Apologies for the long hiatus. So many things happened, I don't know where to begin!
I have spent the last three weekends in Jerusalem, each better than the last. The first weekend I met up with birthright groups from DC and talked to them about what I am doing on MASA. I ran into some people I knew from the DC Jewish community, and even got to practice sign language with a friend! Everyone was interested in what I was doing, and kind. And the food was delicious!
The second weekend I went back for a group program. We first went to the conference center in Jerusalem to see Prime Minister Bebe Natanyahu speak, and afterwards attended an Idan Raichel concert. Both were so very exciting! I ran into another friend from home, and we danced in the isles. Bebe spoke very briefly, mostly about the threat of Iran and his desire for us all to make aliyah. Then we took a bus out to Almog, a settlement kibbutz in the West Bank. Almog was gorgeous- lush green grass and trees heavy with flowers and fruit, in stark contrast to the desert that stretched beyond, in a clear line like the coast of an ocean. We went back and forth between Almog, where we spent most of our time in lectures and discussion groups about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and Jerusalem, where we went on tours. It was very powerful to have lectures and discussions on the fence, or the ring neighborhoods, or the seamline, or the checkpoints, and then go there and see it in person. I had no idea how menacing the 20 feet of cement would feel when standing right next to it, or how difficult it would be to differentiate between the Israeli and Arab settlements as we drove past them. It really helped me to articulate my opinions, which are both humanist and zionist and therefore conflicted.
Last weekend was by far my favorite, but I wouldn't have guessed it from the beginning. Dan and I were supposed to go to this really cool seminar on security issues, and I planned out a whole weekend for us around the event, but Roi couldn't get us tickets in time and I was upset. Then, the night before the conference, Roi told us that one girl had dropped out and there was room for me to go! I rushed to pack my things and prepare.
First, we had a dinner to attend. It was supposed to be some sort of Hannuka-Thanksgiving combined celebration, but it was silly. Beit She'an gathered what felt to me like all the people in Jerusalem who happened to be from Cleveland, and we talked a little bit about our town and then ate a lot of cous cous. Afterwards there was a lot of wine and singing songs in Hebrew about Hannuka, intermixed with Beatles and swaying. Afterwards, I caught a bus to stay with a friend in the city, and in the morning ventured out to the seminar.
The seminar was amazing. I was pleased to run into a lot of people I knew already from other programs, and I left with some new friends. Every lecture was interesting. We talked about a whole range of middle-eastern politics, and it gave me some really cool perspective on the topic. We heard from a member of the Knesset, and a lot of really smart educators, and people were so inspired that we got together on breaks to continue discussions. I am so very grateful for these weekends because they have given me the opportunity to do the kind of grappling that is the very basis of a jewish zionist identity.
Now I am back home, and Hannukah is just around the corner. At school all of my students are working on their road-safety menorah's, and everyone is feeding me doughnuts. There is a huge tent outside our house, which was originally for an outdoor shiva last month but now seems to be slowly morphing into a place for hannukah parties. School is short this week, and then I plan on traveling around Israel to visit friends and explore the country on my own. I am looking forward to hanging out in cafe's in bigger cities and just traveling alone.
I have spent the last three weekends in Jerusalem, each better than the last. The first weekend I met up with birthright groups from DC and talked to them about what I am doing on MASA. I ran into some people I knew from the DC Jewish community, and even got to practice sign language with a friend! Everyone was interested in what I was doing, and kind. And the food was delicious!
The second weekend I went back for a group program. We first went to the conference center in Jerusalem to see Prime Minister Bebe Natanyahu speak, and afterwards attended an Idan Raichel concert. Both were so very exciting! I ran into another friend from home, and we danced in the isles. Bebe spoke very briefly, mostly about the threat of Iran and his desire for us all to make aliyah. Then we took a bus out to Almog, a settlement kibbutz in the West Bank. Almog was gorgeous- lush green grass and trees heavy with flowers and fruit, in stark contrast to the desert that stretched beyond, in a clear line like the coast of an ocean. We went back and forth between Almog, where we spent most of our time in lectures and discussion groups about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and Jerusalem, where we went on tours. It was very powerful to have lectures and discussions on the fence, or the ring neighborhoods, or the seamline, or the checkpoints, and then go there and see it in person. I had no idea how menacing the 20 feet of cement would feel when standing right next to it, or how difficult it would be to differentiate between the Israeli and Arab settlements as we drove past them. It really helped me to articulate my opinions, which are both humanist and zionist and therefore conflicted.
Last weekend was by far my favorite, but I wouldn't have guessed it from the beginning. Dan and I were supposed to go to this really cool seminar on security issues, and I planned out a whole weekend for us around the event, but Roi couldn't get us tickets in time and I was upset. Then, the night before the conference, Roi told us that one girl had dropped out and there was room for me to go! I rushed to pack my things and prepare.
First, we had a dinner to attend. It was supposed to be some sort of Hannuka-Thanksgiving combined celebration, but it was silly. Beit She'an gathered what felt to me like all the people in Jerusalem who happened to be from Cleveland, and we talked a little bit about our town and then ate a lot of cous cous. Afterwards there was a lot of wine and singing songs in Hebrew about Hannuka, intermixed with Beatles and swaying. Afterwards, I caught a bus to stay with a friend in the city, and in the morning ventured out to the seminar.
The seminar was amazing. I was pleased to run into a lot of people I knew already from other programs, and I left with some new friends. Every lecture was interesting. We talked about a whole range of middle-eastern politics, and it gave me some really cool perspective on the topic. We heard from a member of the Knesset, and a lot of really smart educators, and people were so inspired that we got together on breaks to continue discussions. I am so very grateful for these weekends because they have given me the opportunity to do the kind of grappling that is the very basis of a jewish zionist identity.
Now I am back home, and Hannukah is just around the corner. At school all of my students are working on their road-safety menorah's, and everyone is feeding me doughnuts. There is a huge tent outside our house, which was originally for an outdoor shiva last month but now seems to be slowly morphing into a place for hannukah parties. School is short this week, and then I plan on traveling around Israel to visit friends and explore the country on my own. I am looking forward to hanging out in cafe's in bigger cities and just traveling alone.
