A special greeting from the class...

We had a very fun Yom Ha'Atzmaut starting with a very nice shluff-in, and watching the air show from the roof of the hotel. We went walking down by the old train station which has shops and ice cream, and we got to walk back leisurely playing at playgrounds, flying kites, blowing bubbles, and even got a dip in the sea. On a normal basis, the weather would have us at the beach all day, but this was a truly unique Yom Ha'Atzmaut. Even Hadar said: "I've never had a Yom Ha'Atzmaut like this..."

I will get a collection of pictures ready tomorrow. Hope you all enjoy Yom Ha'Atzmaut at home. Chag sameach! Our special greeting can be found at https://youtu.be/Z3D3VoD_MlI 

Mini Israel, Big Celebration

Last night we stood on the corner of the roof here at the hotel and watched the streets below as the siren wailed at 8 PM marking the beginning of Yom HaZikaron. Cars started to pull over, bikes rolled to a halt, and the people stood at attention, as we stood in silence with the residents of Tel Aviv.

This morning, we stood beside Yitzhak Rabin's memorial as his daughter and other family members waited for a small memorial to begin in his honour at the scene of his death 19 years ago. The siren sounded and we could see the faces of the Israelis in mourning today, a different scene than the one we saw from the rooftop.

And this of course is metaphoric of our whole experience here. Sometimes we are watching Israel, seeing its stories and the places where they happened. Other times we are looking Israel in the face, feeling it, and connecting. The two elements collided with force tonight at Mini Israel.

We were there for a transition ceremony with Canadian participants from the March of the Living. They had a choir, and survivors spoke about coming to Israel after re-visiting Poland, and you could feel the mood changing as the choir sang Od Yavo Shalom faster and with more enthusiasm. Looking down at the mini country, we were able to have the real Israeli experience of moving from Yom HaZikaron to Yom Ha'Atzmaut. I know it's still a sad day at home, but for us, it's all fireworks and fellafel now. Chag Sameach!!!

Bread and Circuses

Camel riding, hiking, beautiful lookouts, singing by the campfire, these are real Israel Trip experiences. We started the day with another classic Israel Trip experience: Massada. Typically, we trudged up the Roman Ramp, heard about Herod's getaway palace and the mass suicide. But in front of the bath house, Hadar said something a-typical. Apparently, the Romans had a motto: "Bread and Circuses." They wanted the Roman experience to be indulgent, that the good life is to feast and to be entertained. So they built bath houses to pamper themselves after a long day of slave-driving.

But this motto reminded me of an article I read once about Birthright.

The article talks about Birthright, which usually has a very similar itinerary to our trip, as a rose-colored view of Israel. Basically that these trips are for fun, topped off with humus- a type of Roman Bread and Circus trip. But I say no.

It's true that we have fun, and it's true that we eat a lot. But there is a connection happening that goes well beyond camel rides and Magnum ice cream bars.

Just today, the group was confronted by a fistful of issues that present no circus: why do people have bar mitzvahs at Massada? Why is the Dead Sea drying up? How did the siren announcing Yom HaZikaron strike you? How do you connect to the story of Michael Levin?

There's no doubt the kids are having a circus, complete with wild animals, music, and acrobatics (see Gabs's Ben Gurion impression). There's no doubt they are well fed, either (ironic that the Roman euphemism for feast was "bread," which we so badly craved a few weeks ago). But this trip is not about Israel Trip experiences. It's about Experiencing Israel. You read about it when Aliza talked about Yom HaShoah, and when Gabs wrote about the Mifgash. I could feel it when we debriefed "A Hero in Heaven."

There are no rose-colored Ray-Bans on this trip. There have been real tears, real love, and real learning, all of which coalesced with the camel rides and ice cream to make a real Israel Experience. And we're not done yet!