Msada

One of the most inspiring hikes we did on Birthright would have to be climbing up Masada. I think one of the things that really touched me was the history behind the suicide and the fact that a group of Jews rather die than be enslaved. When we were all taken to the narrow walkway overlooking the Dead Sea, it was an invigorating feeling: being able to look down and shout at the top of our lungs. I learned something that day. Although I do not remember his exact words, Bruce was trying to teach us about the history of our Jewish people who lived on Masada. He mentioned how we are a strong people, whether we are viewed as a religion, or not. Bruce’s words were inspiring. Although tedious, the snake path down the Masada was rewarding.

by Sara Molnick, Albany '12

Leaving Jerusalem and Venturing into the Desert

On Sunday we went to Ammunition Hill, left Jerusalem and headed south to the Negev. That morning everyone was reluctantly lugging their massive suitcases around the hotel to the lobby, waiting to leave. We were also kinda depressed because our beloved Israelis were leaving us. Our first stop, as I said, was Ammunition Hill, a memorial to soldiers from the battle for Jerusalem. It was very powerful, with pictures and bios of all the soldiers who died, and a film recalling the battle. When we left, we headed for Ein Gedi, an oasis growing in a desert mountain. The walk was simply beautiful. At first it was a very rocky trail, but as we went higher, there was more and more greenery until there was a veritable jungle growing on the side of the mountain. There were all kinds of plants, unique rock formations, and my favorite, waterfalls all up Ein Gedi. Being the lucky adventurers we are, we dipped our feet into one of the ponds (don’t worry, the water was clean) created by a waterfall. And when that wasn’t enough to cool us down, we rolled up our pants and hopped into the pond. It was a well-needed rest from all of our hiking. After we finished with Ein Gedi we had a delicious box lunch at the bottom of the mountain in a little rest area. And by delicious, I mean nasty. Afterward, we drove down the highway a little bit and made our emotional farewells to the Israelis. With that we continued our long drive to the Negev. Eventually we began to drive parallel to the Dead Sea, which at one point, became perfectly pristine, completely calm, strangely still, and alliteratively reflective. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen in my life. You could see the Jordanian Mountains and the clouds in the sky reflected perfectly in the mirror-like surface of the water. It was as if there was an upside-down world right at the base of the mountains. On our way we also passed Masada, but that’s a story for another day. We reached the Negev and the roads became still from a lack of cars. The scenery was amazing. I couldn’t even describe it because I had never seen anything like it and couldn’t compare it to any other sights I’ve seen. The mountains were beautifully arrayed, strategically placed to make the most aesthetically pleasing array possible. It was as if they were painted into the perfect landscape portrait. Later that night we finally arrived at the Bedouin Camp where we would stay for the night. The people there were incredibly hospitable and offered us coffee, tea, and snacks when we arrived. After dinner we went outside the camp and into the desert to look at the stars and talk about the things we thought were important about, our Birthright trip so far, things we learned about each other, and things we learned about ourselves. After that we crowded around a fire outside the tent where we sang Backstreet Boys, Queen, and Eagle-Eye Cherry, along with Shomi’s cover of “I Kissed a Girl” by Katy Perry. After that we went to bed because we had to rise very early the next morning (5:50am). And that was how we ended another exhausting yet satisfying day in Israel.

By Izzy Hausman , Stonybrook '12

Back in the USA

We've returned to the US, well most of us at least, and our trip has come to an end. This was truly an amazing experience and the participants have returned with many stories to share.
Unfortunately the busy schedule provided by Birthright made regular updates a little difficult. Please check back soon for updates about our experiences in the dessert, on Masada, at the dead sea, and in the North.

Memorialization and Remembrance: Mount Herzl and Yad Vashem

Hello again from Bus 827! This is New College student, Michael Waas writing. As of right now, we are in the beautiful Galilee region in North Israel, directly across from the town of Tiberias. As beautiful and scenic it is, we must remember and honor our forefathers and friends who paid the greatest price for this incredible nation.

A few, short days ago, we visited Mount Herzl, outside of Jerusalem. Our new Israeli friends were in their uniforms as we arrived. We walked up to the peak to the grave site of the founder of Modern, secular Zionism, Theodore Herzl. There, we paid tribute to the man who sparked the dream of a future state where Jews could once again live in our ancestral homeland, away from the pogroms of Russia and the discrimination of Europe. If it weren't for Herzl, it is quite likely that the Jewish State of Israel would not be in existence.

As great and important a man Dr. Herzl was, it simply pales in comparison to what is on the lower levels of the mountain. Many of the Israeli prime ministers, presidents, Speakers of the Knesset, and ministers in the government are buried on the level below Herzl. Slowly, as we milled through the graves, we came upon one that is so brutally different than all the rest: Yitzhak Rabin and his wife. Rabin, a cold military commander later turned pragmatic peace dove, was struck down by a radical fundamentalist Jew on November 4, 1995. To me, this grave struck a personal chord with me. I remembered watching every minute of his funeral as I grieved with the rest of the world at the loss of quite possibly, the best hope the world has ever seen for peace in the Middle East. With the rest of the group, we remembered the man, not known for his words. Even those of us who did not know his story were touched by the sadness pervading the cold, brutalistic grave.

Below Rabin, there are several memorials on Mount Herzl before entering the military cemetery. One of them is one that grows continually to this day, unfortunately, because terror has not ended for Israel. It was a list of names and years of all the victims of terror attacks against early Jewish settlers in the 1800s till the Hamas bombardment of Ashkelon and Sderot. Our guide Bruce mentioned that he knew one of the victims on the wall. Truly, it was a sobering experience reminding us that while the dream of peace is still alive, there are those out there who only want destruction and conflict in order to fulfill their ideological and religious goals.

Soon after, the mood lifted somewhat when we visited the graves of some of the Jewish parachuters for the British in World War 2 from the British Palestine. A name, familiar to some and unknown to others, was Chana Senesh, who bravely suffered through the antisemitic Hungarian interrogation without releasing the names of her comrades on their mission to help the partisans resist the Nazi's and their collaborators and spy. For her courage, she was executed by firing squad and buried in Hungary and reburied in the country she loved, Israel.

We visited several more graves along the way of Israeli heroes, including the grave of Yoni Netanyahu, who died in the Entebbi operation.

At the end of the cemetery, though, we saw the graves of the brave soldiers who laid down their lives in the past few years. Many of our Israeli friends knew people who were buried in this part of the cemetery. As we remembered them, the stark reality emerged that even as we are sheltered and safe from the Gaza war, we were witnessing the funeral of a soldier killed in the operation before our eyes. It was incredible saddening that another young life was lost in the pursuit of stopping terror.

As we left the cemetery, all of us were quite somber. It was then that it became so real to us how Israelis live with this their entire lives, knowing that military service will occur before college and many of them do not return.

A few days later, we arrived at the foot of Mount Herzl, to the Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem. Our first activity at Yad Vashem was listening to the testimony of a survivor. His name was Efroim Mol, a Russian Jew born in Belgium. He survived the war by hiding in a nunnery in France and then being adopted by sympathetic French Catholics. This would serve to be a good introduction to the memorial of Yad Vashem.

Yad Vashem is so striking for its architecture. You can't miss it. As we entered the main museum, the walls were dull gray concrete, creating a claustrophobic, dark setting. What was extremely fascinating, though, was the walls were pointed as though a triangle and it gradually opened up until it opened up into a plaza overlooking the hills of Jerusalem. Along the path, the main floor was broken up, preventing us from continuing in a straight line. The first room dealt with the rise of Nazism all the way until the end which was the haunting Memorial room containing all of the Pages of Testimony gathered so far for the victims of the Holocaust. 3.5 million names on those pages and yet, we may never know the rest nor the extent of the victims of Hitler's maniacal plot. The Memorial room is another feat of architecture, the only place containing any natural rock, the room has a deep well in the center of water, surrounded by Jerusalem stone, creating a reflecting pool for the pictures above and also a symbol of life. Water brings life; even as Hitler tried to erase any memory of these people, their memory, their yartzheit still burns on. I, myself, have several family members from the Netherlands and Greece remembered in the POTs.

Our final stop at Yad Vashem was the hall of the children. An absolutely haunting hall where a narrator reads the names of all the known Jewish child victims of the Holocaust. The chamber is pitch black, only illuminated by several small Yartzheit candles the reflect off of mirrored walls. There are no scenes of joy in this children's memorial; only the memories and flickering lights of their undying souls.

That's it for now from Bus 827. As they say in Israel, az yalla bye!

Day 3: Mifgash, Machon Ayalon, and SACH

Unfortunately, Israel was not founded and built in peaceful times. Since its inception and declaration of a state, it has faced attacks based in hatred, which seek to destroy the Jewish people and the amazing country they have built for themselves. The foundation of Israel’s success in the many wars it faced can be credited to the amazing, devoted members of its military unit, or IDF (Israeli Defense Forces). These soldiers fight on a constant basis to insure safety to the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people. It is for this reason, and many others that were very grateful that on our third day, Israel soldiers and members of its military joined our group. They come from all walks of life and experiences. It’s a very profound concept for us to grasp: there is a mandatory draft for all Jewish -Israeli citizens when they turn 18. These soldiers are our ages; they like and do many of the things that we do. For this, it is hard to grasp the concept that some of them have already experienced war and despair. Despite this, they are a group of warming and welcoming people. They told us stories about their homes and families, and a few tidbits of their lives. It’s funny to hear that they like some of the bands that we listen to, and even to some that we don’t. One of us asked them if they ever heard of an American rapper called “Eminem” and one of them responded “heard of him, I have three of his albums”. It is this assimilation of shared interests that, for sure, will bring us closer together, and allow the birthright participants to get a full understanding of the true Israel.

Our day began with our visit to the Machon Ayalon, the underground bullet factory that helped Israel reach success in the War of Independence. Our tour guide explained that the people who lived on the Kibbutz were recruited to help man an underground ammunition factory. It was amazing to hear the story of how these people worked for hours each day in a dark, windless room all to insure Israel’s survival. It was amazing to see the lengths that the Kibbutzniks went through in order to keep the secret from the “Giraffes” or the people not privy to their activities that were going on beneath their feet. The tour guide told a story of how woman once walked in while people walked “out of the floor”, and fainted. When she awoke, the people involved with the factory tried to tell her that it was all a dream, but she pursued them, and eventually was drafted for the caused. In the end, the people helped produce 2.5 million bullets; an amazing feat considering only forty-three people were involved with the factory. To see the devotion that these people had towards the survival of Israel was extremely powerful.

We so often see images on television about children in Uganda, Sudan and other third world countries, being trapped within the confines of war, unable to seek proper education and medical treatment. For this reason, our visit to Save a Child’s Heart was especially profound. In typically Jewish fashion, Israel seeks not just to better itself and improve the lives of its own citizens, but to also better the lives of people around the world. One of the best examples of this is the Save a Child’s Heart foundation. With the help of Israeli doctors, hospitals and volunteer’s, this organization helps to bring extremely poor, sick children with congenital heart problems to Israel, for free, in order to provide them with world class health services. We actually were able to meet these children and their family members and hear their stories. They are amazing people, and come from the poorest regions. It’s hard to imagine what their lives are like in their home country. With this, it was amazing to see the kids run around and play with us, despite their life experiences. We drew with them and let them play with our cameras. They are the sweetest groups of kids. It still hard to grasp all that they and their mothers have gone though to make sure that their children receive the life saving medical treatment they deserve. The children and their mother’s are very strong enduring people. Although people may come from different cultures and walks of life, this part of journey has taught us that the differences that separate us from them are less than our similarities. Surly, this will be an experience we will never forget.

The Old City and Day 2: Tel Aviv

As promised, this post will be about our visit to the Old City, and the incredible architecture and historical significance within. We started our journey with the Shehechiyanu, the prayer that signifies new experiences, and certainly, we felt very connected to this prayer. The prayer was recited on a plain overlooking Jerusalem, and the view was absolutely spectacular. Soon after, we walked through the old city of Jerusalem, seeing the history that many of us have been studying for most of our lives. After descending through its many corridors, we arrived at the Kotel or the Western Wall. Few words can describe the amount of power that ascends from the wall. A birthright participant quietly whispered to himself as he touched the wall “Finally, I’m home”. The meaning of the wall went beyond the biblical representation, it touched each of us as one of the most sacred places to bless one’s family and have a conversation with “God” about our most inner thoughts and feelings. The comfort that this brought us helped to facilitate the feeling of home that each Jewish member of society oftenfeels when they enter the Western Wall.

On the second day of our journey (as Bruce would say) we visited Tel Aviv, the most populated city in Israel. Our itinerary states that Tel Aviv was “built from the sands” and after a very detailed presentation of Tele Aviv’s origins, the whole group certainly felt the importance of this statement. We learned that Tele Aviv was founded by sixty-two Jewish settlers, who envisioned a prosperous Jewish homeland. Tele-Aviv grew from those sixty-two settlers, to a metropolis with over 3.5 million people, and property values that rival Manhattan (even with the real estate crunch ;). Tele-Aviv is also the birthplace of Israel, the place where the very first leaders declared the land of Israel as the home of the Jewish people.

We started our tour of Tele-Aviv with Rabin Square, and stood in the actual place where Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated on November 4th, 1995. What made the square so powerful is that Rabin was killed just moments after he sang Shir L’Shalom, a song for peace. Our tour guide brought us back to the exact time and moment of his death. We envisioned the thousands of people-Jewish people-filling the streets of Tele-Aviv, holding signs that pushed for peace and to bring an end to the constant violence and divide that weakened the State of Israel. We witnessed him rushing towards his car, waiting for him as usual. He heard the screaming from the crowd, begging for him to greet them. Surprisingly, he breaks from his usual rushed routine, and greets his people, acknowledging their efforts for peace and stability. We stood in the very spot, in the exact place that these events unfolded. Rabin walked to his car, and there, right there, his life ended: An extremist, who could not see the same peaceful state that Rabin envisioned, assassinated him. With this, his legacy and what he stood for lived on, and forever intertwined with the ideologies of Israeli society. Bruce explained the significance of the memorial that was erected in his memory. A pile of lava rocks that lay upon the ground in an uneven fashion.

A participant on the trip stated during a “high point, low point” discussion, initiated by our group leader Arielle, that one of the most profound events that we attended on this Birthright journey was the Na Lagaat. A theater company that provides a stage for the death-blind to interact with the rest of society and communicate what their lives entails. The play went beyond just a story line filled with humorous situations, it very much demonstrated how Israel is not an exclusive state, it allows for, and helps to promote the free expression of every member of society. To witness these people that would otherwise be in a dark and silent world, actually communicate with us was an amazing experience, and shed new light on the deaf-blind people.

Shalom From Israel!

First, WOW…Israel is so much more than we expected, and we expected a lot. We have already done so many profound things on our journey that is it a bit overwhelming (and a tad bit tiring). So let’s review what we have experienced and our impressions.

Did you know Israel is 6343 miles away from the United States, because after the plane ride, we sure do! As you know, we flew El Al and the food was pretty damn good as far as plane food goes. The service was fantastic and the seats were comfortable. For many of us, it was our first time being immersed in Israel’s culture, including the language and daily praying. Halfway through the flight a few of us “birthrightians” participated in Maariv, the nightly prayer. After dinner (which was really at 3pm in Eastern Standard Time) we had breakfast soon afterwards. We landed on time, collected our belongings and luggage and begun our Talgit-Birthright journey!

Our tour of Israel officially started at Sataf, an Israeli national park. When our incredible, amazing, funny, inspiring (and any other positive adjective you can think of) tour guide, Bruce, told us that we were about to embark on a hike, we were…disoriented. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep or the ten hour plane ride, but we were not “jewbilated” about a nature hike (it was 1:30am in our brains, mind you) but we persevered onwards. This deserves another WOW. This park was originally an arid land, with little to no vegetation. Yet, with the collective donations of millions of people from around the world, people planted trees to help transform the park into a beautiful nature preserve. It is interesting to note the parallel between the transformation of the nature park and the transformation of Israel as a whole. With the help of Zionists around the world, Israel, much like the park, is truly one of the most amazing places on Earth.

Our next stop, and one of the most significant and profound, was our visit to the Old City. Not only was the history extremely important to us, the incredible spiritual meaning of the city reverberated throughout each of us tremendously.

We feel that this part of our day deserves its very own post, so we will post this and our adventures on our second day tomorrow.

Until then, Lilah tov from all of us!

P.S. We miss you :)