JFGI ATID MISSION TO ISRAEL April 23 – May 2, 2009 Federation …
Safed, a center of Jewish mysticism; The Ari, Caro and Abuhav Synagogues
Kibbutz Misgav Am
History
Misgav Am was founded in 1945. One of its founders was Dr. Reuven Moskovitz. He was born 1928 in Romania, survived the Holocaust and immigrated to Israel. He founded several organisations, including Neve Shalom, where he lived since 1972. On 7 April 1980, five terrorists from the Iraqi-backed Arab Liberation Front penetrated Misgav Am in the night and entered the nursery. They killed the kibbutz secretary and an infant boy. They held the rest of the children hostage, demanding the release of about 50 terrorists held in Israeli prisons. The first raid of an IDF infantry unit was unsuccessful, but a second attempt, a few hours later, succeeded, and all the terrorists were killed. Two kibbutz members and one soldier were killed, four children and 11 soldiers were wounded. Immediately after the attack, Israeli troops entered southern Lebanon to wipe out terrorist nests and to intensify the pressure on the Palestinian terrorists in Lebanon. Israel withdrew after five days, because of heavy political pressure by the United States. In the years of Israeli presence in southern Lebanon (1982-2000), the kibbutz had cordial relations with the people on the other side of the border, despite the state of war between Lebanon and Israel since Israel’s birth in 1948. During the Second Lebanon war in 2006, several thousands of IDF troops were deployed around Misgav Am, which brought heavy logistical problems: food, water and sanitary facilities.
Education
The kibbutz offers an education system beginning at the age of 3 and ending after high school. There is a daycare center for babies, another for infants and also a kindergarten. Elementary school is at Kibbutz Kfar Giladi, junior and senior high school is located at kibbutz Dafna.With the new policy of a longer schooling day, children receive various enrichment classes in the region: dance and music Kfar Blum, ice-skating Canada centre of Metula, karate Ramot Naftali.[edit] Kibbutz lifeOnly around 90 of the 300 people living in Misgav Am are members. Many residents study in the nearby Academic College of Tel Hai. The kibbutz celebrates some of the Jewish holidays together and are a kind of kibbutz tradition: Lag Ba’omer, Yom Ha’atzmaut, Hanukkah, Tu Bishvat and Shavuot. The kibbutz has a covered swimming pool, a library, a mini-market and sports courts. Besides a 24-hour Magen David Adom emergency station, there is also a health clinic which belongs to Clalit Health Services (Kupat Holim Clalit).
Economy
The factory Sion Texo Medic Ltd. produces ‘extensive range of conforming and elastic bandages as well as its latest line of wound dressing’.
Trumpeldor’s Grave
Commemorates the heroic deeds of Joseph Trumpeldor and the Jewish settlement efforts in the Finger of the Galilee during the early 1900’s.
Memorial at Kfar Giladi
The exposition of the museum is devoted to the dramatic events of 1920, when Tel-Hai and some other Jewish settlements in Upper Galilee were cut from the central part of the country and attacked by Arabs. Yosef Trumpeldor was at the head of the battle and was killed with other seven soldiers. Every year people gather here to honor the heroes.
Hotel: Hagoshrim Kibbutz Hotel, Upper Galilee
http://www.hagoshrim-hotel.co.il/pagesview_e.asp?pageid=2
4/28/09
Israel’s Memorial Day
Golan Heights; Cross the Golan Plateau to the border with Syria and observe the abandoned city of Kuneitra and the United Nations outpost located nearby.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Peace/golan_hts.html
Stop in Tiberias to see the country stand still for the Yom hazikaron memorial siren.
Kinneret Cemetery
http://www.pitt.edu/~agtaylor/Israel/Cemetery.html
Kinneret Cemetery is the final resting place of many of the founding pioneers of the State of Israel. The grave of Rachel the Poetess is present, an early settler of Israel, many of whose poems have become well known songs. Many other settlers, young and old, rest in this lovely shaded spot overlooking Lake Kinneret. Especially moving is the stories of those who came, worked the land, but lie in graves marked “Unknown”; and those who left their kibbutz nearby to fight and fall while winning independence for Israel in 1948.
Nearby is another tomb, that of Rabbi Meir Ba’al HaNess. Rabbi Meir, who helped write the Mishnah, is known for working miracles, and his tomb is housed in a small complex containing a yeshiva, study areas, and a few gift shops. The contrast between the two burial sites is like night and day, but both of these extremes represent precious eras in the history of the Jewish people.
Jordan rift valley on the way to Jerusalem
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Society_&_Culture/geo/rift.html
Welcome to Jerusalem
Israel’s Independence Day, 4/29/09:
Judaism is not a Religion Dialogue with Avraham Infeld, former Director of the Israeli Chais Foundation.
Notes from his presentation:
There are 9 days not truly felt by the diaspora Jews: The 9 days include Yom Hashoa (Holocaust), which personally affects/involves 1/3 of Israeli population, Yom Hazikaron (Day of Rememberance), and Yom Ha’atzmaut (Independence Day). Ben Gurion insisted on the 2 day linkage of Yom Hazikaron and Yom Hatzmaot, mourning followed by rejoicing. We certainly pay a price for Medinat Yisrael (the state of Israel). Medinat Yisrael is not all that we recognize–the most important realization is that because there is a Jewish state, the Shoah can never happen again.
When I arrived in Eretz Yisrael, I was on 2 kibbutzim, Kibbutz Laav and Kibbutz Mizra. We had pigs on the kibbutz. What was I doing there? Israel is a Jewish State. What does a “Jewish State” mean? What does it mean to be a Jew? Is Judaism a religion? I think of Judaism as a table with 5 legs. It can stand on 4 or 3 legs, but will fall on 2 legs. The 5 legs:
1) Jews have Memory: Memory with regards to their history. We were all at Mount Saini. We all break a glass at our wedding ceremony.
2) We are a Family: We are always arguing, as members of a family would. It’s good to hear multiple opinions. After saying this Avram voiced the opinion that if someone is a converted Jew , they are Jewish. The Talmud directs us to no longer call them “coverted Jew”, just a Jew.
A Jew who converts, converts to another religion.
3) Mount Sinai: The 10 commandments were given to us. 3 commitments to believe: 1) There is a God 2) Tikun O’lam: a better world for Jews and humnity 3) Live a life that reminds us who we are.
4) Yisrael is made of 2 parts: 1)Eretz Yisrael (the land of Israel): Every inch is memories of Jews and Israelites. 2) State of Israel: There are positives and negatives to the state. Negatives: “The tax rate is high, the drivers are dangerous, there is a requirment to be in the army”. Positives: “No one is homeless- meaning that because of the Law of Return, , there is no such thing as a Jewish refugee -and there can never be a Holocaust again”.
5) The Hebrew language: It is the central conveyer of Jewish culture and life. Example- “Fall in love” is a Christian statement, maneing that there is a fall from grace; LEHITKATAV (”fall in love– to communicate”) in hebrew means there is a relartionship., between the 2 people. TZEDEK (”Justice”) is a Jewish statement.
Hotel: Inbal Hotel, Jerusalem
Jeep Tour of Burma Road
Micky Marcus found a bypass road to get to Jerusalem. Unfortunately he was killed by Israeli soldiers– given his lack of understanding Hebrew, he did not respond to an Israeli soldier who saw him at night and was shot.
Armed Forces Memorial at Latrun
The Cardo
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vie/Jerusalem2.html#Jewish
Part of the Old City’s Jewish Quarter, the Cardo is the reconstructed main street of Byzantine Jerusalem from the 6th century. This street, with columns along its entire length, used to be a long avenue that crossed the whole city from north to south. Today, situated 20 feet below modern street level, one part of the Cardo is a restored arcade of Jewish galleries and shops, while the other part is an open-air reconstructed street. At one point along the roofed arcade you can look down to a level surface underneath the street and see remnants from the time of the First and Second Temple (10th and 1st centuries BC).
Learning the Timeline
1250 BCE Exodus
1000 BCE King David Conquest Jebo. David does not build a temple. He was not able to–he was a man of war
970 BCE Solomon builds first Temple
586 BCE 1st Temple destruction
538 BCE Return to Zion
516 BCE Building of 2nd Temple
333 BCE Alexander the Great
168 BCE Macabee Revolt (Purim Holiday)
63 BCE Roman Peace, “Pax Romaness” King Herrod
66-73 CE Great Jewish Revolt
70 CE Destruction 2nd Temple (Tisha B’av)
132-135 CE Bar Kochba Revolt (Rabbi Akiva)
332 CE Constatina, development of Talmud (Gemora) and Mishna
638 CE Arab conquest
1099 CE Crusaders. Father, Son, Holy ghost
1287 CE Mamluke (sp?) rule
1492 CE Spain
1517-1917 Turkish rule (Ottoman empire)
1917 British rule
1882-1903 1st Aliyah
2nd Aliyah
3rd Aliyah
1948 4th Aliyah
Hurva Square, the central square of the Jewish Quarter
During 2005–2006 several short excavations were conducted in the area of the Hurva Synagogue and in the square to its east, in the Old City of Jerusalem. The excavations, on behalf of the Institute of Archaeology of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, with the aid of the Israel Exploration Society and the funding by the Corporation for the Renovation and Development of the Jewish Quarter in the Old City of Jerusalem, Ltd., were directed by H. Geva and O. Gutfeld, with the assistance of R. Nenner-Soriano and B. Arubas (surveying).
The Hurva Square (Area N-2) An excavation was conducted in October 2005 prior to placing a crane on the western side of the Hurva Square, next to the eastern wall of the synagogue (License No. B-301/2005). The excavated area was an extension to the west of Area N-2 that was excavated in the 1970s by N. Avigad, within the framework of the archaeological expedition to the Jewish Quarter. The area (4 × 5 m) was excavated to bedrock (depth 2 m), revealing part of a room, whose northern and southern walls and a section of the floor survived. The walls, founded on bedrock and oriented east–west, were built of fieldstones and partly of dressed stones. An ashlar-built doorjamb was in the northern wall. Two small sections of the white mosaic floor in the room were preserved next to the northern and southern walls. The mosaic was set atop a bedding of small stones and light colored cement. Below the bedding was a soil fill (0.4 m thick) that contained a few potsherds from the time of the First and Second Temples, as well as several potsherds from the Byzantine and Early Islamic periods (?). The building remains were part of a room from the Early Islamic period, associated with the built complex that was exposed east of Area N-2 in the 1970s. The remains may also be related to a room whose western part was discovered on the eastern side of the Hurva Synagogue (below). The Hurva Synagogue (Area X-9, East)
During January 2006 an excavation was conducted on the north-eastern side of the Hurva Synagogue (License No. G-7/2006), aiming to complete the excavations undertaken in 2003. The area (3.5 × 4.0 m) was excavated to bedrock (depth 2 m). The western part of a room, a small section of which had been uncovered during the previous excavation, was exposed. The southern corner of the room was hewn in bedrock. Its white mosaic floor was laid atop a bedding layer of small stones and crushed chalk. The southern section of the mosaic bedding was set atop bedrock, leveled for this purpose; the northern section was atop a layer of soil fill, deposited on bedrock that descended northward. A small section of the mosaic itself was preserved close to the corner, while in the rest of the room only the bedding survived. The room’s western wall (0.3 m thick), oriented north–south, was built of small irregular stones with gray material between them and coated with a thick layer of light plaster. Its western side was adjacent to a wide wall built of large fieldstones, which had mostly been exposed in the previous excavation. A gap at the northern end of this wall may attest to an entry or niche that originally existed here. Thin walls were built in a later phase, forming a square installation (0.6 ´ 0.9 m) that was coated with light plaster. A complete ceramic jar, dating to the Early Islamic period (ninth–tenth centuries CE), was found in the soil fill below the installation. This was probably the western part of the room whose remains were discovered east of Area N-2 in 2005 (above). Fragments of pottery vessels, dating to the Mamluk period, were found in the soil fill that blocked the room. The Hurva Synagogue (Area X-9, Southwest)
An excavation was conducted in November 2006 in the southwestern corner of the Hurva Synagogue (License No. G-7/2006). The area (3.5 × 4 .0 m) was excavated to bedrock (depth 2 m), revealing the western continuation of the Byzantine-period street (exposed length 4 m) whose remains were discovered along the southern side of the synagogue structure in 2003. Only several small sections of the flagstone pavement were preserved along the northern and southern edges of the street. Most of the pavement was destroyed during the installation of a later water channel (Mamluk?). The street was flanked on either side by walls, some were bedrock hewn and some were built of roughly hewn stones. The corner of a room or an installation, which had a white mosaic floor and predated the street, was discovered in the southwestern corner of the area. A fully preserved arch (Fig.1) was discovered at the western end of the area. Its western side had previously been known and is visible today in the rear wall of a shop on the Street of the Jews. The arch, exposed now to its full height on the eastern side, is built of a row of large well-dressed stones (1.3 m long). Its foundations rested on bedrock, on either side of the street, which extended westward below the arch. The exposed side street branched off from the Cardo––the main road of Byzantine Jerusalem, whose remains were excavated west of the Hurva Synagogue by N. Avigad in the 1970s. A complete vault built of large well-dressed stones was discovered in a water cistern slightly north of the arch, below the anteroom to the Hurva Synagogue (at the entrance from the Street of the Jews). The vault was the roof of a shop in a row of shops whose extension northward had been exposed in the past, along the eastern side of the Cardo.
The Kotel
Ben Yehuda Pedestrian Mall
Western Wall Tunnel
After the Six Day War, the Ministry of Religious Affairs of Israel began the excavations aimed at exposing the continuation of the wall. The excavations lasted almost twenty years and revealed many previously unknown facts about the history and geography of the Temple Mount.
The tunnel exposes a total length of 500m of the walls, revealing the methods of construction and the various activities in the vicinity of the Temple Mount. The excavations included many archaeological finds along the way, including discoveries from the Herodian period (streets, monumental masonry), sections of a reconstruction of the Western Wall dating to the Umayyad period, and various structures dating to the Ayyubid, Mamluke and Hasmonean periods constructed to support buildings in the vicinity of the Temple Mount.”Warren’s Gate“, lies about 150 feet into the tunnel. This sealed-off entrance has been turned into a small synagogue called “The Cave”, by Rabbi Yehuda Getz, since it is the closest point a Jew can get to the Holy of Holies, assuming it was located at the traditional site under the Dome of the Rock.
At the northern portion of the Western Wall, remains of a water channel, which originally supplied water to the Temple Mount, were found. The exact source of the channel is unknown, though it passes through an underground pool known as the “Strouthion Pool“. The water channel was dated to the Hasmonean period and was accordingly dubbed the “Hasmonean Channel“.
The biggest stone in the Western Wall often called the Western Stone is also revealed within the tunnel and ranks as one of the heaviest objects ever lifted by human beings without powered machinery. The stone has a length of 13.6 meters and an estimated width of between 3.5 and 4.5 meters; estimates place its weight at 570 tons.
Adjacent to the tunnel lies a museum called “The Chain of the Generations Center” – designed by Eliav Nahlieli. The impressive site, which incorporates ancient and modern Jewish history, includes an elaborate audiovisual show, and nine magnificent glass sculptures created by glass artist Jeremy Langford.
Originally, tourists in the tunnel had to retrace their steps back to the entrance. A connection to the Hasmonean water system was made, but this still required tourists to eventually make a U-turn once they had reached the Struthion pool.
On 24 September, 1996, the then Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, ordered that a new exit be cut through from the Struthion Pool area to the Via Dolorosa nearby. Yasser Arafat commented on the event, alleging the real aim was to make the Haram al-Sharif collapse (though the tunnel follows the outside of the Western Wall and does not go under the Temple Mount).
Riots erupted in which 70 Palestinians and 16 IDF soldiers were killed.
Since then, it has been possible for large numbers of tourists to enter the tunnel’s southern entrance near the Western Wall, walk the tunnel’s length with a tour guide, and exit from the northern end. At present all tourists are escorted by plainclothes (and sometimes uniformed) Israeli soldiers upon exiting the location, as the route back to the Jewish Quarter passes through the Muslim Quarter.
The Labryinth of Israeli Politics, Dr. Reuven Hazan
Notes: American vs. Israeli Politics
American
1. Super deligates. Hilary vs. Obama–”not good for the party” Why not work together? The people decide
2. Election–win or take all. Voting comes from multiple districts. The need is to come in 1st place.
3. There is 1 winner, 1 leader; Main issue is money, politics mostly about money
Israel
1. No vote for individuals. The vote is for the party only. 92% of the time individuals in different groups vote together. Each party has an ideology. Entire country is 1 district.
2. There are a lot of parties in Israel. There are a higher percentage of voters in Israel. There are 120 Parliment seats.
3. Now there are 12 parties in Israel; there is no limit to number of parties. There is no one leader. There are serious debates. Prime minister= 1 vote; all cabnet members= 1 vote. There is a share in power; media time is free; most important politics are about security.
There are 120 Seats; Catergorized as left wing (doves) vs. right wing (hawks)
Current left wing (dove) parties (27 seats):
Labor (13 seats)
Meretz (3 seats)
Israeli Arabs (3 parties, 11 seats)
————————————————————————–
Current Middle of the road (total 28 seats):
Kadima (28 seats)–Includes Levi
————————————————————————–
Current Right wing (hawk) seats (total 46 seats):
Likud (27 seats)–includes Benjamin Netanyahu
IOH–imigrants from Soviet Union (15 seats)
NU (4 seats)
Religious (Total 19 seats)
Orthodox Shas (11 seats)
Ultraorthodox UTT (5 seats)
Very ultraorthodox JH (3 seats)
**Even if Kadima votes to the left (doves), they will have a maximum of 45 seats versus 46 seats to the right (hawks)
**An issue is passed by majority of seats.
The President is dignified and does not have a political role (no seat)
The Foreign Minister speaks for the country.
The Mevasseret Zion Absorption Center for Ethiopian Jews
Notes:
Israel in 1948: 600,000 Jews
Now 5.5 million Jews
The Absorption center/ Jewish Agency helps Ethiopians with: 1) Aliyah. Ethiopians are in absorption centers for up to 2 years. 2) Helps close socioeconomic gaps 3) Jewish identity
Ethiopian Jews: Discovered in 19th century by French Rabbi. A synagouge was discovered “Bet Yisrael”. The Ethiopians were called “Falashas”. Ethiopian Jews were brought to Israel over a long period. Operation Solomon (15,000 in 36 hours), Joshua, and Moses. This was done by the IDF and Jewish Agency.
The Memory of the Holocaust in Contemporary Israeli Society dialogue with Hoslocaust scholar, Dr. Rachel Korazim.
Notes:
In 1946, Jewish opposing views emerged: Why the Holocaust? Hasidim said “Zionism was a sin” The secular Zionist vision “we are weak without it.”
Link: http://www.juf.org/interactive/video.aspx?id=36742
Yad Vashem
Yad Vashem renovated complex, The Avenue of the Righteous, The new Historical Museum, Children’s Memorial, Concluding Memorial Service
http://www.youtube.com/user/YadVashem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zte0vT8MaA
Mount Herzl
4 categories of leaders buried on Mount Herzl: 1) Prime minister 2) “Founding leader” i.e. Herzel as well as Presidents 3) Speaker of Kineseth 4) Heads of world Zionist Organization
Mount Herzl, (Hebrew: ?? ?????, Har Hertzel; also Har HaZikaron, ?? ?????? lit. “Mount of Memory”), is a hilltop and national cemetery in Jerusalem, Israel named for Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. Herzl’s tomb lies at the top of the hill. Yad Vashem, which commemorates the Holocaust, lies to the west of Mt. Herzl.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Herzl.html
Mount Herzl
Yitzhak Rabin grave
Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922; he studied at the Kadoorie Agricultural College where he graduated with distinction.His military career began in 1940 when he joined the “Palmach”, the elite unit of the Haganah. During the War of Independence (1948-1949), he commanded the Harel Brigade, deployed on the Jerusalem front. For the next 20 years, he served with the IDF as O.C. Northern Command (1956-1959); as Chief of Operations and Deputy Chief of Staff (1959-1964) and as Chief of Staff (1964-1968), commanding the IDF during the Six-Day War.
On January 1, 1968, he retired from military service and shortly afterwards was appointed ambassador to the United States. During his years as ambassador in Washington, he promoted and consolidated the ties between the two countries.In the spring of 1973, Rabin returned to Israel and became active in the Labour Party. He was elected Member of the Knesset in December 1973 and when Golda Meir formed her government in April 1974, was appointed Minister of Labour.On June 2, 1974, the Knesset expressed confidence in a new government headed by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
During Rabin’s premiership, the government placed special emphasis on strengthening the economy, solving social problems and reinforcing the IDF. With American mediation, disengagement agreements were signed with Egypt and Syria (1974), followed by an interim agreement with Egypt in 1975. Later in 1975, the first Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the governments of Israel and the United States.In June 1976, Rabin’s government issued the order for “Operation Entebbe”, liberating the hijacked Air France passengers.
Following the May 1977 elections, and until the formation of the National Unity Government in September 1984, Rabin served as a Knesset Member of the Labour Party in opposition and was a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. In the National Unity Governments (1984-1990), Rabin served as Minister of Defense. In January 1985, he presented the proposal for the withdrawal of IDF forces from Lebanon and the establishment of a security zone to guarantee peace to the settlements along Israel’s northern border. Yitzhak Rabin was elected chairman of the Israel Labour Party in its first nationwide primaries conducted in February 1992 and led the party to victory in the June 1992 Knesset elections. In July 1992, Rabin formed Israel’s 25th government and became its 11th Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, and acting Minister of Religious Affairs and Labour and Social Affairs. Rabin’s biographical book, “Service Notebook”, was published in 1979 and was translated into English and French. His book on Lebanon, written after Operation “Peace for Galilee”, was published in 1983. The assassination of Yitzhak Rabin took place on November 4, 1995, at 21:30, at the end of a rally in support of the Oslo Accords at the Kings of Israel Square in Tel Aviv. The assassin, Yigal Amir, a right-wing religious Zionist strenuously opposed Rabin’s peace initiative and particularly the signing of the Oslo Accords. Dr. Raffaella A. Del Sarto terms the Rabin assassination “the most dramatic evidence” of the growing rift between supporters of Eretz Israel and those of Medinat Israel, which Oslo and the option of territorial compromise represented.
Jewish Challenges for a Jewish Future dialogue with Stuart Schoffman of the Shalom Hartman Institute
Machaneh Yehuda Market
Israeli Socity @2009 dialogue and Shabbat Dinner with scholar Paul Liptz of the Tel Aviv and the Hebrew Union College
Link:
After 61 years of statehood, says former IDF chief Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, Israel is a strong and prosperous country. But he warns that Iran will exploit any dialogue to stall for time and that even solving the Israel-Palestinian conflict won’t stop Islamic jihadists:
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1239710823345&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FPrinter
Prominent Leaders: (Many discussed during the JFGI ATID mission):
Moses Hess
Nachman Syrkin
Berl Katznelson
Rachel
Rachel and Shoshana Bluwstein, Hanna Vitman and Avraham Kahanovic
Manya Shohat
AD Gordon
Ahad Ha’am
Vladimir Jabotinsky
Joseph Trumpledor
Arthur Ruppin
Yehoshua Hankin
Naomi Shemer
Yosef Haim Brenner
SY Agnon
Haim Nachman Bialik
Baron Edmond de Rothschild
Breaking Dryfus’ sword
Theodore herzl
David Ben Gurion
Levi Eshkol
Moshe Dayan
Golda Meir
Menacham Begin
Shimon Peres
Yitzchak Ravin
Rabin, Clintion and Arafat interaction
Binyamin Netanyahu
Ariel Sharon
Yuval Harel
Yoni Netanyahu
Michael Livine
Yigdal Alon
David ‘Mickey’ Marcus
Leo Baeck
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