Israel: A country defined by conflict

First off, let me apologize for my utter laziness. I originally intended to blog a few days a week but things have been very hectic here. Enough of my excuses though...

Last week, for Obama's inauguration the whole group went to an all-American bar called Mike's Place, located next to the U.S. Embassy. Most of the people in my group are American (As a complete aside, I hate that word, they aren't American, they are United Statesions...how can the US take the name of all the Americas--by that definition, I am also American!). It was an amazing site to see Obama take office--it nearly put me to tears. I hope that his actions are as clear as his rhetoric suggests. The next 100 days are critical. Personally, I can't wait until Stephen Colbert or Jon Stewart interviews Bush--what a sight that would be!

Last weekend I went on an amazing trip to Eilat (southern tip of Israel next to Egypt). Eilat is known for its beautiful weather and awesome scuba diving, however, we came in the middle of the 'winter', so it was cold and windy. We went on several hikes which were just amazing. The second hike was about 6 hours of some pretty difficult trekking. There were several challenging obstacles, including steep inclines which I didn't expect. Suffice to say, everyone survived. It's a great way to get to know the country and great exercise! The landscape is just magnificent. I hope to do more hiking, especially in the Golan.

The next morning, a few of us woke up at 4:30 in the morning to watch the sunrise. The hike was easier, but still a steep incline. After seeing the sunrise (and drinking some coffee), I had no regrets about getting up so early.

The drive back was uneventful, despite the fact that I was extremely exhausted but wasn't allowed to sleep--I was given the prestigious job of keeping the driver company while we drove back (5 hours) to Tel Aviv. The most frequent accidents in this country occur when drivers fall asleep at the wheel. As an aside, drivers in Israel are fucking crazy. They have very little respect for the rules of the road or the concept of pedestrians. To drive in Israel, you have to be extremely aggressive.

This past week was dedicated to two things: (1) learning Hebrew in Ulpan study (2) seeing possible placements for volunteering--which begins in mid February.

Hebrew has been quite difficult and at times extremely frustrating. I am coming in with little to no understanding of the language. Despite having a Bar Mitzvah, I never learnt how to actually understand what I was saying; therefore, it really did nothing but confuse me when I try to learn how to speak the language. For those of you who had a Bar/Bat Mitzvah, I'm sure you can identify with this struggle. I also learn differently than most people. I do not absorb information as fast as some, and I struggle particularly with rote memorization. I need to find strategies that work, like flash cards and time outside of class to study by myself. I have the entire weekend to dedicate to this, and I hope to have much accomplished. I will report back!

Possible placements have been a delight to visit. By Mid-February I have to choose 3 of them. Tikkun Olam offers a wide-range of placements from working in an Arab-Jewish community centre in Jaffa (Arab suburb of Tel Aviv) to working with horses in a therapeutic riding centre for children with CP and Autism. The decision won't be easy, as many of them could be very rewarding. However, I also think I have to make a decision based on need. The balance has to be found between my own personal beliefs, rationale for coming to this country, and the need of the organization.

So far I have a couple organizations I am seriously thinking about: College for all and the Arab-Jewish Community Centre.

College for all works in Jaffa with young, enthusiastic, bright students (Arab Muslim and Arab Christian). The aim of the programme is to increase the number of Arab students who reach the level of post-secondary education (whether it be college or university). Levels of poverty in Jaffa are extremely high, with nearly 50 percent of all residents living in abject poverty. College for all is designed as an after-school programme which buses in students from all 3 local schools in the Jaffa area. The students learn Math, Hebrew, English, Chemistry and Physics. The aim of the programme is to have fun with students (who wants to sit in yet another class from 4-8pm?). They come 2 times a week, play games and are fed meals. The programme begins in Grade 3 and runs all the way to Grade 12. The idea is to show these kids that school is important and when they put their minds to it, anything is possible. The programme in only 5 years old, but so far they have seen remarkable success rates and hope to expand in the next few years.
This idea isn't new; it has been in existence for Jews in Israel for many years and showed great success rates. I would be working with the teachers with English and basic math. Although I have very little teaching experience, having a mentor who speaks English fluently will surely be an asset to the programme.

The Arab-Jewish community centre is also located in Jaffa. They are a special organization with only two in existence in Israel. The aim of the centre is to promote coexistence with joint programmes for both Arab and Jews. They also have something called the "American Corner" which is financially supported by the U.S Embassy. The aim of this corner is to promote American (err United States-ion) culture. Book clubs read English books by U.S writes, there’s a chess club that speaks English, sports club that plays sports popular in the U.S. They are open to ideas, and I love the vibe. They also have a Judo club (only for kids though)!

There are important and interesting organizations, including a kindergarten for unrecognized children of foreign workers but perhaps I will wait for future updates to speak about them. Suffice to say, that the opportunities look amazing and I'm sure they will be very rewarding.

Finally, I would like to add one last point, which is that I am under no illusion that what I am doing here won't revolutionize the social structures and economic inequality within Israel. However, I think that small changes are what will be most rewarding. Seeing a child smile because I am there supporting them with their work, or seeing people working together, no matter their faith or economic background--this is ultimately why this kind of work is worth it. The economic and social situation in Israel is much grimmer than people outside of this country understand. When you think Israel you immediately think conflict. And while you may be right, internally, this country is falling apart. Less than 50 percent of students in Israel complete high school. Of that population, only 15 percent of those graduates even attend any sort of post-secondary institution. Those are ‘third world’ (another horrible word) conditions. I hope this blog will serve as a good avenue for you, my readers, to understand that this country has much more to say than just conflict. I welcome your opinions and insight.

Shalom. Salam Alechem.

P.S. Here’s the photo album from Eilat! http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047470&l=b625d&id=164200005

Loyalty of the Druze

This is a picture of an Israeli Druze soldier looking out of an outpost overlooking Lebanon. Who do you ask are the Druze? They are a distinct ethnic minority within Israel that broke off of Islam in the year 1014 AD. They are a closed and secret faith that believes in 5 secrets never revealed to non-Druze. A Druze does not start off religious; rather, become religious with time. If one chooses to become religious, the "secrets" of the faith are slowly revealed. Nobody can become a Druze, you must be born one; therefore, a person who marries outside of the Druze faith will be excommunicated from the community, never allowed to return. According to one Druze, there have only been 2 cases documented in Israel. Interestingly, to Druze value the land in which they live more highly than the unification of their people. Therefore they have no aspiration for a sovereign nation and even fight against each other from their respective countries.

To most, living a secret religious life is a concept entirely foreign and even a little scary. We look at the Druze and do not understand who would choose to live like this. However, despite the secretive religion, the Druze people remain an incredibly loyal allied to the State of Israel. Druze men between the ages of 18-21 even serve obligatory military service in the IDF. This means that the Druze serve honourably in combat units with their fellow Israeli soldiers. Think about it? Non-Jewish soldiers given the confidence of the Israeli government to monitor vital areas of security and to fight alongside their fellow soldiers. As a result, the Druze are very respected in Israeli society.

Back to the picture: The unit, which is made up of 5 Druze soldiers was ordered to monitor the Lebanon-Israel border after a barrage of Kassam rockets fell over Israel the day earlier. (The rockets where not from Hezbollah, rather, a rogue militant organization affiliated with Hamas who were trying to spark a second-front war). They spoke about the difficulties of monitoring the border. The soldiers are often teased and tormented by Hezbollah supporters barraging them with comments like: "Kill the Jews" and "You are a mockery to Islam". The soldiers told the group that they had to be careful because often Hezbollah will use this antagonism to see if the soldiers will come closer to the border, if they do, they risk being kidnapped by militants.

Suffice to say, I was deeply impressed by the loyalty of the Druze. I cannot fathom being a non-Jew fighting my own people living in Syria or Lebanon. Despite these difficulties, the Druze soldiers serve with loyalty and pride.

Birthright and Beyond

The long 12.5 hour journey from Toronto to Tel Aviv was pre-empted by my own stupidly. What stupidity you ask? When my parents left me at the airport, my mom left my bag on the floor. Somehow I forgot that I had not picked it up. When I finally realized where it was, the bomb squad had already taken the “suspicious baggage” to the lost and found. Later, I learned if I had done that in Israel, the knapsack would have been blown up! Suffice to say, I found my bag (after going all the way to Terminal 1 from Terminal 3) and was thankful that my stupidity didn’t have severe consequences. Had that bag been blown up, I would have lost my new camera, iPod and books!

After finally arriving in Jerusalem, we went for an amazing dinner of humus, chishkabob and all the fine foods that Israel has to offer. It was a nice introduction to the Israeli cuisine.

New Years eve brought very little in the way of festivities in Jerusalem as the majority of people follow the lunar calendar and pay little attention to the Christian, solar callender.

The first full day was spent learning about the landscape of Jerusalem. The archaeology in this city is incredible. We learned about the complicated history of the city which went into many hands from the Babylonians to the Israelites. We were also able to enter into several archaeological sites—there we saw the Jewish bond to ancient Palestine. What I found most fascinating was the Western Wall, which is the site of the Second Jewish Temple. We saw drawings of what the temple would have looked like before its destruction—it was used for the sacrifice of animals. We then had a chance to go to the Wall to view and pray if we felt inclined. It is also interesting to see a holy site restricted by the religious orthodoxy. Everything at the site needs to be done according to the most observant principles of Jewish customs, including the separation of men and women (men get about 9/10 of the space).

On Friday we were given the opportunity to go to Yad Vashem—I was there in 2004, but they have changed it dramatically since I last went. This time a grand building had been erected, with a vast amount of history about the Holocaust. The building is in the shape of a half of a Jew star (the significance of this being that half of the 12 million Jewish population before the Second World War died) with 6 sections of different history of the Holocaust. What is equally interesting is that once you enter you must go through the whole grounds before exiting. Each section is chronologically set and is very overwhelming. One particular event shook me to the chore: the mass execution of Jews in gigantic graves. What made the presentation powerful was the use of actual survivor footage of the event. One testimonial spoke about a man who was fortunate enough to not have been shot in a mass grave. After many hours of lying silent in the grave, he managed to escape. Imagine trying to live after something like that. Another powerful testimonial was about a man who was interned in Auschwitz. After years of surviving the line-ups and emaciation, someone steals his hat when he falls asleep. He knows that he will face either whipping or straight execution. He knows he will not survive if he does not find a hat, so he manages to steal a hat from another inmate. Later that morning during roll call, he remembers vividly the guard passing him and behind him hearing a single shot, knowing that was the man who was executed for misplacing his hat.

In the afternoon we were given time to prepare for Shabbas. After being driven to the Western Wall (before Shabbas), we were able to see thousands of people praying. It was an interesting experience, especially seeing the vast number of different kinds of religious Jews, from ultra-orthodox Hasidim to modern reform.

Like all Birthright trips, we went to typical places like the Dead Sea (we had a fun time floating in water) and Masada. Masada, for those who do not know, is a fortress erected by Herod the Great. In 72 CE it was forcefully taken over by the Romans who fought against Jewish warriors. The interesting part of the story is that instead of dying a brutal death in the hands of the Romans, the Jewish fighters decided to commit mass suicide. The question then is asked: Did the fighters die an honourable death or was is it better to fight until their last breath, no matter the brutality of the death. The story brings forth many obvious questions of the Shoah (Holocaust) and the modern state of Israel. Many Israelis see Masada as the place where Jews died honourably and see direct parallels between the fort and modern day Israel.

A few days ago we had the opportunity to go to the Israel-Lebanon border. It was pretty amazing to see the physical geography of where Israel ends and Lebanon starts. Being there also made it easier to understand why Israel cherishes the Golan and refuses to give it back. It has many purposes but chiefly serves as a provider of much of Israel’s natural water through the Sea of Galilee and of course strategically used to monitor Lebanon and Syria. While we were there we also had the good fortune of meeting some soldiers on patrol (a day before a fringe Lebanese group with connections to Hamas launched missiles through Lebanon). What was fascinating about these soldiers is that they were Druze. The Druze are a fascinating minority group (they’re faith comes from an offshoot of Islam and it completely secret) who serve loyally the state that they reside. All Druze men serve (and are drafted) into the Israeli army. They are fiercely loyal combatants who fight often in the front line. The commander spoke about the danger of the region and how dangerous it was for his soldiers to get too close to the border—in fear of being kidnapped. He spoke about the taunted of many Hezbullah supporters (because they are not Jews but serve in the Israeli army). I was in awe of the trust that Israel has put in these non-Jewish soldiers and very impressed by their loyalty to the State.

Another big issue that struck me during birthright was the concept of the Israeli state as a Jewish state—representing not only Israel but the entire Jewish community outside of Israel. I have always thought that my connection to this land was significant but that the actions of the Israeli state did not in any way reflect on me just because I happened to be Jewish. If taken to heart, the concept of Israel as a Jewish state completely challenges my understanding of Judaism. If this is the case, then Israel has a massive challenge in not only representing its people to the best of their ability, but also the broader Jewish community (re: when it goes to war it does not only threaten the international reputation of Israel but of Jews in general). I was further enlightened when the question of defending Jews abroad was asked by our tour guide to the Israelis who were placed in our group—all of them said they would defend Jews abroad if they were endanger. I wonder what other people think about this issue.

Now that Birthright has ended I find myself in Tel Aviv wondering the city trying to get to know it. I got lost several times today, but I think that’s all about finding my way around this city. It’s crazy how diverse this city is and how different it is from the rest of Israel. It truly is the city that does not sleep. I’m staying at a hostel called Hayarkon 48 for at least 3 nights –its clean, cheap and the people are friendly.

Quick Update!

Hey Everyone!

First off, let me apologize for not having written earlier. I have had very bad internet access these past few days. I will write more about my experiences in a weeks times, but for now I just wanted to tell all my friends and family that I am doing well! We are avoiding all the violence in the Gaza Strip and making sure the safety remains our priority. I have been engrossed in the political consequences to this war and equally fascinated by the political reaction within the state. Everyone is talking about it, writing about it, and debating it. To be living it is really something quite amazing.

Today we went to the dead sea and that was fantastic! Floating in the middle of the sea is something everyone has to experience at least once. People on the Birthright trip are good too, although I do feel like an old man (Most people are younger than me and party way too hard).
Much more to come, but right now I have to go!

-Sam