Day Three - Tel Aviv and Jaffa

We had breakfast at the Sea Net Hotel where we are staying.  Right after breakfast we all met to have a reflections time, in which some amazing conversation ensued.  It was mainly hinged around our encounter with the spokesperson of the fire department the day before.  When asked about the role of women in the fire corps there, he said something to the effect of “we’re still in the middle east,” as though to imply that the role of women was still homely or centered around developing the home.  Our guide, Leor, seemed to counter this by clarifying that as long as ONE parent is home to raise the children, it is probably ok.  But the family unit is still of elevated importance.  We also discussed military service, the start-up economy that sells out quickly, and how Israel literally could not display the level of consumerism the U.S. has to support its large corporations because it is the size of New Jersey with only 8 million people.  A lot of really good conversation!!!

Just discussing life in the Peres center.

            After this reflections time, we got on the bus.  We drove past the beach, which is only one block away from our hotel.  We stopped at the Peres Center for Peace.  Shimon Peres was the president of Israel, is 91 years old now, and has come to symbolize the positive aspects of the Israeli state to most of the population (right or left).  He started the Peres Center for Peace as a non-political, non-government organization (NGO) that specializes in community development, creating positive interactions between ethnic groups, and fostering business relationships with schools and corporations of nearby Arab nations.  A woman named Adina (not sure about spelling) is their external relations coordinator, and she spoke to us for about an hour, telling us about many of their initiatives for peace.  She was maybe 30 years old, originally from Philadelphia, PA

Abbie (UNF) and I "getting friendly" in front of the Peres center.

(spoke English with an American accent), and very relatable to all of us students.  She answered any of our questions we had, even if they were somewhat touchy, and was not afraid to share her own political views (which were generally moderate and geared towards long-term peace).  By the end of her session, I think everyone of us wanted to work at the Peres Center.  I’m kidding.  But not really.  This was one of the most refreshing sessions we’ve had so far, and when she mentioned the word “internships,” I think we had all already been thinking it for about an hour.  We also heard from a man named Nadav, who runs a parallel organization to the Center for Peace called Peres & Associates.  This is actually a law firm and is the vessel by which Shimon Peres still has some influence in the political world. They work to improve policies and fight for justice that moves towards peace.  Also extremely insightful.

           

Abbie (UNF) and Natalie (Ohio State) posing on our beach walk.

After we left the Peres Center, we walked along the beach to Jaffa, which is the old city of Tel Aviv.  Tel Aviv was only settled about 100 years ago, and it was established mainly by Jews.  Jaffa on the other hand features structures that have been around since the 17^th century and earlier.  Jaffa is also primarily Arab.  The area was once home to a lot of crime and people of lesser character.  However at some point along the way, it was gentrified with artists, and is now full of artwork and artisan shops (not just touristy ones, either).  One such piece of art was an elevated orange tree that symbolizes the innovation of the Jaffa oranges, which were a specific breed of oranges local to this region.  These oranges could somehow stay frest despite long shipments, and they helped establish Jaffa as a place of trade.  We dispersed in a street-market section of the city, found some lunch, and then met back up.  I was very much reminded of Cairo in this area of the city.

A whale statue.  Jaffa is believed to have been where the whale spat out Jonah in the Bible.

The suspended orange tree.

Beautiful old doors.

Melanie (U Penn) and I being silly.  Natalie (Ohio State) got a little photo bomb here. 

The street market in Jaffa.

Shawarma!!!!  Yessss!!! I had this in Cairo and it is amazing.
They stack meat on a rotisserie and then shave it per serving.

Lunch family photo.  Natalie and Nathan (Ohio State), Abbie (UNF) and me! 

Natalie (Ohio State) and I found coffee at a bakery named Milk.  Abbie (UNF) photo bombs.

           

Maddie (Gonzaga) is just SO pumped
about Israeli independence.

After lunch we went to the Independence Hall, where David Ben Guiron was the first to sign the Declaration of Independence in Israel.  We learned all about how Israel had gradually formed as a British mandate and then requested independence after WWII.  There is a strong sentiment here that Jews around the world needed their own nation-state to advocate for them so that the holocaust could never happen again.  When they requested the recognition of a Jewish state from the UN, the UN approved a plan for one state with a partition of the land between the Jews and the Palestinians.  The original founders of Israeli independence seemed willing to accept this plan for the sake of having a state, though it was not totally favorable (It called for Jerusalem to be an international city with an international road).  After this was approved, but before the British mandate expired, Israel jumped ahead and declared themselves an independent state.  I’m still trying to understand if this was in-line with the vision of the UN, or if by declaring their own state, they violated the partition state plan.  They did this knowing that as soon as the British mandate was over, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt would all try to attack and come in to take their land.  Jerusalem was already under siege at the time of the declaration, so it was done in Tel Aviv instead.  The ceremony was very last minute and the version of the declaration was not decided until hours before.  It was signed in an art gallery that was once home to one of the original pioneers that settled Tel Aviv.  The site was beautiful and extremely insightful.

Left to Right: Raj (Queens College), Jared (Airforce Academy), Chad (Pace U), and Ryan (UNF).  In the Hall.

Made to look like the photos of the gallery that day.

            From there we went to Rabin Square and learned about the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin that took place there in 1995.  The killing was in reaction to his signing of the Olso Accords with Yasser Arafat.  He was attempting to move forward towards peace, but radical conservatives saw this as a move of submission to the terrorists.  His assassination was extremely important in Israel’s progress towards peace, as the general public was very remorseful for his death.  We spoke to some Israelis just walking around the square and many felt that this was a set back to peace, and that assassination was not out of the question again.

The actual spot of Rabin's shooting.

A random pair of shoes just sitting on the steps of City Hall.  Made for an artsy shot.

           

Dr. Wilf speaks.

We returned back to our hotel, but crossed the street to another hotel and went in their conference space.  There we met Dr. Einat Wilf, a former member of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) who also holds degrees from some of the best universities in the world (including PhD in Poli Sci from Cambridge).  She explained to us how Israeli politics work and told us about some of the opportunities she has had to work with Palestinian moderates.  Probably one of my favorite topics she addressed was the actual role of campus activism.  She explained that it actually has almost no influence on the decisions made on the ground, but only benefits a vehicle of learning.  She said once it becomes a mindless argument, it is useless.  She also had great things to say about how a perfect resume is not enough to get the dream job.  She said she has to go out and fight just like the rest of us.

            We ate dinner at the hotel, changed/napped, and then went out to a nearby bar for New Year’s eve!  And that’s where my blog ends… Haha Except for these two photos. Stay tuned!  Today we head to Jerusalem!

Abbie (UNF) Is-raeli excited for 2015.

Day Two – Haifa, Mount Carmel, and Tel Aviv

Today I awoke early in the kibbutz in Gonen.  I went for a beautiful, foggy morning run, and then snuck into the reception house before anyone else to upload about a dozen photos (which was a great accomplishment!).  We loaded up the bus and started our drive out of the North east corner of Israel.  We traveled to the city of Haifa, the third largest city in Israel. 

Looking up the street at the gardens.

 Haifa sits on an amazing bay on the west coast of Israel.  It slopes up away from the coast up the side of Mount Carmel.  In Haifa, we first stopped and visited the Bahai gardens.  Bahai is a sect that broke off of Islam that emphasizes worshiping nature and its symmetry.  There are 6 million Bahai followers in the world, and the headquarters of the faith is in Haifa.  The gardens were extremely beautiful and well maintained.  We stopped for a brief photo before continuing on our way.  

Ryan (UNF) being goofy in front of a tourist sign.

Alex (Flagler) overlooks Haifa 

           

           

Next stop in Haifa was the Technion, or Israel Institute of Technology.  This is often compared to MIT, as it specializes in high tech forms of engineering and science.  Students of Technion have built, launched, and put into orbit their own satellites.  One of the students that gave out tour was on a project improving bullet-proof vests for the Israel Defense Force and now works with the design of Boeing “Dreamliners.”

            One incredible thing we’ve really been discussing each day is the mandatory military service of Israeli youth after secondary school.  After graduating high school, all Jewish Israeli men are required to serve 3 years, while women 2 years, in the IDF unless given a special assignment to go to school before serving for 6 years.  Another factor of Israeli development and youth is that after finishing their term of service with the IDF, many young Israelis choose to leave Israel and travel the world.  This is often considered necessary for the released soldiers to “experience the world” and get a chance to decompress from their service.  One young man giving us a tour was 24 and a sophomore at Technion.  The other was 27 and had just graduated.  This makes the university atmosphere much different, as the students have all been through much more life experience and have a better concept of what they want to pursue.  It is pretty crazy that they are required to go through so much at that age, but it seems to be an accepted (maybe even celebrated?) part of life for many.  Our guide, Leor always has lots of positive things to say about the system.

The Student Center at Technion.

Natalie (Ohio State) really likes cats (and statues of men petting cats).

An amphitheater at Technion.

           

A look over the back of Mount Carmel.

We left Technion and continued driving up Mount Carmel.  This mountain is very significant in the Bible as the scene where the prophet Elijah tested the prophets of Baal.  He asked them to pray to Baal and have him send fire down on a sacrifice on the mountain.  The prophets prepared their sacrifice and prayed all day, begging Baal to deliver fire on the sacrifice.  Meanwhile, Elijah prepared his alter and had servants soak all the wood and bull in 12 jars of water.  Elijah prayed to God to deliver fire, and “the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.” (1 Kings 18:38)  This is the same mountain I walked along today.  It is hard to even try to imagine that happening in this place, but that is certainly the belief of the Jews.

           

The woman who guided us to her home for lunch.

We met up with a woman of the Druze religion and she led us to a home in her village of Isfiya, still on top of Mount Carmel.  The Druze religion is a belief system that comes out of the Arabic people, but it is separate from Islam.  It actually traces its history back to Jethro, the father in law of Moses.  They claim that their god is the same god of Judeaism.  However, their faith strongly incorporates reincarnation.  It is also completely exclusively- you cannot convert into Druism.  They believe that the 2.5 million Druze in the world today will never increase or decrease, but instead circulate with the reincarnation.  Only Druze that choose to be “religious” get access to the texts of their faith.  It is very mysterious and has little known documentation because of its exclusivity. 

           

Walking through Isfiya.

Walking up to the woman’s house reminded me of Zanzibar, with the painted concrete houses and small alley-roads paved with bricks.  We came into the woman’s home and ate a delicious lunch.  After staying a while, stopping by another community facility in the village, and taking another look over the side of Mount Carmel, we went back to the bus.  We drove to a nearby fire station which JNF helped fund.  There were terrible forest fires in the Carmel area in 2010, where over 2.5 million trees burned and 45 people were killed.  JNF stepped in and funded a campaign for the firefighters to make sure this catastrophe would never happen again.  It seemed a bit ironic that this area is prone to destructive fires, given the history with Elijah.  Obviously that is pure speculation, but interesting nonetheless. 

Q&A about Druze.

Abbie (UNF) and I being goofy with our friends,
the five prophets of Druze.  

The food was AMAZING.  Hummus, a form of Nan, kebob,
rice, eggplant, and some other goodies.

Looking over Mount Carmel.

This is our medic and guard, Eyal (probably wrong spelling, but oh well).

Some Israeli guards, probably younger than me, walking through Isfiya.

A Druze community learning center.

Being silly in the Druze community center.

           

Listening to the spokesperson of the Mt. Carmel Fire Dept.

 Finally we loaded onto the bus and left Haifa.  We drove probably an hour and a half to Tel Aviv.  Leor described Tel Aviv as a mix of “New York, LA, and Florida.”  It is the largest, most modern city in Israel and is on the west coast.  We went straight to our hotel, a block from the Mediterranean.  After dropping off our things, we had a session with an Israeli economist, discussing the start-up/exit business culture in Israel.  There are many successful high-tech start-ups in Israel, but he contests that Israel needs to invest in more long term business life-cycles, rather than depending on Google or Apple to buy out their competitive idea.  We ate a delicious dinner and then had a small concert with artist Udi Krauss, who is a producer and performer in the Tel Aviv area.  He graduated from Rimon University, which is an affiliate of Berklee College of Music in Boston.  After the performance, all 30 of us stormed the lobby to soak up some wifi before bed.  Day Two complete!

Leaving the Fire Station.

Selfie in a fire truck with Jess (JU)

Udi Krauss just shredding.

Day One in Galilee - Golan

We loaded into the bus for a drive up to the Sea of Galilee.  Our first stop was a church built on a hillside overlooking Galilee.  The church was built in honor of the Sermon on the Mount, highlighting the Beatitudes.  We had a moment of reflection outside of the church, and our Jewish guide Iftah spoke beautifully about the significance of the Sermon on the Mount.  It was quite interesting!  We walked through the church, which was like an eight-sided dome.  Each side had a stained glass visage that read one of the beatitudes in Latin.  

Iftah, one of our guides on the trip

Looking up the passages as we go to the real place

We walked around the church, reflected a bit more, and then got back on the bus.  We had a short ride to Capernacum, which was a nearby fishing village in the time of Jesus.  Now there are only ruins from the original fisherman’s houses that were excavated.  However, there is both a synagogue and a church erected in honor of the historical significance of the sight.  Here we also saw an artifact of a gesthemane, which is the name given to the garden where Jesus prayed before his crucifiction.  However the literal word gesthemane means an olive press.  Which is probably considered to be metaphorically fitting for the significance of the Garden of Gesthemane.  Kind of cool!

A monument inside the church on the mount

After Capernacum, we went to a dock where we took a boat out on the Sea of Galilee, which is called the Kinneret lake in Israel.  After a nice cruise, we traveled up the slopes of the Golan heights to a beautiful restaurant called Ein Gev.  Lots of good food, including amazing breads and chicken liver!  We learned about socialist communes that exist all over Israel and actually helped establish the country as a whole that are called kibbutz.  In these communities, members all work together and take only as much as he/she needs.  Also, children are raised in a separate children’s home, spending only hours a day with their parents.  It is amazing!  Today there are more capitalistic versions of kibbutz called moshev.  The community where Ein Gev is located is considered to be a mix of a kibbutz and a moshev.

Down in Capernacum...

This synagogue at Capernacum was originally located somewhere else,
disassembled, and then reassembled at this holy site.

The Sea of Galilee.

Leor using our friend Chase as a human map of Israel.

We continued up the hills to the peak of the Golan heights where there is a former Syrian bunker and trenches.  From there we could see the borders of Syria and Lebanon.  Iftah was telling us all about the conflict between Israel and Syria in which Israel gained the land on which we were standing.  As he was speaking to us we could hear distant rumbles and see faint plumes of smoke from the active Syrian revolution.  It was not threatening at all, but definitely a bit menacing.  It was crazy to be there, watching.

This is overlooking the Syrian border.

Trenches at the Syrian bunker in the Golan Heights.

We drove back down from the heights to our kibbutz in Gonen, had a time of reflection on campus activism, had some dinner, and then another session reflecting on all we had seen today.  It is amazing!