Have A Purple Day!

This week on our educational day we traveled north to the Golan Heights for a hike along El Al River. We started our journey at 7:20am when we all went downstairs and boarded the bus. Luckily we had a three hour drive ahead of us so we were all able to get some extra sleep. As we neared our destination, our tour guide began telling us about our surroundings. We drove along the fence that marks the border with Jordan, and he pointed out the old bridge where a train used to be able to travel from Israel to Jordan. As the bus got higher and higher into the Golan Heights, we were able to see into the valley between Israel and Jordan, and at one point we could see Syria as well.    

When we arrived at our destination, we all put on our hats and took our 3 liters of water and set out on what we thought was a "nice hike." In reality, it was pretty tough. There was one part that was nice though, the gorgeous place we were hiking through. We were surrounded by tons of different kinds of trees and plants. We saw a few waterfalls and stopped at one to cool down. We also saw cacti with sabras (prickly pears) on them! Some of us got to taste the sabra as well. Our tour guide told us that sabras are like Israeli men, tough and prickly on the outside, but sweet on the inside. We hiked for about two hours, and it was not easy. I am still sore!

Shira, Nikki Fisher, Liora, Me, Sarah, and Michelle

After the hike we drove to Natur Village, a moshav where religious and secular people are making attempts to be more integrated. First, we went to the Midrash. The Midrash is the gap year that Israeli teens take before going to the army. In this specific one, the teens live together and spend their days studying whatever they want. There are some classes and lectures, but mainly they do their studying on their own. They study a lot of Jewish texts, but can study whatever they would like. What makes this Midrash unique, is that there are religious AND secular teens living and studying together, which does not happen normally. After visiting the Midrash, we talked to a local man and the principal of the elementary school in Natur, which is also integrated with religious and secular students. We discussed some of the issues they faced when they chose to make the school that way.

We continued our topic of struggles between religious and secular Israelis, and the internal conflict it creates at our group meeting on Wednesday. Justin's boss was kind enough to put together a panel of three people to discuss and debate the topic for us. There was a "modern Orthodox" man (although he said he does not like the labels), a reformed woman who is studying to become a Rabbi at Hebrew Union College in Jerusalem, and a secular man who is a member of city council in Tel Aviv. I asked three of my group-mates to write a little bit about what they thought of both discussions.

Justin Kirschner: Our educational experiences the past couple of days have really been very enlightening. Our trip to Golan revealed an environment where students have the opportunity between high school and the military to engage in self-exploration. This gap year, “Midrash”, in Hebrew, let’s students live on their own and learn about whatever they so choose with other Israelis of various religious sects. This is interesting because the government, which sponsors non-pluralistic education, is at a challenge as to whether or not they want to fund these initiatives down the road.

              I’m a big believer in pluralism and learning from on another so I think this educational environment is great for kids and I hope this continues to grow as to maybe one day have Israeli society be more open and diverse with their education. Additionally, our experience of listening to a panel of pluralistic Israelis of different sects was also very enriching. Hearing them talk about Israel as a democratic but religious state and all the challenges they endure is simply mind-boggling.

              On one hand we have the security and war issue and on the other all these social issues which seem to conflict with everyone. This experience just added to my knowledge of the complexity that is Israel. I really don’t understand how with all these issues, (social, political, religious, cultural), they seem to prevail. I’m learning that no matter how different we are within our own religion, that we are all share common values that keep us a connected network of Judaism.

Eli Goldweber: After finishing up a rewarding and pretty hike through the Golan Heights, our group visited an interesting Mosahv. Natur is special in the fact that it promotes religious and secular jews to live together in the same community. As we have learned and witnessed through our travels in Israel, the religious divide is a major political and social issue that seems like no one wants to fully deal with. We met with a group of religious and secular highschool graduates who took a year off before the army to spearhead a new gap year program. Their program facilitated them to just study for a year or more. Together they underwent Jewish learning, and pursued their own academic interests at the same time. I really admire what they are trying to do.

              American teenagers are the youngest people in the world to go to college. 18 year olds should not be expected to know who they truly are, and what they are passionate about yet. This program will not only help to bridge the gap between secular and religious jews, but will facilitate the personal growth of Israeli teens in a way that most Americans are lacking. We also met with the principal of the primary school at the Moshav. Education is a pivotal point in the religious debate. She enlightened us by sharing their approach to this delicate topic of molding the opinions of the youth, both from secular and religious parents in the community. All students participate in Jewish learning/ prayer from a accepted text and also learn standard secular studies too. This reminded me of how a typical Jewish day school in the states would operate.

              These experiences were really put in perspective today, when the group met with a panel of three to discuss varying viewpoints on the same religuous debate. After hearing from a secualr politician, a liberal reform jew, and a modern orthodox, it was clear to me that they all wanted change. Obviously it is much easier to set up a community of 80 families in Natur in harmony than the entire country. Hopefully Natur will flourish and may be a source of guiding for the rest of the nation as Israel continues to struggle with its Jewish identity. We have been asked over and over again, and I still can’t decide if Israel is a state for the Jews, or a Jewish state, or both, or neither.

Shira Spiegel: When you live in a country constantly at war, it's easy to get wrapped up in security and look at protecting yourself as the only issue there is. And especially from a foreigner looking at Israel from the outside, you really feel that the conflict with the Palestinians is the only thing there is in this country. But the religious conflict in Israel is just as huge, and this is what we have explored the past few days.

                    There is a huge conflict of interest in Israel between the religious minority and the secular majority because it's the religious that control many aspects of daily life, such as marriage, divorce and Shabbat. But the rules don't necessarily reflect the way the majority practices Judaism. I think this is sad because what it ends up doing is turning so many Israelis away from religion because they see the only option or definition of "Jewish" as Haredi.

                    Tonight we heard from a panel of people who are all involved in trying to change this. I loved the panel first of all because of how Israeli it was! The three people had no qualms about talking over each other, arguing, and insulting each other's opinions. It was hilarious to watch and so different from panels in the US where everyone wants to be PC. But it also sparked many great discussions because of this.

                    One panel member was an orthodox guy who is part of an organization that advocates for change from within the orthodox system. He was in contrast to the secular city council member who was insulting everything orthodox and wanted to take all power out of their hands. Then there was a Reform female rabbi who just kept saying how anything was possible in the reform movement, but they weren't technically recognized by the state.

                    The bottom line of the issue is whether Israel is a "Jewish State," in which case it should have Jewish laws, or "a state for Jews," in which case it doesn't matter. When Israel was created, they decided it would be a Jewish State with Jewish laws, and that the laws they would follow would be Orthodox. But now no one wants to touch these laws because it's the status quo, and because the Haredim won't let them.

                    But people are trying. The three people on the panel are, as well as the people in the moshav that we visited yesterday. This moshav is the first of its kind because it has both secular and religious Jews living together and going to school together. I found it very interesting to hear about. The struggle of the school was especially interesting about how to integrate secular and religious learning so that both sides will be happy, and I realized for the first time really how difficult it is.

                    But the idea of both secular and religious living and working together is very intriguing, and it seems to work for them! However, there are only 80 families living there. The next challenge is to translate that to the whole county.  However, the people living in this moshav are those who are already open-minded and want this experience of coexistence and understanding on all sides. The close-minded, un-accepting ones, who also happen to the people in power, are not the people who would opt to live in such a place. The first step that I see to create change is to gain acceptance and understanding from everyone. 

That was a lot of reading so now time for some EXTRAS!

-Shout out to David for having beautiful flowing hair that is now long enough to put into pigtails.

-Belated shout out to Sarah for biting into her first apple since 7th grade! Bravo!

-Shout out to Jeremy and Aaron for going to the wrong place to get on the bus when we were leaving Natur, and then having to run after the bus when we were trying to pick them up.

-Shout out to Lior for having the best closings on his emails, for example, "Have a purple day!"

Then tonight THIS happened!

Eli in Justin's closet

Justin in Justin's closet

Me in Justin's closet

Sarah in Justin's closet

Tessa in Justin's closet

L'hitraot,

Abby

Interruptions

The last few days have been emotional since we had four people leave our trip to go home. We will miss their smiling faces, but we all know we will see each other very soon!

BECAUSE WE ONLY HAVE 18 DAYS LEFT.

What?!

This week I did not have to work on Wednesday or Thursday, so I got to hang out and adventure! On Wednesday Emily and I met Noah and Justin at the Shuk to get some gifts and things. I don't know what was in the water that day, or if Emily and I just looked really really good, but every guy we talked to told us we were beautiful girls. My theory is that we hadn't been out in the heat long enough to be sweaty messes yet. Thirty minutes later it would have been a whole new look! That evening a lot of people went to a laughter yoga session.

Our madrich, Lior, is a laughter yoga instructor. I have not participated in a session yet but I hope to go to the next one! Basically laughter yoga is meant to make you feel good. (Duh.) You know how when you laugh it relaxes you and puts you in a good mood? Well in laughter yoga you laugh so much that you feel good the whole rest of the day. Since the last few weeks have been a little more stressful than others, Lior graciously offered to hold a session for all Onward Israel participants in Tel Aviv. (Because he is that awesome.)

While others were at laughter yoga, AJ and I made dinner. He made some really good chicken and I made couscous. So he cooked and I added hot water. It was nice to have more of a real meal, and those of us who were home hung out together.

On Thursday Emily, Ari, Nikki, and I went to Ramat Aviv Mall. We had heard that it was "the nice mall" in Tel Aviv, and they were not lying. According to Wikipedia it is Israel's most expensive mall and the 35th most expensive mall in the world. So although we enjoyed looking around and browsing the high end stores, our only purchase was at Aroma. For those of you who don't know, Aroma is a coffee shop/cafe that is as common as Starbucks in America. I would say you could compare it to a Panera. What they are most famous for (for Americans at least) is their ice coffee.

In Israel ice coffee means a blended coffee drink like a frappuccino. If you want what we would call iced coffee in America, you would call it cold coffee here.

Anyway, Emily and I both ordered the Ice Aroma Cookie Cream. It is basically heaven. We loved it so much that we took a selfie with our drinks. Emily loved it so much that after she finished hers she tried to steal mine.

Heaven in a cup

That night we had a "surprise" for Max's birthday which was on Friday. Since Max went to Tzfat for the weekend we all surprised him on the balcony and sang "Happy Birthday". Little did we know, Hamas had a surprise as well. Just as we started singing, the siren started to go off. Somehow I managed to record a small bit of this.

Once we all got down to the bomb shelter we just finished singing to him there. We all had cake and everything was good.

On Friday we all separated into smaller groups and went to different places. I ended up going to Nachlat Binyamin, an art fair downtown, with Tessa and AJ. They hold the fair every Tuesday and Friday. I bought myself a very pretty necklace. Since the buses stop at 4:00 on Fridays for Shabbat, we all got home around then.

That night we all were invited to have Shabbat dinner with Lainey Paul at her apartment. Lainey is also from Cincinnati, but made aliyah and is currently in the IDF. She made us a fantastic dinner with homemade soup and pasta with homemade sauce. She also had hummus and homemade guacamole. In the middle of dinner there was a siren and we all went to the safe areas, and a few minutes later went back and continued. For dessert we had Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream! It was a very nice time socializing and meeting some of Lainey's other friends. Thanks Lainey!

Today we all just relaxed and spent time with each other. This evening AJ invited us to go with him to Jaffa to an art gallery where his boss had some pieces on display. For the record, AJ's internship is with Israel Association of Baseball. Apparently this man has many talents other than baseball, including art and poetry. On top of that, we all agreed that he is exactly what AJ will be like in ten years. It was a very nice night, and for the first time in over a week we heard no sirens. (Knock on wood.)

Sunset on the way to Jaffa

*Extras!*
-Shout out to Tessa for passing your sickness onto Justin and Michelle.      
-Shout out to the terrible shirt Jeremy bought at the Shuk.
-Shout out to the man at the Shuk who blessed me and the other man who offered to marry Emily and me for $500.
-Happy Birthday from all of us on Onward Israel Cincinnati to Ethan Kadish!
          Join Team Ethan to support Ethan Kadish, a 13-year-old boy from Cincinnati who faces years of                 rehabilitation after a lightning strike caused him to suffer cardiac arrest. Link: http://jointeamethan.org/

L'hitraot,

Abby

Playing Catch Up

Sorry it has been so long since my last post! I have had some laptop issues. (Thank you Max for letting me use your HDMI cable even though you don't know I am!) Anyway...since the last time I wrote, things haven't changed much. We have been woken up by the siren a few mornings and the last few days there has been what we have nicknamed, "The Rush Hour Rocket."

It is obviously very scary when the siren goes off, but I still feel safe and like I am in control. I know what I am supposed to do when I hear the siren, and I know I am able to get myself to a safe place. I have trust in the IDF, The Iron Dome, and all of the people in charge of Onward Israel.

Unfortunately some of the other members of the group are not feeling as safe, and they have decided to go home. We have all been having discussions about that since last week, and I feel that we have a very supportive group. We have all become very close over the last five weeks, and although none of us want to see anyone go home, we all understand that each of us has our own limits. I think what is most important is that we all seem to respect each other's limits and feelings. This is a difficult and scary situation, and I could have never dreamed I would have reacted like I have. None of us know how we will react to anything until we are actually put in that situation.

Now for some happier moments!

This past weekend we were lucky enough to visit Cincinnati's sister city, Netanya. Although it is only about twenty minutes or so from Tel Aviv, it felt like we were worlds away. For one thing, I am pretty sure sirens have not ever gone off in Netanya. It is also absolutely beautiful! I didn't think the Mediterranean could get anymore beautiful, but Netanya really delivered.

Beach in Netanya

When we arrived in Netanya on Friday morning, we met with some local young adults who are part of a leadership program. Some of them also happened to be our host families for the weekend! We also had the pleasure of meeting the new chaverim who are coming to Cincinnati this year! After playing some ice breaker games, we separated and went off to explore Netanya with our host families.

Emily and I stayed with Shakedd, who is eighteen, and her very nice family. Shakedd and Tal (the chavera) took us shopping, and then we met up with Liora, Jeremy, and Justin who were with Natan (the chaver) on the beach. Then we had some of the best falafel I have had since I have been here. They put a hard boiled egg in it which totally threw us off and was actually really good in it!

That night Shakedd's parents made us a fantastic dinner. It was so nice to have a home-cooked meal that consisted of more than just pasta and/or frozen schnitzel. After dinner Shakedd and her mother taught us some Hebrew words over tea and cheesecake. I will never ever forget that shaked means almond and shkedim means more than one almond!

Shakedd, Emily, and I at Hansel and Gretel

After finishing our dessert Emily, Shakedd, and I went upstairs and got ready to go to a bar with the rest of the group. Most of the group was there with their host. It was a really fun night out and the bar had a great atmosphere. We had a huge group and it was so nice to relax and forget about the sirens in Tel Aviv.

Emily, Michelle, Natan, Tessa, Tal, Jeremy, and I at Hansel and Gretel

The next morning Shakedd and her mom taught us how to make Israeli salad (because Israelis eat salad at breakfast), which consists of tomato, cucumber, peppers, sometimes onion, and olive oil with a little salt and lemon juice. That afternoon pretty much everyone ended up at the beach. Before we went though, we went to Max Brenner, a chocolate restaurant. IT WAS SO GOOD. Shakedd only fed the chocolate addiction Emily had already given me. After finishing our chocolate meals and debating on whether or not we should still be seen in a swimsuit, we made our way to the beach. There weren't as many people as at the beaches in Tel Aviv, and it was so peaceful.

Layers: Liquid chocolate, white chocolate shavings, brownie,
whipped cream, and pecans with hot fudge and chocolate crisps on the side.

That peaceful feeling was quickly replaced by fear on the drive back to Tel Aviv that night when the sirens went off while we were on the bus. We quickly exited the bus and got down on the side of the road and covered our heads. I think this was when things really got real for me. As we were sitting there I literally watched The Iron Dome intercept to rockets. I still don't know how I stayed so calm. Luckily we were all safe and able to get back on the bus shortly after to finish the drive home.

The last few days have basically gone on as normal because really....what else can you do? Most of us have been going to our internships consistently, and still going out and enjoying the city at night. Yesterday Justin, Sarah, and I went to a sabich restaurant, which after some research seems like it comes from the ingredients from a typical Iraqi breakfast. It consisted of a pita filled with eggplant, potato, hard boiled egg, hummus, tahini, Israeli salad, parsley, and amba. In other words...DELICIOUS.

Today we had an educational day in Tel Aviv. The first part of the day was focused on Start Up Nation. We met with an Israeli organization which helps people with their start ups and learned a lot about why Israel is so full of start up companies. The second half of the day we met with a man who comes from Sderot. I don't know if you remember, but I have mentioned Sderot before. It is the city about one kilometer away from Gaza where the citizens have only fifteen seconds to get to a shelter when they hear the red alarm. He brought a qassam rocket which actually landed next to his house, and he showed us some videos they use to show people what life is like in Sderot. The one that had the biggest effect on me was seeing a bunch of children running inside during the alarm and then singing out loud to cover the sound of the impact. When asked why people still live in Sderot, the man told us that the citizens say,"If we leave, the rockets will just move on to the next city where we are."

*Extras!*

-Thank you Nikki Fisher for inviting Emily and me to dinner with your family friend! They were so nice!
-Thanks Emily for letting me pick my outfit out of your closet every morning.
-Thank you Eli for attempting to fix my computer!
-Shout out to Lior for being in love with Lana Del Rey and for doing everything you can to keep us happy and living a good life. You are doing a fantastic job.

Lior loves Lana

-Shout out to Tessa for being sick and still going to work....even though you threw up there.
-Last but not least, shout out to Jeremy for making this fantastic face today. Even though you look like Kris Jenner when she had that allergic reaction, we still love you.

Jeremy being beautiful

It is things like that which keep us smiling through the hard times.

Pray for peace.

L'hitraot,

Abby

Thinking Like An Israeli

Lots of things have happened in the days since my last post. We did our typical Saturday at the beach, started the work week, had a meeting with a Palestinian man who used to be violent and is now working for a peace organization, and then this evening around 7:00 the red alarm went off throughout Tel Aviv and a rocket from Gaza was intercepted by The Iron Dome.

...Let's just let that sink in.




The majority of Cincinnati Onward Israel was home when the alarm went off and after a few moments of "Is this really happening?" we all hurried into the stairwell. Everyone was pretty calm for the situation we were in. After we heard the news that it was safe and the rocket had been intercepted, we all went back to our floor and mingled for a few minutes about what that meant. Then we all went to call our family to tell them we were safe.

Lior texted us immediately to make sure everyone was safe, which we all were.

Although it was obviously scary to actually experience the alarm, I still felt safe. After the alarm ended and we all went back to our rooms I was still very calm. I think I am starting to think like an Israeli.

We were instructed to stay at our dorm tonight since we have bomb shelters on every floor and that way our trip leaders can know where we all are more easily.

But tomorrow everything will continue on normally for the most part. Shops will be open, we will all go to work, the Shuk will keep being crazy, and Israel will survive. This is a normal thing here. Things have been escalating so quickly here, and for us, as Americans, we aren't really used to it. We have been concerned while Israelis don't even think twice.

It is sad to think that for Israelis AND Palestinians this is normal. Being here to experience this firsthand is an experience I will never forget.

I can only hope that all of this will be over soon.

L'hitraot,

Abby

Do You Wanna Build A Sandcastle?

After the rough start to the week, we were all a little nervous for our educational day on Tuesday. The plan was to go to the Negev and visit some different places. As you may or may not know, all day Monday there were rockets being fired from Gaza into parts of the Negev. After hearing that news, many of us were a little concerned about our safety the next day. Lior reassured us that everything was fine and let us know if we needed to talk to him further we could.

So Tuesday morning at 7:20am we departed for the Negev on THE NICEST BUS! Not only did it have USB ports to charge your phone, it also had wifi! This made the two hour drive much nicer. Our first destination was Naot Farm, a goat farm in the middle of the desert. The farm is run by a husband and wife, and a few employees who work to pay for school. They have goats which they sell for meat and they also make cheese which we had the opportunity to try! They also run a restaurant which is open on the weekends and looked great! When we asked her if their restaurant gets much business, she laughed, "You never know if it is going to be six people or sixty!" She took us around the farm to see all of the goats and sheep, and we got to pet the baby goats!

 The woman also spoke to us about how there even came to be a goat farm in the middle of the desert. She told us that several years ago the Israeli government created the Ramat-Negev Farming Project. This project was intended to keep Bedouins from settling on that land. In order to do this, the government gave 23 families land to build farms to produce whatever they chose. Now this was technically illegal so there has been a lot of legal trouble for the farmers, and they could have left the Negev to return to their previous homes. Instead, they have chosen to fight the legal battles and want to stay in the middle of the desert. It was very interesting to hear the woman's take on this, and her thoughts on Bedouin settlers. After hearing the woman speak, touring the farm, trying cheese, and some people purchasing some cheese (because the best bus ever had a refrigerator!) we moved on to our next location.

Aaron was very excited for cheese

When we arrived at The Shanti House, we were not sure where we were. It was like a mirage. It is a beautiful compound in the middle of the desert that serves as a home for youth at risk. There are trees and fountains, and as we started walking toward the Welcome Building, we began to hear music blasting out of it. We all laughed and joked that we were going to a party, but we actually kind of were. When we entered the building (which was actually more of a tent that had been decorated with a Moroccan style) a young man was waiting for us and dancing to the music. Once the music stopped things got more serious.

We watched a video about The Shanti House and the dancing guy answered our questions. Basically, The Shanti House is a home where youth at risk can go and stay until they are 21. Each resident has a bed with pillows and blankets, and are able to participate in tons of extracurricular activities, as well as school. The guy who spoke to us is now a counselor at The Shanti House, but he was once a resident himself. He is Ethiopian and had a rough childhood, and one day he chose to leave with some of his friends. They flew from Ethiopia to Egypt and from there walked to Israel. The Bedouins helped smuggle the group over the boarder. He told us some other stories of kids who have come to The Shanti House, and told us they do not turn anyone away.

After hearing him speak we took a tour of the compound. It was absolutely beautiful! We then went back in the tent to wait for our lunch to arrive. While we waited he played more music and some dance battles went down. Jake was his first opponent! We all really enjoyed our time there.

From there we drove about thirty minutes to Be'er Sheva. We met with a representative from a group which helps Bedouins in the area. The intent was for him to explain to us what the organization does, and then answer our questions, but we were very interested in asking some deeper questions. We talked a lot about the issues between the Bedouin community and Israeli government, and what exactly the Bedouins want. Pretty much they want to have all of the benefits that Israeli citizens have. The problem is that most of them do not have jobs or contribute to society at all. It was a very interesting discussion. The man compared the Bedouins to the Haredi (ultra-orthodox Jews) which made a lot of sense. They are similar in their levels of contribution to society, but there are other differences. It was a good conversation and debate for us to have, although I do not think the man was prepared for it. That portion of our day ended quickly and we returned home to Tel Aviv!

The rest of the work week was relatively uneventful, but we all enjoyed spending time with each other. On Thursday night a large group of us took some bottles of wine to the beach and just hung out. I still can't believe that we are living here, and that it is so easy for us to have a night all together on the Mediterranean.

Friday was the 4th of July! About half the group went to a water fight in the middle of town, and went exploring, and the rest of us went on a "Red, White, and Booze Cruise." Can I say that on here? Well I did, and that is where we went. The boat left from Jaffa Port, which is a beautiful area. We all boarded the boat, and the DJ was playing music.....and I almost immediately felt seasick. While everyone else was dancing around and jumping in the water, I was sitting with my head down on the table telling myself not to throw up. Luckily, all of my friends are amazing and made sure I was okay. They brought me water and found motion sickness medicine for me to take.

I thought I was the only one feeling bad, but suddenly they made an announcement that we were returning to port to drop off everyone who was sick. I looked around me and tons of people were doing the same thing I was! I heard it was even worse down in the bottom level. The water was just so choppy it made it hard to even walk on the boat. Although I felt sick the whole time, I still got to see a beautiful sunset at the port.

Sunset at Jaffa Port

*Extras!*
-I apparently look Israeli now, because people stop me on the street everyday to ask me for directions in Hebrew!
-Emily and I had the BEST gelato at the Jaffa Port.
-Shout out to Justin and Eli for getting the craziest sunburns at the beach today. (Don't worry moms, they are fine!)
-A big hooray to everyone who got unlimited bus passes for the month! BEST DECISION EVER!
-Shout out to all of the sand in my apartment that will never ever leave.
-Emily, Jeremy, and Tessa had a nice little massage train going on Friday night.

Emily, Jeremy, and Tessa

-We turned Emily's room into a mini spa this evening with massages (Thanks Nikki Fisher!) and nails!

Jeremy painting Emily's nails

L'hitraot,

Abby
 

From Hope to Heartache in 24 Hours

I don't really know how to begin this post. Being in Israel during the last two weeks has given all of us a different connection to the story of Naftali Fraenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach. We were here when the boys were kidnapped in the West Bank on June 12, and we are here now that their bodies have been found. We have been here for all the time between those days to see how the country has been affected by the situation. Just last night around 7:30pm a rally was held in Tel Aviv at Rabin Square. There were performances and the mothers of the three boys spoke to the crowd. 

In an article I read about the event the mother of Naftali Fraenkel was quoted saying, "We feel embraced by many people, and we wanted that the event should be a general one that would include everyone. Our message is one of solidarity, one for all and all for one - haredi Israelis, secular Israelis, Bedouin, Druze, and Muslims who have a conscience."

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the event, but several others from our group went. I asked them to share a little bit about their experiences. Some of the endings were changed after the news broke tonight, and some were written after as well. 

Justin Kirschner:

"The demonstration was sentimental with an optimistic overtone. The sight of Rabin Square filled with people reveals the community aspect that is Israel. The lights and music combined with the songs and prayer was an incredible moment to experience."

Daniel Valentini: 

"The demonstration was a great experience. I wasn't sure what to expect going into it, but it ended up being a series of singers and speakers and it was a pretty good time. Even though I couldn't understand a word of what was being said, it felt good to show solidarity and be a part of something bigger in Tel Aviv."

Sarah Deutsch:

"Yesterday a few of us went to the demonstration for the 3 boys in Rabin Square. Seeing the community come together as one was incredibly special. It's amazing how even though we don't know the language, we know exactly what is being said. There were hundreds of people there, the news and everything. This event just took our breath away, we were speechless. The sadness was overwhelming."

Jordan Della Bella:

"Witnessed something amazing last night. I still can't believe I'm in a country that has three loved ones missing from their homes. It's still very surreal to me. But what is even more amazing is that the country has come together in this amazing city and put together an amazing demonstration for the boys. Sitting at this rally for the boys filled with live music, people talking, prayers being said and sung, and listening to the mothers talk was really moving. Although it was all in Hebrew and I didn't understand much I still thought wow, this is pretty spectacular. I really enjoyed how they incorporated music from all walks of life; from children singing to piano players singing and playing. What got to me the most was listening to "Bring Him Home" from Les Miserables sung beautifully in Hebrew. That song is so powerful in the play/musical and just as powerful in the square...May the boys forever rest in peace and my heart goes out to the families and their loss."

Ari Shifman:

"Yesterday Nikki, Tini, and I met Justin down at the Demonstration in honor of bringing back the 3 kidnapped boys. As night fell, Rabin Square filled up with thousands of people, all of which came out in support of the families and Israel as a whole. The MC introduced Rabbis and famous Israeli musicians who spoke and sang about staying strong in the face of extreme adversity. But the highlight of the night was the speeches given by the incredibly courageous moms of the 3 boys. These women believed Israel was going to find their boys and that they were going to come back home. I left the demonstration believing as well. 

Unfortunately this optimism and belief was wrong. The boys were found dead today outside Hebron in the West Bank and this optimism has been replaced with a cold pessimism and a fear for the next step."

It is hard to describe how I feel right now. It is absolutely heartbreaking and scary to think of what else will come from this. We are all sending love and strength to the families of the boys. We are now reminded of why the conflict here continues. 

L'hitraot,

Abby

Cincinnati Takes On The Negev

This weekend we traveled to The Negev for our Onward Israel Shabbaton. We had a full weekend of lectures and "field trips" planned for us with a few of the other Onward Israel groups from other cities. As you can imagine, we were not too excited to be leaving our comfy apartments to stay in a hostel in the desert. We were also mad that we had to miss Laila Lavan (White Night) for the Shabbaton. Laila Lavan is one of the biggest cultural events in Tel Aviv where there are parties and concerts all night long, and the museums stay open later and there are free exhibits and tours offered. Although we all went into the weekend with somewhat negative attitudes, some good actually did come of it.

On Thursday we drove to Jerusalem where Ilan Wagner, the director of Onward Israel, opened up the weekend. From there we split up into different tracks for the day. I chose to go to the Israel Museum. The focus of the track was supposed to be on "Me and My Heritage" and although I didn't feel this was completely fulfilled, I still enjoyed my time there. We started the tour with some clothing from different Jewish events around the world. From there we moved to three different rooms. Each room held an old synagogue from different countries around the world. It was really cool to see the difference in architecture and decoration from one sanctuary to another. Each of these synagogues was transported to Israel in pieces and then put back together inside the museum, so they are completely authentic.

European Synagogue

Indian Synagogue

Ceiling in Indian Synagogue

South American Synagogue

One of the coolest parts of the museum for me was this video that an artist made. They recorded a main street in Tel Aviv on Israel's Memorial Day, Yom Hazikaron. When the Yom Hazikaron begins at sundown the day before, an alarm is sounded for one minute all over the country. At that time, everyone stops what they're doing, even driving, and stands in silence to honor all of the soldiers who have been lost. The video in the museum showed this exact moment on a busy road, and it was eerily silent as each person on the road stopped and got out of their car. It really captured the power that the moment holds.

AJ, Emily, Jeremy, Max, Sarah, (Noah's blonde hair), and Lior
waving us on at the Israel Museum

Museum Mirror Selfie with Sarah, AJ, and Emily

The rest of our time at the museum was spent exploring the art it held. Much of the art was not done by Israeli artists, but it was still really cool. We saw real paintings by Picasso, Monet, and Renoir, just to name a few. Along with these incredible works of art, we also saw some modern art that we were not so impressed with. AJ had a specific problem with a piece of "art" which was simply a canvas that had been painted black. We watched some videos of performance art which were pretty crazy, and saw some different things. Noah and Jeremy say that their lives were changed by it. I am still not sure if they are being serious. Sylvie actually enjoyed a lot of the modern art because she studies art. The last thing we saw was a beautiful view outside of the museum overlooking Jerusalem. After the museum, we boarded our buses and drove to the Yerucham in the Negev.

We arrived in Yerucham and immediately went to dinner. Now I know why I gained weight the last time I was in Israel, hostel food. In hostels the main food group is carbs. Now, I love my bread and hummus, but sometimes it was a little too much. I will say they had some really good fruit! We each stayed in rooms with at least three people. Mine had five in it, so we had bunk beds. Other than the sheets being a little sketchy and the shower head that was not attached to the wall, it wasn't that bad. It did make us more grateful for our apartments in Tel Aviv though. Some of the other groups who live in Jerusalem and Haifa said they don't even have air conditioning!

Sunset in the Negev

The next day my track was about Women in Yerucham. I absolutely loved the women we met. The first woman, Salima, was from a Bedouin village just outside of Yerucham. She invited us into her guest tent and spoke to us about her business and women in Bedouin culture. Salima has a business of bringing groups to her tent to speak about Bedouin culture, and because of this she is very looked down upon in her community. She told us that most Bedouin women do not even know how to read or write because they do not finish any kind of schooling, but that her father wanted her to go to school. He made sure that she received at least some education, and did not treat her like anything less than her brother. After pouring us traditional Bedouin hot tea in the hot, hot tent, Salima told us how unfair life is for women in Bedouin culture. Bedouin women are barely allowed to leave their homes, and are never allowed to do any real work. Although honor killings are something that still happens in Bedouin communities, Salima luckily does not feel that she is in danger. She was a very inspiring woman, and hearing her speak was one of the best things I have done here.

View of the desert from Yerucham

After we left Salima, we went to a cafe in Yerucham that was just opened by a woman. This woman was also an incredible inspiration. She is incredibly strong and fantastic. She is looked down upon in Yerucham because she is a woman, and people think she can't own her own business. A cause that is very important to her is at-risk-youth, so she found a way to help them through her business. She employs these kids as waiters in the evening in order to keep them out of trouble. Not only was she a great woman, her baked goods were so good! Jeremy, one of three guys who chose the women track, became a typical Jewish mother and bought some of the woman's cookies and forced us to eat them. (As if it was hard to force us to eat cookies..)

Salima and her adorable daughter

That night was Shabbat, and we had the awesome opportunity to attend synagogues in Yerucham for Shabbat services. The choices were Moroccan, Indian, regular Ashkenazi, or Breslov synagogues. Most people chose to go to the Indian service to experience a completely different culture. Now, in Yerucham all of the synagogues are orthodox, so it is a little different than what most of us are used to. We all knew that the women and med would be separated and that the service might be a little different. When we arrived though, all of the girls were in shock. We had to enter through a separate door on the side of the building, and there was a half wall between our side and the men. The rest of the half wall was filled with stained glass that you could barely see through. On top of that, we could barely hear anything. It was so frustrating that a lot of girls left very soon after arriving. I stayed for most of the service. When we returned to the hostel for Shabbat dinner, those of us who attended services discussed our experiences. It sounded like the Breslov service was the best experience of all.

Both nights after all of the programming had ended, the majority of our group went out into the desert to relax and look at the stars. Justin bought a bongo in Jerusalem and brought it out with us. Emily and I sang while he drummed, and everyone else joined in too. It was so nice being outside in a place where you can see every single star in the sky. We had some good group bonding time both of those nights, and I think that was the best thing to happen for us this weekend.

At one point during the weekend our group expressed some concern to Ilan Wagner about the program. A lot of us began to feel that we were being trained to tell people how great Israel is so everyone will change their minds about it. I understand that to an extent, and for the most part we have all had great experiences here so far that we will share with people. We simply felt that we needed a more diverse experience. We want to speak to Palestinians about how they feel about the situations here, and Israelis who don't agree with the Israeli government. Obviously we all like Israel, or else we wouldn't be here, but I personally don't feel like I know enough about Israel to have a real conversation about it. I want to learn things so that I can have an intelligent and honest conversation with anyone regarding Israel, no matter what their thoughts are.

Ilan invited our group to meet with him on Saturday so we could express these concerns. I think that we were all pleased with his response. He told us that he welcomed the criticism and that he wants to give us the best experience possible. Ilan said that if we bring our ideas to Lior then he would be happy to help us make them happen. We are currently working on a list of topics and possible meetings to give them.

Overall I would say that the weekend was good because it brought our group closer together. Meeting some of the other groups and hearing about their housing made us realize how great our group has it.

Sculpture at the Israel Museum: Love

*Extras!*
-On Sunday morning Lior led a group in laughter yoga. I didn't go, but I heard it was a really fun time and everyone loved it! I can't wait for him to hold another session for just our group.
-Everyone had very positive things to say about their tracks on Thursday and Friday as well!
-WE LOVE TEL AVIV!
-Shout out to the whole Cincinnati group for making this weekend great!

L'hitraot,

Abby