(Catching up on the blogs finally. Here is Monday’s message.)
Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, our first full day in Israel started with what can only be described as a sumptuous breakfast feast. Fresh cheeses, vegetables, eggs, breads… you can only understand an Israeli breakfast if you’ve had it. We talk all the time in the States now about the idea of eating locally grown food. That concept comes to life here, where everything is grown in the country and nothing is more than 5 hours away. Each meal has surprised everyone with how fresh and delicious it is.
Enough about food. Our day started by visiting Independence Hall in central Tel Aviv. This was the home of Meir Dizengoff, one of the founders of the city, and its first mayor (yes, the mayor named Meir.) We learned the story of the founding of Tel Aviv in 1909, a group of 66 families who built a city on sand dunes. After Dizengoff passed away, he donated his home to the city to be an art museum. When the British Mandate over Palestine was coming to an end in 1948, David Ben-Gurion and 37 leaders of the provincial government called a secret meeting (which everyone knew about) to declare statehood before Shabbat came. We listened to an impassioned guide describe the moment and heard a recording of Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948, 5 Iyar 5708, proclaiming a “…Jewish state in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”
Yom Hazikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day, our first full day in Israel started with what can only be described as a sumptuous breakfast feast. Fresh cheeses, vegetables, eggs, breads… you can only understand an Israeli breakfast if you’ve had it. We talk all the time in the States now about the idea of eating locally grown food. That concept comes to life here, where everything is grown in the country and nothing is more than 5 hours away. Each meal has surprised everyone with how fresh and delicious it is.
Enough about food. Our day started by visiting Independence Hall in central Tel Aviv. This was the home of Meir Dizengoff, one of the founders of the city, and its first mayor (yes, the mayor named Meir.) We learned the story of the founding of Tel Aviv in 1909, a group of 66 families who built a city on sand dunes. After Dizengoff passed away, he donated his home to the city to be an art museum. When the British Mandate over Palestine was coming to an end in 1948, David Ben-Gurion and 37 leaders of the provincial government called a secret meeting (which everyone knew about) to declare statehood before Shabbat came. We listened to an impassioned guide describe the moment and heard a recording of Ben-Gurion on May 14, 1948, 5 Iyar 5708, proclaiming a “…Jewish state in the Land of Israel, to be known as the State of Israel.”
From there we headed south to the Ayalon Institute, a kibbutz on the outskirts of Rehovot. While we were driving on the highway, we passed what looked like a traffic jam and accidents. We realized, however, that what we saw was the highway being used as a parking lot for a nearby cemetery where a memorial assembly was being held. Yom Hazikaron is a day when every store is closed and everyone visits a cemetery. At 11:00 AM, the air-raid sirens sounded once again. Our bus came to a stop, and like the hundreds of Israelis near us, we got out of the bus to stand on the road for two minutes of silence to remember the soldiers who have given their lives in defense of the country. We continued on to our destination, a fascinating part of Israel’s battle for independence. The Ayalon Institute was a munitions factory, manufacturing 2.5 million bullets for the soldiers. They did this under the noses of the British overseers by hiding the machinery underneath the laundry and bakery. Our guide is a member of a youth movement dedicated to rebuilding the kibbutz ideal and building a Jewish nation with their hands and hard work.
Lunch was an interesting excursion into Rehovot, as we ventured out on our own to find a restaurant. For many, this was the first opportunity to experience a falafel or shwarma.
From there we went to Latrun, a fortress on the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. During the War of Independence, Arab villages choked off Jerusalem by shooting at convoys bringing food and medical supplies to the city. To help the Jews in Jerusalem survive, the Israelis built a narrow dirt bypass road on which to deliver the much needed supplies. The road, similar to the highway built in Burma by the British to bring armaments into China to fight the Japanese during WWII, is called the Burma Road. We traveled the Burma Road in Jeeps, enduring some serious bumps and turns. While it may have been uncomfortable for some while we were doing it, everyone expressed how much fun it was when we returned to the bus.
We headed back to the hotel for a brief rest before heading out for the next part of the adventure, Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. These days represent a total juxtaposition, as we move from national mourning to national celebration. After dinner, many of us made our way to Kikar Rabin, where we had been the night before for Yom Hazikaron. Thousands filled the streets and the square singing and dancing, hitting one another with a patish, an inflatable hammer, or spraying each other with shaving cream. Several members of our group starting dancing a hora, and Israeli children joined in with them. It was simply amazing to see how different the mood was, how the entire city was enveloped in a giant party. The music and dancing continued well into the early morning, and many of us could hear it outside our hotel rooms until 2:30-3:00 AM! Now that’s a party.
Tuesday we move up to the North.
From there we went to Latrun, a fortress on the road from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. During the War of Independence, Arab villages choked off Jerusalem by shooting at convoys bringing food and medical supplies to the city. To help the Jews in Jerusalem survive, the Israelis built a narrow dirt bypass road on which to deliver the much needed supplies. The road, similar to the highway built in Burma by the British to bring armaments into China to fight the Japanese during WWII, is called the Burma Road. We traveled the Burma Road in Jeeps, enduring some serious bumps and turns. While it may have been uncomfortable for some while we were doing it, everyone expressed how much fun it was when we returned to the bus.
We headed back to the hotel for a brief rest before heading out for the next part of the adventure, Yom Ha’Atzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day. These days represent a total juxtaposition, as we move from national mourning to national celebration. After dinner, many of us made our way to Kikar Rabin, where we had been the night before for Yom Hazikaron. Thousands filled the streets and the square singing and dancing, hitting one another with a patish, an inflatable hammer, or spraying each other with shaving cream. Several members of our group starting dancing a hora, and Israeli children joined in with them. It was simply amazing to see how different the mood was, how the entire city was enveloped in a giant party. The music and dancing continued well into the early morning, and many of us could hear it outside our hotel rooms until 2:30-3:00 AM! Now that’s a party.
Tuesday we move up to the North.
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