Thursday the program took us to Jerusalem. Since I went on Taglit-Birthright Israel last year, I'd already been on the Oranim tour of the Old City. I have to confess that I do not adore the Old City. The Cardo (the stretch of mall in the Jewish Quarter) is a fascinating piece of history, but the entire area has been so commericialized that I feel little connection with it at all. As a piece of the Second Temple, the Western Wall is amazing. But I don't cry when I see it, or feel particularly moved. It would be nice if I did, but I don't feel a connection with Judaism or the Jewish people when I'm there. I just feel accosted by vendors.
We also went to the City of David, which was super cool. The City of David is an anthropological site just outside of the Western Wall in East Jerusalem, currently be excavated. I'm always interested in any trip that includes a walk through water, in this case through the tunnel used to bring water into King David's castle. I also like listening to Yariv, our main guide, talk about the differences between the anthropological discoveries and popular mythology. For instance, there is a building just outside the gates of the Old City that houses the "Tomb of King David" on the first floor, the site of the Last Supper on the second floor, and a mosque on the third. The tomb of King David must be three thousand years old and the site of the last supper two thousand years old, but the building itself is from the Crusaders and is less than 1000 years old. But don't say that to religious Christians or Jews, they won't believe you. In fact, King David is probably buried somewhere in or around the City of David.
The next day I went to a hospital in Sheba to visit children from Gaza and the West Bank with cancer. This was not part of the program, but Fady, the guide/counselor at Kadima El-Amam invited me to join him. It was a rough experience. We brought the children and their mothers some snacks, toiletries, toys and clothing. Barring special circumstances, only one parent may come with the child, and neither the parent nor the child are permitted to leave the hospital grounds while in Israel. Since treatment takes many months, this turns the hospital into a sort of life-giving prison. One mother, whose toddler is undergoing treatment for cancer, had given birth a month ago, so her husband was visiting her.
Prior to Operation Cast Lead there were 60-70 Palestinian children being treated at this hospital. Now there are 20. It is extremely difficult to get permission to come to Israel for medical care. The family must get permission from the Palestinian government, who then passes the information onto the Israelis to get their approval. Hamas has shut down the Fatah office that handled this prior to Operation Cast Lead. Anyone's paperwork who was being processed has to start over. And since Hamas is a thug organization, not a government, they aren't actually that interested in helping people get medical care. Plus, the Israelis won't work with Hamas, only with Fatah. So there is something of an impasse.
Interestingly, some of the families we met spoke excellent English--English is the second language in the Palestinian territories, not Hebrew.
The Friday evening I finally met my distant Israeli cousins. They are Orthodox, which was a new type of Shabbat for me, and very very welcoming. The family has four sons, one of which is in the army. The other three are all married with children. The wives are all my age or younger. It's a different lifestyle, but very friendly and warm.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Sunday, May 17, 2009
New Orleans Trip to Gaza Strip
My friend Emily Ratner is part of a group of New Orleans human rights activists attempting to visit Gaza in a few days. Emily and I very much do not see eye-to-eye on Israel, but we have similar views on the treatment of non-combatants in the Gaza Strip. I wasn't going to mention Emily's visit, but I just read this article on Haaretz that turned my stomach. I'm not anti-Israel, and I fully appreciate that Israel is deeply concerned about supplying terrorist groups with items that could be used as weapons against Israel. But to not allow books or musical instruments? That's not even what makes me the most angry, but it is the most ridiculous--Gaza is a hell-hole, why aren't some sources of distraction, fantasy, culture, and education allowed into the territory? It's embaressing for Israel.
The thing that makes me the most angry are the limits on building supplies. Now, I totally understand exactly why building supplies are forbidden. Nails, saws, and timber can be used to make deadly bombs. Nails have been used as shrapnel in many of the suicide bombs that have exploded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The terrorists add the nails so that anyone nearby who survives the explosion itself dies, or is at the very least wounded and disfigured, from additional exploding pieces of metal. So Israel doesn't want building supplies going into Gaza.
I get this. But as someone who has lived in post-Katrina New Orleans, and volunteered in the Lower Ninth Ward, trying to help people salvage their destroyed homes, the idea that only NGOs may bring in building supplies is deeply upsetting. Many many Gazans just want to move forward. NGOs simply do not have the resources to help every Gazan family that lost their home rebuild. I'm sure many families would borrow at insane rates from loan sharks, or sell any remaining belongings, just to begin the process of rebuilding. But they can't, because even if they have the funds, the materials are not allowed into the territory.
Of course, lots of the materials appear on the black markets, arriving in Gaza through the tunnels. But since the tunnels also smuggle weapons, Israel regularly bombs the tunnels, and they aren't open for very long.
I know the Israeli arguments about Gaza. I've heard them many times. "[The Palestinians] elected Hamas, so this is what they deserve." "[The Palestinians] want to kill us, we can't allow them the chance to re-arm." (This one is somewhat futile, as Hamas obviously re-armed easily.) Blah blah blah. It's not that I don't appreciate these arguments. Hamas is a horrible horrible government. In fact, they aren't a government, they're a group of armed thugs masquerading as a goverment. When Hamas officials raid UN supply offices, its safe to say they aren't interested in helping their people.
Israel is a thousand times better than Hamas. But that's not enough. Israel isn't being graded on a curve. Israel is a nation, founded on the principles of Judaism. And while the enslavement and persecution of another people is common in the history of Israel (by Jews, Romans, Assyrians, Ottomans, and on and on), that doesn't make it ok. Israel has to be better. In general, its rules of engagement are far superior. The IDF is to act defensively, not offensively. If someone comes at you with a gun, you must shout warnings before you shoot them. If someone comes at you with a knife, you can't shoot them, you have to run, unless they're less than a meter away. Good. But it's not enough. It's not hard to show more respect for human rights than terrorists.
There's another argument that's common in Israel, which is that since Hamas receives considerable assistance (in the form of transportation, storage of weapons, and lookouts) from 'non-combatants', the difficulty in distinguishing a combatant from a non-combatant means that everyone should be punished. If this kind of punishment actually worked as a deterrent, I would see their point. But the mass punishment of Gazans serves only to humiliate and demean people who have done nothing, or very little, against the state of Israel.
It's a messy situation. I don't have a brilliant solution. But I do know that Israel is capable of being a better nation than the petty, insecure demagogues that currently run the country like to suggest. Peace will only be possible when each side recognizes that the other has valid complaints and concerns. To wash either side with the label of "Totally and Completely Wrong and Immoral" is to guarantee the future of violence and hatred.
The thing that makes me the most angry are the limits on building supplies. Now, I totally understand exactly why building supplies are forbidden. Nails, saws, and timber can be used to make deadly bombs. Nails have been used as shrapnel in many of the suicide bombs that have exploded in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The terrorists add the nails so that anyone nearby who survives the explosion itself dies, or is at the very least wounded and disfigured, from additional exploding pieces of metal. So Israel doesn't want building supplies going into Gaza.
I get this. But as someone who has lived in post-Katrina New Orleans, and volunteered in the Lower Ninth Ward, trying to help people salvage their destroyed homes, the idea that only NGOs may bring in building supplies is deeply upsetting. Many many Gazans just want to move forward. NGOs simply do not have the resources to help every Gazan family that lost their home rebuild. I'm sure many families would borrow at insane rates from loan sharks, or sell any remaining belongings, just to begin the process of rebuilding. But they can't, because even if they have the funds, the materials are not allowed into the territory.
Of course, lots of the materials appear on the black markets, arriving in Gaza through the tunnels. But since the tunnels also smuggle weapons, Israel regularly bombs the tunnels, and they aren't open for very long.
I know the Israeli arguments about Gaza. I've heard them many times. "[The Palestinians] elected Hamas, so this is what they deserve." "[The Palestinians] want to kill us, we can't allow them the chance to re-arm." (This one is somewhat futile, as Hamas obviously re-armed easily.) Blah blah blah. It's not that I don't appreciate these arguments. Hamas is a horrible horrible government. In fact, they aren't a government, they're a group of armed thugs masquerading as a goverment. When Hamas officials raid UN supply offices, its safe to say they aren't interested in helping their people.
Israel is a thousand times better than Hamas. But that's not enough. Israel isn't being graded on a curve. Israel is a nation, founded on the principles of Judaism. And while the enslavement and persecution of another people is common in the history of Israel (by Jews, Romans, Assyrians, Ottomans, and on and on), that doesn't make it ok. Israel has to be better. In general, its rules of engagement are far superior. The IDF is to act defensively, not offensively. If someone comes at you with a gun, you must shout warnings before you shoot them. If someone comes at you with a knife, you can't shoot them, you have to run, unless they're less than a meter away. Good. But it's not enough. It's not hard to show more respect for human rights than terrorists.
There's another argument that's common in Israel, which is that since Hamas receives considerable assistance (in the form of transportation, storage of weapons, and lookouts) from 'non-combatants', the difficulty in distinguishing a combatant from a non-combatant means that everyone should be punished. If this kind of punishment actually worked as a deterrent, I would see their point. But the mass punishment of Gazans serves only to humiliate and demean people who have done nothing, or very little, against the state of Israel.
It's a messy situation. I don't have a brilliant solution. But I do know that Israel is capable of being a better nation than the petty, insecure demagogues that currently run the country like to suggest. Peace will only be possible when each side recognizes that the other has valid complaints and concerns. To wash either side with the label of "Totally and Completely Wrong and Immoral" is to guarantee the future of violence and hatred.
Another 2 Week Gap
The two week mark seems to be when people start suggesting I update my blog. Here are some tidbits:
There's been a change to the staffing of our program (namely we'll be getting a new program director), but I'm not sure what implications that will have for our experience.
Last week Kadima El Amam had a barbecue, which was a lot of fun. A former volunteer donated the meat, and we had it on Lag B'Omer. The food was amazing. Plus, the kids really enjoyed a day off, where they weren't expected to study or learn, but simply to enjoy themselves. After the barbecue there was a birthday celebration, which was super cute.
Lag B'Omer was fine. It's a children's holiday. On Erev Lag B'Omer, the kids build bonfires and then stay up all night with them. We went to a bonfire in Qiryat Ekron, which was huge. It was very nice of them to invite us, but it wasn't a super-exciting holiday, at least to me. We had fun at the bonfire, watching people try to roast marshmallows on the massive fire--this involved lots of long tree branches with ten or twenty marshmallows jammed on the ends. Israeli marshmallows tend to be colored and flavored--usually strawberry, vanilla and lemon. It's hard not to enjoy a strawberry marshmallow.
We went on a two-day trip to the Golan Heights. I know they will eventually end up UN-monitored territory in any peace agreement, but I'm a little sad they won't stay purely Israeli. The streams and rivers in the Golan feed into the Knerret, and as the Knerret is Israel's only freshwater supply, any threat to the Knerret is a threat to Israel (this is one of the major reasons the Golan Heights were taken in the first place). Aside from being a natural and political resource, the Golan is incredibly beautiful. It's one of the only areas in Israel where you can find a hike full of shade and water. We went on a five hour hike on a mountain (the hike takes two hours in a smaller group), which was a ton of fun--I love playing billy goat.
The next day we went on a "water hike". The water in the river was a bit high, so we had to get out at points to avoid the strong current. It was incredibly fun. I'd love to do that kind of hike again. Being me, I knocked into rocks and lots my footing quite a bit, but without any noticable bruises or cuts (unlike the previous day's hike), because the water was so cold it kept bruising to a minimum.
This past week we went to Dialog in the Darkness. It's an underground museum, with no lights. The point is to experience the museum through sound, touch, smell, and taste, as if one is blind. It was a very cool experience. Yael, our city coordinator, went with us. Yael had previously gone with a group of Israeli young women. She says that the Israelis didn't cry so much about being in the dark (some people are whiny in our program), but they also didn't explore the rooms as much. There was a rainforest-like room, a "boat", an Israeli market, a city street, a music room, and a cafeteria. I enjoyed the experience, but I definitely think it would be better without people who are scared of the dark. This particular museum just isn't very fun for them.
This Friday my Uncle Ralph arrives in Israel, and is going to introduce me to our Israeli family. I'm excited to finally meet them.
There's been a change to the staffing of our program (namely we'll be getting a new program director), but I'm not sure what implications that will have for our experience.
Last week Kadima El Amam had a barbecue, which was a lot of fun. A former volunteer donated the meat, and we had it on Lag B'Omer. The food was amazing. Plus, the kids really enjoyed a day off, where they weren't expected to study or learn, but simply to enjoy themselves. After the barbecue there was a birthday celebration, which was super cute.
Lag B'Omer was fine. It's a children's holiday. On Erev Lag B'Omer, the kids build bonfires and then stay up all night with them. We went to a bonfire in Qiryat Ekron, which was huge. It was very nice of them to invite us, but it wasn't a super-exciting holiday, at least to me. We had fun at the bonfire, watching people try to roast marshmallows on the massive fire--this involved lots of long tree branches with ten or twenty marshmallows jammed on the ends. Israeli marshmallows tend to be colored and flavored--usually strawberry, vanilla and lemon. It's hard not to enjoy a strawberry marshmallow.
We went on a two-day trip to the Golan Heights. I know they will eventually end up UN-monitored territory in any peace agreement, but I'm a little sad they won't stay purely Israeli. The streams and rivers in the Golan feed into the Knerret, and as the Knerret is Israel's only freshwater supply, any threat to the Knerret is a threat to Israel (this is one of the major reasons the Golan Heights were taken in the first place). Aside from being a natural and political resource, the Golan is incredibly beautiful. It's one of the only areas in Israel where you can find a hike full of shade and water. We went on a five hour hike on a mountain (the hike takes two hours in a smaller group), which was a ton of fun--I love playing billy goat.
The next day we went on a "water hike". The water in the river was a bit high, so we had to get out at points to avoid the strong current. It was incredibly fun. I'd love to do that kind of hike again. Being me, I knocked into rocks and lots my footing quite a bit, but without any noticable bruises or cuts (unlike the previous day's hike), because the water was so cold it kept bruising to a minimum.
This past week we went to Dialog in the Darkness. It's an underground museum, with no lights. The point is to experience the museum through sound, touch, smell, and taste, as if one is blind. It was a very cool experience. Yael, our city coordinator, went with us. Yael had previously gone with a group of Israeli young women. She says that the Israelis didn't cry so much about being in the dark (some people are whiny in our program), but they also didn't explore the rooms as much. There was a rainforest-like room, a "boat", an Israeli market, a city street, a music room, and a cafeteria. I enjoyed the experience, but I definitely think it would be better without people who are scared of the dark. This particular museum just isn't very fun for them.
This Friday my Uncle Ralph arrives in Israel, and is going to introduce me to our Israeli family. I'm excited to finally meet them.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
Ein Gedi
We recently went on a trip to Ein Gedi Nature Reserve (next to the Dead Sea). It was beautiful, but apparently was more stunning prior to fires which destroyed much of the vegetation. There are clear, blue pools beneath waterfalls where one can swim, and interesting wildlife, including some very large rodents. For those of you who are likely to visit Israel, and want to contribute to the preservation of nature here, don’t but Ein Gedi mineral water—it’s pulled from the reserve by a kibbutz and they far exceed the quota for sustainable use.
A Free Friday!
For once we didn’t have activities on Friday, so I was able to go visit a friend from Taglit-Birthright Israel in Tel Aviv during the day. He has a great apartment—it’s right off of Rabin Square. It was also nice to be home at a reasonable hour to get ready for Shabbat dinner. One of the unfortunate side effects of the scheduling issues is that we rarely get home before Shabbat actually starts. No one who goes on the Friday trips in Shomer Shabbas, otherwise there would be real trouble.
So Tel-Aviv is much more fun than Ramla during Friday. It's just more interesting in general--its amusing for me that I miss city-life like I do, considering that I'm more of a small town girl. But oh for a vibrant social fabric!
So Tel-Aviv is much more fun than Ramla during Friday. It's just more interesting in general--its amusing for me that I miss city-life like I do, considering that I'm more of a small town girl. But oh for a vibrant social fabric!
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