Goodbye falafel.

Goodbye keeping Kosher (so nice to be back to one set of dishes).

Goodbye Mediterranean Sea.

Goodbye Old City.

Goodbye crazy religious people.

Goodbye “the north”.

Goodbye everything being shut down on Shabbat.

Goodbye thousands of years of history wherever you turn.

Goodbye awful fashion.

Goodbye amazing coworkers.

Goodbye leaving lights on over of Shabbat (killing the environmentalist in me again and again).

Goodbye arak.

Goodbye smoking indoors (thank god).

Goodbye most amazing rooftop balcony ever.

Goodbye Marzipan ruggelach (good thing I brought a kilo home).

Goodbye conflict and terror.

Goodbye tiny bed.

Hello AMERICA!!!

Hello fall (pretty trees and pumpkins!)

Hello Chipotle.

Hello reasonably priced clothing.

Hello American holidays.

Hello US Dollars.

Hello being able to eavesdrop.

Hello suburbia.

Hello access to websites from the US.

Hello taxes not included in the price (so dumb).

Hello Target.

Hello tons of wonderful microbrews.

Hello TV!!

Hello being able to read labels.

Hello American cereals.

Hello friends.

Hello family.

can you tell which is my half and which is Gidi's?

Camping! Over Shavuot, Gidi and I camped at the Kinneret.  It was my first time at the Kinneret and my first time camping in Israel, the weather was amazing, and we found a great camping spot.  We swam in the beautiful sea, bbq’ed, and made s’mores! (not nearly as tasty as with Jet Puffed marshmallows, Hershey’s bars and real graham crackers, but still tasty).  We went camping again a few months later up near Kiryat Shmona.  We spent the afternoon at the Kibbutz Gidi lived at for a few months, wandering through the orange and avocado orchards, petting cows and dipping our toes in the freezing Dan River, and then ate some of the best (local) fish I have ever had.

4th of July I wasn’t going to let the holiday go by uncelebrated, especially as I have really been missing America.  The 4th was on a Monday, so no big party or anything.  But I had over Gidi and his friend and wife.  We hung some American flags, bbq’ed, played classic American music and lit sparklers!

Brechat Meshushim

Visiting Israeli gems As I mentioned, boyfriend with car=ability to go/see/do things otherwise difficult to get to.  Over the course of many weekends, we’ve been to the Dead Sea, Ein Gedi (which I was finally able to check of my list), Beit Guvrin (lots of underground caves!), Brechat Meshushim (Hexagon Pools- re: a freezing cold natural pool at the bottom of a canyon, the walls of which are hexagon-shaped pillars- really cool!), and Hezekiah’s Tunnels in the City of David (walking in a pitch-black tunnel with thigh-deep water)- all very fun summertime activities!

Simple summertime fun While not trekking around the country exploring, I’ve also been able to enjoy the simpler, yet still summertime fun activities.  Picnics at parks, sitting in the baby pool on our roof, and going to beaches.

Safari A safari in Israel? Yes!  Ok so maybe not as authentic as a safari in Africa, but super cool nonetheless and a great way to spend my birthday!  We drove the car through the safari part where there are hippos, lions, lots of gazelles/impalas, etc. and zebras who come right up to the car!  There’s also a whole zoo inside!

Street parties/shuk The Jerusalem municipality puts on lots of fun events over the summer including a street party almost every weekend.  Also, once a week during the evening in the month of July, there was an event an the shuk with lots of artists and performances.  It was cool to see the shuk transformed that way.

Art/design exhibits The art/design schools in Jerusalem (Bezalel) and Tel Aviv (Shenkar) both had end of school year exhibits displaying the students work.  Lots of interesting and creative stuff.

Tent City As you may or may not know, there has been a protest against the cost of housing going on in Israel over the past few months.  The way this protest has manifested is through protesters camping in the streets/parks.  They have literally set up tent cities (the largest being on Rothschild Blvd. in Tel Aviv, where they have an entire kitchen set up, an arts and crafts tent, musical performances, and plenty of living room sets).  It’s really amazing to walk around and see what they’ve done.  I commend them on their persistence of living in tents for so long.

I guess I’ve lucked out recently without even really having to try! I went to 2 conferences last month, I met with an organization also working on refugee/asylum-seeker issues that I wasn’t familiar with, and, of course, now lots of stuff for World Refugee Day.

Refugee Communities in Israel, the Refugee Rights Forum, and Human Rights and Aid Organizations in Israel have organized many events in recognition of World Refugee Day.  This past Thursday evening/Friday afternoon, I joined other volunteers to help put up posters around Tel Aviv for their celebration on Friday, which I am very much looking forward to attending.

Additionally, they have organized film screenings around the country, including one in Jerusalem that I attended tonight.  The film, The Last Survivor, could not have been more perfect.  The film, made by Israeli filmmakers, chronicles the stories of 5 victims of genocide- 1 from the Holocaust, 1 from Rwanda, 1 from Congo and 2 from Sudan.  Not only did I appreciate the film for putting together the Holocaust and the African genocides (which I have mentioned before I think is a major point to recognize, and could go on and on about), but it also included an Israeli context with Sudanese refugees here.  Also of significance was that part of one Sudanese refugee’s story here connected to Yemin Orde, a youth village founded for Holocaust orphans which still exists to this day now serving other at-risk youth, and of course what the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda (a JDC project where we have 5 fellows this year) was modeled after.

Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day, May 2nd)

In the evening at the start of Yom HaShoah, I watched the special on TV and am very glad the most important/meaningful part was in English- survivors (or family members of survivors) shared their stories of ghettos and camps; of losing friends and family members right before their eyes; of hardships, persecution, torture and starvation; and of escape or perseverance.  Each of the stories ended with somehow, someway, leaving war-torn post-Holocaust Europe to Israel where they found a safe haven and were part of the birth of this country.

Now for my take on this holiday– This concept of a safe-haven from which to escape persecution, and the promise of  ”never again” are both things that are still relevant today, and relevant to my work with asylum-seekers.  Thousands and thousands of refugees from Sudan, Eritrea, and other African countries have crossed into Israel as asylum-seekers escaping persecution, hoping for protection.

Israel bears with it a responsibility to accept asylum-seekers — not only a diplomatic responsibility as a signatory of the UN Convention on Refugees, but also a moral responsibility as a country that was birthed out of refugees (hence Israel’s staunch support of the Convention at the time it was written in 1951).  Yet the influx of asylum-seekers is a contentious topic here and there is considerable discrimination, distrust, fear, hatred, violence, etc towards these asylum-seekers.  Not to mention there is no clear and coherent policy, there is a lack of transparency in the system, and there are continuous appeals from humanitarian rights organizations as these people are denied at the border and returned either to Egypt or their home country where their fate is uncertain,  unjustly stuck in detention, or free but lacking many refugee rights (per international standards based on the UN Convention), including the right to work, and stuck in a bureaucratic mess.  It pains me the number of times I have heard asylum-seekers who are choosing to go back to their home country rather than stay in Israel, struggling to get by every day, say “I would rather die in my home country than die here.”  and it makes you think twice about the promise of “never again.”  Is Israel turning its back those who are suffering persecution, just like Holocaust victims 70 years ago?

(This is obviously part of a much larger discussion, but I just wanted to share some thoughts.  And I will also note that there are also thousands of labor migrants that apply for asylum to get temporary protection while they are in the very long application process, and unfortunately this bogs the system down and makes people doubt the validity of all asylum claims, which is not a point to be ignored.  It, however, does not mean that those that truly need protection should suffer because of it.)

I’d like to share an article that articulates some of these points vis a vis Yom HaShoah: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/opinion/israel-should-have-learned-the-holocaust-s-lessons-of-nationalism-1.359277

Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day, May 9th)

Unlike most US observance of Memorial Day, it is not a day of barbeques and furniture sales in Israel.  Rather, it is a truly somber day, a day that affects everybody in this country, and sadly a young person’s holiday, as those that have fallen in service and from terrorist attacks are remembered.  A siren sounds every year in the morning of Yom HaZikaron for 2 minutes.  Everybody stops what they are doing (even driving), stands up, and is silent for 2 minutes.

Yom HaZikaron is a holiday of ceremonies, whether in your town, with your family, or at your school.  I attended a “ceremony” in the evening that was truly amazing- hundreds of twenty-somethings sat on the ground in a city square, listening and singing along as a few singers played/sang meaningful songs.  It felt like camp and it was truly beautiful.  The following day I attended another amazing ceremony at my roommate Helene’s school in Bat Yam (outside Tel Aviv), where she works with at-risk youth a few days a week.  Some students performed, the kids actually behaved, and it ended on a note of hope.

Yom HaAtzmaut (Independence Day, May 10th)

Yom HaAtzmaut immediately follows Yom HaZikaron- at sunset, the day transforms from the saddest day of the year to the happiest day of the year.  Like in the US, Independence Day here is also celebrated with barbeques.  It was a day off and a day of fun.  But it is more than just that.  Like Yom HaZikaron, Yom HaAtzamut is also a meaningful day.  This country has only been independent for 63 years and that is something Israelis don’t take for granted.  This country’s independence has been threatened for the last 63 years and will surely continue to be threatened.

Nakba Day (Day of the Catastrophe, May 15)

Lastly is Nakba Day.  Nakba day is, for the most part, observed by a different demographic than those that observe the previous 3 holidays.  Nakba Day marks the day after Israel declared independence on May 14th, 1948 and Palestinians became refugees in their land and lost their homes and properties.   Not surprisingly, observance of this holiday is not highly favored by Israelis- mention of the word Nakba has been banned in Israeli textbooks and Israeli legislation has made it illegal to commemorate it.  This year, Palestinians and their supporters marched to Israeli borders in Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and Gaza to protest/rally, resulting in the death of at least 10 in Lebanon at the hands of the Israeli military.

I never really celebrated Purim much growing up besides eating some hamentaschen and swinging an occasional gregger.  This year, in true Israeli fashion, I celebrated, and it was a blast!  For those unfamiliar with Purim, it is basically like Jewish Halloween, but better.  I celebrated the first half of my 4-day weekend in Tel Aviv with Carrie (!) and Eugene, who were visiting.  While we were not costumed, we definitely enjoyed seeing everybody else dressed up.  It’s so much better than in college when all the girls dress like sluts or buy costumes from the store.  Here, people just put together fun/ky costumes- whether it’s something really creative or just pulling some things together and throwing on a wig!  We even saw some dogs dressed up Sunday morning I went to the parade in Holon (re: lots of girls dancing troops + floats).  Sunday night was the big night out in Jerusalem- my roommates and I dressed up as the 4 seasons (I was spring), had some friends over in the evening, then went out to a party in the shuk (what? yes.), to the main event of the evening – a massive party in a parking garage (a parking garage? yes.  so freakin’ cool) and then ice skating at 3am (there is ice skating in jerusalem? yes.)  The night was A BLAST!  The next day, I switched it up a little and in true Purim spirit rocked the cross-dressing look and we street-festival hopped all day (it was SO nice out!)

The next weekend we headed back up north again.  We stayed at a zimmer (re: Israeli B&B) in Rosh Pinna, and from there we went to Tzfat, saw some b-e-a-utiful scenery in the Upper Galilee and Golan, toured the Bahai Gardens in Haifa, and relived history in Acco.  weekend 2 photos

We finished our grand tour-de-Israel down south for weekend 3.  We hiked through Mitzpe Ramon (a GIANT “crater”) and Ein Avdat, saw the ruins of Avdat, and of course visited Ben Gurion’s desert home in Sde Boker.  weekend 3 photos

During the week we also went to the Old City and Ein Kerem in Jerusalem and saw a stunning Chihuly exhibit in Tel Aviv.  Tel Aviv/Jerusalem photos

I was so grateful she came because of the opportunity it gave me to see so much of the country and of course to see her!  Now just 6(ish) more months until I see momma again!

Sooooooo my roommate Laura and I packed up our backpacks, donned our sneakers and schlepped to Jordan. Our adventure was filled with spectacular ancient ruins, children asking us “you want to ride Bedouin Jaguar?” “you want to ride Bedouin Ferrari?” (aka camels/donkeys/horses) , and perfect weather.   And now I present to you: Petra, 8th Wonder of the World

Petra is the treasure of ancient world, hidden behind an almost impenetrable barrier of rugged mountains, boasting incomparable scenes that make it the most majestic and imposing ancient site still-standing nowadays.. It has been said “perhaps there is nothing in the world that resembles it”, actually, for sure, there is nothing in the world that resembles it. The rock-carved rose-red city of Petra is full of mysterious charm, it was “designed to strike wonder into all who entered it”.

That’s not a lie… it was truly majestic and awe-inspiring.  The pictures below speak for themselves.

Then I had my very first visitor to Israel!  Orly, who works at Cornell Hillel, just finished staffing a Birthright trip and stayed a few extra days.  It was SO good to have a little piece of home (ie Ithaca, my 2nd home) here!  Anyway, Friday morning we went into town and accidentally stumbled upon a Tu B’Shvat celebration on Ben Yehuda.  There were all these people on stilts in these elaborate/amazing/crazy/beautiful costumes and bands playing all down the street.  It was a blast!

Seeing family

My roommate Helene has some family in Israel who she’s never met before, and so about a month ago, she went to see them.  Then she went again 2 weekends ago and invited me along!  They live in Efrat, which is a settlement not too far from Jerusalem.  So Friday afternoon, we picked up flowers and “ruggies”, boarded a bullet-proof bus (with windows you could barely see through) and were on our way.  Efrat is basically like suburbia… but plopped down in the middle of the Judean Hills.  It was beautiful, but also a bit bizarre.  Anyway, the family is Shomer Shabbat, so when you come for Shabbat, you stay for the weekend.  We arrived Friday afternoon a bit before sunset and I was introduced to the whole gang- Helene’s cousin, her husband, and the 4 kids.  As I am feeling a little homesick, it was SO nice to be in a home environment… the comfort, the ease, and of course being taken care of.  Helene’s cousin and her husband were so warm and the kids were great- we spent the entire weekend eating, playing games with the kids and relaxing.  It was a really nice, restful weekend and I’m so glad I went with… but I don’t know if I could do the whole legit Shabbat thing every weekend.  Anyway, we left after sunset on Saturday evening… however, this time we were not on a bullet-proof bus, but rather a rickety regular city bus that was PACKED.  Helene and I basically spent the ride back in the bus drivers lap praying that we wouldn’t go flying through the windshield when he stepped on the brakes or go flying out the door when he got to a bus stop.

Go on a “trip”

Well, we didn’t exactly go on a trip.  Rather, we got to join a JDC short-term service trip with kids from Brandeis and UMass Hillel to Israel.  They were in Israel for 10 days working at Garinim, which are basically Ethiopian-Israeli communities made up of a bunch of families and individuals all living together and focused on building a strong, empowered community modeled after traditional Ethiopian communities.  Activities included painting a youth center, gardening, getting to know members of the community and joining a traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony.  Helene and I spent a day with the UMass kids at their Garin in Gedera and Orly and Laura were with the Brandeis kids in Kiryat Gat.  We had a great time getting dirty, getting to know the kids, and sharing in the experience at the Garin.

We also joined them another day for site visits, where we got to go to a few locations where JDC has supported programs for vulnerable populations around Israel.  It never ceases to amaze me how large JDC is and how many different things they’re doing all over- I always love finding out about programs JDC is supporting or services they are improving or projects they are helping implement.  It’s amazing.

After more than a month straight of having house guests every week and lots other visitors, and with the typical winter break activities crossed off my list, I guess winter break season is drawing to a close.  While it’s still technically “winter” here, the shift to a spring time mentality is on it’s way as we just celebrated Tu B’Shvat (the new year of the trees, aka Jewish Earth Day).  Expect a post on that soon… complete with ridiculous pictures and videos from Jerusalem’s celebration!