Battle of the Sects(es): Jerusalem Style

One of the main sources of conflict within Israeli society is between the different sects of Judaism. We went to Jerusalem last week to hear a few speakers from different backgrounds/ sects. The first speaker gave a really good introduction to the conflicts and why they are so difficult to resolve. The two main sects of Judaism in Israel today are the Orthodox and the secular. Within these sects, there are a variety of sub-sects.
First up was a speaker from the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) community. He was in Paris and came to Israel to teach at Tel Aviv University. He discussed the issues of maintaining your customs and beliefs in a society in which you are the minority. The ultra-orthodox are a minority born in Israel, and even though everyone's Jewish, the ultra-orthodox do not recognize secular Judaism. So, they stick to themselves in communities scattered throughout Israel. Despite being a minority, the ultra-orthodox have control over the religious sites in the country and marriage laws. In order to get married in Israel, you have to "prove" your Judaism, which seems a bit crazy in a country where all of the citizens are Jewish. The ultra-orthodox are in charge of the regulations for visiting the Western Wall, including attire and separation of men and women.
The next speaker was a woman from Women of the Wall, a Pluralistic organization that fights for equal rights for women in Orthodox Judaism. They protest the laws forbidding women from carrying a Torah at the Wall, wearing Talit that are not strictly feminine, and segregation, which still exists today in Haredi communities. In Jerusalem, some of the religious bus lines force women to sit in the back so the men don't have to see them/ aren't tempted because they're not allowed to look at or touch women in any way.
The speakers posed many issues and showed how complicated it is to determine what customs should be preserved in Haredi communities and which ones are simply outdated. Furthermore, it is unclear who should be the ones making such a decision. The same is true for Women of the Wall and the laws governing religious sites and marriage regulations.

Haifa Part II: Same City, Different View

One of my goals for the time I'm in Israel is to go to Haifa about once a month. It's such an amazing city and I've really enjoying hanging out with Guy, Ariel, Dani, Tom, Tal, and their friends! I've definitely gotten a taste of the Haifa life, and I love it. The city has a small town feeling even though it's not that small and there's lots to do.

View from Ariel and Dani's Parents' House

Last Thursday, I went to Haifa with a co-worker to play soccer with a bunch of his friends at Haifa University. We played indoor soccer- their gym is a basketball court and has soccer nets, as do most basketball courts in Israel. We played for a while, and then it was time to see Guy and Ariel (who was finally back from Africa)!  I met up with Guy near his house, and we went back to his bachelor pad for a bit until Tom came and picked us up to go to Ariel and Dani's apartment. They live on the top floor and their apartment has a roof where they often hang out and they have a pong table! It was pretty late by the time we went to bed.

Mukhraka Monastery

On Friday, we slept in and I woke up to Dani and his brother making us shakshuka (tomatoes and veggies sauteed and covered with eggs)! It was a little spicy and very delicious. After brunch, Ariel, Guy, and I went on a mini road trip to see some of the local area around Haifa. We went to the Druze village Dalyat and walked through their shook (market). The Druze are a religious community with lots of villages scattered throughout Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. Their religious beliefs are actually a secret! The only people that know the secret are those that commit to a religious life when they turn 18- they commit before they learn anything about the religion. All we know is that one of their values is loyalty to their country. So, those that live in Israel can serve in the army and are at peace with their neighbors.
In the market, they had lots of colorful bags and scarfs, Judaica, and hand-crafted souvenirs. They also have really good Druze pita with labneh and other delectable desserts. But, we were full from shakshuka so we resisted temptation.

View of Israel Valley (other side this time)

After the shook, we drove back through the village, to the Mukhraka, a Carmelite monastery with a great view of Haifa and the surrounding areas. The Mukhraka is the site where, according to tradition, Elijah fought against the prophets of Baal. We went through the gardens and then out to see the view- it was incredible! There was a map on the ground of the observation deck that showed all the places you could see and which direction to look. Almost all of the people at the monastery were American tourists, and they were definitely from the south. Guy, Ariel, and I made fun of them a bit, especially when we asked two different people to take a picture of us and neither of them managed to succeed. Definitely made me miss good 'ole US of A. Finally, we got a picture of us and headed to our next destination. We drove through the Carmel Mountain a bunch, checking out the view of the coast whenever it popped out from behind the trees.
We dropped Guy off before making two last stops on our road trip. We went to yet another view point to see Elijah's cave. But, just as we got out of the car, it started to rain! It was cold rain, and we had a 10 minute walk to the cave, so we decided to come back to the cave another time. Next, we went to a view point that showed the port of Haifa and the navy bases. Ariel showed me where he worked and where Dani worked when they served in the navy.
After a busy day, we went back to Ariel's to relax and get ready for Shabbat dinner. Ariel, Dani, their two brothers, sister, and I went to their parents' house for Shabbat dinner. As always, the food was delicious and the family is very nice! His mom is originally from England, so we had a lovely chat in English. Their house has a balcony with a great view of the coast!

View of the Coast near Elijah's Cave

Friday night, we went to Cafe Neto with the Haifa boys- Ariel, Guy, Gal, Ben, Ran, Nemo, his girlfriend, and Yotom! Yes, Ben, I will write about it in my blog :) We sat outside and had a drink, and then it started raining again! It rained more on Friday than it did the entire two months I've been here! That is, it rained twice for about 15 minutes each time. So, we headed back to Nemo's to watch a movie. It was a very strange Michael Cerra movie called Scott Pilgrim against the World. We didn't make it through the movie, since it was getting late and we weren't that interested.

The Map...

Saturday was a nice, relaxing Shabbat. If the weather wasn't bad, we would have gotten to go sailing! We watched movies at Ariel's and then went to his friend's and watched another weird movie- this time an Israeli one. After the movie, we went to Ariel's parents' for hamburgers, mmm good. We didn't have much time, though, because we had to play soccer at 4. Soccer was really fun this time, and we played for over two hours! It was another outdoor basketball court with soccer goals, which I'm starting to get used to. After soccer, we had dinner at Ariel and Dani's with some of their friends- homemade burekas and pizza... yum. Finally, I had to catch the train back to Tel Aviv. I hate saying goodbye to Haifa and the boys, but I know I'll be back soon.

What am I actually doing in Israel??

Awesomely bright building next door

As you may know, I'm in Israel on a program called Career Israel, which means that I have an internship working for a medical device company. I live in Tel Aviv and I work in Caesarea, which is a 40 minute train ride from Tel Aviv. Medical Electronics, or MES, is located in the Caesarea Industrial Park, which is a beautiful office complex with palm trees and beautiful sunsets.

My office!

Lab Competition

MES is a small company, so everyone is really close and everyone's really nice. A few people even take turns cooking lunch for their group of 4-5 people, and their lunches are always delicious-looking and smelling. I get made fun of for bringing a sandwich and pretzels for lunch, since lunch is kind of a big deal in Israel. And, there's always dessert that they force me to help eat.

What's my job? Solidworks, mostly. My first project was to update and organize the production files of one of the devices. I updated the engineering drawings and made some new parts and drawings for pieces that were not on file.

Sunset in Caesarea

This week, I was assigned an independent design project! I have to come up with a device to clean a small sensor nuzzled inside the device without taking the device apart. This way, customers can clean it themselves. It's like having my own senior design project... brainstorming, proposed solutions, feasibility, market analysis, prototyping, and back and forth until the final prototype. I've been hitting the drawing board pretty hard this week, so hopefully next week I can present some decent ideas.

Overall, my internship has been a great experience so far, in work experience and meeting Israelis. Caesarea is a beautiful area to work in, very quiet and peaceful. Not quite as hot as Tel Aviv, either, so I may soon need a sweater that can zip up for the end of the day! It's perfect fall weather right now!