatar on a huge projector screen in Anat's living room. The next day, we went on a family trip to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. Each display has a biblical theme with a quote from the Bible. Pretty cool. At the back of the zoo, the last setting is Noah's Ark, which has mostly African animals. There was a long bridge that led up to a replica ark. The backdrop of the entire zoo is Jerusalem, which is awesome. On the way back from the zoo, we stopped in an Arabic village called Abbu Gosh for really good hummus and dessert.
By the time I got back from camping and Anat's, I was exhausted, but I still had to study for my Ulpan test. Studying is the perfect excuse for going to the cafe across the street for some delicious hot chocolate and a great end to a very exciting holiday season.

My new favorite city in Israel: Haifa!

For the Sukkot holiday, we had a few days off from Ulpan (Hebrew class), so Ellie and I took advantage of the break and headed up north to Haifa. Our friend Guy picked us up and we started our scenic drive up the mountain. I fell in love with Haifa the moment we drove out of the bus station- downtown Haifa leads to the beach, while the rest of Haifa is scattered through the Carmel Mountain. Guy lives near the top of the mountain and has an incredible view of the hills down the mountain that lead to the Mediterranean Sea. It's hard to find a place in Haifa that doesn't have a great view- the mountain has a view of the sea and the sea has a view of the mountain.

The Bahai Gardens leading down the Carmel Mountain to the beach

On our drive to Guy's house, we saw the city at night. As we drove, we saw the steps that lead up the Bahai Gardens from downtown to the top of the mountain. We stopped a few times to take pictures of the incredible view as we ascended the mountain. We also stopped at a place known as the end of the world, which is a bit separated from the houses and has its own amazing view of the city.
When we arrived at Guy's house, we were amazed how beautiful his home is. I could have stayed forever- beautiful house, incredible view down a mountain that leads to the beach, and a small town feeling where everyone in the neighborhood knows everyone else. Over the next few days, I got to experience life as an Israeli that grew up in Haifa.
The first night, we went out for Thai food and it was delicious (honey peanut chicken on thai noodles with veggies)! Then, we went to an Irish Pub with a bunch of Guy's friends. It was a lot like going to the bar at Bucknell; you go with some friends, see others while you're out, and meet friends of friends.  It was great getting to know Guy's home friends (and twin brother of a camp friend!) and hear about their lives in Israel, studying at Technion University, and working in the city.
Most of our time in Haifa was spent at the beach, always preceded and followed by delicious food. We hung out in the sun, went in the sea, and played a lot of Matkot (Israeli beach paddleball). Another great thing about Haifa is that so many of Camp Harlam's mishlachat live there! Our friend Tal joined us on the beach for a while Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday evening, Ellie and I joined Guy's family for Sukkot dinner- great food and they spoke English the whole time so we could join the conversation. After dinner, we headed to our other friend Tom's for a relaxing video game night.

Haifa Beach

Before hitting the beach Thursday, we got some burekas (dough stuffed with potato and served with a hard boiled egg). After the beach, Guy and I joined Tal and some of Guy's friends for a game of 4 v 4 soccer on an outdoor court (indoor style). When we got there, a bunch of 15 year old boys wanted to challenge us for the court, but we put them in their place and got on with our game. They kept bothering us to play every time we took a break. It was a great time and a true Israeli pick-up soccer game experience.
After soccer, we rushed to the train station to pick up our friend Nati and two other camp friends I didn't know from 09. We went to Tom's for dinner- amazing sandwiches from Guy's favorite sandwich place called Sandwich Bar. Honey turkey with fresh Israeli veggies and mayo on fresh flat bread- so good! Thursday night was the big camp reunion night, so we all hung out with Guy's friends and headed out to a club called The Loft. The Loft looks like a big loft (funny how that works) and has lots of floor space for dancing and tables on the sides and a bar. Ellie and I went in first with two of Guy's friends and danced for a bit. Unfortunately, one of the other girls had trouble getting in, so we ended up leaving and sitting outside for a while. We all headed back to Guy's, watched How I Met Your Mother re-runs, and went to sleep.
On Friday morning, we picked up some really good hummus and pita, brought it to the beach, and had a little picnic on the beach. We stayed at the beach for a few hours before we had to catch our train back to Tel Aviv. It was hard to say goodbye to Nati, Guy, and the amazing city of Haifa, but I know I'll be going back as much as I can. It was so great to spend time with Israeli's and live their lives for a while.