This was my first time to Israel. My grandmother had wanted to take me, but she got too old before I was old enough. And after that, I felt like I couldn’t just be a tourist, it had to have Meaning! It has to be special. And also, until a few years ago, I never had money to go anywhere for more than a few days unless I could stay with friends. So now, I had some savings, I had a very meaningful opportunity with a rabbi I love, and a moment in history that demands me to study my own perceptions and misconceptions, to witness and to be an ally and to think about peace as well as the dangers of anti-semitism….all of this and still. and more.
I took a book of poetry with me by Yehuda Amichai that my dear cousin Micah had given my daughter years ago. This is the spirit I am trying to live by during my journey, and the one with which I hope you read this blog….
The Place Where We are Right
From the place where we are right
Flowers will never grow
in the spring.
The place where we are right
Is hard and trampled
like a yard.
But doubts and loves
dig up the world
like a mole, a plow.
And a whisper will be heard in the place
where the ruined
house once stood.
We all travelled to Israel separately. I arrived a day early to acclimate. I didn’t know anything about the group except they were people from our synagogue in Chicago. Monday April 29th at 12 noon we were meeting for the first time in the lobby of the Sheraton.
Mural on the wall of the Sheraton Tel Aviv:
I assumed we’d be smaller than the 15 originally required. But our group is only 5 people including the rabbi. This was one week after the tension with Iran had reached its height, and United had cancelled my flight, so perhaps that had something to do with it. Or that Passover was just ending and people had already made plans. I didn’t ask.
We were met by our guide, Y., who turned out to be one of the most incredible aspects of our trip. He started the conversation by telling us this isn’t a typical trip to Israel to see the sites. That we are here to witness, to stand in solidarity, to question and to learn. Woo hoo! This is the trip for me!
One of the first cultural reflections from our tour guide was how amazing it is that in 80 years, Jews have created a country in which people speak Hebrew that had been a dead language.
Eliazar Ben Yehuda, according to our tour guide, the father responsible for the re-birth of Hebrew through his son. Like, ancient Hebrew is fine, but what is the Hebrew word for Ice Cream?
First stop is Jaffa.
Passing by a statue of the Whale from Jonah and the whale. Our guide wanted to communicate the sense that while we are staying in a new city (Tel Aviv), Jaffa is an ancient city. Jonah boarded a ship in Jaffa when he was fleeing the responsibility to tell the people of Nineveh to be better or be destroyed.
We passed a garden with a “Tel” meaning hill. Our guide told us the hill is artificial as a geographical phenomenon, but actually a person-made hill of layers of history. Layers upon layers, cultures built upon cultures, the gardens and parks punctuated by a statue-art installation-of a gate with Egyptian Hieroglyphics.
Our guide also brought visuals. Laminated visuals that punctuated the stories he was sharing.
Meaning of the Egyptian hieroglyphics and the gate?
Layer upon layer.
Lunch at a gorgeous restaurant. Lo and behold, our tour guide is also vegetarian! Rumor has it that Tel Aviv is 5% vegan and 10% vegetarian, although since it’s self-reported, who knows?
Either way, Tel Aviv boasts of being the vegan capital of the world. But don’t take my word for it…https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/vegan-food-tel-aviv-best-restaurants-israel-vegetarian-friendly-port-capital-meshek-barzilay-orna-ella-bana-a8036081.html
And if that isn’t enough, how about listen to Burger King?
The biggest challenge at the moment is transitioning from being alone to being in a group and watching any desire I have now through the lens of an audience. Any of you who spend time with me know that my culinary requests are likely going to raise eyebrows, although at this moment all I want is dressing on the side and to make sure my vegetarian salad doesn’t have fish.
The judgment and also the acceptance and camaraderie of being in a group.
Looking aheadh, in five days, how do you form community and trust? Can you?
Learned today about the 3,000 rockets fired by Hamas into Israel. I think the part hardest for me is my friends and young adults in the States believing in the sophomoric over-simplistic assessment of what is happening and not even asking whether there might be a different way of looking at it–and hoping maybe this trip will help me find a way to communicate with my daughter and my family and friends what I imagine is happening–and also what I need to hear and focus on to let me explain.
Random thoughts
Meretz did not get 2.5% in the Knesset. United Nations supported two states. Partition plan. Arab and Jewish nation. West Bank under Jordanian Control. Gaza strip is 35×8 kilometers, tiny! Palestinian refugees from Jaffa went to Gaza. 1967 6 day war Israel took over after being attacked. Controlled Gaza strip til 2005. Israel withdrew about 10,000 settlers under Ariel Sharon. Elections in 2006, Hamas “won”, not accepted by PLO, took over by force.
Last thought from Jaffa/Tel Aviv. A sculpture from an Israeli artist, Ran Morin, in 1993.
Quote from the internet: “The tree in the “egg” reminds us how we are children, who grew up in stone reservoirs, in shells, torn off from the earth, from the roots of our ancestors, moving further and further away from nature, how the ties between us are torn, sometimes finally and irrevocably.
There is another beautiful image that is usually associated with this sculpture: it is believed that the tree symbolizes the Jewish people, uprooted from their land and scattered throughout the world, but continues to live, fight and bear fruit.”
I encourage you to google orange and Israel. Lots of stories about paying for things in oranges, oranges being poisoned, Jaffa oranges, and Russia and oranges….
Back to our trip. Monday afternoon, after lunch, we headed to the vibrant streets of the “Florentine” neighborhood of Tel Aviv, discovering the powerful stories behind local graffiti and artwork.
Our guest guide A’s story: he was from Talahasee and has lived in Israel for 17 years, married an Israeli, and they have a 5 year old. He has served in the army and now was about to go back and serve in the reserves in Gaza.
A. began with a discussion of gentrification, and also noted that before October 7th, neighborhoods like this that were working class and concerned with affordable housing and gentrification were not big fans of the government.
But since October 7th, Israeli flags had begun flying everywhere. And yet…the first image we saw was an ironic one calling into question the support and protection from the IDF.
This part of the tour was focused on how Israelies are processing October 7th and the politics of the situation, in particular, holding up stories of heroes while being very critical of their government in general, and Netanyau in particular.
One mural had a list of Bibi’s (Netanyahu’s) crimes, Bribery, Fraud, and Breach of Trust, but changing the third to “Betrayal of the masses”
Celebrated in one mural..Rachel Edri…Google this woman who served cookies to the terrorists and kept them from killing people.
He also mentioned a 25 year old woman who was head of security at a kibbutz near the border during the attack who was able to orchestrate a defense and keep everyone safe on October 7th.
His reflections on women serving in the military:
You lose a lot if you keep 50% of your population from contributing.
Aside: Much of our initial reflection focused on how the world may have forgotten October 7th’s terrorist attack, but it is very present in the lives of people in Israel. Images such as this one reminded us of the pain, trauma and fear that everyone in Israel was experiencing.
Love thy Neighbor as Thyself
A standout piece by Rotem Zamir, an active combat soldier and talented artist, prompted deep reflections on identity and history. As captured in the artwork, A our guide shares, “The story Palestinians tell about us [Israelis] is French Algeria. The story we tell about ourselves is this.” A soldier hugging his daughter. From the man with a five year old about to leave to defend the land that had just been brutally attacked.
We also saw images from where rockets landed on October 7th. Another story not well told is that thousands of rockets were fired and landed as far north as Tel Aviv on October 7th, causing a distraction and drawing forces away from the border right before the Hamas assault at 40 locations. This is an image of the destruction caused by a rocket on October 7th.
And finally….Dede Bandaid. An artist who covers his street canvass with band-aids. The Jewish value of Tikun Olam. Heal the world.
Hamas is hurting Palestinians as much as Jews. 70-75% of Gazans last summer blamed Hamas for their conditions.
Back on the bus!
A welcome site, Eyad Abdo, our fearless van driver. Back to the hotel. Much discussion of what we would do with the next two hours between dinner and the evening event. We were headed at 7:15 south to a Mimouna celebration of bread and sweets. A Jewish North African tradition to celebrate the happy end of Passover!
Yours truly was very excited to hit the gym since all of my attempts the day before had been thwarted. Who knew the last day of Passover was a national holiday and all the gyms would be closed? In the States, only the first two nights are celebrated.
The festival took place in Modi’in, birthplace of Judah Macabee of Chanukah fame.
Pictures on the way to the bathroom at the synagogue.
Beautiful singing, community, yet sadly for yours truly more sweets than bread.
Reflections during the concert.
Slightly surprising to me, since we were told it is a North African Jewish tradition, I expected a slightly more African vibe and a looser celebration. But the Ashkenazi culture is still prevalent.
I didn’t recognize all of the words or songs, but I love the Jewish tradition of just randomly singing together in public. Hum dum de dum. Like perhaps we are one of the parents or popularizers of Karaoke.
Clip of the song Imagine being sung in Hebrew and Aramaic.
https://www.facebook.com/sholomchicago/videos/1088075212276651
Good night and good luck. After 10 hours starting at noon, Day 1/5 has come to an end.
A better future 
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