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

Week Two

This week everyone went to The Shuk (open-air market), some of us more than once. The Shuk is a great place to get cheap fruits and vegetables, as well as clothing and pretty much anything else you could want. Bargaining is very welcome at the Shuk, although I am terrible at it. On Sunday I went to the Shuk with Shira, Jordan, and Emily. There is so much to look at and try and smell at the Shuk. (Did I mention they have spice stands?) If you ever go to Israel you have to go to The Shuk. They are all over the country, but the one we have in Tel Aviv is called Shuk Ha'Carmel. It is definitely an experience, but I had a lot of fun!

In Israel there are cats EVERYWHERE. I have no idea why they are literally everywhere, but they are. They are on rooftops, under cars, in the bushes, on benches, and apparently they also love the Shuk. As we were walking through, we passed a fruit stand where several people were laughing and taking pictures. There, in the middle of all of this fruit, is a cat just hanging out. This pretty much explains the cats of Israel. They could not care less about anyone or anything around them.

On Monday I finally started my first day of my internship! I found my way there just fine, and was on time. My boss, Naomi is really nice and helpful. She made aliyah from the Great Britain about four years ago, so she speaks English which is nice. I really am enjoying my internship so far. But honestly just being in the beautiful neighborhood where Batsheva is located is enough for me. In the middle of Tel Aviv is the very first neighborhood that was built, Neve Tzedek. It is a beautiful old neighborhood, with narrow brick roads and a lot of flowers and small boutiques and restaurants. Batsheva is located in the middle of the neighborhood, on the campus of the Suzanne Dellal Center. I can't even describe how peaceful it is there. It is in the middle of this giant city, but it is so quiet there. It is also one block from the beach which is an extra plus. I worked on Wednesday and Thursday as well. Everyone is very nice and really trying to make an attempt to speak in English around me, although my Ulpan classes start this week so hopefully my Hebrew starts to improve soon!

Street in Neve Tzedek

Entrance I walk through to Batsheva Dance Company

On Tuesday we had our first Educational Day. We traveled to Jerusalem for the day, and met with an ultra-orthodox representative, took a tour of the Security Fence, and met with Itzik Yarkoni (my social media mentor for the summer) and he spoke to us about the conflict and what we can do to help. As most of you probably know, there was a situation in the West Bank last week. Three Israeli boys were kidnapped on their way home from religious school. Jerusalem is right on the boarder of the West Bank, and you could feel the tension and stress in the air. Each individual who spoke to us said a little something about the missing boys. Itzik reminded us to use #bringbackourboys on social media, and I even saw that phrase posted on a bus that drove past me in Tel Aviv. Going to the security fence was actually kind of scary. We talk about the West Bank and places like Bethlehem and it all seems so far away. In reality though, it is right there. We literally stood against the wall between the West Bank and the Tomb of Rachel. On our tour of the security wall, our guide explained some of the struggles and issues that go on. He told us the Israeli government began building the wall during a very dangerous time where terrorist attacks were happening regularly. Our madrich, Lior, who is from Jerusalem, said that during this time he avoided buses and told his family goodbye every single time he left the house. It is so hard for us to understand what life was like for him back then. Then again, Itzik talked to us about the city of Sderot. Sderot is located less than a mile from the Gaza Strip, and they STILL have rockets being fired from Gaza to Sderot so often that most of the playgrounds there are also bomb shelters. When a rocket is detected, an alarm sounds, and the people of Sderot have fifteen seconds to take cover. FIFTEEN SECONDS. Itzik told us about a little boy who he spoke to who told him he couldn't wash his hair because it takes longer than fifteen seconds to wash out the shampoo. Although we knew a lot about these situations already, hearing about it from Israelis who experienced it was different.

Old City

On the right side of the Wall is the West Bank

On the left: The Tomb of Rachel
On the right: The Security Wall

The news we see in America and the posts we see online regarding Israel are not that reliable. Itzik showed us an example which clearly showed this. It was a photo of a young Palestinian girl raising her fist at an IDF soldier. This photo was sent around with negative comments about the soldier as if he was doing something to the girl. Itzik then showed us the actual video footage from which that picture came. In reality, there was a large group of soldiers and Palestinians and the Palestinian parents were pushing their children at the soldiers and encouraging the children to harrass them. Meanwhile the Palestinian parents were taking photos just like the original one we saw. This goes both ways though. I have seen many posts on Facebook in the past week of Palestinians supposedly celebrating the kidnapping of the three Israeli boys, but that is not necessarily the reality. I guess my point in writing about that is to teach a lesson. You can't believe everything you see online or in the media because most of the time it is probably not the whole truth.  

Overall, our day in Jerusalem was very interesting and eye opening, but it was very long. Pretty much everyone slept most of the hour bus ride home to Tel Aviv.

The next day after everyone returned home from our internships, we had a group meeting with Lior. We discussed some very intense topics like "what it means to be Jewish" and "Israel's rules on aliyah and marriage." We have a very diverse group when it comes to levels of Judaism. Each of us was raised in a different family with different traditions. It was interesting to see how heated the conversation got, and to see why those subjects can be so controversial and confusing. We didn't even get to fully finish the conversation because everyone had so much to say. Even though it got intense at times, I think that it was a very good conversation and it made us all think.

On Thursday we all went to our internships, and then it was finally the weekend! A few of us went to a beer tasting in the early evening on Tel Aviv University's campus. It was a beautiful campus and the event was really fun! Afterward we all kind of split up for the night. One group decided to go to Jerusalem for the night for Night Spectacular, a light show in the old city. Another group went to a club on the beach, and I went with a few people to the beach where we drank some wine and relaxed for the night. We all had a nice time at our activities and everyone made it home safe and sound.

Justin and me (Mom and Dad) at the beer tasting

Jeremy, Eli, Sarah, Justin, Emily, Nikki, and me at the beer tasting (with two new friends)

Jerusalem Light Show: from Jeremy

Jerusalem Light Show: from Jeremy

Jerusalem: from Jeremy

Friday was spent going to the shuk, Nachlat Binyamin (an artist's market), and to the beach. When we got home, everyone made pasta for dinner (the only thing any of us are good at making) and hung out at our building for the rest of the night.

*Extra Random Things*
-Justin had a thumbs-down falafel this week. He was drawn in by the 6 shekel price, and then highly disappointed by the lack of hummus! What is falafel without hummus?!
-Also, a big thank you to Noah for giving me one of his sour gummy worms on the way home from Jerusalem!

WEEK 2 = SUCCESS

L'hitraot,

Abby

We're Here!

Well technically we have been here for...three days? Who knows, I still am not sure if today is actually Wednesday. It has been a whirlwind of a week so far though! I am really not sure where to even start, so I guess I will start at the beginning.

It all began at 3:00 pm at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. We all arrived with our ridiculously heavy bags in tow. There was nervous and excited chatter between the interns and parents as each of us checked in praying our bags were under 50lbs. As the clock struck 4:00, we all said our goodbyes and made our way through security. (Not before taking a group picture of course)

The first picture of Onward Israel Cincinnati

Our parents didn't want to be left out! Thank you to all of the parents!

The first PARENTS picture of Onward Israel Cincinnati

Once we made it through security we made our way to our gate where we all sat playing cards and getting to know each other more. We finally boarded our first flight of the day to Philadelphia..and what a rough flight that was. We all eagerly rushed off of that plane as fast as we could to our next gate, which we only had about thirty minutes to get to! We all made it through the secondary security screening and before we knew it we had all boarded the plane to Tel Aviv! This flight was a whole heck of a lot better than the first one. The best part was the touchscreens on the back of each seat which we full of movies, tv shows, and games. (The only downfall of this was the flight announcements coming through your headphones ten times louder than what you were watching.) I made it through Frozen, Gypsy, and Little Shop of Horrors. Most of that eleven hour flight was spent sleeping, waking up with a stiff neck, adjusting, and sleeping some more. Soon we were all alerted by the captain's voice blaring in our ears that we were going to be landing in thirty minutes! We landed with the sound of applause from some of the passengers and we had finally made it to The Land of Milk and Honey.

After going through customs and getting our luggage we were greeted by our madrich, Lior. He welcomed us with a huge smile and a laugh that is contagious. He led us to our bus which we quickly loaded, and then we were off to Jerusalem for the night. We arrived at Bayit VeGan Youth Hostel and went straight to dinner where we got our first reminder of Israeli dining qualities. Number one, no ice. After dinner, we moved into a meeting with Lior and Netta, our internship coordinator. We got our Israeli sim cards or phones. I chose the phone route so I was given a beautiful Sony Erikson, complete with a TalknSave lanyard attached. We all called our friends and family to tell them we arrived safely and went to bed relatively early. The next morning was filled with orientation meetings which were just as much fun as you would expect and orientation to be. 

     *There was an interesting occurrence on one of our breaks. Outside of the hostel there was a barricade, and on the other side were people chanting and making noise, and holding flags and signs. It looked very intense and important. When we asked, we were told they were protesting a gas line that was to be placed in their area, and there was big meeting about the issue taking place in the hostel. We were relieved that it was a peaceful protest and quickly went back to our meeting. 

That afternoon we finally boarded our bus and headed home, to Tel Aviv. We were each given a key to our own brand new apartment dorm on the campus of Tel Aviv University. These buildings are so new that we are the very first people to live in them, and the surrounding buildings are still unfinished. But it wasn't time to move in and relax yet; Lior and Netta took us around the area. They showed us some restaurants, the bus stops we would need for work the next day, and the nearest supermarkets. Thankfully they pointed out the cheapest one. As the tour went on small groups broke off to go to the supermarkets, and in the end there were five of us left. Then, just like that, Lior and Netta left with a, "Good luck tomorrow! Remember, getting lost in a city is a state of mind."

Onward Israel Cincinnati's First Group Photo in Tel Aviv

The five of us (Emily, Aaron, Nikki, and Shira) made our way to dinner at the restaurant Netta had pointed out, King George. It was a good meal, complete with warm water. When our waiter brought our check we all came to the realization that in Israel they don't do separate checks. Thus began the biggest struggle of figuring out how to pay, how much to tip, and how much change we each were supposed to receive. I still am not even sure what we did, but I know that waiter was left a pretty big tip. From there we walked to the supermarket. Although we were well aware that we were in Israel, the confusion of every label being in Hebrew was still high. I settled with the basics: Cheerios, soy milk, apples, a bell pepper, pasta, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, hummus, pretzel thins, and a chocolate bar. Emily, Aaron, and I also purchased what we thought was hand soap, but now I am pretty positive it is not..it says "soapless" on the bottle. Other than that, I think the shopping trip was a success! That night almost everyone went to bed early, nervously awaiting the bus commute to their internships in the morning.

There were some of us however who did not have that same concern. I found out that afternoon that my mentor, Naomi, is sick, so I don't have to start work until Monday. (She doesn't work Sundays so I don't either.) Liora, Daniel R, and Micah are interning at Joy Records, and their boss is busy preparing for Pride this weekend, so they did not have to start. Daniel V's mentor is out of town, so he did not have to start either. 

Today, while everyone else ventured out in the city to find their internships, the five of us ventured to the beach! Lior recommended a beach, and gave us some loose directions, so we set off to find it. We got on the correct bus, and eagerly watched the screen, waiting for the Hebrew name of our stop to come up. We turned onto Ben Yehuda St. when another patron stopped the bus, and as he got up he told us he could show us where the beach was. We exchanged glances and agreed to follow him. That very nice man led us (the opposite way that he was headed) one more block to Gordon Beach. We quickly applied our sunscreen and headed out into the water. We got our first falafel (for only 15 shekels, HOLLA!) and shawarma of the summer for lunch, and headed back to the beach. We spent the ENTIRE day on that beautiful beach, and there was only a teensy little bit of sunburn involved. 

Gordon Beach

We came home in the evening to find everyone returning from work. Nobody got too lost, and everyone seemed to love their internships! A lot of people walked to another beach this evening, some went to check out a local bar, and the rest of us just hung out at home. Our first few days have been long and exhausting, but it has been a fantastic start to our time in Israel.

     *An example of how tired we were on our first night in Tel Aviv: After returning from the supermarket, Emily put her yogurt and eggs in the freezer. She had not purchased anything that needed to be put in the freezer. She opened the freezer multiple times today (for an unknown reason) and did not realize what she had done until around 11:00 pm tonight. (Emily approved this example.) 

This Friday is Pride in Tel Aviv, or as Lior translated it, "Mega Gay Parade." We are all super excited to go! We have a lot of fun things planned for this weekend, so be ready for my next post! 

L'hitraot,

Abby