Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Videos of Israel & Petra
You might be able to find my videos at www.youtube.com and search for "sjrockower"
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Final Days
Ok, now I'm back in the States, and no longer jet lagged. I can write about the last few days of the trip. When I last wrote, we were in Jerusalem, preparing for our final dinner. This was at "Olives & Fish", around the corner from our hotel. We were all very nostalgic about the trip, and marveled at how much we had seen and done (and hardly had any arguments!). A representative of Mabat Tours was there to thank us for our visit and gave us a souvenir Jerusalem plate with some marzipan. More later about the gifts that kept on giving. Danny gave some concluding remarks, but his remarks at Rabin's grave had been so much more poignant. He discussed the ancient history, the modern history, and the social-political climate of modern-day Israel. Near the conclusion of his remarks, my friend, Joe Lowe, arrived, and we had coffee and desert next door at another restaurant, Cup of Joe. He was accompanied by his wife, Anat, and we had a chance to catch up.
The next morning, we all piled into the bus again for the trip to Ben Gurion airport. It had to be an early departure(7:30), since one is never sure of traffic conditions. As it turned out, traffic wasn't too bad, and we got to the airport early. We bade good-bye to the half of the trip who were going home, and had to quickly collect Mimi who was busy off the bus taking pictures. We then went to the other terminal for the domestic flight to Eilat. Noam, our guide, was joined by his wife, Yael, who had never been to Petra.
A puddle jumper to Eilat (so to speak, as there aren't really any puddles), and we arrived at a little airport. The bus ride to the hotel, the Rimonim (formerly the Neptune) took all of 3 minutes, and I protested that we could have walked. The rooms weren't ready since it was only 11:30, so we piled the luggage into a storage room and went out to the Aquarium, a short car ride down the old Egyptian coast. This was actually quite cool, as there was an underwater viewing station. The exhibits were fascinating and we got some great pictures. There was a Disney-style movie and ride which was a little cheesy, but cute.
Once we did get into our rooms later, I went out to walk by myself, and easily walked to the airport. Nearby was the Eilat History Museum and the Art Museum, with fish statues all around, a la the pandas in Washington, the lions in Jerusalem, and, I suppose the apples in New York. Eilat has the quality of Coney Island or Ocean City: lots of "honky-tonk".
The next morning, we again piled into the bus for the trip to the border. We had to exit Israel, and walk about 100 yards across "no man's land" to the Jordanian side. I thought I'd get a picture of the guard at the gate, but he saw me take the picture and motioned me to come over to him and watched as he made me delete the picture. Oh, well, taking orders from a 21 year old... Once we were on the Jordanian side, it was like we had gone back into the early 1900's. While we waited for our passports to be returned, some braved the toilets. None worked or flushed, and some were "squatty-potties". I was reminded of the time in 1969 when I crossed Check Point Charlie into East Berlin and had left modern civilization and gone into another era.
We found our Jordanian guide (Noam was not allowed to guide here), and took the 1 1/2 hour ride to Petra. We were supposed to ride down the canyon on some type of horse-drawn buggies, but there weren't enough for the whole group, and only the least capable rode down to wait for us. We walkers were satisfied to be able to get a little exercise, and there were some discussions from the guide of the Nabateans who build the complex.
Once we got to the bottom of the canyon, we were amazed to see the carvings that were the actual sites here. The "Treasury" was 50 feet high and carved into the rock 2000 years ago. Actually, it had deteriorated some since it was rediscovered in the 1830's by people trying to find riches (which weren't there). The evidence of the "original" condition was in hand drawn pictures by an Englishman, David Roberts. We learned of the burial caves and other things to be found at the site. We didn't climb the 900 steps necessary to get to the upper Temple. After a couple of hours, we climbed out and got back on the bus for the ride home. There was a stop at the Petra Marriott for lunch, where the food was part of the trip, but the beverages were not. Of course, the beverages were waaaay overpriced ($2.50 for a small water, $10 for a beer). Despite that, the trip had been well worth it to see these ancient carvings. And, at least, the modern facilities at the Marriott.
A return trip to the border and again a walk back to "our home". Since it was almost dark when we got back, there was a very noticeable visual difference between the lights of Eilat and the lack of lights in Aqaba.
Sleeping late on Wednesday, and even missed breakfast. We had a group lunch at an Italian restaurant around the corner from our hotel, and then piled back on the bus to go to the airport. This flight took us back to Tel Aviv, but to the little Dov Hoz Airport, on the beach. There was one woman on the flight with bizarre frizzy two-tone hair and fingernails 2 1/2 inches long. She disappeared in the front of the airplane, and we all joked that she was the pilot (or maybe a "service lady"). As Bill Cosby said, "There's one in every car". Our previous bus driver, Moti, picked us up and took us to Ben Gurion in evening rush hour traffic (it rivals Washington!). The Mabat representative worked some magic to get us into a shorter security line for our luggage. When asked "Did anyone give you anything?", we told about the Mabat plates and the marzipan. That's when the discussions among the security agents stepped up 3 notches. They furiously talked to one another, frowned, looked at us, talked more to each other, disappeared for a while, came back, and looked more at us. When our luggage was xrayed, every one of us had to open our bags and produce those plates. The agent noted that we had eaten our marzipan, as he didn't see it on the xray. Ann allowed that she had taken one bite and threw out the rest! As I said, the gift that kept on giving. Luckily, we all passed security and we were allowed to get on the plane with our "dangerous" plates. 12 hours later, we were in Newark at 4:30 am. The sleepy customs agents didn't notice or care about the curry, zatar, or figs we were carrying. Another wait and a 1 hour flight to National. We hugged our good-byes and went home to sleep the day off and try to get acclimated to this new time zone.
The next morning, we all piled into the bus again for the trip to Ben Gurion airport. It had to be an early departure(7:30), since one is never sure of traffic conditions. As it turned out, traffic wasn't too bad, and we got to the airport early. We bade good-bye to the half of the trip who were going home, and had to quickly collect Mimi who was busy off the bus taking pictures. We then went to the other terminal for the domestic flight to Eilat. Noam, our guide, was joined by his wife, Yael, who had never been to Petra.
A puddle jumper to Eilat (so to speak, as there aren't really any puddles), and we arrived at a little airport. The bus ride to the hotel, the Rimonim (formerly the Neptune) took all of 3 minutes, and I protested that we could have walked. The rooms weren't ready since it was only 11:30, so we piled the luggage into a storage room and went out to the Aquarium, a short car ride down the old Egyptian coast. This was actually quite cool, as there was an underwater viewing station. The exhibits were fascinating and we got some great pictures. There was a Disney-style movie and ride which was a little cheesy, but cute.
Once we did get into our rooms later, I went out to walk by myself, and easily walked to the airport. Nearby was the Eilat History Museum and the Art Museum, with fish statues all around, a la the pandas in Washington, the lions in Jerusalem, and, I suppose the apples in New York. Eilat has the quality of Coney Island or Ocean City: lots of "honky-tonk".
The next morning, we again piled into the bus for the trip to the border. We had to exit Israel, and walk about 100 yards across "no man's land" to the Jordanian side. I thought I'd get a picture of the guard at the gate, but he saw me take the picture and motioned me to come over to him and watched as he made me delete the picture. Oh, well, taking orders from a 21 year old... Once we were on the Jordanian side, it was like we had gone back into the early 1900's. While we waited for our passports to be returned, some braved the toilets. None worked or flushed, and some were "squatty-potties". I was reminded of the time in 1969 when I crossed Check Point Charlie into East Berlin and had left modern civilization and gone into another era.
We found our Jordanian guide (Noam was not allowed to guide here), and took the 1 1/2 hour ride to Petra. We were supposed to ride down the canyon on some type of horse-drawn buggies, but there weren't enough for the whole group, and only the least capable rode down to wait for us. We walkers were satisfied to be able to get a little exercise, and there were some discussions from the guide of the Nabateans who build the complex.
Once we got to the bottom of the canyon, we were amazed to see the carvings that were the actual sites here. The "Treasury" was 50 feet high and carved into the rock 2000 years ago. Actually, it had deteriorated some since it was rediscovered in the 1830's by people trying to find riches (which weren't there). The evidence of the "original" condition was in hand drawn pictures by an Englishman, David Roberts. We learned of the burial caves and other things to be found at the site. We didn't climb the 900 steps necessary to get to the upper Temple. After a couple of hours, we climbed out and got back on the bus for the ride home. There was a stop at the Petra Marriott for lunch, where the food was part of the trip, but the beverages were not. Of course, the beverages were waaaay overpriced ($2.50 for a small water, $10 for a beer). Despite that, the trip had been well worth it to see these ancient carvings. And, at least, the modern facilities at the Marriott.
A return trip to the border and again a walk back to "our home". Since it was almost dark when we got back, there was a very noticeable visual difference between the lights of Eilat and the lack of lights in Aqaba.
Sleeping late on Wednesday, and even missed breakfast. We had a group lunch at an Italian restaurant around the corner from our hotel, and then piled back on the bus to go to the airport. This flight took us back to Tel Aviv, but to the little Dov Hoz Airport, on the beach. There was one woman on the flight with bizarre frizzy two-tone hair and fingernails 2 1/2 inches long. She disappeared in the front of the airplane, and we all joked that she was the pilot (or maybe a "service lady"). As Bill Cosby said, "There's one in every car". Our previous bus driver, Moti, picked us up and took us to Ben Gurion in evening rush hour traffic (it rivals Washington!). The Mabat representative worked some magic to get us into a shorter security line for our luggage. When asked "Did anyone give you anything?", we told about the Mabat plates and the marzipan. That's when the discussions among the security agents stepped up 3 notches. They furiously talked to one another, frowned, looked at us, talked more to each other, disappeared for a while, came back, and looked more at us. When our luggage was xrayed, every one of us had to open our bags and produce those plates. The agent noted that we had eaten our marzipan, as he didn't see it on the xray. Ann allowed that she had taken one bite and threw out the rest! As I said, the gift that kept on giving. Luckily, we all passed security and we were allowed to get on the plane with our "dangerous" plates. 12 hours later, we were in Newark at 4:30 am. The sleepy customs agents didn't notice or care about the curry, zatar, or figs we were carrying. Another wait and a 1 hour flight to National. We hugged our good-byes and went home to sleep the day off and try to get acclimated to this new time zone.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Days 8 9 & 10 - Shabbat and beyond
Friday - Day 8
Ok, picking up again. I was sick Friday with a bad cold, so I did not go to Yad Vashem with the group. The weather had turned cold since we left Ramon, and it didn't help. I got some Claritin from a pharmacy(had to try 2 since the first was closed for vacation), and felt better by Friday night. Ann went to Yad Vashem and said it had been significantly improved since the last time we had been there. A new building and a new order of the exhibit. She was impressed, thet they had updated since the Holocaust Museum in DC had done such a good job.
Friday night we went to Tsur Hadassah for services. This is what was called a suburb, but felt more like an exurb. The little Reform community had fought for a building from the state, and finally got essentially a one room school house. It was a pre-fab building and very stark. A nice service and we spoke for a while with the members. The Reform movement seems to have very few native Israelis, and many English speakers. Our contact was a Canadian immigrant, and many of the families had at least 1 immigrant. We went to dinner afterward with some of the "mixed" families. This was a very pleasant experience. The families were artistic, and worked in metalsmithing and jewelry. We spoke of Ellen's current endeavors in Seattle. The other family did ceramics, and it turned out that the mezuzzah we have on our door at home was made by him! Very small world indeed. They have a small shop in Jerusalem, and he sells in America as well. We'll try to get him into the Temple Micah shop! On the drive back to the synagogue, the thermometer in the car read 6 degrees C, (about 41F - I SAID it was cold!!!)
Saturday - Day 9
Shabbat is Shabbat, especially in Israel. The pace is very slow and there is a very restful quality to it. We awoke late and meandered over to the Armenian and Christain Quarters of the Old City. Pottery and more pottery. It is still cold, but moderating some. I am not shivering in my sweatshirt.
We had Havdallah on the roof which was short and sweet. Also cold since it was outside.
Dinner at El Gaucho, a South American restaurant. Good steaks, and even chicken for Ann. The waitress was a very cute immigrant from Chile who somehow managed to speak English with an Israeli accent.
Sunday - Day 10
Sunday is Yom Rishon, the First Day, a regular work day. Everything is open and busy. We went to the Hadassah hospital on Mt. Scopus to get the usual hospital tour. For those who don't know, this hospital was the original hospital built in the 1930s. After the 1948 War of Independence, it fell into Jordanian hands and was converted to horse stables and destroyed. O Jerusalem has a terrific explanation of the fight for and loss of this area. Hadassah built another hospital in the Ein Kerem neighborhood in western Jerusalem (with the Chagall windows). After 1967, they built a new hospital on Mt. Scopus, and have expanded it. It serves a mixed Arab/Jewish population.
Then to Mt. Herzl, the Arlington Cemetery of Israel. This cemetery has the remains of Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism. We couldn't get close to his grave site since the army was rehearsing for the parade and marching in preparation of Independence day, Yom Haatzmaut in April. We went to Rabin's grave, and Danny gave a very moving talk and prayer. The Herzl museum was a little hokey, but tried to give some explanation of his vision for a homeland for all the Jews.
The closing dinner is tonight, and we should see my friend Joe Lowe afterwards. He was a resident with me at Ein Kerem in 1978, and we have kept in touch over the years. He has hosted the wandering Rockower Jews on many occasions, and I often catch up with him at the AAOS meetings in the states. This year it was in New Orleans during this trip. I chose to come here instead but luckily he has returned in time for a meeting.
Tomorrow back to the heat in Eilat and then on to Petra. I'm not sure of the internet accessability, but I'll try.
Ok, picking up again. I was sick Friday with a bad cold, so I did not go to Yad Vashem with the group. The weather had turned cold since we left Ramon, and it didn't help. I got some Claritin from a pharmacy(had to try 2 since the first was closed for vacation), and felt better by Friday night. Ann went to Yad Vashem and said it had been significantly improved since the last time we had been there. A new building and a new order of the exhibit. She was impressed, thet they had updated since the Holocaust Museum in DC had done such a good job.
Friday night we went to Tsur Hadassah for services. This is what was called a suburb, but felt more like an exurb. The little Reform community had fought for a building from the state, and finally got essentially a one room school house. It was a pre-fab building and very stark. A nice service and we spoke for a while with the members. The Reform movement seems to have very few native Israelis, and many English speakers. Our contact was a Canadian immigrant, and many of the families had at least 1 immigrant. We went to dinner afterward with some of the "mixed" families. This was a very pleasant experience. The families were artistic, and worked in metalsmithing and jewelry. We spoke of Ellen's current endeavors in Seattle. The other family did ceramics, and it turned out that the mezuzzah we have on our door at home was made by him! Very small world indeed. They have a small shop in Jerusalem, and he sells in America as well. We'll try to get him into the Temple Micah shop! On the drive back to the synagogue, the thermometer in the car read 6 degrees C, (about 41F - I SAID it was cold!!!)
Saturday - Day 9
Shabbat is Shabbat, especially in Israel. The pace is very slow and there is a very restful quality to it. We awoke late and meandered over to the Armenian and Christain Quarters of the Old City. Pottery and more pottery. It is still cold, but moderating some. I am not shivering in my sweatshirt.
We had Havdallah on the roof which was short and sweet. Also cold since it was outside.
Dinner at El Gaucho, a South American restaurant. Good steaks, and even chicken for Ann. The waitress was a very cute immigrant from Chile who somehow managed to speak English with an Israeli accent.
Sunday - Day 10
Sunday is Yom Rishon, the First Day, a regular work day. Everything is open and busy. We went to the Hadassah hospital on Mt. Scopus to get the usual hospital tour. For those who don't know, this hospital was the original hospital built in the 1930s. After the 1948 War of Independence, it fell into Jordanian hands and was converted to horse stables and destroyed. O Jerusalem has a terrific explanation of the fight for and loss of this area. Hadassah built another hospital in the Ein Kerem neighborhood in western Jerusalem (with the Chagall windows). After 1967, they built a new hospital on Mt. Scopus, and have expanded it. It serves a mixed Arab/Jewish population.
Then to Mt. Herzl, the Arlington Cemetery of Israel. This cemetery has the remains of Theodore Herzl, the founder of Zionism. We couldn't get close to his grave site since the army was rehearsing for the parade and marching in preparation of Independence day, Yom Haatzmaut in April. We went to Rabin's grave, and Danny gave a very moving talk and prayer. The Herzl museum was a little hokey, but tried to give some explanation of his vision for a homeland for all the Jews.
The closing dinner is tonight, and we should see my friend Joe Lowe afterwards. He was a resident with me at Ein Kerem in 1978, and we have kept in touch over the years. He has hosted the wandering Rockower Jews on many occasions, and I often catch up with him at the AAOS meetings in the states. This year it was in New Orleans during this trip. I chose to come here instead but luckily he has returned in time for a meeting.
Tomorrow back to the heat in Eilat and then on to Petra. I'm not sure of the internet accessability, but I'll try.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Politics: Days 6, 7 & partial 8
I apologize for the tardiness of posts. Getting to a reliable internet connection is difficult when we are running from 7am to 10 PM. I can only take the time today since I didn't go with the group because of the disease I am carrying (and spreading to the group - more later) and could find a real internet cafe where I have the time to write, and not worry about being cut off. The hotels (which are exceedingly expensive anyway) make you buy the time in advance, and it just cuts you off when your time is up. If you want more, you have to go purchase it and come back to the computer. I found an internet cafe on Jaffa Street where I get all the time I want, and I pay less than 1/3 the price. At least now I'm sympathetic to Levantine seeing how much time it takes to get a reasonable blog done. Now back to business.
Wednesday - Day 6
We got on the bus to go to the Separation fence near Bethlehem and Gilo. This is in the southern section of Jerusalem, within the "Municipal Borders" but in the "West Bank". Real estate is very special and confusing here, as everyone gets VERY caught up in blocks, yards, and feet. In this area, Gilo is a neighborhood built outside the Green Line (The 1949 Armistice line), but inside the municipal area of Jerusalem. Of course, they never told us when this municipal boundry was decided, but this is still very close to the downtown part of Jerusalem, still south and west of the old city, The barrier here is a tall cement barrier, with additional 12 foot "Jersey Walls" on the Gilo side. It seem the people who were on the Palestinian side were using high-power rifles to shoot across the valley into people's apartments. Not fun to have a potshot taken out of your refrigerator. The closeness of the opposing sides is beyond belief. It is as if people from DC were shooting across Western Avenue into Chevy Chase, Maryland. Welll, maybe they do, but not too often.
We had a lecture by a talking head, Neil Lazarus concerning the problems of the city and how the Israelis are _mostly_ building along the western side of the city, north and south, but still in formerly Jordanian occupied territory.
Having said that, we spoke about the newer plans for building more on the eastern side of the city. This is the most recent controversy relating to the announcement just prior to Biden's trip here. We spoke of the 45 minute dressing down Hillary gave to Bibi, and noted that this was also a significant snub BY the United States since it was the Sec. of State talking to the Prime Minister, not head of state to head of state. By the time I am writing this on Friday morning, most of it seems to have died down, since we have moved on to other flash points.
We went into the Old City, surrounded by the new walls built in 1570 something by Sulieman the Great. We went to the Westen Wall and saw how the men's side had significantly expanded crowding out the women. I watched in amusement as 3 cleaning guys scraped the written messages out of the wall. Maybe a message/prayer has a expiration time and they have to redo them. We went down the tunnel along the rest of the Western wall, which is still under the Arab sections of the city. The excavations go down 30 feet or more back to the earliest settlements of Jerusalem and the building of the Temple by Herod. Coming out of the tunnel in the Arab section, we had an armed guard escorting us back to the Jewish Quarter. The people in the shuk (stores) seemed somewhat dumbfounded by all this, but they are not the problem. They are just trying to make a shekel.
After lunch we went to the Davidson Center, exploring the excavations along the South wall of the Temple Mount. This was the main entrance to the Temple in Biblical days, and we saw the fallen stone from the southwest corner that was inscribed, "Here is the place to call the people to prayer". There was more in the museum that we missed because of time restraints. Ann & I had seen in in 2004 when we were here. There had been a very cool 3D presentation of the history of the site from a hill to the 1st Temple to the 2nd Temple to the present-day mosque and Dome of the Rock.
At the end of the day, we gathered back in the hotel for a presentation by Yoel Hassan, one of the youngest members of the Kinesset, and one of the founders of the Kadima Party. This is the centrist party founded by Ariel Sharon to try to bridge the divides. He was one of Sharon's "Kiddie Corp" as many of that government's functionaries were young (in the 20's). He gave us 45 minutes talking about strengthening education for all, electoral reform of the Israeli system, criticizing Bibi, and approving a 2 state solution. He was actually very persuasive, and might be a significant rising star. We also heard from a fellow Sharon graduate, Oren Magnezy, who had more time to give us. Most of the group remained interested/awake throughout the 2 hour session, but there few a few drop-outs.
Thursday Day 7
Long drive to Tel Aviv. We went to Independence Hall, where the State was established in May 1948. This was on the very spot of the first house of Tel Aviv, built on the sand dunes outside Jaffa in 1909 by Meyer Diezengoff who later became Mayor. They spoke about the War of Independence and how Israel absorbed the refugees from the war in Europe and the refugees from the arab lands immediately after. Very moving.
Lunch in Jaffa, and on to the new Rabin Center. This was a pretty well done exhibit detailing his life and death. It started with a large video from the rally just before he was shot, talking about how Peace was the only answer. There was an audio-visual tour, where your headphones picked up the sound in front of each pane/video and played the appropriate section. It worked, mostly. There were videos of his life, and the events in Israel at each point. The video of his speech from the White House lawn when he and Arafat signed the Oslo Agreement with Clinton showed portions of the Seeds of Peace delegation, including Joel Bloom and Tim Wilson who were instrumental in setting up and running the camp (formerly Camp Powhatan. Go Gray!!!) We had a spirited discussion afterward with a member of the museum staff who was accompanying us until time restraints again got in the way.
Dinner was in a restaurant called Maganda in Jaffa, a wonderful Yemenite restaurant. The walls were covered with old photos of the founder's family from 80-100 years ago, and how the restaurant was started in the 60's by the father of the present owner. The food was good, too, with salads fist (Always Salads!) followed by kabobs of meat and chicken and baklava for desert. Oren Magnezy joined us again (it was his birthday) and we spoke more of the politics.
Friday Day 8
I am sick. I have been sneezing for the past 2 days, and now have the full crud. I did not go with the group to Yad Vashem today, but hopefully will get to join them for Shabbat.
Wednesday - Day 6
We got on the bus to go to the Separation fence near Bethlehem and Gilo. This is in the southern section of Jerusalem, within the "Municipal Borders" but in the "West Bank". Real estate is very special and confusing here, as everyone gets VERY caught up in blocks, yards, and feet. In this area, Gilo is a neighborhood built outside the Green Line (The 1949 Armistice line), but inside the municipal area of Jerusalem. Of course, they never told us when this municipal boundry was decided, but this is still very close to the downtown part of Jerusalem, still south and west of the old city, The barrier here is a tall cement barrier, with additional 12 foot "Jersey Walls" on the Gilo side. It seem the people who were on the Palestinian side were using high-power rifles to shoot across the valley into people's apartments. Not fun to have a potshot taken out of your refrigerator. The closeness of the opposing sides is beyond belief. It is as if people from DC were shooting across Western Avenue into Chevy Chase, Maryland. Welll, maybe they do, but not too often.
We had a lecture by a talking head, Neil Lazarus concerning the problems of the city and how the Israelis are _mostly_ building along the western side of the city, north and south, but still in formerly Jordanian occupied territory.
Having said that, we spoke about the newer plans for building more on the eastern side of the city. This is the most recent controversy relating to the announcement just prior to Biden's trip here. We spoke of the 45 minute dressing down Hillary gave to Bibi, and noted that this was also a significant snub BY the United States since it was the Sec. of State talking to the Prime Minister, not head of state to head of state. By the time I am writing this on Friday morning, most of it seems to have died down, since we have moved on to other flash points.
We went into the Old City, surrounded by the new walls built in 1570 something by Sulieman the Great. We went to the Westen Wall and saw how the men's side had significantly expanded crowding out the women. I watched in amusement as 3 cleaning guys scraped the written messages out of the wall. Maybe a message/prayer has a expiration time and they have to redo them. We went down the tunnel along the rest of the Western wall, which is still under the Arab sections of the city. The excavations go down 30 feet or more back to the earliest settlements of Jerusalem and the building of the Temple by Herod. Coming out of the tunnel in the Arab section, we had an armed guard escorting us back to the Jewish Quarter. The people in the shuk (stores) seemed somewhat dumbfounded by all this, but they are not the problem. They are just trying to make a shekel.
After lunch we went to the Davidson Center, exploring the excavations along the South wall of the Temple Mount. This was the main entrance to the Temple in Biblical days, and we saw the fallen stone from the southwest corner that was inscribed, "Here is the place to call the people to prayer". There was more in the museum that we missed because of time restraints. Ann & I had seen in in 2004 when we were here. There had been a very cool 3D presentation of the history of the site from a hill to the 1st Temple to the 2nd Temple to the present-day mosque and Dome of the Rock.
At the end of the day, we gathered back in the hotel for a presentation by Yoel Hassan, one of the youngest members of the Kinesset, and one of the founders of the Kadima Party. This is the centrist party founded by Ariel Sharon to try to bridge the divides. He was one of Sharon's "Kiddie Corp" as many of that government's functionaries were young (in the 20's). He gave us 45 minutes talking about strengthening education for all, electoral reform of the Israeli system, criticizing Bibi, and approving a 2 state solution. He was actually very persuasive, and might be a significant rising star. We also heard from a fellow Sharon graduate, Oren Magnezy, who had more time to give us. Most of the group remained interested/awake throughout the 2 hour session, but there few a few drop-outs.
Thursday Day 7
Long drive to Tel Aviv. We went to Independence Hall, where the State was established in May 1948. This was on the very spot of the first house of Tel Aviv, built on the sand dunes outside Jaffa in 1909 by Meyer Diezengoff who later became Mayor. They spoke about the War of Independence and how Israel absorbed the refugees from the war in Europe and the refugees from the arab lands immediately after. Very moving.
Lunch in Jaffa, and on to the new Rabin Center. This was a pretty well done exhibit detailing his life and death. It started with a large video from the rally just before he was shot, talking about how Peace was the only answer. There was an audio-visual tour, where your headphones picked up the sound in front of each pane/video and played the appropriate section. It worked, mostly.
Dinner was in a restaurant called Maganda in Jaffa, a wonderful Yemenite restaurant. The walls were covered with old photos of the founder's family from 80-100 years ago, and how the restaurant was started in the 60's by the father of the present owner. The food was good, too, with salads fist (Always Salads!) followed by kabobs of meat and chicken and baklava for desert. Oren Magnezy joined us again (it was his birthday) and we spoke more of the politics.
Friday Day 8
I am sick. I have been sneezing for the past 2 days, and now have the full crud. I did not go with the group to Yad Vashem today, but hopefully will get to join them for Shabbat.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Days 4 & 5 - Negev to Jerusalem
I tried to do an entry yesterday, but the internet connection in the hotel in Ramon in the Negev was so crappy, I couldn't get anything done. And since the idiots made me buy only 20 minutes at a time, the whole connection would time out befor I could get anything uploaded. So here we are in Jerusalem after a busy 2 days.
Yesterday in the Negev was spent at the Ramon Crater. Not a real crater from an asteroid or anything, nor was it from anything volcanic. It is called a "Machtesh" whis is a huge crater formed by a type of erosion from the inside. Not like the Grand Canyon where a river ran through it, but a mountain that collapsed on one side leaving a hollow. Only this hollow was 25 miles long and 9 miles wide! We drove in Jeeps (not Pink)into the depth of the crater (in a wind/sand storm) and saw what we could of the geologic formations. Our guide, Yankel, was very colorful as he explained the formation of the crater. He is the former director of the Israeli Nature Society, and had lots to say. More later about him/
We went on to Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev where David Ben Gurion retired. We saw his living quarters, and went through a small museum dedicated to his life, both personal and political. The only picture in his bedroom was that of Mahatma Ghandi. He was a real visionary, predicting much of what Israel and the world was going to be, even in the 1930's. He especially loved the Negev, which is why he retired there.
We went to Avdat, a Nabotean ruin in the Negev. The Naboteans were an ancient people who maintained "way stations" along the travel routes from North to south to Petra. They called it the "Incense Route". More about Petra next week. They knew how to control and capture the little water there is in the desert, and were able to survive. At least, that is, until the Romans came and changed the routes. The died out in the 700's.
We went back to Ramon, and some of us went to the Visitor Center to get more information about the crater: a movie, some exhibits, etc. I couldn't get any good pictures because of the sandstorm, but on the way out I had a very strange encounter. A gentlemen saw the shirt I was wearing (Maryland) and asked if I was American. He introduced me to 3 young adults who were with him, saying they were from Utah. His accent was Israeli. We made small talk, and he asked me if I was a believer. This worked into a conversation about the afterlife and what I thought of Jews for Jesus. When I told him I thought they all were crazy, I bade them goodby and quickly left. The whole experience was strange: being proselytized for Jesus by an Israeli in Israel.
After dinner, we had another talk by Yankel. He spent 1 1/2 hours on politics of Israel, and all the conflicts. He is a very special guy, who has very patriotic and practical feelings toward Israel. I don't have time to go more into it now, but may later.
Tuesday - Day 5
20 degrees colder. Long sleeves and sweater all day! We drove to Masada and took the cable car up. I was not going to climb at any rate, but they didn't give us the choice. The age range of our trip ranges from 55 to about 70. Masada was interesting as always, as they recounted the life and death of the Zealots in 73 CE as they resisted the Romans.
A drive by of the Dead Sea, and we went to Ein Gedi. We did not get to hike into the spring or along the Wadi, but instead saw a 4th-5th Century synagogue they had uncovered. This was much different thaan the one in Zippori, as the orientation was now toward Jerusalem, and the motifs of the mosaics had changed. No Zodiacs, no images of people.
Back up out of the depths of the Dead Sea to go up to Jerusalem. A stop on Mt. Scopus overlooking the old city for a prayer from Danny and some great pictures as the setting sun broke out of the clouds.
Tomorrow more politics. I understand there are some reports of violence here in Jerusalem. For what it's worth, we have not seen or heard any, and I would suppose we will be kept away from any areas of police activity. None the less, I'll keep an eye out, and in the spirit of my daughter's former photojournalism career, I keep my camera ready.
Yesterday in the Negev was spent at the Ramon Crater. Not a real crater from an asteroid or anything, nor was it from anything volcanic. It is called a "Machtesh" whis is a huge crater formed by a type of erosion from the inside. Not like the Grand Canyon where a river ran through it, but a mountain that collapsed on one side leaving a hollow. Only this hollow was 25 miles long and 9 miles wide! We drove in Jeeps (not Pink)into the depth of the crater (in a wind/sand storm) and saw what we could of the geologic formations. Our guide, Yankel, was very colorful as he explained the formation of the crater. He is the former director of the Israeli Nature Society, and had lots to say. More later about him/
We went on to Sde Boker, a kibbutz in the Negev where David Ben Gurion retired. We saw his living quarters, and went through a small museum dedicated to his life, both personal and political. The only picture in his bedroom was that of Mahatma Ghandi. He was a real visionary, predicting much of what Israel and the world was going to be, even in the 1930's. He especially loved the Negev, which is why he retired there.
We went to Avdat, a Nabotean ruin in the Negev. The Naboteans were an ancient people who maintained "way stations" along the travel routes from North to south to Petra. They called it the "Incense Route". More about Petra next week. They knew how to control and capture the little water there is in the desert, and were able to survive. At least, that is, until the Romans came and changed the routes. The died out in the 700's.
We went back to Ramon, and some of us went to the Visitor Center to get more information about the crater: a movie, some exhibits, etc. I couldn't get any good pictures because of the sandstorm, but on the way out I had a very strange encounter. A gentlemen saw the shirt I was wearing (Maryland) and asked if I was American. He introduced me to 3 young adults who were with him, saying they were from Utah. His accent was Israeli. We made small talk, and he asked me if I was a believer. This worked into a conversation about the afterlife and what I thought of Jews for Jesus. When I told him I thought they all were crazy, I bade them goodby and quickly left. The whole experience was strange: being proselytized for Jesus by an Israeli in Israel.
After dinner, we had another talk by Yankel. He spent 1 1/2 hours on politics of Israel, and all the conflicts. He is a very special guy, who has very patriotic and practical feelings toward Israel. I don't have time to go more into it now, but may later.
Tuesday - Day 5
20 degrees colder. Long sleeves and sweater all day! We drove to Masada and took the cable car up. I was not going to climb at any rate, but they didn't give us the choice. The age range of our trip ranges from 55 to about 70. Masada was interesting as always, as they recounted the life and death of the Zealots in 73 CE as they resisted the Romans.
A drive by of the Dead Sea, and we went to Ein Gedi. We did not get to hike into the spring or along the Wadi, but instead saw a 4th-5th Century synagogue they had uncovered. This was much different thaan the one in Zippori, as the orientation was now toward Jerusalem, and the motifs of the mosaics had changed. No Zodiacs, no images of people.
Back up out of the depths of the Dead Sea to go up to Jerusalem. A stop on Mt. Scopus overlooking the old city for a prayer from Danny and some great pictures as the setting sun broke out of the clouds.
Tomorrow more politics. I understand there are some reports of violence here in Jerusalem. For what it's worth, we have not seen or heard any, and I would suppose we will be kept away from any areas of police activity. None the less, I'll keep an eye out, and in the spirit of my daughter's former photojournalism career, I keep my camera ready.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Day 3 - North to South
A very political day. We started with a tour given by Lydia Aisenberg of the Givat Haviva organization which is working for the reunification of Palestinian families separated by either the Green Line or the Security Fence. She is a Welsh immigrant from the 1980's and is working to fix the inequities resulting from arbitrary and semi-arbitrary border lines. We toured the places where the security fence bent in funny ways to include some Israeli villages/settlements within the security zone, but well outside the Green Line of the 1948 borders. We also went to East & West Baarta, which is a town split in 2 by the green line. The line was drawn by diplomats in Cyprus to go through a valley, but they didn't know (or maybe care) that there was a town there. We saw the ditch which used to be the border, and how the border literally went down the center of a street. Since then, it has grown to a sizable town, with kids intermingling from both sides. The problems arize when other family members are on the "wrong" side of the line.
As far as the fence itself, she seemed of 2 minds about it. She acknowledged that the number of bombings and terrorist acts had decreased significantly since its erection, but complained that it was indeed a barrier to peace. I understand her thoughts about the tortured twists and turns the fence takes (and it really is a fence for 95% of its length) and acknowledged that the Israelis have dismantled 4 towns on the "wrong" side of the fence and moved those residents. This is really a very complex issue, which seems far beyond the politicians who want to proceed along broad general lines. Here, they are talking about yards.
We drove south along Highway 6 which parallels the portion where there is a real wall, made of cement approximately 30 feet high. On the Israeli side, there is a berm to within a few feet of the top, but it is 30 feet high on the other side.
South, South, South through a sandstorm which obliterated the sun and made for a lot of haze. We came to Sderot, which is a stone's throw (or a Kessem Rocket's ride) from Gaza. There haven't been any rockets in over a year now, but the people have shelters all over town. The bus stops have cement bunkers. The schools have bunkers. The apartment complexes have bunkers. When the alarm sounds, the people have 20 seconds to get to protection. We stopped at a community center for kids, adults and elders. The kids who were there mugged for the cameras and had a good time. They were interested in my unipod for the camera, not having seen one before. The people we talked to had different reactions to being so close to Gaza. Many cannot leave as they really have no place to go. This is not a rich town at all. Some had a typical Israeli attitude of "We'll survive and go on", but they have many programs (organized by the government and by the Joint Distribution Committee) to provide stress counseling. Interesting.
Then further south past Be'er Sheva to Ramon where we will see the crater tomorrow. The temperature has gone up by about 20 degrees. Tshirts and shorts.
As far as the fence itself, she seemed of 2 minds about it. She acknowledged that the number of bombings and terrorist acts had decreased significantly since its erection, but complained that it was indeed a barrier to peace. I understand her thoughts about the tortured twists and turns the fence takes (and it really is a fence for 95% of its length) and acknowledged that the Israelis have dismantled 4 towns on the "wrong" side of the fence and moved those residents. This is really a very complex issue, which seems far beyond the politicians who want to proceed along broad general lines. Here, they are talking about yards.
We drove south along Highway 6 which parallels the portion where there is a real wall, made of cement approximately 30 feet high. On the Israeli side, there is a berm to within a few feet of the top, but it is 30 feet high on the other side.
South, South, South through a sandstorm which obliterated the sun and made for a lot of haze. We came to Sderot, which is a stone's throw (or a Kessem Rocket's ride) from Gaza. There haven't been any rockets in over a year now, but the people have shelters all over town. The bus stops have cement bunkers. The schools have bunkers. The apartment complexes have bunkers. When the alarm sounds, the people have 20 seconds to get to protection. We stopped at a community center for kids, adults and elders. The kids who were there mugged for the cameras and had a good time. They were interested in my unipod for the camera, not having seen one before. The people we talked to had different reactions to being so close to Gaza. Many cannot leave as they really have no place to go. This is not a rich town at all. Some had a typical Israeli attitude of "We'll survive and go on", but they have many programs (organized by the government and by the Joint Distribution Committee) to provide stress counseling. Interesting.
Then further south past Be'er Sheva to Ramon where we will see the crater tomorrow. The temperature has gone up by about 20 degrees. Tshirts and shorts.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Israel Day 2 - Shabbat & Zippori
Interesting day and evening last night. Shabbat last night at Or Hadash was wonderful. Temple Micah was transported to Haifa and we were at home. Even though the entire service was "in the vernacular" - entirely in Hebrew - we understood it all as the songs were Micah-esque and the Rabbi was Danny's clone. Actually his singing voice is better than Danny's. Danny gave the sermon entirely in Hebrew to their congregation, but knowing Danny's speech patterns, I could follow along. We also met the parents of Tal, our visiting teacher. Afterwards, we had dinner with the congregation as well as a Boston delegation that also supports this synagogue. They have been instrumental in consolidation and integration the Ethiopian community. It was very moving to see and hear the Ethiopians speaking fluent Hebrew and becoming part of Israeli society, despite the obvious difficulties.
Shabbat was a late morning, and we headed for Mt. Carmel. This is where Elijah fought the representative of Ba'al to prove whose god was stronger. Obviously, we know who won.
Next was a bus ride to Zippori, a Roman town at the time of the 2nd Temple, which became an important center for the rabbis after the destruction of the Temple. There were numerous mosaics on the floors, but most spectacularly, a synagogue from about 2-300 CE. The mosaics represented an amalgam of Greek, Roman, and Hebrew/Aramaic, with depictions of biblical scenes, but also a zodiac. It was obvious that Judaism was evolving and the rabbis of that time were trying to incorporate "modern" thought into their beliefs. Sort of like the Reform Movement.
The rest of the afternoon was spent napping.
Shabbat was over and the town came alive again. A bunch of us went to a seafood restaurant. The St. Peter's fish was good, but not as good as I remember in Tiberias.
Tomorrow we go south. Heading for Sderot and a more politically-oriented day.
Shabbat was a late morning, and we headed for Mt. Carmel. This is where Elijah fought the representative of Ba'al to prove whose god was stronger. Obviously, we know who won.
Next was a bus ride to Zippori, a Roman town at the time of the 2nd Temple, which became an important center for the rabbis after the destruction of the Temple. There were numerous mosaics on the floors, but most spectacularly, a synagogue from about 2-300 CE. The mosaics represented an amalgam of Greek, Roman, and Hebrew/Aramaic, with depictions of biblical scenes, but also a zodiac. It was obvious that Judaism was evolving and the rabbis of that time were trying to incorporate "modern" thought into their beliefs. Sort of like the Reform Movement.
The rest of the afternoon was spent napping.
Shabbat was over and the town came alive again. A bunch of us went to a seafood restaurant. The St. Peter's fish was good, but not as good as I remember in Tiberias.
Tomorrow we go south. Heading for Sderot and a more politically-oriented day.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Day 1 - Friday
First stop - Atlit - where the British used to house the refugees in the late 40's before the state. The people who were coming from the camps in Europe had to deal with another VERY similar looking camp with barbed wire and separation of the sexes. Also they has "disinfection" and "showers" to go through which must have been VERY chilling. At least the people were fed by the British. We saw a movie how Yitzak Rabin helped free 250 of them one night. It brought back memories of when I was here with Ellen, and we had done a role play with the kids trying to "escape".
Then to Zichron Yaakov, one of the first moshavot from the first Aliyah in the 1880's. They had a very hard time, and appealed to Baron Rothschild for help. He sent his men who bought up all the land and basically subjugated the settlers. After about 10 years, they finally relented and returned the land, but it wasn't pretty. We spent way too much time going through a museum to the Aliyah, and I bolted to wander in the park across the street. Lunch of schwarma and felafel on the walking street. Satisfying, but not scrumptious. (I had to say that for Paul's sake)
Now we are waiting for Shabbat at the hotel. We are going to a sister congregation of Temple Micah, Or Kadash. The people who have been there say it is a clone of Micah. I'll give my report tomorrow if I can get on the internet on Shabbat.
Then to Zichron Yaakov, one of the first moshavot from the first Aliyah in the 1880's. They had a very hard time, and appealed to Baron Rothschild for help. He sent his men who bought up all the land and basically subjugated the settlers. After about 10 years, they finally relented and returned the land, but it wasn't pretty. We spent way too much time going through a museum to the Aliyah, and I bolted to wander in the park across the street. Lunch of schwarma and felafel on the walking street. Satisfying, but not scrumptious. (I had to say that for Paul's sake)
Now we are waiting for Shabbat at the hotel. We are going to a sister congregation of Temple Micah, Or Kadash. The people who have been there say it is a clone of Micah. I'll give my report tomorrow if I can get on the internet on Shabbat.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Beginnings in Israel
So it was a long flight. Two, actually, if you count the puddle jumper from National to Newark (which was 45 minutes late). The flight from Newark to Tel Aviv was uneventful. Ann got through the "extra" security in Newark without a hitch, and we were off. The plane was entirely full, and we were in the LAST row. That means the seats don't go back much at all. UGGGH.
The nicest part of the plane was the electronics. Over 250 movies to choose from, 150 music albums, games, shorts and also a map! It kept the time going..
Arrival in Tel Aviv went well untill gathering the entire group in one place. This IS Temple Micah, so some had wandered outside customs when we were all still inside. Eventually we got it all together.
A 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Haifa, slowed because of rush hour traffic. Yes, even here! We first went to the top of Mt. Carmel to see the view and say a Shehechiyanu. Danny is Danny, but it was good.
Dinner at the Crown Plaza Hotel, with the same wonderful view. The hotel is built into the side of the hill, so the lobby is on the 9th floor!
Hopefully more tomorrow. You're welcome, Adrienne
The nicest part of the plane was the electronics. Over 250 movies to choose from, 150 music albums, games, shorts and also a map! It kept the time going..
Arrival in Tel Aviv went well untill gathering the entire group in one place. This IS Temple Micah, so some had wandered outside customs when we were all still inside. Eventually we got it all together.
A 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Haifa, slowed because of rush hour traffic. Yes, even here! We first went to the top of Mt. Carmel to see the view and say a Shehechiyanu. Danny is Danny, but it was good.
Dinner at the Crown Plaza Hotel, with the same wonderful view. The hotel is built into the side of the hill, so the lobby is on the 9th floor!
Hopefully more tomorrow. You're welcome, Adrienne
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