Two Days in Tel Aviv

First off, as avid followers of this blog, you have the privilege of a sneak peek at this year's Greetings From Israel, which you can view at https://youtu.be/oKPqjj14I8E

Second, it has been an intense couple of days here in Tel Aviv. It started on Yom HaZikaron with the siren. Hadar (yep, she's back!) brought the group up to the roof of the hotel from which you can see the sea and some streets below, as well as apartments and offices for blocks around. We watched as traffic stopped and people came out onto their balconies, and began to mark the important day.

In the conference room of the hotel, we sat for a screening of A Hero in Heaven, a documentary about a fallen American Lone Soldier named Michael Levin. You can read about him here or look him up. His story resonates in so many ways, and as Diaspora Jews it is very easy to connect to Yom HaZikaron in meeting his family and friends through this movie.

In the morning, Hadar sent the kids around Kikar Rabin to interview people about Rabin's assassination. They were astonished to find that everyone (above age 30 ;) remembered what they were doing that Saturday. Hadar was at a wedding, I was watching hockey, one of the people they met actually was in Kikar Malchei Yisrael (as it was known), and it drove home the point that his assassination was a turning point in Jewish history. At 11:00, we stood by the monument where Rabin was murdered and marked the two minutes of silence under the morning siren.

I found a spot a minute or two before where I figured I could see lots of people once it started. There were cars whizzing by, honking horns, people in coffee shops and rushing in and out of convenience stores, screaming into their cell phones on their balconies, and working away in office buildings. When the siren started, the lights were green but the cars didn't move. The honking stopped, people put down their coffee and cell phones and bowed at attention. Bikers removed their helmets. And then just like that, the siren died, the honking restarted, the yelling, laughing, and shopping resumed,

We walked over to Independence Hall and heard the amazing story of the Declaration of Independence that took place there. A refresher course on the Partition Plan, a behind the scenes look at Golda Meir and Moshe Sharet's efforts to get some support, and the secret ceremony where it was announced to the world that Israel had arrived. A funny thing that the presenter said was that the US secretary of state at the time said it wasn't a good time to declare independence, that Sharet should have a little patience. She said Sharet replied "what, 2000 years isn't patient enough?"

And finally it was time to get ready for Yom HaAtzmaut. We headed out to Latrun in the late afternoon, played on the tanks, and there was actually a special recruitment event going on so there were lots of soldiers around showing off equipment and answering questions about joining the army. So I won't be bringing back Daniel or Nathan, but they look very good in their uniforms.

At long last, we pulled up at Mini Israel for the Yom HaAtzmaut transition ceremony and party. I parked myself by the front entrance and watched 500 Canadian March of the Living participants come through. The kids walked around all the little Israel sculptures and eventually we filed into the ceremony. Survivors told their story and reminded us why we are here, and the head of the Canada Israel Experience spoke to one of my biggest questions: how can we, Canadian Jews, who do not face the mortal danger of Israeli soldiers, feel Yom HaZikaron with the same pain as Israelis and, by extension, feel the joy of Yom HaAtzmaut?

Should all Jews feel Michael Levin's yearning to defend Israel? Do we earn the privilege to celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut without the sacrifice? These might be questions to discuss with participants when they get home...

But whether we earned it or not, we celebrated! There was shwarma and fireworks, dancing, and ice cream. What else could you ask for? If you were lucky like me, you could even find your wife at the party!

And now it's time to hit the beach. I hope you will take a moment to read or watch YouTube about Michael Levin and another to celebrate really intensely this Yom HaAtzmaut. I am so proud and honoured to be here, and I thank you for sharing this experience with us.

Chag Sameach!!