Post Number 24

Hello Folks,

I hope you enjoyed reading about McFalafel. I promise I will try it soon, although it has not been getting good reviews. Back to the beginning of 2011, right after chofesh (break).

So I returned to Karmiel, and started on another great week. It was good to get back to volunteering, and all of the kids at our volunteer places were very happy to see us again. For our Wednesday trip, we learned all about Aliyah (Immigration to Israel), first meeting with a group of really nice Ethiopian teenage boys who's families had made aliyah. It was shocking to learn how much they try to rid themselves of their previous lives, including culture. Nobody tries to speak their native language, they learn to cook and eat Israeli food, and they almost never travel back to visit their homes. The Ethiopian aliyah to Israel is a really incredible thing that they do not at all take for granted, and it was really great to learn about it first hand through dialogue with the teens. After, we visited an army base that has a big program for new immigrants or teens who don't have strong Jewish Identities and want to. The program, which is optional, serves as a cultural immersion program and counts as a portion of the compulsory army time. It is a very neat program that does a lot to make Israeli society more welcoming and open. We met with some participants in the program who told us all about their stories and their experiences in the program. They also all told us we should make aliyah... which many of us brushed off our shoulders easily, after all, we are very accustomed to people telling us this. While at the base, we were interviewed by a reporter for the English IDF Press, about our program, about our time in Israel, and our possible interests in Aliyah. Who knows... maybe I will be on the IDF website soon! We also met with some adults who had made Aliyah from the US and England and we talked with them about their stories and challenges. It was very nice to get a chance to learn about aliyah without feeling like we were being brainwashed into making aliyah ourselves.

I spent the weekend in Karmiel, having a chance to spend some more time in the city, seeing more of the parks and areas I hadn't yet seen. The following week was also normal, at least at the beginning. One afternoon when I was tutoring, not many kids showed up so I had a chance to one-on-one tutor which was a totally different experience. I really felt like I was helping the kid with English grammar and writing, whereas we usually are only able to read and talk. It was very rewarding to see how I was actually having an effect!

Our Wednesday trip was all about the Northern Border of Israel, and so we started with a visit to Mt. Hermon, which was the location of a crucial victory in the Yom Kippur War. Being the tallest mountain in Isrrael, and one of the only places that gets snow, it is now a beautiful ski resort. We arrived and took a ski lift to the very top, enjoyed some tea, learned about the history, and played in the snow a bit. After a while, we were so cold so we made the descent and headed to our next destination on the day's tour. We met with Ishai Efroni, one of the deputy commanders in the North during the Second Lebanon War. He took us on a tour of the Northern Border, stopping at the point where Goldwasser and Regev, two Israel soldiers who were killed in the war, were kidnapped. We learned about the presence of Hezbollah near the Lebanese border with Israel. We were intrigued to see the war front up close and personal, and it made the situation, although not so violent now, very clear to us. After the tour, we visited the hospital in Naharriya  to learn about its incredible, full functionality, underground hospital. Being the closest hospital to the border with Lebanon, its bomb sheltered underground facilities were the first in Israel, paving the way towards government funding for underground care facilities in times of war.

Mt. Hermon

It was so beautiful... especially with the morning sun!

Nobody was skiing, but some were sledding

Forced smiles... we were actually freezing!

1st Snowman of the Winter!

There is also an army base at Mt. Hermon, and there was a soldier with his incredibly cute puppies standing near all the tanks.

He used his scarf (part of the uniform) to keep the black lab warm.

The point where the bodies of Goldwasser and Regev were taken during the Second Lebanon War, there is now a little memorial in place.

The border with Lebanon. There are Hezbollah bases to the left and right in the picture.

The underground hospital, used only in times of war.

One of the most amazing sunsets I've seen on the way back to Karmiel from Nahariyah.

The day after, Thursday, I headed to Jerusalem with 3 others for the Annual Netzer Veida (Conference). I was one of two NFTY representatives as we met with representatives from 13 other countries around the world for a week of  "Education, Experience and Policy Making for Netzer Olami." It was a great chance to network and learn from peers just like me but from around the world. We all left with great new ideas to bring back to youth movements and camps, as well as some new decisions for Netzer. To my great happiness, we decided to throw out the vegetarianism policy of Netzer Olami, making it much easier to get a protein fix on Shnat (its not that big of a deal, we just used to make it seem to be). We also voted on and passed  a proposal to pair one region of NFTY with a different snif (branch) of Netzer to create a better relationship between NFTY and Netzer. Rio (the other NFTY Rep) and I are very excited to have pushed for this proposal and bring it back to NFTY. I loved meeting lots of people from all around the world and seeing two friends from Netzer Russia who I met at GUCI this past summer. We all left the Veida very tired but feeling successful after a great week!

The Design on our Veida T-shirts

Upon return to Karmiel, we had a closed weekend, so we spent lots of time with the group in the house having fun with different programs, song sessions, and meals together. We also had a great Tu Bishvat Seder as part of Friday night Shabbat services at the local Reform community. While there, we also proudly presented a English siddur (prayerbook) that many of the Kamiel Shnatties had helped make beautiful. We spent lots of great time with our host families, eating way too much and just hanging out. Although its only been a bit over 2  months, I really feel comfortable with my host family, and I love that we all joke around a lot when I am with them. As Amir, my host Dad likes to say, I fit in perfectly with them at the crazy house! We finished the weekend with some bowling with our host family siblings. All 30ish of us had lots of fun and a bit of friendly competition as we finished the weekend off with a roll! (pun intended)

After Bowling

So here we are, just over two weeks left in Karmiel. It is getting a bit sad, after all, we really feel at home in Karmiel, and this means our year is half way over. Nonetheless, we are very excited for a change of pace as we move to Jerusalem. We have a busy few weeks coming up, so stay in touch and I will hopefully find time to write a bit, and definitely post some pictures!

I hope all is well wherever you all are reading this from, and Happy Tu Bishvat!

I'm Out~
Ethan