Travels in Israel

Mamshit National Park

2010-08-11T22:14:00.000-07:00

In mid July, we picked up our friend Haim and went to Mamshit, an Israel national park heritage site where Nabateans once lived. We were lucky to visit Mamshit on a cloudy day, as in the summer, this Negev desert site can be very hot. Other Nabatean cities in Israel include Avdat (which we have visited...it is spectacular, high above the Negev valley below), Shivta, Rehovot, Halutza, and Nitzana.

(For more information on Nabateans, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabataeans

Mamshit is the Nabatean city of Memphis/Mampsis. It was built in the 1st center BCE as a trading post on the way from Petra to Gaza. In the Nabatean period, Mamshit is situated on one of the important branches of the Incense Route – it sat on the route from the Idumean Mountains to the Arava, which passed through Ma’ale Akrabim and continued on to Beersheva or to Hebron and Jerusalem.
This city too was declared a world heritage site--in 2005.

The city covers ten acres and is the smallest but best restored city in the Negev Desert. The once-luxurious houses have unusual architecture not found in any other Nabatean city. It also was an agricultural town.

From afar

The city reached the height of its prosperity form the first to sixth centuries CE durin the Roman-Byzantine period. In the first century, the town was built as a weigh station on the road leading up from the Arava. At that time, a wall surrounding the city, mansions, and public buildings were erected, and a sophiusticated water-supply system was installed. The wall was built in the 4th century to protect from attacks by nomads. It was 860 meters long and enclosed an area of 4 acres. Mamshit was the only walled city in the Negev.

City Wall

Artist picture of wall and one gate

That wall and gate today

Thick gate up close

A large military force was based in Mamshit, guarding the main roads linking the Negev with southern Transjordan and leading from Jerusalem to Alia (Aqaba). In the early 2nd century, during the reign of Emperor Trajan, the road known as the Via Nova Traiana was built in Transjordan. They city flourished at that time.

When trade in Mamshit waned with the Roman occupation, the occupants made a living by raising Arabian horses, bringing great wealth to their city. During the Byzantine period Mamshit also received support from the authorities for being a frontier city. When this funding dried up, at the time of Justinian, and the city was attacked by Nomads in the 6th century, it died a natural death and was never again inhabited.

The reconstructed city gives the visitor a sense of how Mamshit once looked. Entire streets have survived intact, and there are also large groups of Nabataean buildings with open rooms, courtyards, and terraces.

Mamshit in Byzantine period

The marketplace flourished in ancient times. It offered goods from other settlements and surplus agricultural projects from the farmlands around the city. The structure had 3 rows of rooms, most of which were built by the Byzantine period. Pottery and the remains of clay cooking stoves were found in many of the rooms, and indication that the rooms were also used as residences too. Several times during the year, the marketplace is recreated, and Israelis flock to visit the area.

The morning that we visited, we were the only ones there except for two workers.

In fact, no one was there to collect an entry fee, so we saved 20 shekels each. Haim would have had a discount as an Israeli senior citizen.

Artist rendition of marketplace

Entry to Marketplace with Haim and Howard in the photo

Center of the marketplace

The stones are carefully chiseled and the arches that support the ceiling are remarkably well constructed.

Arch in Nabatean house

Two churches were built in the town in the 4th century. The Eastern church was the larger of the two. The cross on the floor was either built before a decree in 427 prohibiting the use of crosses as floor decorations or else the decree was ignored.

Church floor mosaic

Nave ? of church--see cross on the floor

Water was very important, and a cistern near the church collected rain water

Cistern next to church

.Mamshit had a very complex system of water collection and also an amazing bathhouse. The main source of water was the town reservoir right next to the town bathhouse. The capacity of the reservoir was 550 cubic meters, while only 200 cu. meters were needed to operate the bathhouse. The filling of the reservoir and others cisterns in town depended greatly on the flooding of the Mamshit steam nearby during the rainy season.

Water supply and the bathhouse

Bathhouse users entered it through the apodyterium (the changing room) #1 and then moved on to the frigidarium #2 (the cold water room). From there they moved on to #3 the tempidarium (the warm room), around whose walls benches were built. There bathers would lay their clothes and rest a bit before entering the caldarium #4 (the hot room). This room was heated from #5, the praefurnium (the furnace room), next to it. The caldarium usually had a refreshing cool pool. Signs of such a pool were discovered during excavations near the northern wall. The floor of the caldarium was supported by pillars below. The hot air circulated among the pillars and rose into the room through small pipes in the walls, heating its floors and walls.

Byzantine Bathhouse

Bathhouse from afar--Howard the speck in the middle

Cool Room??

Channel connecting reservoir to bathhouse

One huge home, called the Nabato House, was extremely well preserved. It was built in the second century CE and was the largest and most elaborate house built in the town.

It was two stories tall and 1600 square meters in size, which is more than 17,200 square feet. It had two wings, the residential quarters and another area which included stables for horse breeding which could hold up to 20 horses.

Location of the house in the town

Artist rendition of Nabato House

Room in Nabato House

Large room in that home

Capitals on columns in the home

Staircase to second floor

Overview of several rooms

Artist rendition of stable area

Actual stable area

Nabato House column collection

The biggest treasure ever found in Israel was exposed in Mamshit - 10500 silver coins, 158 pounds of plumbum tonque with foundry signs and a papyrus cluster with Greek ancient texts. The coins were found under the stairs of the residential wing of the Nabato House, probably the savings of the owners of the house, collected over 120 years and mysteriously left there unclaimed.

The place was fascinating, much more complex than I had expected.

You can find more amazing pictures of the site at:

http://holyland-pictures.com/category/negev/mamshit/

Isn't the internet wonderful!!!

Beduin Women's Embroidery Cooperative, Desert Embroidery, Lakiya

2010-08-11T17:10:00.000-07:00

After visiting Mamshit with our friend Haim, we stopped at the town of Lakia (Laqye, Laqiya, Lakiya) to visit Desert Embroidery, the Beduin women's embroidery cooperative. Lakiya was founded in 1982 as part of the Israeli government's attempt to settle Bedouins in towns.

I had heard of them through the New Israel Fund (which used to support it) and also bought something from one of the representatives in Kiryat Malachi 2 or 3 summers ago at Festival B'Shekel.

Lakiya from the highway

Luckily Haim at visited there before as security staff to a group of visiting Israeli women, so he had an idea where the coop was. There were signs through town, but some had been removed--possibly by men who did not want the women to have the coop--although it is now well-established.

The women do not have the funds to put new ones up in key places. The city told them it would cost 3000 shekels (about $800 US).

Camel outside of town

We saw a lot of the very nice looking town as we drove through it looking for the cooperative.

Nice home and business

Woman walking in town

Mosque

We finally got to the unpretentious site:

Sign on outside of the center

The visitors' tent was not in use the day we visited, but Haim said that when he came with a large group, it was used to welcome the group and discuss their cooperative.

Visitors' Tent

The group's website is at:
http://www.desert-embroidery.org/

The following below in blue is from http://www.greenprophet.com/2008/12/bedouin-project-interchange/

As the Israeli Bedouin culture, which was once partially nomadic, adapts to the fast-paced ways of modern living, its women are being left behind. Undervalued at home, and with few skills that can lead to gainful employment (most are not allowed to leave the home for outside work), not only do Israeli Bedouin women suffer from high rates of poverty and abuse, they can pass on a sense of hopelessness to their children — a cycle that never ends.

Determined to find a way to empower themselves, a group of four Bedouin women from the Bedouin town of Lakia, founded the Association for the Improvement of Women’s Status in 1992. Since creating their NGO, the women have been able to build a number of meaningful projects in their society that generate income and a sense of self-worth.

As the once nomadic people transition into the modern way of life, the women are becoming more marginalized. In the past, they had responsibilities in the house — collecting water and wood, taking care of the livestock and setting up the family tent. These are skills no longer valued in their society. But that’s changing.

The association gives fulltime work to 70 Bedouin women. (In the past, up to 160 women participated, then 90 but as outside support diminished, so did the numbe of participants.) Teaching the traditional art of embroidery, and then selling the products is the association’s central activity, but there are other community activities that have branched out to further strengthen their society from within.

One is an adult literacy program the women have created, another a special kindergarten for their children, and a third a mobile library, which passes through different neighbourhoods to spread literacy, and human rights education among the town’s children.

While only a handful of Bedouin women went to university 10 years ago, now over 350 are enrolled.
The woman in charge when we visited had 5 or 6 children. One was studying medicine in Romania, I believe. Another was a nurse in Barzilai hospital in Ashkelon. She was very proud of them. I had asked her about her children and then showed her mine too!

The stock of clothing was low when we arrived, but I did buy a vest. However, there were lots of bags of all sizes and wall or table coverings.

Some items for sale

I was told that each kind of embroidery has specific significance. On the vest, from the bottom up was the path of love, with marriage at the top.

I also bought a cell phone or glasses case. The pattern on it represented the sweet and sour of life. It probably took four hours to make. Some women might have time to do it all at once while others would do a bit and then return to housework or caring for children, grabbing a few minutes to embroider when possible. It cost 40 shekels. If it took 4 hours to make, then the hourly wage would have been about $2.70.

Here are some of the pictures on the wall explaining the projects.

Lectures for women

Project Explanation

Young Leadership

On some of their publicity:

3 women at work

Hands at Work

I was very much impressed by the group and was glad that we had stopped by.

There were other visitors from Germany, one of whom is a financial supporter of the Joe Alon Center for Beduin Culture at nearby at Kibbutz Lahav. We had visited it 3 or 4 years ago. If you are ever nearby, it is definitely worth a visit. http://www.joealon.org.il/english/eng_beduin.htm

Gamla National Park, July 2010, after fire in late May

2010-08-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

Howard and I try to get to Gamla each summer we are in Israel. It is one of his favorite places. It is a national park on the central Golan Heights and has 4 purposes:
     It is a lovely place to hike with a beautiful waterfall.
     On the way in are dolmas from ancient cultures--thousands of years old
     Gamla itself is an ancient city, mostly known for its rebellion against the Romans where more people
       died than at Masada. For details, go to: http://www.jewishmag.com/40mag/gamla/gamla.htm
         (I've written about it before so won't go into details on this blog)
     A memorial to all of those who died for Israel from communities on the Golan.

Each time I go, I visit the memorial.

Top of Memorial overlooking Gamla and Kinneret in background

I lived at Kibbutz Merom Golan from 1972 to 1974. In November, 1972 during a shelling from Syria, a kibbutz member, Micha Fichman, saved my life. The place I was standing in the laundry received a direct hit just 5 minutes after he warned me and others to get out. He died a few hours later after being hit by anti-personnel schrapnel outside of the kibbutz garage.

Micha's name is in the center

In addition to Micha Fichman who died in November, 1972, 4 members of our kibbutz died in the Yom Kippur War of 1973. All volunteered to serve. They include Avremeleh Neinshtein Menachem Odem (mentioned above and melow Micha).

Memorial to Merom Golan fallen

Also Yaakov (Menchi) Re-i and Kobi Rabinobitz--all in the right hand column above.

As we drove past Kibbutz Ein Gev, we saw signs of another fire. Unfortunately, fires are not uncommon during the summer in Israel due to the lack of rain for 5 months or so.

Signs of Fire past Ein Gev--note "fisherman "on the hill

Blacked earth east of Ein Gev

We expecially wanted to visit this year because of the fire on the Golan around Gamla on May 27 (2010). The fire erupted at about 2:00 a.m. and is thought to have wiped out virtually all the vegetation in the reserve's open spaces, burning over 2500 acres. It was started during army exercises in the area ignited by sparks created when the metal tracks of an Israel Defense Forces tank rolled moving over rocks.

Blackened hill on the Golan on the way to Gamla

A few days before our ride north we heard a program on TV about the problem with cattle on the Golan. Kibbutz Merom Golan has a huge beef herd that feeds on the central Golan. The fire spooked many of the heads of cattle and also burnt the natural food, so the kibbutz is having to pay for feed, which is costing them a lot of money. We saw some of the cattle on our way up.

Cattle on hilltop--notice sign for Merom Golan

more cattle grazing

When we arrived at Gamla, signs of the fire were everywhere.

burnt area near ruins of Deir Qeruh village--
Christian village of 4th and 5th centuries, etc

new plant among devastation

new growth under singed trees

Singed trees--live plants burn less quickly than dead ones

In 2007, over 50 of the vultures in the area died from poisoning. Local farmers were setting out poison to kill wolves, etc that were attacking their cattle. The wolves ate the poison, died, and then the vultures ate the wolves and died....more than 50 at one site alone. Negotiations with the farmers have resulted in a different way to stop the wolves. Other vultures died from eating metal in the area that they mistook for food.

Items taken from stomach of dead vulture, 2005

Meanwhile, the population of vultures in the area, which as late as 2003 numbered 200 is now down to 30 at most. Vultures are monogamous. The female lays just one egg a year. At most 30% of the eggs are hatched and survive their first few months. Other animals in the area (including eagles who love to eat the eggs) are a danger. Usually one of the parent vultures is always on the egg, but one video I saw showed that when one was absent for 40 minutes, eagles managed to crack and drain the egg.

If one egg does not "make" it, the female vulture will lay a "reserve" egg. To take advantage of this, the National Parks Authority began a program in 2008 in which they removed the first egg from nests and replaced it with a dummy egg.

It took the vultures several days to realized that the egg was not real, and then another egg was laid. The removed egg was taken to the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem where it was hatched in an incubator. When the fledglings were big enough, they were retured to a special cage in Gamla. 80 to 90% of these birds survive.

sign regarding rehab cages

Telephoto pic of cage of fledglings

During the fire, the Nature and Parks Authority safely evacuated 15 vultures that were being held in an acclimation cage on the reserve. They first moved them to an emergency area and then back to the original site and the fire approached the emergency area. The vultures were hatched in captivity as part of a project to enlarge the local vulture population, which is in danger of extinction.

When the vultures are old enough, they are set loose. All are marked with ankle tags and/or radar.

Ranger showing radar tags

examples of ankle tags

Wingspan of vulture

These birds are amazing creatures and beautiful to watch. They are capable of flying 200 miles a day!

I hope that the efforts by the National Park Authority to increase their numbers at Gamla will prove successful.

Lunch at Moshav Amirim, July 2010

2010-08-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

After leaving Apollonia we drove north and east, stopping at Moshav Amirim for lunch.

In 1959, Moshav Amirim was established in the Gallilee by a group of people who wanted a vegetarian lifestyle. Many were Holocaust survivors, and there were even some Seventh Day Adventists in the group. At that time, a vegetarian life style was "shunned" by mainstream Israelis, so that is why they wanted their own community. Before then, 3 different times since independence, a group of Moroccan Jews tried to settle the area, but it was too cold and isolated for them.

It is on a hill on the way to Sfat, with an amazing view of the Kineret and the hills beyond to the Golan Heights.

View along part of road

The town is on several long windy roads....not an easy place to get around without a car. The moshav continues today and is a popular getaway for Israelis. The town seems to exist on the basis of tourism, with quite a few B&Bs and restaurants in town although a few people still farm.

The following is from http://web.archive.org/web/20070126104141/http://www.partner.org.il/kavimut/places-amirim-0107.html

Originally there were about 10 plots of land allocated - about half of them were bachelors, the others families. There were difficult times to start with - such as with poor communication links. Despite being highly idealistic vegetarians, however, the majority of the first inhabitants didn't even know how to grow an onion!

Over the years, there were a lot of visitors to the Moshav - particularly to one of the residents called Gidon. Guests would frequently catch one of the two buses a day to visit him - and then spend so long chatting that they would miss their bus home! This lead to them staying overnight in Amirim and eventually saw (with the support of the Jewish Agency) the building of guest houses. The Jewish Agency was particularly keen to support such activity because there were very few hotels in Israel.
Amirim was in fact the start of the first 'holiday village' in Israel - something which has particularly taken off today with the general expansion of rural bed and breakfasts. Today around 25 families have bed and breakfasts in Amirim with about 120 beds for visitors. Most guest houses are full up every weekend.

Amirim has many holistic and alternative health treatments including Biofeedback therapy, reflexology, shiatsu, different types of massage treatments, aromatherapy, Feldenkries method, acupuncture and Chinese medicine, Tarot card reading, reiky, and even beauty saloon and natural cosmetics. Such activities are organised on an individual basis. Amirim itself now has no more new plots for houses - now anyone else who wishes to move there will have to pay exuberant sums of money to buy land or houses. The last plot sold went for something like $1/2 million dollars - a sum unheard of in Israel.

There still, however, remains a committee which vets new residents (as do the Jewish Agency). All new residents have to be vegetarians, non smokers and if married they have to be couples under 35.
There is very little communal activity on the Moshav - they do things like grow their vegetables together! The Moshav does, however, have several communal institutions ranging from a kindergarten to a mikvah (ritual bath - nearly completed) and from a synagogue to a town hall.

We were hungry, so we ate in the first restaurant (Stubbs) as we entered town. It had gotten a good rating in the latest Lonely Planet Israel. The restaurant was Glatt Kosher. The server was a woman about our age. When Howard asked about the level of kashrut, she first asked if we were Jewish before explaining! Then she started to explain that it is harder to be vegetarian kasher in some ways. Everything has to be meticulously checked for insects--lettuce, rice, etc. So the lettuce she buys is 9 shekels a kilo versus 1/3 the price elsewhere--or something like that. So that may explain the higher prices. I had a good quiche. Howard had corn bread and something else. We then drove through town and he got a great latte elsewhere....with a bit more pleasant atmosphere. We did have to hike up a short way to get into the shop, however!

It was a nice place to stop on our drive to Kiryat Shmona for Shabbat with our relatives. It was not that easy to get around...few signs and few people to ask. We saw a few kids on bikes, but as I mentioned earlier, it is not an easy place to walk around.

Apollonia National Park, Israel

2010-08-11T12:24:00.000-07:00

Just a bit over a mile north of Herzlia on the Mediterrean coast is the newest national park in Israel, Apollonia (Tel Arsuf), which opened in 2002.We had never been there and were surprised to find such treasure so close to a northern Tel Aviv suburb. We stopped there on the way north to Kiryat Shmona for Shabbat in late July, 2010. The ruins were on a cliff above the sea.

Stunning view from cliff

As you can see, the view is great, but the drop off is steep--and quite dangerous....so all are warned to stay away from the edge of the cliff.

We first stopped at the bathroom and I was delighted to see the gorgeous flowers draping the sherutim.

I was astounded by the size of the flowers next of the century plant. I'm the tiny blue person in the photo below. We may have seen something this size at the Desert Museum in Tucson but I'm not sure that they were this big.

We also were very touristy and shook hands with the Crusaders at the entry!

Notice we are both wearing hats to protect us from the sun.

Apollonia is located on a cliff made of calcareous sandstone, read loam, and sand. This area was first settled about 2500 years ago by the Phoenicians at the end of the sixty century BCE (the Persian period).

The Phoenicians called the place Arsuf, after their god of war and storms, Reshef. The cliff is high above a small natural anchorage. The Phoenicians fished in the sea for snails, from which they produced purple dye. The cover was also a good place for ships to dock that linked them with the Greek world.

During the Hellenistic period from about 332 to 63 BCE, the town was renamed Apollonia as the residents identified Reshef with the God Apollo. Later the town and more of the Coastal Plain was captured by the Hasmoneans. Josephus mentioned it saying it was one of the coastal cities ruled by Alexander Janneus.

During the Roman period from 63 BCE to 324 CD, Apollonia flourished and became a real city, with both a Samaritan community and perhaps a Jewish community here in the Roman and Byzantine periods. During the 5th and 6th centuries CE, the city (now called Suzussa) became the main port city for the southern Sharon Plain, and was over 70 acres big. It had wine and oil presses and a well-developed glass industry. The villa below was found under the Crusader walls when excavated. It had a stunning view of the Mediterranean Sea.

Roman Villa in use during first and second centuries CD

Artist rendering of Roman villa

The town was unfortified and had a sophisticated water system based on the collection of surface runoff in cisterns.

More Ruins

Below is an example of a rock-cut cistern used to collect rain water. The ceiling is barrel vaulted. At the southern end of the vault, one sees the remains of a clay pipe, used to drain water into the cistern. The various settlements that existed here over time relied on rain water for their community water supply.

Water Reservoir

Water Pool in town

Below is a lime kiln used in Ottoman times. The lime was extracted during a lengthy firing process. Remains here were found from the Persian period when the site was occupied by the Phoenicians (late 6th century BCE) as well as homes dating from the Crusader period and not visible today.

A Ottoman Lime Kiln used in production of slaked lime

More ruins

During the Early Islamic period (638 to 1099), the Muslim rulers renamed it Arsuf and surrounded it with a wall to protect it from attack by the Byzantine fleet. The city was densely populated but had shrunk to 22 acres.

The Crusaders took Jerusalem in 1099 but could not conquer Arsuf until the spring of 1101 with the aid of the Genoan fleet. They renamed the area Arsour. In the mid-12th century, the entire area of the southern Sharon Plain was awarded to a noble Crusader family, and Arsour became the regional capital. The Crusaders strengthened the walls of the former Muslim city, digging a dry moat around the town for additional protection.

Moat around town

Crusader Wall Overlooking Ocean

As we looked over the cliff, we saw some people down below, fishing in the water.

Fisherman in top right corner

I also saw some in a tent on the beach.

In 1241, the Crusaders under the leadership of Jean d’Ibelin d’Arsour began construction of a fortress in the northern part of town. It was quite an endeavor and a very complete structure. As we walked toward the fortress, this is the view we saw:

Fortress from Afar

Notice the ramp on the right. That did not exist in the past until the fort was conquered.

Model of Crusader fortress

The fortress was protected by a dry moat that was 90 feet (!!) wide and up to 42 feet deep.

It was protected by 3 fortifications:

1) An outer retaining wall, semi-circular towers and a gate

2) An 18 foot high inner wall, higher than the outer wall and running parallel to it, which was the outer

wall of the rooms

3) The keep, which was the highest part of the fort, an octagonal tower built over a gradual incline and standing some 30 feet tall

depiction of Crusader Fortress

Fortress Entrance

The fortress courtyard was 85 feet long and and 30 feet wide. It led to the surrounding rooms and up to the second story. No clear details remain of the second story. Today the courtyard is used in the summer for concerts. 2010 marks the 7th season of Friday afternoon concerts at the site from May through September. For more information on this concerts, go to http://parks.org.il/BuildaGate5/general2/data_card.php?dc=930368046~384

All are Israeli groups, and Celtic music seemed much in vogue this summer.

When Arsour died in 1258, his son Belian took charge, but could not withstand the continuous pressure of Mameluke Muslim attacks. So he transferred control of his Southern Sharon fiefdom to the Hospitalier Knights. A few hundred soldiers of this order moved into the fortress.

As stated above, the "keep" was part of the protection of the fortress. It was on the second floor. The floor has been reconstructed.

Keep

Artist Depiction of Fort entrance/Keep

As in many parts of Israel, much of Apollonia was made from sandstone. The marble below is made from limestone under pressure. Note the designs on the top of the columns:

Marble Column

Kitchen area

Fort ovens

Sizable Dining Area

The port was an important part of the town/fortress and was below the fortress. A few remains still exist.

Drawing of Port

Port--right had side easily visible

In the spring of 1265, Arsour was attacked the Mameluck Sultan Bibars, at the head of a powerful army. When the town was attacked, some 2000 of the town folk and soldiers found refuge in the fortress. The city fell after 40 days and the fort was captured 3 days later. The Crusaders finally agreed to surrender on condition that they be allowed to leave the city. Baibars agreed, but then on entering the city, forced its defenders to burn the town and took them prisoner. The fortress only stood for 24 years. The Mamelukes established a military outpost here that was eventually abandoned and never inhabited again. Apollonia has laid in ruins ever since.

Plant life: There are very strong winds on the cliff where Apollonia stands and salt spray comes up from the ocean.

a succulent that was in abundance here in the summer during our visit

The plants growing on the ridge above the cliff are highly resistant to the salt spray and the sand that blows on top of them.

A thorny bush with weed-like flowers

Shrubby slatbush, lavender, prickly dorp-seed grass, and evening primrose grow well here. The purple lavender flowers were in abundance.

Once there was a forest of Mt. Tabor Oak in Apollonia but starting with the Crusaders, it was harvested for construction and fuel, so no oaks exist here today.

In 2003, World Monuments Watch declared Apollonia endangered by development, one of 100 such sites around the world so-named in that year, including the Great Wall of China and the city of Batsra in Syria. The full list of sites can be found on http://www.wmf.org/.

Armored Corps Memorial Museum at Latrun, Israel (Yad LaShiryon)

2010-08-06T12:50:00.000-07:00

After the riots in 1936-1939 in the land of Israel, the British govt (which ruled the area) decided to build police stations in the form of fortresses capable of self-defense. The Latrun station was built in 1940 in a rural area on the road to Jerusalem. The British evacuated the Latrun station on May 14, 1948 and on May 18, the Jordanian Legion took control. Five times the Israeli army attacked Latrun but failed to take control. The area was finally captured in the 1967 war and a more direct road to Jerusalem was built. In the past two years, more entries have been made to try to reduce the traffic congetions.

The Armored Corps Memorial Site and Museum is Israel's official site for the 4965 (so far) soldiers of the armored units who fell serving the country of Israel. It is also one of the most diverse tank museums in the world. It was dedicated in December of 1982.

We paid for our tickets at the gift shop and then waited for the English speaking soldier guide.

Entry after the gift shop up the stairs to the main area

Our Guide

Sign to the left of the stairs

Memorial Site:
A Wall of Names, erected outside, displays the names of all the fallen soldiers from the Armored Corps, beginning with the War of Independence (1948) and up to this very day.

Wall of Names

Since I lived in Israel during the Yom Kippur War and the women and children were evacuated under fire after sunset on the first day, the Yom Kippur section of the wall was particularly significant for me.

Title--Yom Kippur and Shalom Galil names of fallen

All Armored corps falling from 1973 to 1982

12 members of Kibbutz Merom Golan, where I lived from 1972 to 1974, volunteered for service in the Yom Kippur War. 4 died in service. One, Avraham Leinshtein, was a paratrooper, so shoul be named at the paratrooper memorial at Tel Nof, near Gedera. The other 3 should be on the wall at this memorial. I found one, Menahem Odem. It is hard to believe that almost 37 years has passed since their deaths.

Menachem Odem--line 3

The main building built in 1940, a mandate era Tegart fortress, houses an archive of the fallen, a library, and a synagogue.

British-built fortress

Entry to fortress--notice bullet-pocked wall

There are 3 parts to the memorial inside this building.

The first, called the Gate of Heroism, shows cycles through black-and-what photos of the 4900+ armored division soldiers who have died since the War of Independence. They are listed without ranks, just with name, age, and date of death as all are equal in death. It is a dark room, similar to the feeling inside of a take.

A few who died

Along the path one can see quotations from ancient Jewish sources regarding the eternity of the human spirit and the essence of existence.

The second is a computer screen that shows pictures and details of those who died on the date on the Jewish calendar that one visits., with more This program was especially set up for the families of those who died.

Yosef, died age 21

Elihu, died age 23

Zev Farkash, Died Aug. 12, 1979

The tower of the fortress has been converted into a "Tower of Tears" by Israeli artist Danny Karavan.

Walls of Tanks, with bullet holes, resuted

The walls have been make from walls of damaged tanks, and the walls seem to trick tears of sorrow for the fallen men.

Visitors can look at the wall and see their reflections with tears falling.

Walls crying tears

The walls also have bullet holes from tanks. The walls have rusted (not planned but sanctioned) as tanks also rust. The tears gather below the floor in a "new spring of life."

"Spring" under floor

There is also a big amphetheater where official programs take place:

Outdoor tank museum
The newest Israeli-produced tank is called the Mercava 3, from the word "chariot" as like a chariot, it has its engine (horse) in front.

Mercava 3 Prototype

Howard on Mercava 3

Notice back door

Close up

Ten French-made Hotchkiss H-39 tanks were purchased during the War of Independence and servced as reinforcement for the Israel Defense Forces. These tanks were incorporated into the Russian-speaking Slavic company of the 82nd batallion that took part in the capture of Lod airport.

Hotchkiss H-39 Tanks

Two Cromwell tanks were "stolen" by IDF combatants from a British camp before they left Palestine. They were used by English-speaking immigrants during the War for Independence.

Cromwell Tank

Cromwell Tank in actual use

The 15-ton AMX light tank was first made in 1949 by the French. It was revolutionary as the engine was in front with the driver sitting next to it. This was the first modern tank bought by the IDF in 1956. It took part in the Sinai Campaign, including fighting in Mitla Pass and also in the Six-Day War in 1967.

AMX Light Tank in Actual Use

AMX Light Tank

The M51 Sherman Tank was developed by the French and Israelis together and was based on a Sherman tank and mounted a 105mm long gun. It also had a diesel engine, wide track, and suspension. In was in the Six Day War (in the famous battle in the Dotan Valley) and in the 1973 Yom Kippur War.

M51 Sherman Tank

Centurion Tanks were purchased in the 1960s from the British. They had 20pdr guns and a "Meteor" gasoline engine.

Centurion Tank

The Patton M43A3 was commissioned by the IDF armored corps during the mid-19602. They took part in the fighting in the Six Day War in 1967 i the "Steel Formation" in battles in the northern Sinai and Refidim, and even reached the Suez Canal. Later on in the armored service, the tanks were upgraded by the IDF's Ordinance Corps.

Patton Tank

Centurion Tank in action in the 1960s

The T-55 "Tiran 5" tank, make in the former Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, were captured by the IDF armored troops during the Six Day War and the '73 Yom Kippur War from the Syrian and Egyptian armies. They were taken without a scratch and commissioned in the IDF after modification that included replacement of gun, ammo, machine guns, communication system, and other equipment.

T-55, Tiran 5 Tank

Armored 290 Rocket Launcher
In order to allow the IDL large firing strength, the Israeli military industry in cooperation with the artillery division developed the .290 mm rocket ground to ground launcher. It is based on the Serman chassis and was mainly used in the Southern Lebanon conflict in 1982.

A special section has a lot of tanks that were captured in wars.

Some of the tanks captured in wars--Howard in the background

The IDF captured a number of Panzer tanks from the Syrian army on the Golan Heights during the Six-Day War. These tanks were made in Nazi Germany. The sign below is in the format off all the signs at the museum, telling the horse power, number of maximum occupants, etc.

German-made Panzer tank

About 5,000 Sturmgeschutz Tank Destroyers were made by the Nazis and used against the Soviets in World War II, knocking out about 20,000 Soviet vehicles on the Eastern European front. Like the Panzer, these tanks were also transferred by the Soviets to the Syrians for use. They were later captured by the Israelis in the 6-Day War.

Sturmgeschutz III Tank Destroyer

Two British-made Charioteer tanks were captured from terrorist forces in Southern Lebanon in 1978 during Operation Litani.

Charioteer Tank??

The British light tanks date back to 1925 when several light models were developed for 2 to 3 crew members. Thousands were built by British industry and some were even used by the Egyptian army during Israel's Independence War. The model below was halted near a chicken coop at Kibbutz Yad Mordechai in 1948.

Vickers Light Tank

The Stuart light tanks were the last generation of light tanks between the machine-gun carriers of the 1930s and the neavier tanks of WW2. These light tanks took a large part of the fighting against Germany, Italy, and Japan. Over 19,000 tanks of various sub-models were built in the US between 1941 adn 1944. The exhibited "Stuart" is one of the early models and has a British insignia.

Stuart light tank

The Renault tank is a light service tank designed in France in 1935. The Syrian inherited them when the French left Lebanon in 1946. In May, 1948, the Syrian army attacked the southern shore of the Sea of Galilee with the help of this tank. On the 21st of May, Israelis captured two of these tanks. One is on display at Kibbutz Degania where it was stopped by members of the kibbutz.

The jeep was built by the US in WWII as an all-around 4-wheel drive vehicle. In Israel it became a scout and raiding combat vehicle. It was armed with guns and had platoon leaders equipped with radios. To protect the crew from mines, sandbags were placed on the floor of jeeps, so the jeep's springs needed to be reinforced due to the added weight. When a jeep did run over such mines, the jeep was usually destroyed but the crew just shaken up.

Jeeps

Jeeps in use by Palmach Negev Brigade

You can see a list of the tanks (including Israeli, American, French, Soviet, British and German made ones at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yad_La-Shiryon

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Fixing a tire -- and the highways in Israel

2010-07-27T02:22:00.000-07:00

As we were leaving Kiryat Malachi for the North for Shabbat on Friday, June 23, a truck driver honked at us and pointed to the car’s right rear tire, so we pulled off the highway into a gas station and parked near the air pump. We saw that the tire was indeed flat, with just 5 psi instead of 29. The air pump listed all the common cars in Israel and what the tire inflation should be. There was no cost to fill the tire, so Howard did so and off we went. We stopped several times on the way North, but the tire was fine each time. The highway was nice and wide….and we marveled at all the new highway construction.
(See more on that at the end of the e-mail.)

On Saturday night as we left Kiryat Shmona, our cousin Boris saw that the tire was again low, so we stopped at a nearby gas station and filled the tire again. The next morning at Menahemia, the tire still looked OK, but Howard wanted to fix it before we headed up the Golan. Our friend Dalia directed to us a local “puncheria,” or tire repair shop.

Local "Puncheria" shop "Puncherit HaEmek"

The screw that caused the problem

For 35 shekels (US$9+), they took off the tire, removed a screw from it, patched it, and put the tire back on. Drivers of rental cars in Israel are responsible for tires, and this is the second time we’ve had a tire problem. The other I took care of in Kiryat Malachi a few years ago.

Highways in Israel really have improved since I first visited and lived here in the early 1970s. Then roads were narrow, made more for smaller European cars. Now that Israelis buy bigger cars and there are more big trucks on the roads, the lanes are wider and shoulders are decent size too. Since the mid-90s, there has been an explosion of car buying also. Many employees of big companies also get company cars as do my cousins in Holon. She is a computer engineer and he a water engineer.

Road signs are quite good. All highways are numbered, with the bigger roads having single or double-digit numbers. Highway 6 (blue sign) is mostly a toll road, and the Israelis love it as it much faster than the other roads. There are no toll booths. There are cameras on the highway that take pictures of license plates, and people are regularly sent bills for usage. (The toll road part was built by a private company which will maintain it and keep it for 20 years.)

Most Israels do not know the highways by number (except for highway 6--kvish shesh--which is actually the Rabin Memorial Road) but just by direction and junction name. Since the junction names are slowly changing to exit areas, it can sometimes be confusing. Google maps now has many of the Israeli roads and towns labeled in English now. My husband was delighted to have found a street map of Kiryat Malachi on his IPad.

a stretch of Hwy 20, the "Ayalon," the main road into Tel Aviv

Often the walls along the side of the road are covered with greenery or very nicely designed, like on the left. BTW, notice the clouds in the sky. This summer, often before 10 a.m., there have been a LOT of clouds in the sky, much more than in the past....and sometimes dark grey.

A tunnel in the new stretch of Highway 6 in the North--a rather amazing site to see in Israel

A 2-lane road in the hills east of Tiberias taken through our car windshield. See how wide the shoulders are.

A four-lane road, divided by a barrier--a safety precaution

New construction--widing of the road to a divided highway, in the lower Galilee

Israelis mainly buy European and Asian cars, including Fiat, Renault, Peugeot, a few VWs, Citroen, Toyota, Daihatsu, Suzuki, Hundai, etc. Many are cars we don't see in the US. We are renting a Daihatsu, and getting a good 36 MPG. (Tax on cars is quite high, often doubling the price of the cars. ) I own a Toyota Prius and have seen a number of them on the road.)

A site on the road near Kvar Tavor--a couple carrying cactus fruit in the trunk of the car with the trunk open so that the fruit won't spoil. The driver is either taken them to market or to sell along the side of the road. Many local Arabs sell produce along the side of the road. We have bought from them occasionally.

Short notes/stories from Israel, July 15, 2010

2010-07-16T07:34:00.000-07:00

We've just finished our second week in Israel, and I thought I'd send out some short notes, from the unusual to the mundane, but with an Israeli twist. Enjoy!

1. Friday afternoons at 3:00 and 3:30 there are programs on HOT regarding the weekly Torah portion. Rabbi Lau is usually the narrator of the show at 3:30. Our friend Haim told us that Rabbi Lau is the son of the former Chief Rabbi Lau, who was rescued from Dachau at age 8 by a group of African-American US soldiers, one of whom was the father of Lew Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the former LA basketball star). Approximately ten years ago, Abdul-Jabbar visited Israel and was a guest of Israel's chief Ashkenazi rabbi, Yisrael Meir Lau. A friend of ours told us about this but I also found an article about the visitsent out by Jewish Telegraphic Agency on July 11, 1997, written by Naomi Segal.

2. Tuesday, July 6, and the biggest story on the news all day has been 2 car accidents where individuals were killed. At least one was a hit and run, and it involved a 19 year old who was high, probably on drugs. At 6 a.m. as he and his (girl) friend were returning from partying, they hit a 60+ year old man who had just left home to head for work, killing him instantly. The two fled the scene and were captured soon after. They were seen on TV in chains with their faces covered. It seems that serious hit-and-run accidents have become like an epidemic, with over 250 so far this year. And such accidents with the drivers high on drugs, which had not been so common in the past, are definitely on the rise.

3. Tonight (written last Sunday, July 11) is the final game of the World Cup. It just started a few minutes ago and it's amazing how quiet it is outside. Not a car is on the street, nor are people walking around and talking. Most are inside somewhere, watching the game!
4. Friday, July 9th, was the 12th day of the walk of Gilad Shalit's family from their home in the Galil to Jerusalem. Along the way, over 110,000 participated with them at different places during their march. Friends of ours participated last Wednesday. A few pictures of the walk are attached. They said that it was an amazing experience, one that they will not forget for a long time. Now that the Shalits have arrived in Jerusalem, they are camped in front of the Prime Minister's home and plan to stay there until Shalit is released.

5. We are renting a bright green small Daihatsu automatic from El Dan rent-a-car. We filled up for the first time a few days ago and we are getting 16 km per liter, which is about 37 miles per gallon, very good for rental cars in Israel. Gas, btw, is about $6.75 a gallon, but it is sold in liters, so the quantity and price on the gas pumps go up really fast.

Howard got this parking space after the other 2 cars were in their space. Both of the other two had crossed over the white line....which about 25% of the drivers do in the big parking lot in front of the BIG center near KM.

6. Israel continues to widen and improve its highways. We drove today (July 13) to visit my mother's cousin Thea, who turned 90 in January. She lives in Kiryat Ono, an eastern suburb of Tel Aviv. We took the coast road. Howard was very impressed by the work done to improve the highway from Ashdod north, widening it and adding better entrances and exits. Highway 6 is the private toll highway that bipasses Tel Aviv to the East. Although it has only been open a few years, changes are already made to it too to increase the number of lanes, eliminating most of the grassy divided part between the north and south lanes. The main road to Jerusalem is still 2 lanes in each direction. To reduce some of the congestion, however, as one nears Jerusalem, there are others ways to go to the center or south of town.

7. This afternoon, July 15, I went to buy a few things at the supermarket, especially dairy products. (I had already bought some fruit and veggies at the twice-a-week open market across the street earlier in the day.) I was really happy to find a 5% fat goat cheese spread--it is delicious. As I was checking out, the woman in front of me bought paper diapers and 2 packs of cigarettes, a combination not too often seen in Seattle nowadays!

8. The currency in Israel is the shekel, and it is divided into 100 agarot. The 1 and 2 agarot coins have not been around for a number of years. Now the 5 agarot coin has diappeared. There are no longer ten-shekel paper bills in circulation, just ten-shekel coins (worth about $2.63). The smallest paper bill is for 20 shekels, or $5.26 US.) A new coin has come into circulation, however, and that is the 2-shekel coin. It is about the size of a US nickel. All of the coins are pictured below except for the ten-agorot copper-colored coin. From left to right: 10 shekels, 5 shekels, 2 shekels, 1 shekel, 1/2 shekel.

If one pays in the store with a 100 or 200 shekel bill, the clerk usually runs a special pen over part of the bill. If it turns brown or black, it is counterfeit. So far we have not had that problem!

9 Earlier this week, I went to a Shiva visit for the mayor of Hof Ashkelon, meeting up there with Ira, Itai and Revitla. His mother, Ester Farjun had died the previous Thursday. The funeral was the same day and I didn't get the SMS (text) message in time to attend. The gathering was outside the home, under a tent-like covering. It was similar to the picture below, only about 2.5 or 3 times as big, and it was full.

The Shiva tent to the left is just down the road from the volunteer apt in Kiryat Malachi. It was set up a few days ago. The family sits outside, and people come and visit.

The shiva was being sat at Yair Farjun's family home, the first home at the entry to Moshav Brechia, where they settled almost 60 years ago. As family members passed out fruit, cookes, and hot drink (cold drinks were already on the table), part of the time Yair talked for the family, using a microphone. He told the story of how the family settled there, living in 45 sq. meters about 550 sq fit) with 13 children. The grandparents lived nearby as did other family members. The Mom treated each child as if s/he were the only one. Whenever someone was in need, there was always room for one more at the table, or for another spot on a mattress on the floor to sleep--whether it was an abused wife or a farmer/peddler caught in a rain storm. Yair told of bringing friends home spontaneously to eat and his mom giving all the food already prepared for dinner/shabbat and quickly preparing more, sending a younger child to the neighbors to get a fresh chicken.

10. Only in Israel--as I was making a spaghetti sauce about 6 p.m., I heard a loudspeaker blasting away. It wascoming from a car with an electronic megaphone/speaker on top, sending out religious messages the day before Shabbat!

11. I've been working on the TIPS calendar which just will be distributed in Israel this year. Ira and I worked on the wording for projects, and I typed it into my computer. I don't have Hebrew letters on my computer, and he doesn't touch type, so I typed the Hebrew. I have a Hebrew program with the keyboard shown on the screen. By the end of the exercise, I found that I can pretty much touch type in Hebrew! The printing is being done at Eddigraf, a local shop about 2 blocks from the volunteer apt. Eddi Yosef, the owner, is on our TIPS steering committee. The graphic artist that I worked with is Edward. He made aliyah with his family at age 9 from the former Soviet Union. He is a delight to work with.

I was amused by the no smoking sign on the wall next to his desk. (By the way, the second point is not to use cell phones in the area!)

12j. This week (July 16) the main news has been:
    a) The boat from Libya heading toward Gaza with Ghadaffi's son on board. It ended up going to Egypt with some sort of an agreement and payment...but I could not understand the Hebrew. The items will go through Egypt to Gaza. Dan Meridor of the Israeli govt also said that they could go through Ashdod.
    b) The budget bill in the Knesset for the years 2011 to 2013....and how much defense will be cut even though Barak is a big buddy of Netanyahu. Many say he no way represents his party anymore. He just represents himself.

Story of fixing the washing machine in the volunteer apt

2010-07-16T06:51:00.000-07:00

July 15: And now, the story of the washing machine repair man. About 4 or 5 years ago, the TIPS Partnership bought both a washing machine and dryer for the volunteer apartment. Adam Schwartz and family stayed in the apartment before us and found out that the dryer didn't work at all and the washing machine control had to be restarted after each cycle. So Monday, Dvora called a repairman named Dudi (a nickname for David) and gave him my number. As it turns out, Dudi's office is about a block from us.

His older son came over on Tuesday morning and said that the problem was the part that made the inside of the machine rotate. He replaced it for 450 shekels. He then fixed the dryer--it needed a new part for the starter. The normal charge was 250 shekels, but since he was already at the apartment, he charged only 200. When I was worrying about whether to fix the dryer or not (it isn't really necessary hereas it is easy to put clothes out to dry on the porch, but it is helpful for towels an sheets), I mentioned that we would only use the dryer until the end of the month when the apartment would be vacated. All of the appliances would be donated to the Social Services Department for the needy. So he lowered the price to 150 shekels -- just for the part and took away his charge. He also figured out the code for the downstairs air conditioner (86) and reprogrammed the remote....no charge. In all we paid 600 shekels (almost $160), which we were to deduct from the $50 US per week for the use of the apartment.

The bad part.

Unfortunately, the washer was not fixed. So the young man came back the next day (Wed.), and told me the problem could be the timer, which would cost 600 shekels to fix. Meanwhile he tighened a cord/wire. He didn't charge anything more. I tried to finish the washing cycle later...and found out there was still the same problem. So I called back Dudi and left a message.

He called me the next morning to find out if his son had come, then said that he had forgotten to remind him and that he was in Ashdod for the day.So Dudi himself came over himself an hour later. He took apart the rotator to be sure that it was kaput, and inside it was obvious that it had died (see the attached photo). He told me that when the rotator part goes, if the machine is still used, it can cause other parts to become damaged, including the timer. Older machines were made better and didn't not have this defect. Dudi, however, wanted to check out several things first.

One included cleaning a part with vinegar. There was vinegar in the house....however, only apple cider vinegar and wine vinegar, so I trotted down 2 flights of stairs, went across the street, and went to buy vinegar at the supermarket. I found 2 kinds, one for about a dollar, and the other about twice the price. I asked a lady nearby if she knew the difference, and she asked me if I were buying it to use on food or for cleaning. When I told her the latter, she told me to buy the cheaper kind! In the States I wouldn't ask a stranger such a question so easily, but here in Israel (especially outside the big cities), I am very comfortable doing so.

Back to the apartment, Dudi said that he was going to come back later with another small part to see if it would help. Howard and I were going out to lunch at a friend's (an English teacher at the high school), so Dudi said that he would return after 3.

new part

While he was working, he asked me where I was from in the US. Then he told me a story of 30 years ago, when a good friendof his was going to the US and invited him along. Dudi was interested, but his wife was not, so he stayed here. His friend did not return, and has since become a multi-millionaire in the US. He also told me that he lived on a small farm and sold it for about $60,000 US to move to Kiryat Malachi about 20 years ago. The farm--especially the land-- is now worth more than 15 times that, while his home in Kiyrat Malachi has not increased as much in value. He also showed me photos of his wife and her sisters. He told me she was 55, and I told him she looked much younger. He also told me that the son that had first worked on the washing machine the day before was getting married in 3 months.

I told him that Howard had met his youngest son 2 or 3 years ago when he was helping to interview candidates going into 9th grade for a special after-school computer training program called NETA. Dudi is also the father of Liron, a special needs young adult who used to be on the Young Council. All this from a visit of the washing machine repairman.

I haven't tried the washing machine yet but will soon. I hope the little part that he replaced will work. If not, we can always fall back on cleaning another part with the vinegar that I bought...that Dudi hasn't use yet.

Update: Friday, July 16: Sad news.....washer still stops at key points...sigh...

A few days later: Dudu came back, tried something else that didn't work, and finally took out the timer. He sent it to another person, who might be able to adjust it.

July 27th we got the timer back. We could have gotten it back a few days earlier but Dudu had lost our # and kept on coming to the apt when we were not in. Anyway, success! For another 200 shekels ($52), the timer was fixed and I did a bunch of loads of wash, including the dirty sheets from previous occupants! Yay!

First Full week in Israel, July 2010

2010-07-08T07:19:00.000-07:00

Today marks a full week that we have been in Israel and both of us have fully adjusted. Howard had not been here for 2 years, so he was excited to be back, and he is getting more involved more quickly....napping a bit less as we also have an extra room with air conditioning!

After a lovely restful Shabbat in Shuval with our friends Haim and Shunamit, we visited friends in Kibbutz Beit Kama Saturday night. Our friend recently moved back to the kibbutz where he grew up. His father is still very much of a kibbutznik, working in agriculture. He used to work in cotton, but it is no longer grown beause of the amount of water needed. The mother teaches at a university in Beersheva and is also a midwife. Their other child also recently moved back to the kibbutz. I'm envious. It iswonderful to have grandparents and siblings with their young children so close by.

Beit Kama is also going through a kind of privatization. The dining room is only open during the day, but because of requests, it will now be open one Friday night a month for a community Shabbat dinner. Most of the businesses have been outsourced or are done in partnership with another kibbutz. There are two new building areas for homes. One is for returning "children" of members like our friends. They are hoping to keep the same "feeling" of the kibbutz with homes that are not too big and nature surrounding them. The other new building area is for people from "outside." Their homes are definitely bigger... Howard and I like our friends prefer the older format!

This picture above is of very tall Yucca plants along the side of one of the older houses. They must help keep the home cool in summer.This picture belowshows how a new leaf is added to this fiscus tree. It starts as a red casing which gets bigger, splits open, and then becomes a leaf.

We’ve kept busy since we arrived in Kiryat Malachi on Sunday. Aside from Howard’s knee, we are feeling pretty good (as long as I take a Benedryl before going to bed).

We’ve been to two supermarkets and to the local shuk, which is just across the street. (I am always surprised at how expensive food is here in supermarkets.) The shuk (market) is open on Mondays and Thursdays, and on Thursday (today), it is mainly a food market—fruits, vegetables, and nuts. I came home today with my arms loaded with a watermelon, an Israeli melon (not as orange as a cantaloupe), a ½ kilo of fresh figs, tiny pears and small peaches, etc. I’m going to go back for fresh almonds in their original (green) casing and maybe some more fresh lychee. You can see below the almonds I bought when I did go back. The green shell is the actual shell of the almond. What we know as the brown shell is actually soft at first and then starts to harden. The taste is similar to that of almond flavoring...different from dried almonds. (BTW, when I went back at 6 p.m., some of the produce venders had lowered their prices substantially....a good time to shop for bargans. For examples, cucumbers were down from 1.5 shekels a kilo to 1 shekel per kilo (i.e. 28 cents for 2.2 pounds).

Howard has been busy this week and has gotten involved in 3 different places.

First of all on Sunday we together when to a program called Tzeva. It is an enrichment and homework after-school program during the school year to help some lower income children. Several national service young women volunteer there during the year. (They are Orthodox teens, recent high school graduates, who do this service instead of the army.) 2 days a week third and fourth graders attend, and another 2 days 5th and 6th graders attend. This summer, they have a three-week program, but just 2 days a week, Sunday and Monday. The coordinator, Merav, is great. She works very well with the children. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have enough volunteers to run it more days.

On Sunday, when we first went, there were 3 young women from national service came, plus another woman named Hadar who I later found out was Dvora’s daughter-in-law. She first got involved with Tzeva through a college community service class she took at Achva college, a program that our TIPS partnership once sponsored. She liked Tzeva so much that she continues to volunteer some. The next day, however, Howard was the only volunteer. The program has a set of "golden rules:"

Don't abuse others; be respectful; come on time.

One ten-year-old boy named Ben latched on to Howard right away. Ben’s mother is French, and Ben speaks French and some English with her too, so he was excited to talk English with Howard, and his English was good extremely good for someone his age.

Howard also played hopscotch with the kids during a recess. The next day, a petite Ethiopian girl, also the same age, came just because she knew Howard was there. Her English was good too—mainly from watching TV programs in English.

Howard painted with Q-tips with the kids while I did word searches in Hebrew on the topic of summer with others. Later, during large group activities, we learned the game “Yahm-Yavesha.” It is like a very simple Simon Says. There is a line in the room. One side is “yahm” (ocean) and the other is “yavesha” –dry land. When the leader shouts one of the words, each participant has to jump to the correct side.

We then played a bit of non-competitive volleyball as well as other games. One boy, David, was acting out destructively so he was sent to another alcove. Howard went over to him and calmed him down with a bit of attention—they compared watches.

Howard also helped an 11th grade girl named Sara prepare for the top level (5 pt) repeat Bagrut exam in English (like the SAT subject exams). She is in the alternative school program (Beit Novea)—less formal than in the US. She’s also Ethiopian and has learned a lot of English from TV too. Last year, when she started at Beit Novea, they didn’t know what test for her to try. She took the 3 pt exam and scored 100%. She’s quite sharp so I’m glad that she found her way back to a school program. (This is a program that Shalom Eldar from our TIPS steering committee helps administrate.)

Atidim is a special program program to help disadvantaged youth prepare to become army officers. It starts with youth as young as 7th graders and teaches them many good life skills. The director for the local program in town wanted to run an English class for outgoing 7th graders, and because Howard was here, she could start it. Yesterday (Wednesday) was the first day. Howard had about 7 or 8 girls and one boy. The girls in skirts were from the religious public secondary school AMIT, and the others were from AMAL, the non-religious public school. He really is a born teacher, and it showed here from what he told me. He got the kids to talk a bit about their interests. He found out that they liked romantic movies. So he told them about the most romantic movie he has ever seen, “Casablanca.” He told them the story, briefly, but did not tell him which of the 2 men that the main star chose. (The teacher may get the movie so that he can show it to them and use it as a teaching tool.)

Howard also found out that they wanted to do vocabulary work, so they reviewed everything they could see in the room. New words that he taught included “elbow.” Then in the afternoon, we went to the library and took out 4 picture dictionaries that he could use with vocabulary by topic. I am so well known at the town library that they let us take the books, though the usual limit is just 2 books at a time.

He said that some liked to talk and others liked to listen, and he was happy to let them do either. They don’t want to do “activity book” work, and neither does he!

Last night Howard downloaded a bunch of pictures to his new IPad to take to class today, and the girls enjoyed seeing them. Three new people showed up today but the one boy was missing.

It says a lot if so many show up the second day….during summer vacation to a non-required class. He will continue next week from 10 a.m. to noon, but with 2 smaller groups, the AMIT group first and then the AMAL group. The AMIT girls want to practice writing, and came prepared today with notebooks and pencils. I’ll be happy to help him with writing starting on Sunday.

Last Monday, we went over to the new open mall just across the highway from town (about 4 blocks from us). In the side area of the parking lot, adjacent to MacDonalds and Cafe' Joe, there was Israeli dancing in the parking lot.

Ira (on the left in the 2nd photo) stayed for several hours, and I also ran into Esti, the science center administrative assistant. Esti invited us to go with her on Wednesday to participate in the walk with Gilad Shalit’s family to Jerusalem. It started at their home in the Galil (Galilee) and by Wed. would be at Latrun. I knew I had to work with Ira on the TIPS calendar, and also was concerned about being outside in the heat of the day. Today, she told me it was a fantastic experience. They waited for 2 hours in the open sun, but then walked with the family for an hour. If you haven’t heard of the walk, it is major news here, taking over a week total. The idea is to get enough attention to at least improve the conditions for Shalit and for some communication to exist and health visits.

Howard also found out that lattes at MacDonalds at the mall were just as good as those at Cuppa Joe or Aroma and a lot cheaper! Howard picked out some Israeli style t-shirts (4 for 100 shekels, or about $7 each) at Tabun in the mall....

The TIPS Partnership (Tucson Israel Phoenix Seattle) that I’m co-chair of has had an annual art contest for 5th and 6th graders. This year the theme was partnership and the top entries from the 5 communities (Israel = Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon) are on display at the entrance to the town libraries. I’ve been helping to put together the format for the calendar that will be made for Israel this year. (The American communities have asked for note cards, something not used here in Israel as we do in the US.) I’ve been typing in Hebrew, and have gotten the basics down for touch-typing in Hebrew. I’m astounded!

News this week has included the following:
1) World Soccer cup (Yay Spain! The final should be fascinating though I still find it hard to believe that Brazil and Argetina dropped out so early.)
2) Traffic accidents--especially hit and runs....there have been more than 250 hit and runs so far this year leaving someone with serious injuries or killing the person hit
3) The march of Gilad Shalit's family to Jerusalem (mentioned earlier) (In the 12 days of the march, which ended today, a total of 110,000 people marched with the family.)
4) Netanyahu's visit to Washington

I'm working to see lots of people. Life here is always hectic, with schedules filled from morning to night, so we are working on scheduling. As one of our reps said, when living in Canada as a "shaliach" (Israel cultural rep) they had plenty of time to drink coffee but not a lot of friends to drink it with, but in Israel they have very very little time to drink coffee (i.e. free time) and many many people to drink with. Israelis are very open, and one can drop by without an invitation, but there is less and less time to do so.)

Our plans for Shabbat are in place and schedule next week is filling up. We are going to visit our friend Dalia in Menachemia , just south of the Kinneret, stoping at Neot Kedumim, the Biblical Landscape Reserve, on the way. We’ve never been there and it sounds fascinating. Check it out at :
http://www.n-k.org.il/public/english/index.htm

Shabbat Shalom,

Dina and Howard

Hugim at the Seattle Stroum JCC

2008-08-18T17:40:00.001-07:00

To continue writing about the 5 Israelis adding Israeli content to the JCC summer camp.

The 5 counselors this year for the first time were in charge of an interest group or (hoog) Monday through Thursday at 1 p.m. for an hour. They had a different group each day and taught each group the same topic for a week, adjusting the program somewhat for the age of the group. They id at least 5 topics, starting the second of the 6 weeks including: Jewish and Israeli Holidays, Symbols, Famous Israelis and famous places in Israel, Foods, and Israeli Children's Songs and Games. I as present the Monday of the last week to see them introducing Israeli foods to a group entering first through third grades.

First, the counselors divided the approximately 30 campers into three groups, by having them "count" off by naming 3 Israeli foods, Falafel, humus, and pizza.

"Your're falafel!"

They lined up in rows by their food names. Then each row was given a description of a food and they had to guess it. Below one boy who knows the answer enthusiastically raises his hand and shouts out the answer.

Next still in rows, each group had one person go to the white board. The person had to draw a picture of a food, and his group had to guess the food.

After one round of drawing, they gathered in a circle. A person in the middle was "it" and shouted one of the 3 foods mentioned, such as "falafel." Then all those labeled "falafel" had to stand up and change places while the person who was it had to scramble to a place to. The person left standing was "it" next. The girl below had just become "it."

The next activity was playing food bingo. There were several different cards including the one below.

Mor and Or traded off reading descriptions of words; the campers guessed the answer and put paper markers on the space of words described.
Tal and friend
Livnat helping a camper

Tal helping campers with food bingo

Mor and Or having trouble reading clues--who had the messy handwriting??

Yuval helping campers with bingo

After bingo, they taught a Hebrew kids' song about food that also had a lot of physical movement, and the children loved it!

With just a few minutes left, not enough to do another "food" activity, the 4 led songs they had taught previous, and all joined in. Mor played the drum to add rhythm.

Two campers looking at a map of Israel.

On Wednesday of that week, the Israelis were given an extra hour and made falafel with all the Camp Kef kids!

The counselors also told me a bit about the other topics for the hugim. Here are some of the materials that they used for the hugim:

For the topic of Jewish/Israeli symbols:

The menorah and olive branch were introduced as was the Magen David and a dove.

Some food is so symbolic that it was first introduced under the topic of symbols and then reinforced later!

After Israeli geography and famous Israeli people and places were introduced, the youth played a rather complex game when they had to do a task and then "earn" a piece of the puzzle. The symbols mounted on green paper below were some of the ones used in the game.

Another Israeli, Shelly, was in town for part of the summer, visiting family, so she often assisted at camp.
The JCC campers really loved the counselors. For some, camp will be the only time that they ever meet Israelis, and the interaction was sure to leave a big impact on them. Some campers were Israelis who had recently moved to Seattle, so they appreciated being able to talk to someone in Hebrew. See below a love note that several wrote spontaneously.

Israeli Teens Volunteering in Seattle, Summer 2008

2008-08-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

Although this blog is about my traveling in Israel, I'm going to write about five Israelis who traveled from Kiryat Malachi and Hof Ashkelon this summer to volunteer at Jewish day camps in the Seattle area for 6 weeks, through the TIPS partnership, a program that the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle participates in. This is at least the fifth consecutive year that teens from there have come to Seattle to add a bit of Israel to local camps. Usually youth ages 17 and 18 come, but because of the teachers' strike in Israel this year, matriculation exams were pushed back to mid July and the older youth could not come, so four 16-year-olds came. They were young but extremely enthusiastic, and with advance planning in Seattle and Israel, they have been able to add a lot more about Israel than in the past, and the camp directors have been thrilled.

Mor, Or, Livnat, Yuval, and Tal

Mor and Livnat are from Kiryat Malachi. Yuval, Or, and Tal live in Hof Ashkelon. Yuval lives on Kibbutz Zikim. I've already written about our visit to his kibbutz. Or lives on Moshav Kohav Michael, a flourishing community about 5 miles north of Sderot, with many members who immigrated from Argentina in the 1960s. Tal is the chaperone, a university graduate from Moshav Gea. The four sixteen-year-olds were picked from about three-dozen that applied, and we have been delighted to have them in town.

The five have been housed in the area with a total of eleven host families during their six weeks here. Two spent three days at the new camp run by the Jewish Day School of Metropolitan Seattle and Temple B'nai Torah. The last day, they ran a three-hour pre-army "Gadna" session, which was the highlight of the campers' week. They five have mainly been at the Strom JCC, with youth from ages 6 to 12, Monday through Friday from 9 to 4. In addition to helping a counselor with a group of campers, for the first time, they led "hugim" Monday through Thursday on Israeli and Jewish topics from 1 to 2 p.m. Each day for a week, they present the same topic to a different group of youth. Topics they have covered include holidays, Jewish and Israeli symbols, food, and Israeli children songs and games. (See a separate entry about the hugim.)

At the end of the first three-week session, they created and directed IsraeLand at the JCC on Friday afternoon from 1 to 3:15 pm. It was a huge success. 250 youth at the JCC day camp from ages 6 to 13 learned about Israel in a very festive atmosphere as they rotated through eleven stations depicting different geographic parts of Israel and different activities. To begin with, they all saw a short multi-media presentation on Israel. Then they all went outside on the lawn to start their Israel experience.

In Jerusalem, they learned about the importance of the kotel, wrote their own notes and put them in the "wall." All the notes will be taken to Jerusalem when the Israeli counselors return to Israel the end of August.

At the kibbutz, the campers learned how to milk cows by hand. That booth was run by Yuval who lives on Kibbutz Zikim, which has a successful dairy herd. He told the youth that he has milked cows, but only using machines.

At Geva, the kids learned Israeli dancing and improv in the middle of the dance circle.

Gadna (Pre-army training) was rigorous and a favorite of many of the campers.

Campers answered trivia questions at the Haifa booth and were rewarded with candy for correct answers.

In Teveria, youth learned the importance of saving water. Then they ran with wet sponges from one bucket to another, trying not to drop any water on the way.

In the Negev, they stopped at the Dead Sea and heard the Biblical story of Sodom and Gemorrah, where Lot's wife turned into salt. Then they made salt pictures to take home.

In Eilat, they went fishing for prizes (stars of David) in the Red Sea (actually the pool). This station turned out to be trickier than the planners had thought.

In Netanya, youth took park in Maccabi Games. Quick reflexes and quick thinking were the keep to this station.

Under a Beduin tent, campers listened to stories that Beduin children also hear.

Finally, in Tel Aviv, they went to a typical Israeli restaurant, where they ate pita with hummus and Israeli salad.

When one 4th grader was asked what his favorite part of the day was, he said that it was a tie between the Gadna training and the Beduin stories.

Although there was competition from the Blue Angels as they flew overhead, the campers stayed focused.

As the day wound down, all 250 campers went back to the auditorium to hear a story about Shabbat by Rabbi James Mirel of Temple B'nai Torah.

A brief staff meeting following the clean up. Zach Duitch, the camp director told all how great the afternoon had been and appreciated the participation of all, especially the 5 planners.

In addition to all their hard work, they have had fun and seen a bit of the area. Four Jewish teens from Hungary are also at the JCC this summer, and the 8 youths have become friends. Places they have visited include Mt Rainier, Snoqualmie Falls, and the historic Pike Place Market. They four also went on a personal tour of Microsoft, visited the Museum of Flight, and two went on a tour of the Boeing Airplane plant in Everett. They rode on a ferry in Puget Sound, attended an annual Japanese festival, swam in pools and Lake Washington, and, of course, shopped! And best of all, they have shared a lot of themselves and made friends that will last a lifetime.

Balaynesh Moll Ayeh

2008-08-05T18:16:00.000-07:00

Beth Mitchel, from the Seattle area, was one of the four counselors who came to Kiryat Malachi this summer to work at an English-focused camp. The counseling program was a People-to-People project of the TIPS Partnership. The Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle helps support this program as well as a TIPS program that brings Israeli teens to Seattle to work as counselors at local camps.

As part of the program, all four counselors stayed with families in Kiryat Malachi. Beth was hosted by Balaynesh Moll Ayeh and her youngest daughter, 19-year-old Einav, Beth’s roommate.

I had met Balaynesh previously, so she was happy to have me visit her home and talk with her about the hosting experience. After talking a bit, I asked if she wouldn’t mind telling me how she came to be in Kiryat Malachi, and she readily agreed.

Balaynesh was raised in Addis Ababa. She married after high school, and her husband thought it was very important for her to get her driver’s license and a university decree, so she got a BA in Business. After graduation, she worked in a bank in Addis, and used English a lot.

Balaynesh and her husband have 5 children, 2 sons and 3 daughters, from the ages of 19 to 31. In 1986, they sent their two oldest children, ages 7 and 8, to Israel, where they lived in a boarding school, in Kiryat Gat. Three years later her parents made aliyah and eventually moved to Kiryat Gat. In 1991, after not having seen her son and daughter for five years, she took her youngest child Einav (age 2) to Israel to visit them.

The children had missed the family terribly. They said that if their mother didn’t stay with them in Israel, they would insist on going back to Ethiopia with her. So Balaynesh called her husband and told him she had no choice. She went back to Ethiopia to get the other two children.

For the time being, her husband stayed in Addis to continue working there. They were giving up a lot of creature comforts to move to Israel, for they lived in a large 13-room home with large garden, but it was very important for them to live in Israel.

The family of 6 moved into an absorption center in Kiryat Gat. They had a very tiny apartment, but the children were all together again. Children #3 and #4 had trouble adjusting to school, so Balaynesh cleaned a woman’s huge 3-story home, and in exchange that woman tutored the two children. After a few months the two were so much better that they began to help others in their class.

Many Ethiopians have had to stay in absorption centers for more than 3 years before they move to their own apartment, but Balaynesh knew it was critical to move her children into a place they could call home. Balaynesh approached a wonderful man named Elias from the Jewish Agency. He understood her need, and took her on a tour of the surrounding areas. When they approached Kiryat Malachi, she felt like this was the place they should live. After a few weeks, Elias called and told her he had found the perfect apartment for her, and if she didn’t grab it, she would never find one so good. The apartment was great—with 3 big bedrooms, a huge kitchen, 2 bathrooms, and a living room. When she discussed details, her oldest son took notes. The apartment also had almost new furniture throughout. She was delighted with the find, and the family still lives there. It is about a block north of Bar Yehuda, with a nice grassy strip with benches dividing the lanes in the street in front of her building. Balaynesh says that their home has been open like “Avraham Avinu’s” with people always welcome. (As a result, Beth was able to meet a lot of local people.)

Four years later, her husband came to Israel. He also speaks English well. He started an import business but it was not really profitable. Currently he is working in a hotel in Eliot for 6 months.

Baylaynesh held a number of jobs and is proud that her family was never dependent on the social welfare office. In 1994, she worked in Ashdod, and in 1998, she began to work at Kupat Holim, helping new immigrants adjust to the medical system in Israel. Her job is in Kiryat Malachi, so it is closer to home, but there is a lot more pressure. She works in 3 clinics and sees up to 50 clients a day.

Five years ago, she was encouraged to run for the 13-member city council. She agreed to run because she felt that if she worked inside the system, she would help immigrants more. She was elected to the council with the second highest number of votes, even without campaigning. 2003 was the first year that Ethiopian Israelis won seats on city councils throughout the country. Currently there are six or seven such members throughout the country including two in Kiryat Malachi, one in Yavneh, Kvar Saba and Rehovot. She is the only woman in such a position. She is on the city tax committee and has helped to amend mortgage rules there. The other member in Kiryat Malachi is Solomon Yihi. Baylaynesh plans to run again in the city elections this November as she feels she can accomplish more now that she has adapted to the system.

Balaynesh’s five children have done very well. The oldest is a CPA with an MBA and a degree in computers. Another is a photographer; another has a degree in Logistics, and the 4th is studying to be a teacher.

Einav is the youngest. She is doing her national service in town and has worked in Etzion School. Next year she will be in Even Shmuel in Binyamina, helping new immigrants. She is also in charge of the B’nai Akiva groups in town. Three years ago, she started to work with 17 youth at risk through B’nai Akiva, and now eight are either studying or in the army. Three of the children are married, and two are quite religious. Balaynesh is delighted to be a grandmother. . Whenever possible, the family gathers at her home for Shabbat dinner. They continue a family tradition, to discuss what happened during the week and help solve each other’s problems.

Balaynesh invited me to come back whenever I am in town, and I hope to take advantage of her kind invitation.

Yizkor (Memorial) Room in Kiryat Malachi, 2008

2008-07-22T12:20:00.003-07:00

A special new room has been created in the library building of Kiryat Malachi, a very moving “Yizkor Room. It is dedicated to the memoryt of Israelis from the town who have died before their time, mostly during military service or during a terrorist attack. (For those of you who know the town, it is in the area that formerly was an exercise club. The club has been moved elsewhere.)

Varda, the head of the library, took me on a tour, a few days after we arrived.

After entering on the right one sees awards given to soldiers from town.

The floor has a beautiful map of Israel under glass. The beauty is not diminished even though the map marks where military and terrorist attacks have taken place during the existence of the State of Israel. Unfortunately, I was not able to take a picture of it.

The rest of the walls, have two-deep photos of the local citizens who have died, from right to left in chronological order. You can also see flags of Israel and the military.
As you can see, the lighting is subdued.

The first two men fell during the War of Independence, before Kiryat Malachi (first as Castina) came into existence.
Itamar, above, died in 1948, and Yehezkiel fell in 1950.

1967 awakened me to Israel, so I've included pictures of those who fell in the 6-day war.

I was a member of a kibbutz on the Golan Heights in 1973. Along with the other women and children, my 4-month-old daughter Timna and I were evacuated under fire after dark the first day of the Yom Kippur War, so that war had a huge significance in my life. Here are photos of men who fell in that war from Kiryat Malachi.

Armon S. and Yehezkiel Nissim

Ofir M. and David A. both fell in 2001. Ofir died in a terrorist attack (a pigua). He had graduated from AMIT high school in Kiryat Malachi. His English vocabulary level was so great that his teacher said that he was like an English dictionary. In his memory, donations from the Seattle and Portland Federations 3 years ago helped purchase special, expensive English dictionaries for top students taking the 5 - point English Bagrut exam. (More dictionaries are now needed, BTW.)

Gad Rachamim feel in 2002. He was the brother of Nir Rachamim, the former president of the Kiryat Malachi Youth Council, and a counselor to Palm Springs and Seattle the summer of 2007.

I found the room quite moving. If you get to Kiryat Malachi, this room is a "must" to visit.

Visit to Acco and Haifa, 2008

2008-07-22T12:20:00.001-07:00

Akko is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, dating back to the time of the Pharaoh Thutmose III (1504-1450 BCE ). (It is mentioned once in the Bible.) Currently, over 46,000 people live in the city, with a mix of Jews, Muslims, Christians, and Bahais. It was once a major port but now is mainly home to small fishing boats.
We saw the fishermen repairing their nets toward the end of the day.

harbor

After stopping in Zichron, we all drove to Acco. Unfortunately, the two cars did not follow each other, so we spent an hour, wandering around the walls of the old city of Acco until we finally met up with Ira and his passengers! It was Friday afternoon, already a bit late, so we didn't see much except for parts of the old city and a lot of the walls. The walls were built in the mid-18th century and then fortified by the Turks later.
Entrance to old city from southern parking lot

Map of Old Acco
Howard and Beth climbing to top of ramparts

Cannon on ramparts (earth-filled wall)

Dried moat around wall

When Napoleon tried to go north (after coming up the coast from Egypt after the British had destroyed his fleet in the battle of the Nile), he was stopped at Acco.

Park built in memory of the defeat of Napoleon

Old and new

We passed a spice store where I bought several types of zatar.

We eventually caught up with the rest, walked along the northern wall,

And Beth and Chelsey had their picture taken by the stone whale sculpture

We went through the Shuk as it was closing,

chicken necks, etc. in garbage from restaurant in market waiting to be picked up

Hookas Hooka in use

and spent ten shekels each ($3) to go out in a covered motorboat to see Acco from the Sea.

Howard, Beth & Ira in boat Boat "driver", Hila and Ariel

Edge of old pier in bay Acco beach from water
Boys jumping into bay

Walls viewed from water

As we walked back to our cars, we passed the entrance to the biggest prison that the British had. Unfortunately, it was already closed for the day. We also passed the entrance to the El Jazzar Mosque. The others waited while Howard and I paid a few shekels and went to the mosque's courtyard.

Courtyard

Mosque

We did not go inside because people were praying

After leaving Acco, we traveled to Haifa where we wound around the curvy streets on one of the high hills there until we found our hotel, the Dan Gardens, which is about a quarter of a mile down the road from the top of the Bahai Temple Gardens. The night view was amazing.

And the next morning we were treated to a stunning view of Haifa bay and the Bahai Temple and Gardens.

We walked up to the Carmel shopping center to see it in daylight before heading down to the National Maritime Museum, near the southern end of Haifa, close to the Mediterranean. We found the museum fascinating, depicting maritime history from 4000 years ago to the present in the regon. It was started in the mid-1950s from the private collection of the first director, Aryeh Ben-Eli. The following are a few pictures that show a smattering of what we saw.

Entrance to Maritime Museum

model of papyrus boat Anchors Drawing of early wooden anchor

King Sahure ancient Egyptian ship held together

by rope

drawing on tomb wall of how Sahure's ship worked

Clay pot recovered from sunken ship

Map of ancient Israel

Fish show seas ships traveled in

Ancient helmet

Tin from sunken ships

Metal ram on front of Greek "battle" ship

Zim Lines passenger ship

See http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/438445/the_national_maritime_museum_in_haifa.html?cat=8 for more details on the museum.

From the museum, we drove south, passing high tech offices such as Microsoft and Google. We decided to drive close to the water, and eventually got off the main road, looking for a less foreign touristy restaurant near the beach. We went through some smaller communities, driving in and out of townlets. We were finally reached a dead-end and had to turn around. But I quickly turned my dismay into excitement. We had ended up at Hadassah-Neurim, a boarding school for troubled Israeli teens, the same place that Nadav had volunteered for 6 weeks in 1998 as part of his Young Judaea Year Course. So I jumped out of the car, took the picture, and later sent it to my son!

We ended up eating on the beach at Acco, sitting outside and watching the beach and the people walking by.

We had some rather unusual appetizers, including fresh almonds. What we normally know as the outside shell had not hardened yet, so we were able to eat it. After the long drive, Howard really enjoyed his beer.

The meal was delicious...the day and the two-day trip ended on a lovely note.

Visit to Zichron Yaakov, July, 2008

2008-07-20T05:44:00.001-07:00

After Howard read the book A Strange Death by Hillel Halkin last summer, he mentioned an interest in visiting Zichron Yaakov. The book, written in 2005, tells the story of the Nili spy ring, and especially of the Aaronsohn siblings. So on July 18th, together with Ira Kerem and 4 young adults (2 American volunteers and 2 Israelis (Hila and Ariel) all working at the Kefiada in Kiryat Malachi), we visited the town, which lies about 20 miles south of Haifa. It is now a lovely town for Israeli tourists though not on the main track for most foreign visitors. There is both a newer section where many of the 16,000+ inhabitants live and the reconstructed older part of town, with some streets closed to most traffic.

An original house turned into shops

Below is the promenade and also Ariel and Hila at a seating area (closed street)

realistic artwork on a bench Part of a set of local signs: Magen David Adom, Jeep Tours, Buffalo Hamburger (name of the restaurant and probably not the food) and the Cake House

A small section of the historical area that has not been redeveloped

pretty side street, which has been redeveloped

Ironically, the day after we visited, on July 20, the Jerusalem Post had a large article on Zichron in the weekend magazine.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1215330990525

The First Aliya Museum pays tribute to the town's early pioneers. It is housed in an impressive building that was originally Baron Edmund de Rothschild's administrative headquarters. In December of 1882 ba group of 100 Romanian pioneers, religious Jewish members of the Hovevei Zion movement, purchased a tract of land in the Carmel hills in a place called Zammarin . Many signs like the one on the left give the historical background before visitors watch the films.

The museum consists mainly of a series of video films that tell the story of an imaginary young family who came to the Zammarin from Romania. in 1882. They came to live in the Holy Land as to escape pogroms and rampant anti-Semitism. The films hold nothing back about their living conditions, as the immigrants had no agricultural experience, insufficient water and worked the rocky soil day after day with little to show for it. Adults and children died of malaria and suffered terrible eye diseases.

Signs like the one on the left that visitors read to learn the historical background before seeing films.

Models/pictures in the museum of what the land looked like when the Biluim arrived

Truly desperate, they applied to the well-known philanthropist Baron de Rothschild for help. The group was not able to make a living, so Baron Edmond Rothchild took over Zichron and 4 other settlements, with the members signing over the property to the baron and agreeing to work under his overseers .Not surprisingly, this condition met with great opposition and resulted in much bad feeling and demonstrations against de Rothschild's agents. Some "troublemakers" were expelled from Zichron, and others who refused to sign over their property were left to fend for themselves.

In 1891, the water tower below was built.

Rothchild renamed the town Zichron Yaakov in memory of his father. BARON EDMUND. Next to the museum is the synagogue he built, Ohel Ya'acov, named (as was the town) for his father, Jacob Rothschild. He intended it to be the most beautiful shul in the country, and even now, refurbished and repainted, with its attractive stained glass windows and blue ceiling with golden stars representing the sky, it is a very impressive monument.

Many claim that de Rothschild was unaware of the bad feelings his policies caused, and there is no doubt that his generosity made a tremendous impact on the life of the early Yishuv.

Following a number of economic failures, in 1885 Rothschild helped to establish the first winery in Israel, Carmel-Mizrachi Winery, together with a bottling factory. Today, the winery remains in action, and Ira went with the other 4 on a tour there. The huge wine cellars that were carved into the mountain over a century ago are still in use too.

While Zichron was one of the first communities settled in the 1880s, the museum also has maps telling of other areas settled in what now is Israel.

We were surprised to see Menahemia, where are friends Dalia and Pinchas live, listed as one of the first settlements.

Further along HaMeyasdim Street is Beit Aaronsohn, the site of another historic drama. The Aaronsohns were one of Zichron's founding families and central players in the Nili spy ring that aided the British in their fight against the Turks in WWI. When the ring was smashed, the Turks descended on the Aaronsohn home. Sara Aaronsohn was held captive and tortured, but she managed to get hold of a gun that was hidden in the bathroom and shot herself rather than give up any other Nili members. The Aaronsohn home, still very much as it was then, displays many photos, documents and memorabilia of the family and their espionage activities, and an audiovisual presentation narrates their story. Since the book that Howard read was about the Aaronsohns and Nili, Howard very much wanted to see this museum. We went there a bit after noon to be sure to have time to see the museum, but the guard refused to let us in, saying that we could only go on a scheduled tour and the last one had already entered. No begging on my part could get him to change his mind.

In 2005, the population of Zikhron Ya'akov was 16,100. Many residents continue to engage in agriculture, although upscale private homes have been built by families attracted to the scenic landscape.

While waiting for the other four to finish the winery tour, Howard got a snack at the local (kosher food) McDonalds....which is housed in one of the original houses in town.

It was unusual to see historical town pictures (of the Rothchilds and earlier settlers) on the walls of McDonalds.

Originally a Turkish jail from the early time of Zichron until 1918, the basement area pictured above is now a wine celler where wine is stored. It was closed when we were there, but you can see the narrow steps leading up to it.

We will go back to see the Ahronson house and museum. The town is definitely a worthwhile stop.

Festival B'Shekel in Kiryat Malachi, July 16, 2008

2008-07-20T00:16:00.000-07:00

It's rare for a festival offering major musical acts to take place in an out-of-the-way town. It's even more rare for admission to such festivals to cost just one shekel. But as its name and venue imply, Festival B'Shekel (Festival for a Shekel) does just that.

The festival was founded in 2001 by a group of young community activists in the Jerusalem music scene. Shanan Street, lead vocalist of hip hop group Hadag Nahash, says he's pleased the festival has become a tradition. "I am very proud and excited that the festival has reached the age of five," he says.

Wife of Hadag Nachash leader, together with Itai Z., the regional JAFI coordinator
Festival Coordinator (from the national non-profit)

To provide what it does at such a price, Festival B'Shekel is registered as a non-profit organization. In addition to private donations, its funding comes from various sources, including the Jerusalem Foundation, Pratt Foundation Israel, the Israeli Lottery Council for the Arts, businesses including SanDisk, Omanut Laam, author David Grossman and musician Kobi Oz.

An event organizer heard one local Ethiopian-Israeli girl excited on entrace saying, "I have 11 shekels to spend here today." Usually 11 shekels does not go far, but it got her and a sister, brother or friend into the event and several fruit bars. At the Festival held the day before in the North of Israel, a coordinator was told by a mother of seven that if the event were more than a shekel, she could not afford to come.

Festival B'Shekel's mission goes beyond providing a major, high-quality production for such a minuscule fee. Besides bringing music and culture to places and people that might not otherwise have access to such events, the festival hopes to encourage social and cultural growth across all of Israeli society. To help bring this about, activists head into communities on the periphery months prior to the festival to work with local youth, offering workshops on the array of skills necessary to produce such a huge event.

As in previous years, Festival B'Shekel took place this year in towns on the "periphery" rather than the Tel Aviv and Jerusalem venues where most similar events happen. This year Kiryat Malachi was one of the two towns where it was held. One main reason that the Festival non-profit chose to come to Kiryat Malachi last fall was because of a generous donation by the TIPS Partnership of Partnership 2000 of the Jewish Agency. When the joint American-Israeli steering committee of TIPS decided to focus its core funding on youth and young adults, it turned to the youth in Kiryat Malachi to see what they felt was most needed. There are a lot of talented youth in the arts, especially in dance, singing and bands, and theater. The youth asked for funds to put all of the arts programs for teens under one main program and for funds to help them become more professional.

Art City was organized in Kiryat Malachi as of July 1, 2007, as an umbrella organization to tie together teens in the arts in town, to develop a coordinated and professional group. In its first year it was wildly successful. The $60,000 donation from TIPS helped to bring in professionals to help teach teens to direct and coordinate the music, dance, and theater programs in town. Festival B'shekel also brought in professionals to help in this area with the intent that after this year, the expertise of these people would help Kiryat Malachi youth to continue to develop the arts. Dvora Attal was the city staff member who worked with the TIPS and Festival coordinators.

Dvora and Guy

The youth in Kiryat Malachi are extremely talented. They have just needed the tools to help them succeed, according to Guy and the festival directors.

Members of the TIPS steering committee attended an Art City show on January 31, 2008, and were very impressed by the quality of the acting, singing, and dancing.

We were told that another performance in May was a bit hit in town. An all youth steering committee worked with the town arts director and the Festival to plan the event. Before this year, the 30 members of the steering committee representing music, dance, theater, and stage design had never really gotten to know each other and each other's crafts. One main goal of the Art City project was to bring them together, to get to know each other and each other's talents, something that had not been done before. Guy, the city music coordinator, was also very much involved. Many others were involved including the town youth director and the assistant, Hila.

Park site before the event.

The day before the event, teens were busy making Festival signs. That evening, the city brought in Kobi Peretz for a concert in the part at 7:30. Over 2000 were in attendance. Unfortunately we were visiting a friend an watching the sunset at Ashkelon Beach and did not attend. Peretz is a Mizrachi singer, whose broke into the Israeli music scene in 2003 with his album "Confuse Him."

By 5 p.m., the event was set up in the big park. The entrance gate was behind the matnas, and one shekel (30 cents US) per person was collected for multi-entrance admission.
entrance is to the right of the sign

Tree decoration made from plastic drinking cups!

Early-comers. The park at 5

The other side of the park was also closed off. At that end, there were a number of tables--a few venders and local service representatives.

Sign for girls: "You are not alone"

I bought a very nice wall hanging from a member of a Beduin women's cooperative called "The Center for Bedouin Embroidery, Tatreez Al-Badiah." "The Association for the Improvement of the Status of Women: Laqiya," not too far from Beersheva. For more information, check out the website: www.desert-embroidery.org.

Having fun with Festival adult clowns

Soon, the theater group members were entertaining. Four of five were walking in clown-like costumes on stilts. One, Matan, was a member of Dor Sheni who had visited the US last fall. (BTW, his broken foot had entirely mended.).

One girl was particularly talented and could juggle. The crowd enjoyed her "talking-arguing" with her mom on a juggling pin "phone."

"Musicians" from the acting troup led the stilt walkers around in a parade. A famous comedian entertained a group on a small stage,

and a triple-thick circle of people were entertained by an improv-athletic team.

Youth were selling fruit bars for 2 shekels each, cheap and a delight in the heat!

As you can see, organizers got Festival B'Shekel shirts (in black, blue or red) as did the TIPS visitors including Tucson, and others paid 25 shekels (almost $8) to buy one. (My husband Howard looks great in his!)

Some of the performers were walking around in advance, taking in the scene too:

There were also games for youth to play. Here is Beth, a kefiada counselor from Seattle, trying one.

Shir, Hadar, and Bat-El

The stage beforehand--I was amazed with the amount and quality of the equipment brought in by Festival B'Shekel

Sign in front of stage, close up

One of the famous national singers: Aya Koren:

There was a balance of local performers and nationally famous ones, with the national ones performing a bit more. The local performers held their own and too were wildly applauded. I was so proud of the very professional level of the local artists! This has been a tremendous project for the youth of Kiryat Malachi. (I'm sorry the pictures are so dark, but with thousands of people in the audience and those by the stage dancing in crowded quarters, it was hard to get close to get good shots.

Local singing talent:

Local dancers:

Dance with theme of the 1973 Yom Kippur War

The choreographer is 19, from Kiryat Malachi, and intends to stay here. Because of his unusual talent, the army has stationed him at the local base so that he has time to serve the army and Kiryat Malachi.

After the event, one performer said that to be on the same stage with such nationally known groups was thrilling, a lifelong dream accomplished before he even turned 19! I know that the others must have felt the same!

A very sad day for Israel, July 16, 2008

2008-07-17T00:14:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Today was the exchange between Israel and Hizbollah in Lebanon of prisoners, bodies, etc.

Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were captured just over 2 years ago when members of Hizbollah attached a group of Israeli soldiers on patrol, precipitating the 2nd Lebanon war. In all that time, Hizbollah never told any international representative the condition of the soldiers, but it was assumed, at least lately, that at least one if not both were dead. Until the last moment, Hizbollah reacted without concern to human feelings, sending out rumors as late as this morning that one of the two soldiers were alive.

Like many others here, we were glued to the TV or radio this morning. Only when 2 plain black caskets were delivered to the Israelis around ten a.m. today, was it very clear that both had died. The parents of one said they had rationalized that their son was dead, but in their hearts they still had hope. Goldwasser's wife, , who had talked throughout Israel, on the net, and the US, and was extremely strong, collapsed today with the news.

Israelis continue to listen to the radio and TV to find out if the bodies were indeed the two soldiers, to hear from the families, the army, the President, and to feel the pain and sadness of the day. The Israelis verified around 2 p.m. that the bodies were indeed that of Regev and Goldvasser. Now at 5 p.m., the Israelis are getting body parts of other dead soldiers and the 5 Lebanese prisoners will soon cross the border north, including Samir Kuntar, who killed 4 Israelis in 1979 and has been in prison in Israel since then. President Peres said that Israel paid a painful price for the return of the two bodies, but that it was important to do so that they may rest in piece in our land.

Israelis will pay their respects to the two families who will bury their sons tomorrow. The country is in morning, while Hizbollah and others in Lebanon including the President are rejoicing, calling the child murderer Samir Kantar a national hero We too feel the pain. BTW, several US teen groups traveling in Israel changed their plans to go to the Kineret and other fun places and instead stopped by the homes of the dead reservists to light candles and express their grief too.

Regional Gifted Program in Kiryat Malachi: Larom

2008-07-15T02:35:00.000-07:00

Like many other countries, Israel realizes the importance of identifying gifted youth and helping to develop their creativity and interest in science.

Israel has a total of 51 gifted centers throughout the country. This past year, Kiryat Malachi became the center for part of the northern Negev, including Sederot, Kiryat Gat, Kiryat Malachi, and the Regional councils (county areas) of Yoav, Lachish, Shafir, Beer Tuvia, and Shaar Hanegev. (Hof Ashkelon used to be part of this group but now goes to the Ashkelon center. Maybe they will join LaRom in the future.) The previous regional center had been disbanded a few years before, and Kiryat Malachi was delighted to house the new program.

The Kiryat Malachi regional program called LaRom (to the top) is housed in the town science center.

Since the program had not existed in the area for a while, the decision was made to start just with 4th graders and to add a grade each year. Each Tuesday, youth in the top 1% come for a full school day. In the afternoon, from 4 to 6:45, children who tested in the top 5% go to this program program. Last year, approximately 40 attended the afternoon program, and already 60 entering 4th and 5th grades have signed up for the coming year. The groups meet once a week for thirty sessions.

Last year, this region was allowed to have students from the top 1.5% attend the morning program. Of the 31 who tested that high, 28 attended. They all will continue next year and two new 5th graders will be added. This year, 22 have tested into the morning program (of the approximately 2200 entering 4th graders in the cities and regions covered by LaRom), and all have already signed up. In a country where people often sign up for programs for children at the last moment, this, to me, is an astounding and very significant event.

Ariella Duvduvan, an experienced English teacher at AMAL high school, is the part-time director of this program.

She spends a bit more than 1/4 of her time on this program and the rest at a teacher at the high school. She is energetic, creative, enthusiastic, and has been able to bring together an amazing team of teachers who understand gifted and who have helped give this program a great reputation, after just one year.

Since science is not a focal point in most elementary schools in Israel, this program focuses on science and creative thinking. The students in the morning program choose three classes in different areas including buta not limited to pure science and ecology. The teachers for these hands-on courses are fantastic, and most are gifted themselves, many working on their Ph.D.s in their fields. Course include:
Marine Biology, Chemistry, Artificial Intelligence (Robots and Ethics), Robotics, Heroes in Films through History (and learn to critique films). The older group can take any of the already mentioned courses or the following also: Microbiology, How Things Work, Time Perception, Drawing, and Robotics. Ariella hopes that by the time the youth enter 7th grade, they can participate in a robotics contest sponsored by the Technion University. The youth in the afternoon choose two classes, which may include Astronomy, Biochemistry, Game Theory, Breaking the Code, and Drawing.

The youth have done some of the following:
experimenting with balloons filled with hot air
creating missiles from empty soda bottles
In their study of words, created word games

experimenting with toys with air and liquids inside
learned about sea life in ocean study

made robots from Lego kits and done a variety of things with them
Did different activities around the holidays including making creative objects out of fruit (without ruining the fruit for Tu B'Shvat

(Fruit aliens from space)

making very creative costumes for their Purim Party such as this dolphin costume made by one girl and her grandmother

Early in their program, their had an activity similar to musical chairs, in order to get to trust each other better. There was a slight variation: namely, no one could have his/her feet on the floor. But instead of having the extra child drop out, a chair was removed. At first, there was one more child than chairs. The next time there were 2 more children than chairs in each group, etc. By the time each group was down to two chairs, they had to be very creative, standing on chairs and hugging each other so as not to fall. In the end, the judge (Ariella) decided that the boys' group had one.

After this activity, two girls who had not gotten along seemed to have overcome their animosity through the activity.

The girls' group, however, appealed the decision in a formally written note to the judge. A fifteen-minute activity turned into three distinct lessons. The judge decided to review the events at a trial, and the two groups learned how to present their case in objective ways to the judge. (Israel does not have a jury system. Cases are tried by a single judge or a group of 3.) It was an amazing learning experience for all!

They had a variety of field trips including two to the Ilan Ramon Astronomy center in Beer Sheva. They went on a two-day trip to Eilat at the end of the year.

They studied ocean life and used the special microscopes at a college in Eilat.

They were the first students under college age to use this complicated, expensive microscopes. While they were there, they also dissected fish to see their insides, identified them, and then put them back together. Only one child was squeemish and let others do the dissecting!

At this time, very few children from Kiryat Malachi have qualified for this program. However, Ariella hopes that in the next few years she can add an after-school program for the top 20% of youth in Kiryat Malachi, so more children from this town can benefit from this amazing program and get turned on to science and the fun of learning.

Science Center in Kiryat Malachi

2008-07-15T02:34:00.001-07:00

The science center in Kiryat Malachi was created about 12 years ago and has gone through ups and downs. Moshe Tenne took over as director about 6 years ago and helped develop it as a place for locals to learn about science. After his untimely death, Talia Bernard was named the new director. At various times, the Jewish Federations of Tucson, Phoenix, and Seattle, through the TIPS partnership have donated to help improve the center and programs in it.

This year, in Talia's capable hands, with funds from a variety of places including the Federations of Portland and Tucson, the center has been renovated physically, and is full of activity throughout the school year. The center was renamed in Tenne's honor this spring.
Moshe Tenne and grandchildren

All middle school students from the adjacent secondary school AMAL study general science at the center. Science is not required in 10th--12th grades nationally. About 30% of the students at this school take Biology, and now students are signing up for Physics, a relatively new course at the school. The physics teacher is extremely good and has increased the number of students in the five point program from 3 in 2006-7 to 8 last year, and all passed the test. Next year more have registered for this class.

With the help of the donors, the student tables and teacher desks have been replaced.

New student tables and chairs. New sound and light-blocking curtains

New student table and chairs (close-up) and new computers

Several new digital projectors were purchased

Esti, the center's administrative assistant, standing next to a teacher's computer and a teacher's table. The teacher's table is acid-protected as that is where many experiments in class take place.

New computers have been added to some of the labs, including a new technology lab.

New cabinets for storage were bought.

The office has a new floor, new cabinets, and was being painted when we were there.

This past year, the wall near the water fountain was remodeled and the water fountain can be put in a cabinet when not in use, keeping it from breakage.

An astronomy lab has been built with a small planetarium adjacent.

Display cases have been created with scientific models inside which can be used for instruction.

Biology models:

The center director, Talia Bernard, next to a model of blood flow.

Physics & Technology:

On the right, a case filled with past "innovative technology" from Moshe Tenne's collection

Convex/concave mirrors for the hallways for creative thinking:

Other programs also use the center including:
After school enrichment programs for elementary school students.

An all-day new regional gifted program for children in the top one percent and an after school program for youth in the top 5 %, which began last fall for 4th graders and which will add 5th graders this year. Talia has generously allowed them the use of the full center for all day Tuesday and the use of one wall per classroom to display the children's projects.

NET@, a program for selected high school youth which combines training in computers and communications, tto enable them to gain experience in leading hi-tech companies, together with the gaining of social values such as excellence, individual and group responsibility, leadership, pluralism, multiculturalism, democracy, and contribution and commitment to the community. It was was established in 2003 by the Tapuah Non-Profit Organization, the Jewish Agency, Keren Hayesod and Cisco Systems to reach out to youth outside the main urban areas of Israel.

The center has teachers in Astronomy and physics from Ben Gurion University, with which the center has a strong relationship. The university has lent the center a sun telescope. Four times a year about 200 youth from the school to the the university for programs. The 7th--9th graders go for Astronomy and the 10th--12th graders attend Physics programs.

Talia wishes to find funds to install an elevator. One student at AMAL1 High School is handicapped and cannot make it up the stairs on her own, so there is a strong need for an elevator. Talia is not sure if other high school students have chosen not to take science because of physical disabilities.

Talia also hopes for funding for a chemistry lab. Many high schools in Israel do not teach Chemistry. She hopes in the future the center can offer chemistry to the AMAL1 students. One big wish is to build a third floor to house more labs and a lecture room in order to accomadate the growing number of students in town who now want to study science.

Talia was especially proud that a group of 9th graders from AMAL taking science at the center won a national technological competition sponsored by the Technion. They created a program to aid the physically handicapped.

We also loved to see a Hoopoe, the national bird of Israel, and her baby in the area outside the center.

"Beautifying" Kiryat Malachi

2008-07-15T02:19:00.000-07:00

In the past year Kiryat Malachi streets have become more attractive. At the center of the kikarim (roundabouts), plants, trees and pottery have been installed.

The kikar near the center of town will look fantastic when it is finished. An olive tree has been transplanted to the center of the raised kikar. Workers are still putting bricks and planting around the tree, but it should look lovely when finished.
050 811 4786

Two murals are on adjacent walls near that roundabout.
This one was finished last year

Some of the narrow road dividers are now planted too. The newest "paintings" in town are those on the meter+ tall electric boxes. I enjoy discovering new ones when I walk to different neighborhoods.

Before they were painted, many were covered with graffiti, but I have yet to see a painting one scarred in such a way.

Some, like the elephant, windmill and cat at night, have the name of advertisers on them, which helps cover the costs, a smart planning idea.

Next to the library, a memorial room has been created. This is the electric box outside of it.

Last year through donations from Keren Yedidut, a park was renovated with grass, benches, etc.

Families enjoy sitting there on Shabbat and watch their children play. And on July 16, Festival B'Shekel will be on two stages in this park, entertaining thousands from the area.
I think the youth in town too take pride in this beautification.

PAMONIM and a VISIT to SDEROT

2008-07-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

About 3 years ago, I met Yafa Arberboy, an Israeli living on Moshav Kohav Michael in the Hof Ashkelon region. She was the chaperone for 3 Israeli youths who came to Seattle and Arizona to talk to American Jewish teens about living in Israel. We stayed in contact, and before this visit, I e-mailed to ask if she could show us around Sderot. Given the relative quiet, we felt it was safe to do. We had in the area two years ago, visiting a teacher at the local high school. On that visit, an hour after we left, a qassam fell near he town. No qassams have fallen in Sderot in the past 3 weeks, so we felt comfortable visiting. We were pleasantly surprised to see how active the town was and how many people were walking and traveling around town. Businesses were all open; the shuk (weekly market) was filled with people, and there were plenty of cars on the road, as well as people in the streets.

In April 2007, Yafa began a half-time position in Sderot, working for Pamonim, a non-profit which helps working Israelis get out of debt and learn to budget. This organization was founded 6 years ago and now has 41 branches throughout Israel.

Until a few years ago, Israelis could have bank overdrafts without large charges, like in the US. When one uses a credit cards here, the clerk asks if the user wants to pay in three payments or all at once, so people are used to pushing the limit when spending money. Also, Israelis rarely use registers to keep track of what they spend or balance their bank accounts monthly. Pamonim was created to help working couples in debt learn to reduce their spending and to budget. It also provides zero-interest loans to some clients.

Sderot , founded in 1951, is a town not much bigger than Kiryat Malachi. It is located less than two miles east of Gaza. It had close to 30,000 inhabitants at one time, but the true population now is closer to 25,000. Sapir College is located just outside the town as is the regional secondary school, Shaar HaNegev. Many teens from the Hof Ashkelon region attend high school there.

A month after Yafa came to Sderot, qassams started falling in large numbers on Sderot. Yafa’s priorities changed, and Pamonim allowed her to help up to 40 families survive until their earning situation stabilized. But the needs multiplied and Pamonim-Sderot helped more than 125 families ith financial and emotional support, and kept them off welfare. The organization helped one woman who was traumatized after her home was hit twice. And, unfortunately, others also have been near ground zero in two cassam attacks. Yaffa and her volunteers contacted attorneys to help families with damaged homes fill out all the paperwork to get government help.

Some people in town suffered severe hearing loss when they were close to where the qassams landed. Yaffa managed to connect them to a Hearing Aide institute which helped them get funding for the hearing aides from a local cell phone company. That in addition to what they get from a national plan and part from Pamonim helped 15 hearing-impaired gather the 5,000 ($1600) for the hearing aides. (Each did pay a small amount too--$130 shekels.)

Unfortunately, now Pamonim has no more funds for this kind of support though there are other families in need Yafa focuses now on 20+ families that are learning to budget. She works with both husband and wife to lower expenditures and to learn to be responsible for their financial life. Some wives do not work, and it becomes clear they need to get jobs. Pamonim helps these women build resumes. If any reader wants to give a donation to Pamonim in Sderot to help with any of its projects, checks in the US can be sent to:

c/o Yeshiva Yad Moishe

1520 39th Street

Brooklyn, NY 11218-4414

Put "Paamonim in Sderot in the momo line of the check and in the cover letter.

Yafa took us to her office, told us more about what she had done the past year, and gave us a tour of places recently hit by qassam rockets. Qassams are simple steel rockets filled with explosives, produced by different groups in Gaza. They are made in small factories (usually in houses or connected to them) and have a maximum range of 6 miles. They are free-flying artillery rockets lacking any guidance system. When they hit, part of them explodes and send out pieces of shrapnel. Cars explode when hit. Qassams were first fired at Israeli targets in October, 2001. The first time an Israeli city was hit was in Sderot in March, 2002. By November, 2007, 6311 rockets had fallen in town.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sderot%2C_Israel for more details. Hamas is not firing them during this temporary calm. The Al Aksa Brigade (a Fatah splinter group) is claiming credit for the ones fired, breaking the cease fire.

Qassams are mainly fired at civilian centers. 15 Israeli civilians have been killed by these rockets. They also have a huge psychological impact on people living within qassam range because they never know when the next “Color Red” alarm will sound, giving them 15 seconds to get to shelter before the qassam hits.

We saw a home where a qassam recently landed

The first picture shows where the qassam landed. In the second picture, the Pamonim volunteer is standing just to the right of where the qassam landed. In the third, you can see the damaged solar panels too.

A qassam fell through the roof of this home. Luckily no one was hurt, but the structure cannot be saved.

At the town police station, we saw a collection of spent qassams, each one with the date shot and the place where it landed.

It was chilling to see them in one place and to know that close to 7000 have fallen in and around this one town.There does not see an end in sight to qassams falling in the area. Still new neighborhoods are being built and new people moving in, many of whom are religious. In one new area, the new playground includes what looks like big concrete culverts, more than two meters in diameter, that will soon be painted bright colors. Children can play and run through them but the structures will also has a practical use -- bomb shelters.

Visit to Kibbutz Zikim (in Hof Ashkelon) 2008

2008-07-09T04:40:00.000-07:00

Four 16-year-olds from our region in Israel, 2 from Kiryat Malachi and 2 from Hof Ashkelon, will travel to Seattle in mid-July to work at camps for 6 weeks. Yuval, from Kibbutz Zikim, is one of the youth from Hof Ashkelon.

Kibbutz Zikim has been in the news a lot lately when qassam rockets have been shot north toward Ashkelon. I met Yuval and his parents at a gathering of counselors and told them that I was interested in seeing the kibbutz, so the Mom, Talia, invited us for lunch on Monday, July 7th.

Kibbutz Zikim is situated a short distance north and west of Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, and about 3 miles west of the main N-S road from Tel Aviv to the Gaza Strip. It is no more than a mile south of the huge coal-fired electric plant just south of Ashkelon which is often where qassams are aimed.

new homes in Zikkim with Power plant towers in the backgroundPicture in Haaretz on July 21, taken from Gaza looking toward the power plant south of Ashkelon

Since qassams cannot be aimed accurately, many that are sent in the direction of the electric plant land short of their goal, in the area of Zikim. The kibbutz is also just a bit northeast of a nearby army base, so if anything is aimed toward the base and misses its mark, it may land closer to Zikim. A little over a mile west of Zikim is another kibbutz, Karmia, which also has had its share of qassams landing on it.

View of Gaza City from the kibbutz

As we drove from the main highway (#3) west toward Zikim, I noticed that the southern side of the road was lined with closely planted, tall cypress trees. The purpose historically was to prevent Gazans from seeing cars on the road.

When we passed Kibbutz Karmia, we could easily see the many caravillot (nice temporary housing) where some people who left Gaza now live. Some plan to stay at the site and others hope to move to elsewhere. A few of those who had been there left months ago when Karmia was hit by a qassam and a child was wounded. Karmia has gone through privatization and, in theory, is not really a kibbutz any longer except in name.

Talia and Yuval met us under the bus stop, which was surrounded by safe places to stand.

Howard and I were very impressed with Zikim and very relaxed there. Talia, Yuval’s Mom, told us that so far a majority of the members of the kibbutz do not want to privatize. The kibbutz’s 80 family units and approximately 140 members get along quite well and want the current economic situation to continue. (Including children, 300 people reside here.) The only things that the members pay for are electricity, water, and meals in the dining room at a reduced price, and, of course, the private use of kibbutz cars.

One thing we immediately noticed on the kibbutz was the security rooms, which were brought in and attached to each home.

The rust-colored home on the right is Talia's

Also, the bus stop has a secure place to stand, and other protective barriers are sprinkled among the common areas of the kibbutz.

bus stop in background

Zikim and Karmia are two of a very small number of communities that have such protection. Even Yad Mordechai , which is a good mile closer to the Gaza border but not in the same line of fire, does not.

In mid-June, Hof Ashkelon was hit with dozens of qassam rockets from 3 to 4 p.m. after Hamas announced that Israel had bombed a home of one of its leaders in Gaza. Many of the rockets landed in the Zikkim area. Talia was in the dining room and could not leave, while Yuval was at home, quite frightened by the non-stop bombardment. It felt like it went on forever. I can sympathize. When I lived on the Golan in the early 70s, I remember a shelling that, as we sat in shelters, felt like it lasted for hours when it only was 20 minutes long.

After the kibbutz members could go outside, they saw a number of small fires on one side of the kibbutz from the qassam rockets. The kibbutz does not have the equipment to put out such fires, so the local fire trucks finally arrive and put out the blaze. We took pictures of the burnt grass. Luckily the wind was not blowing strongly like the day we visited, or the damage would have been much greater. As it was it only affected a few dunam.

Talia and Yuval gave us a tour of the kibbutz. The high point (no pun intended) was on a hill on the edge of the kibbutz, where we could see Gaza City clearly, the Mediterranean, the coal-powered electric power plant, etc. We really could get an impression of how close everyone is.

Talia and Yuval told us the history of the kibbutz, which was founded in 1949, a year later than Yad Mordechai,, by Romanian Holocaust survivors. They first lived in an abandoned Arab building., which was used for many years until it became unsafe.

We approached it form the back, and then saw the what remains of the elegant front.

Members soon founded a mattress factory (with straw as stuffing) and worked in agriculture which became more important than industry in the 60s. In the 70s, the kibbutz re-started the mattress factory using modern materials (foam). Yuval’s father managed it for 5 years. Now they also have a factory that makes auto and truck parts and parts for medical instruments like CT scanners. Their dairy is the biggest money producer for them in agriculture. We did see some agricultural fields include one where thornless cactus fruit is grown.

Although the kibbutz is not rushing toward privatization, there are areas of change. Originally the kibbutz members had small places to live and the children were in their own separate units. There were about 4 different waves when homes got bigger. Nown new residences in a new neighborhood are being built for the “vatikim,” those who have been members the longest. The kibbutz provides the ground floor, and if members want a second floor, they have to pay for it by themselves.

2-story new construction overlooking the Mediteranean Sea

One story home-to-be next to other home above but facing the power stacks

Houses are definitely bigger. When the vatikim move to their new homes, hopefully the next generation will move back to the kibbutz to homes made available by the move. Right now every home is filled and others are waiting for vacancies to come. Even with the fear of qassams, it is considered a good place to live….and we could see why.

Wedding of Sagit Tal-ker and Oshri Elimelech 2008

2008-07-07T12:29:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, July 2^nd, Sagit and Oshri were married. (Oshri is the son of Aliza and Haim Elimelech, who live next to the Israel Partnership volunteer apartment in Kiryat Malachi and they have always been extremely nice to volunteers.

The families rented a large elegant hall (Ahuzat Tal) just off the main highway in southern Ashdod for the wedding. Around 400 people were expected to attend.

The welcome was at 7:30 (with plenty of appetizers) and the wedding itself (the chuppah) was to take place at 8:30.

My husband Howard did not come because the noise level would have been too much given that he has tinnitus. So I took the groom’s aunt and two cousins, who had driven up from Kiryat Gat, about 15 minutes south of us (where Intel has a huge center). I followed their directions to go north to Ashdod, instead of going the way I knew to the SE, and we got quite lost, so it took us 50 minutes to get there instead of 25, but it was OK in the end, and we had a tour of the port and RR area of Ashdod! We arrived at 8:40, but we still had a good half hour until the wedding began, about 9:15! That is a good example of Israeli time.

At the entry to the hall, there was a small table with envelopes on it. My passengers stopped to write checks, and put them in the envelopes (or put in cash) to give to the couple later.

While I was waiting, the groom’s mother came and greeted me warmly. On entering the hall a few minutes later, we followed others to the reception line where the groom’s parents greeted guests.

As you can see, there wan no particular dress code, but people dressed in clothing comfortable to them.

I then walked on, and several relatives of the bride that I had met at the mikveh evening greeted me warmly and made sure that I was not alone. (I really appreciated their kindness.)

Around 9:15ish, we gathered around the chuppah area. Many people sat, but more stood. Many of the bride’s relatives wore colorful saris. Although the bride’s parents made aliyah years ago, they go back to India regularly to visit.

The parents of the bride and groom and the 3 officiants (2 were ketubah witnesses) first went under the chuppah. Then the groom came down the raised walkway(about 4’ in the air). Last came the bride (all this with no music…it probably wouldn’t have been heard over the talking anyway!). As you can see, the photographer was right in front of her. Halfway down the walkway she stopped, and the groom came to greet her, put her veil over her head, and escort her to the chuppah.

I later learned that there are many different ways for the bride to come in. When they got to the chuppah, they went to the back and turned around to face the audience. (This is much nicer than what we do, in my opinion.) The rabbis stood to their left, on the right side of the chuppah, perpendicular to them. I thought that this was a marvelous idea. Then all stood still as the chuppah platform rose about a meter so people could see them better.

I also was surprised by the number of photographers present. There were two kneeling on the chuppah platform in front of the bride and groom, and a huge camera on a mini-crane just for videotaping the faces of the young couple.

I stood behind the cameraman manipulating that camera, so I got a great view of the couple from her screen. The ceremony took about 15 minutes. When the ketubah was read, the rabbi joked a bit, adding to it that the groom must bring his bride flowers for each Shabbat. (At first, I thought that was actually part of the ketubah!) At the end of the reading, he asked the bride if she accepted, and quickly added jokingly, “Well, you don’t have any choice!” Just before the groom broke the glass, he recited in Hebrew, “If I forget you O Jerusalem, may my right hand lose its cunning,” which really was a good way to lead into that ceremony.

Afterwards, about 30 people went up on the pathway and rushed to the chuppah. The rest of the invitees walked to the air-conditioned (yay!) dining room for dinner. The groom’s sister rushed up to me to seat me with her family, which was really sweet.

I could not resist holding that sister's very tired daughter.

Five big screens on the walls of the room showed pictures taken earlier in the day at the local “shuk” (outdoor market), with the bride in her gown and groom in his white shirt and slacks.

Some were really creative. We also later saw people on the dance floor on the same screens.

Here Oshri is already beginning to give Sagit flowers before an important time!

About five different appetizers were placed on the table along with tasty bread, so we wouldn’t go hungry, in addition to wine, juice, soft drinks, and water. After about 20 minutes, the bride and groom entered, and dancing began. During that time, a group of guys lifed up the groom in a chair and danced with him.

We then had a choice of grilled chicken or fish (with similar seasoning), with a light salad on the dish. I chose the fish, which was delicious. It was then after 10:30, and after seeing more of the shuk pictures of the happy couple, I missed my husband so headed home.

I found out the next day that the main course had not been served yet. I missed out on pargiot (grilled young chicken pieces, which are delicious), steak, more side dishes, etc, and fantastic desserts.

I was very glad I went. Israeli weddings are often big like this. Some are in an outdoor setting. Almost always many many friends are invited. I have heard people saying that it is a waste of money to spend so much, but it does not stop people from having such lavish weddings, whether in a fancy hall or a lovely outdoor site.

Two days later on Shabbat, The Elemelich family celebrated “Shabbat Chatan,” with a Friday night meal (after services) for 40 people and then the special celebration at the synagogue. In the US,we have an “ufrut” the Shabbat before a wedding, so it was interesting to hear about the different custom. We were delighted to let the family use our apartment for the meals as they have done so much for us, and now we are enjoying the leftovers from that Shabbat that the groom’s family is sharing with us!

Mikveh ceremony, Part 2: Mitzvah of Challah Lecture 2008

2008-07-07T05:37:00.000-07:00

After returning from the Mikveh and chatting for a few minutes, one of the two religious women from Dimona began her lecture on the Mitzvah of Challah. The two delightful and upbeat women have a business where they help bring knowledge of Jewish ritual to young women, with no strings attached. (The other woman asked that I not publish her picture as she is the wife of a Rabbi, so you will only see one of them in these photos.) They made it educational and fun! The whole audience of about 20 people were captivated by the process. The lecture also included making the dough for challah, letting it rise, and baking it. I learned a lot which I will apply to making challah when I return home!

The three mitzvot for brides were mentioned: Lighting candles, family purity (mikveh), and Hallah, which was explained as were some general guidelines for the new bride, some of which follows.

Explaining Mitzvah...sometimes humorously

When a couple marry, it is like they are born again, starting something afresh. That is one reason for wearing white at the ceremony. Marriages are to be happy. Women all study a lot, but there is no course we all take for marriage, raising kids, budgeting, getting together with our spouses. It is like we are thrown into the sea.

The main verse in the Torah about couples being together (marriage) is in Bereishit, where G-d created humans in G-d’s image, man and woman. The 2^nd blessing in the Sheva Berachot of a wedding refers to this. One interpretation is that the two were created together (“humanity”) and then separated (“man and woman”), so before marriage, each of us really is half a person who is joined to the other half in the wedding. We are not two completely separate people coming together, but two halves like a puzzle. Each part needs to be a bit different to balance the other part.

Women tend to have more “regeshut” (feelings, sensitivity, emotions) while men tend to do everything from their “head.” She asked if we had ever seen a guy cry at a movie, for example, and we all laughed (though I know of some that do). Using gematria, she took the Hebrew word for together “B’yahad” and the Hebrew word for divorce “get (גט).” B’yahad totals 24 points and “get” 12, so when a couple is divorced, the whole becomes a half person again. (Also, alphabetically, the four letters that surround gimel and tet in the alphabet are actually “B’yahad,” so in a sense, divorce is surrounded by togetherness. The moral of another story she told was that the world was created with words and can only be destroyed by words.
Blessing Sagit

If more than 2 kilos of flour is used (more accurately, an “omer”), then the blessing needs to be said for the separation of dough. (In Talmudic times, a part of the dough was set aside for the priests/rabbis, hence, this separation.The given of bread to rabbis no longer continues, but the custom of separation does.) So she used 2 kilos. Challah makers sift the flour carefully with a special sifter designed to get out both the insects and their eggs, so we will not eat them.
Our neighbor Aliza, mother of the groom, watching the making of the dough
Aliza and, Rachel, girlfriend of her youngest son. Note jasmine head
wreath in Rachel's hands

Then the salt, yeast, sugar, eggs, water, and oil are added to the flour. The woman used generous spoonfuls (using a regular large soup spoon) to measure, like my grandmothers used to do. The oil was added near the end to make the dough flexible and to keep it from sticking to her hands. She also added oil to her hands as she was working the dough.

Kneading dough--see extra oil on the right

While making the dough, she asks for blessings for her family, for her husband to be relaxed, etc. When kneaded enough, she covered the dough with a plastic bag, in the middle pushed in a match box to help the dough rise (especially important on cold days in winter), andthen covered it all with a towel.

While the dough was rising, she talked about marriages and told a number of humorous but meaningful stories. In one, a person tried to do good, but what was good for one person was harmful in the long run for someone else. Moral: we always need to be careful. The moral to another story: The path to happiness is the way to go but not always easy.

We talked about the hamsa and why it was together with a fish. One reason was that the fish just wants to live, swim under the water. It has no soul, no bad inclination, so it fits more easily with good luck and it has nothing evil about it.

I also didn’t realize that Shabbat does not start with the lighting of the candles. It actually starts 20 minutes later. (I knew we litthem 20 min before Shabbat)….so if someone still is smoking or cooking for the next 19 minutes, it’s OK! In her tradition, if there is more than one woman in a house, only one person lights the candles. The other does not need to. In a public place, like before a Bar Mitzvah dinner, that does not hold. The Sepharadim say the blessing and then light the candles. I always thought we do the reverse—light and then bless. I wonder if that is the Ashkenazic way or just what I’ve learned to do.

While she talked, we ate some of the new treats. My favorite was a gelatinous milk candy with thin sliced slivers of pistachio inside. I also enjoyed a spicy mashed potato mini-pie.

My favorite is to the left, on the right of the orangeade

When the dough rose, the bride performed the removal of dough from the 4 corners of the mass.

Ideally, the separated dough is later burnt on the gas on the stove. If that is not possible, it is wrapped in 2 bags and then can be thrown away. Since we had 2 kilos of flour in the mix, the bride with head covered said the blessing for this separation, and others watching could ask for blessings for women trying to get pregnant, for peace in the family, etc. although she reminded us that though we ask, we will get whatever is best for us and not necessarily what we ask. She told us a very humorous and true story of a woman hoping to have a son…. And had 5 daughters in a row….

Friends fixing hair after blessing bread

Audience Listening

Then the really fun part began. She showed us a variety of ways to braid the dough:

1) Rolling out one long string and tying it to make a roll... Consider it as 3. Fold end 1/3rd in and then braid

Sorry. This picture won't go straight.

1.5) Twist one rope and gently roll

2) Using two long ropes to make a roll or challah in the shape of what I usually do with 4 ropes

3) Rolling one long rope, making small cuts every inch, and then rolling the rope up so that the cuts are toward the outside

4) Using 5 ropes and just working from one side: over, under, over, under, etc

5) Using small balls of dough, a string, and a bit more, making a cluster of grapes.

Rolls Ready to bake

We went home after the first batch was done—they did not have to let it rise much again….and I was able to take home two small rolls to taste....the two on the right.

Howard had a special, very delicious and creative treat in store for him when I got home after midnight!

6th Grade Graduation--Israeli Style (2008)

2008-07-06T22:25:00.000-07:00

Elementary school ended June 29 in Israel, and most elementary schools have a "graduation" program for their 6th graders. I was invited to one at the public religious school next door last night at 8 p.m. Netzach Yisrael is a school filled with immigrants, around 50% are Ethiopian-Israeli. Many of the children come from families with low social-economic means. Yet the school bubbles with the enthusiasm of the students.

28 youth were moving on to middle school, Two of the boys were taller than the rest and looked a lot older. They may have only arrived in Israel recently, hence the placement. After waiting 30 minutes for all the parents to arrive (we started late, but it was more important that all the parents be there), 19 boys and 9 girls, of whom 9 boys and 4 girls were Ethiopian-Israelis, paraded in from the main school gate. The boys went first, followed by 2 musicians (drummer and guitar) playing "Gesher Tzar Meod." The musicians then returned to lead the girls in, playing a newer upbeat Adon Olam tune. All the boys wore white shirts and girls wore white tops and skirts. It was Netzach's 41st sixth grade graduation.

Six years ago, the principal Ayala Hadjaj came to the school and was given two years to salvage it or close it down. She succeeded so well in bettering this school that in 2006 the school won a national competition and was named the best religious elementary school in the country. This graduating class entered first grade when Ayala came and began to rescue the school.

The mini-auditorium was festively decorated with balloons and a huge sign announcing in gold letters the 41st graduation of 6th graders with Herzl's famous quote in Hebrew below, "If you will it, it is no dream."

The graduates semi-marched in following a girl holding the Israeli flag high. The program began with them singing two songs, energetically and mostly on key. They went on to sing 3 or 4 more times, including fill ins when things did not move quite according to the program.

Highlights of the evening included a speech by Mayor Moti Malka. He praised the principal Ayala as a women who is doing "holy" work, who turned around the school into a second home for her "children," each one of whom she cares for dearly. He praised the staff too as a very committed and caring team, a rather unusual quality in this country. (He later moved on to talk at the other elementary schools graduations. There are a total of 5 in town.)

Other highlights included a "Word of Torah" on the weekly portion "Korach" by a young local rabbi affiliated with the school, several dance-exercises by the students. One was with many flags of Israel and the students interpreting the song "Od M'-at Artza," a song of Ethiopians traveling to Israel. They also did a ribbon dance and used poles to make a Magen David in honor of Israel's 60th,

and sang three well-known songs about this country. The music director sang a special song to all the mothers with the youth then giving their mom's roses. Two representatives of the parent committee spoke--one giving thanks and the other giving a blessing and words of thought to the graduates. The principal spoke twice. In the first talk she referred to her arrival and these parents not knowing what to make of this "crazy lady" who put them to work painting the school to cheer it up. Later she gave many thanks to her staff--all in poetry. She invited the graduates to come back to their "home" any time, and to invite her to future graduatioins---AND their weddings. I'm sure they will.

After the students each received a picture of themselves, a certificate mounted with the pictures of all classmates on it, a home blessing, and a Tanach (Bible), all went outside for a feast, of many salads, fish, cold cuts, and soda. We all were greeted by fireworks from a nearby school's sixth grade graduation. In addition to food, I looked at the special booklets the students had written about themselves and their families. I was amazed at their computer skills and the obvious love with which they put the booklet together.

The program was long, but the youth were amazingly well behaved. A few yawned (since it might have been past their bedtime) but were very proud of their achievement and their performance.

As we were leaving, we saw and heard fireworks above. They were from the 6th grade graduation ceremony at HaAchim school, just a block away. I found out a few days later than the 5 public schools in town all held their 6th grade graduation ceremonies the same evening, and the mayor spoke at each one. At Eli Cohen school, the children put on a 90 minute long play which they helped to create, on the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel. It too was a memorable evening for all those in attendance. In town, both the 6th grade and 12th grade graduations are celebrated with fanfare.

Trauma Center for Children in Hof Ashkelon--2008

2008-07-06T05:21:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday, July 2, I joined a group from Phoenix of their Young Leadership, and visited a few places in Hof Ashkelon. One site that really grabbed my attention was the Trauma Center for children in Bat Hadar, where the regional (county) council is located.

Ten years ago, when San Diego was part of the Western Region of Partnership 2000, they donated funds for the construction of this building. When qassam rocket shelling from Gaza started eight years ago and with the increase of rockets since the Gaza pullout began, this center has met a critical need in the region. It functions in two ways: Psychologists go out to the 20 communities in the region to meet groups when there is a critical need and also visit with the schools. In addition, a variety of different therapies are offered in the center including animal, music, art, group and family therapy.

We heard from two members of the staff. Manit is one of the psychologists.

She made aliya from Holland twenty years ago and the past two years she works a lot with the youth and families who moved Gush Katif in Gaza. A few weeks ago, she met with teens at Kibbutz Gvaram who were dealing with the death of an adult kibbutz member. Here is the story. Shuli had left the kibbutz and went to visit her sister in Yesha because it was thought to be safer. As she got out of her car by her sister’s home, a rocket hit and she died soon after. Ironically, Gvaram, her home, has not been hit by a qassam—yet.

Many of the teens knew Shuli. The teens do gather strength by being part of a close-knit community, but some were having problems dealing with the death. A few had gone to the funeral, but one boy, for example, was frightened about going. A girl had known Shuli well and was having trouble going back to school , crying most of the time. Manit helped the teens to understand that they were having normal feeling after a horrible event and that they were not alone and could support each other. She also taught them coping skills to work through their feelings. Many of these teens go to Shaar Hanegev secondary school, which is located right next to Sderot, the town that is the most frequent target of qassam rockets. Qassams have fallen on their school, damaging property, injuring a few people, and killing a teacher. So Manit has visited their school too. With the recurring bombing, the teens are much more susceptible to depression then if the event (like a damaging earthquake) only occurred once.

Manit gave a few examples of how art therapy helped children. One young girl had nightmares of people bleeding after a qassam landed in her community and was afraid to sleep at night. In art therapy at the center, she was asked to draw pictures of her nightmare. One was herself next to a pool of blood. The therapist asked if she could make something positive from the drawing, and she changed the blood to blue water, learning that the negative event need not permanent. Unfortunately because of a quirk of this program, the pictures will not load property.

In addition, we hear from a man who by developing a way to help children overcome their fears through animal therapy, has helped many and has become one of the leaders in this field in Israel . He gave us examples of how he used a stick bug, a corn snake, and a large Labrador dog to help the children overcome their fears.

When he brought out the stick bug, he called it a scorpion, and several people in our group gasped. Children do the same. He then explained to us—and to them—that though it looks like a scorpion, it actually is a harmless stick bug, that eats eucalyptus leaves and can hide in the leaves. They learn to touch and then hold it and see that they don’t have to be afraid of it.

He then brought out a snake. Many children are afraid of snakes, and there are poisonous ones in Israel. He shows them the tail, and asks if they are afraid of it. When they reply that they are not, some actually touch the tail. He then shows them other parts of the snake, and it turns out that they are just afraid of the tongue.

When troubled children first come to pet therapy and view all the animals, 90% identify with the snake because it is scary, eats mice, and they identify with the mice eaten by the snake. As they lose their fear of the snake, they start to lose their fears from the qassams. Animal therapy works much faster than regular therapy for children ages 4 to 16 or 17 and is highly successful. Eli also has a big Labrador which has a loud bark. AT first the kids are very frightened but they see that the dog is really a sweetie. Also, when the psychologists talk to the children about their fears with animals in the room, they often feel more comfortable talking to the animals and not to the adults in response to the psychologists’ questions. Tucson has helped to fund this animal therapy program.

In addition to this center, the region is creating “tranquility rooms” in four or five schools in the Hof Ashkelon area for youth from kindergarten through grade 9. These rooms are for children feeling trauma who have less severe problems than those sent to the regional Trauma Center. Two will be in Nitzan, where 500 families evacuated from Gaza live, one i in the girls’ school and the other in the boys’ school. Another, which I saw, is in Hofim School on Kibbutz Yad Mordechai.

The room has child-size soft comfortable furniture and pictures with explanations the children had colored on feelings (crying, being alone a feeling lonely, for example).

They do need more funding to buy other useful tools for this center. I was touched by a sign that said, “There are no bad children, just children who have bad things happen to them”

and another that labels the room, “My Safe Place."

The need for such rooms is the reality in this area of Israel now.

A Pre-Wedding Mikveh Celebration 2008

2008-07-03T02:27:00.000-07:00

For the five summers Howard and I have volunteered in the Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi, we have stayed in the volunteer apartment supported by our the Israeli Partnership of TIPS (Tucson, Israel, Phoenix, and Seattle.) Our neighbors here, Aliza and Haim Elimelech, have been incredibly kind to us. On July 2nd, their oldest son Oshri got married. Six days before, they had a special party when henna was painted on hands, legs (of men), etc.

These are pictures I took of two relatives' hands, 4 days later. It sounded fantastic but we didn't hear about it until after it had occurred, which was the day we arrived in Israel.

Two days before the wedding, the bride went to the mikveh, to be dunked in the water there to gain ritual purity before the wedding. Most go the day before, but she was allowed to go two days before because her eyes turn red from the water and she wanted a day for them to recover.

The neighbor invited me to go with her, and I was the only non-family member in attendance, but the participants welcomed me enthusiastically and were very warm. Most there were from the bride's side of the family. This event was a bit different than many because the bride's family is from India and had a few different rituals. (There are many different East Indian Jews. This family is Bene Israel. See the Wikipedia article on Bene Israel for more information.)

We arrived at the bride's parents' home in a nice section of Ashdod around 8:15 p.m. People were sitting around talking, and, of course, offering food. On the floor was a very cute wedding "cake" that Aliza had made a few weeks ago--of white towels. It's very creative!

Aliza, Sagit, and Aliza's younger son's girlfriend Rachel posed for a picture here.

When everyone had arrived, including the woman with the portable CD player and music, we started the walk to the mikveh.
Here in the middle is Aliza Tal-ker, the mother of the bride Sagit, leaving the building.

Here is Sagit, just outside the building, waiting for the others. She is wearing a necklace of jasmine flowers on her head that her mom put on her just before heading out.

One woman carried a special drum and another carried the CD player with both Jewish music Indian music. We sang some along the way too and cars honked as they passed us.

You can see the drum :
a bit better in this picture.

Here is a picture of the parade....of about a dozen people. (Some drove including the grandma.)

After walking over a mile, we got to the mikveh, where others greeted Sagit.

Since another bride was in the mikveh, we had to wait in the crowded lobby about 20 minutes to get started. The mikveh costs 40 shekels (about $12 US) and is used by women after childbirth as well as after their monthly cycle. (There is another mikveh for men.)

The guests went into a waiting room to chat and eat, while Sagit and her mom (and sister?) went to the mikveh. (First Aliza served the guests some food.)

Incredibly good honey dipped cookies, similar to ones I had in China town 50 years ago.

A very happy grandmother, waiting at the Mikveh.

Women usually have to cut their fingernails quite short to be able to have water touch every part, but that has stopped many young women from going to the mikveh before their wedding, so some mikvehs have become more lenient in their policies.

Before getting in the Mikveh, Sagit took off all of her clothes, make up, nail polish, etc and possibly washed again. The then dipped all the way under seven times. (The attendant, who was very nice, asked if she wanted to dip 3 or 7 times, and she chose the latter.)

After she dressed again, she came out and we all greeted her in song and cheers, hugging and kissing.

Sagit's grandmother giving her a candy of blessings. (A 3-generation picture.)

We were all given a handful of candy to use here and to give to others for them to have good luck. When Sagit came out, people gave her the candy to taste and others took bites of the same candy for good luck.

The way back seemed a lot shorter! Once back at the apartment, we were fed again. Each of the 3 feedings had different food, which was more in the style of Indian-Jewish cooking. Back at the home base, I especially liked a milk gelatinous candy with tiny shreds of pistachio in it, visible on the left back part of the picture below.

Then we listened to a presentation by a woman from Dimona on the Mitzvah of Challah. The details will be in the next blog.

Another "only in Israel" story 2007

2007-08-05T21:46:00.000-07:00

On July 23, Howard and I went to Raanana to see two people. We parked on a side street, just off the main road of Ahuza. We were parked perpendicular to the sidewalk as were others to our right and left. When we went to leave at 6:30 p.m., we found a car parked perpendicular to us, blocking our exit and the exit of an SUV also wanting to leave. This is not uncommon in Israel...often one lane of a road is blocked temporarily as someone goes into a store to quickly get something.

This person, however, was in no hurry.

We waited for a few minutes, and then the guys sitting around the local snack store started to get involved, complaining about how such drivers are not polite. The other guy waiting must have called someone as soon a neighborhood guy is a black shirt with a "security" emblem on it and someone else with a similar "job" came by. Anytime anyone leaves a package or something else around and walks off, security can soon become involved. They too could not figure out what to do, while our friends sitting around said to call the police. Someone did call the police, as a car with flashing lights soon pulled up....and everyone (now there was a crowd of about ten) started to talk to each other.

Meanwhile our friendly guys decided to take action. One guy (white button down shirt folded deeply to show off his chest) was the owner of the big SUV to our left. He decided to pull forward so that Howard could somehow maneuver our Hyundai Getz rental and get out.

He did and we eventually did. Howard and I were laughing in the end. Basically, Howard had to pull forward on the sidewalk area too (no curb involved), turn almost 90 degrees clockwise, and then somehow maneuver around the front of the other car and turn 60 degrees the other way. Three of four guys were "guiding:" Howard, yelling at him in Hebrew when they figured out he could understand directions in Hebrew, and giving huge arm waves. In the end (with less than an inch separating the cars), our friend hopped into our car to finish the job. He had a mind of his own though, and at first did not listen to his advisers. AT one point a bunch of them were going to pick up our car to maneuver it out, Once I screamed when I saw how close the cars were, but they ignored me and managed to get the car out . Everyone cheered in the end, celebrating with hand shakes, big grins, and pats on the back, waving as we drove off. We did not stay around to see if the driver of the other car came back.