More songs and videos

Hey there Kitat Arava!!

Ma nishma? How's being home treating you?

Hope you're all doing well, slowly settling back into things and enjoying being back in the comfort of your own homes.

Here are some songs and clips for you to watch, mainly ones that I find to be special but we never got to in class. Others are ones we saw and you guys wanted to see again. 

Hope you will continue to be involved and keep up with Israeli music as well as current events from Israel and the Jewish world. 

Lehit,

Ariella

אילנות/ אחינעם ניני

Ilanot (Pines), Noa

A beautiful song about having roots on both sides of the sea, in the USA and Israel

Rabin's last speech

עברית קשה שפה

A funny song about two olim chadashim from Russia trying to communicate in Hebrew. A lot of silly mistakes in Hebrew, see if you can find some!!

שיר המסע

 A beautiful song about the journey from Ethiopia, sung by Israeli artist Shlomo Gronich and a choir of children who made aliyah from Ethiopia.

יום שישי הגיע/ הדג נחש

Friday has come... A wonderful song by Hadag Nachash (Sarah's cousin's band!) about the special atmosphere in Jerusalem on Shabbat.

The clip about Olim Chadashim arriving in Israel

Arik Einstein + Uri Zohar

סאלח שבתי

Clip from Israeli film Sallah Shabbati about the aliyah of the Mizrahi Jews in the 1950's

Highly recommended!! 

Also, check out this blog about Israeli film by my mother, Amy Kronish: 

http://israelfilm.blogspot.co.il/

Here you will find the latest updates and analysis about Israeli film. 

Google Exodus - great video

The Pesach story by Aish HaTorah

Rabbi Akiva and Moshe Rabeinu

by Godcast

Enjoy!!! 

What we want to do from what we gained on EIE

 On our final tiyul up in the Golan, we spent an evening reflecting and discussing. We each shared fun memories for our tiyulim, and shared our ideas on how to use the knowledge that EIE gave us.

 As a class we hope to keep up with current events, continue with Hebrew, teach others, and keep up with Jewish holidays.

Rachael hopes to work on her writing and Facetime everyone to check in with everyone
Max wants to keep in touch and even use the Facebook
Seth wants to try things that he didn't know he wanted to do until EIE
Scott is going to try to find different things to do with the knowledge, he isn't quite sure what
Marina is going to get involved with her Temple Youth Group and try to light the Sabbath candles
Sarah cant wait to be a camp counselor and wants to keep up with debating on issues she feels strongly about
Ben also wants to continue the debating and work on defending Israel
Lexi is planning on making Aliyah but also wants to teach children about Israel
Zoe is going to teach as well as write Dvars for her community
Jacob is going to continue with his music, and maybe staff Israel trips in the future
Lana is going to do more Nfty and be more at her temple
Leah also wants to go to temple more, as well as observe holidays
Celia wants to explore the different range of views
Daniella hopes to become more comfortable in different synagogues and teach at her own
Lissie wants to work on social issues and advocacy and work hard to follow what she believes in
Noah wants to continue questioning and look into Chabad

We all have goals for ourselves and we all hope to help each other achieve them and share them.

A Thought In The Shape Of A Story

    I really enjoyed this story. I enjoyed this story because it relates to our lives in America. Society thinks that we should only have certain thoughts when in reality its impossible to control ones thoughts and we think whatever we want to think. I would definitely recommend this story to anyone who likes a really good quick read. 
     I think the author is trying to put the message across that everyone was the right to think and be whatever they want and it doesn't matter what society thinks because in the end it comes down to your own happiness and if you are satisfiyed with the life you created for yourself. I Think that this story reflects contemporary Israeli society in a non-direct way. I think that Israeli society today is ver open to whatever and whoever but there are limits as to how far that will go. 
    I can view this story as Jewish literature because in Judaism we are so welcoming to all types of people and whatever they view life as, but in this story these people view life as the complete opposite. They don't think that people have the right to think thoughts of what they want in whatever shape they want. 

-Zoe Coelho

Kneller's Happy Campers

Edgar Keret

This story is another afterlife story, where each person goes to different places depending on how they die.  Mordy, who killed himself, essentially lives an everyday life just as it was before he killed himself. He met Kurt Cobain, found out that there are small miracles that happen all the time in that world, and helped an undercover agent bust a cult ring who believed one of their leaders was Jesus. All of this was unintentional because all he was trying to do was find his girlfriend named Desiree who killed herself to meet with fake Jesus. Along the way he meets a suicide bomber, a girl name Lihi who ODed and wants to find a way to appeal her place in the afterlife, and an Eskimo who starts dating his roommate. 

Overall it is a very interesting story. I personally love short stories like these, which force your brain to take in new ideas. It shows how not only is there an afterlife, but each person goes to an afterlife depending on the way you die. This story shows the danger of suicide in a not very noticeable way, by talking about the affects your death can have on someone close to you, and also by talking about how much the afterlife for people who kill themselves is a shithole.

PIPES benjamin walton Etgar Keret assignment

Pipes
Etgar Keret
This chapter is about a boy who sees the world different from us and suffers from us ostracizing him from society. We begin the story with him in his counselor's office. The counselor runs an exercise where he puts a bunch of cards in front of him and ask him whats wrong. The boy can not tell right from wrong. The counselor points out that the person in the picture has no ears. The boy doesnt see whats wrong instead he sees another boy who just wants to fit into society like the rest of us. Years progress and he begins a job of building pipes and rolling marbles down them. One day he comes upon a pipe that acts as a black hole where no marbles come out the other side. Intrigued and wanting to escape humanity he tries to build a pipe big enough for him to go into. The day comes when such a pipe is made. He goes deeper and deeper until he sees the light of heaven. He talks with the angels and they tell him heaven isn't for people who only do good deeds, instead its a place to come to when your life doesn't treat you well. G-d wants life to be great and people who dont get the best experience get to try again in the hope that it will be better.

I think this is a beautiful story because it shows how as humans live to love each other and ourselves and only by that can we find true happiness. Life isn't about progress and how far we go. Millions of years can equal a single minute because of how meaningful it is. A first kiss, A baby breathing its first breath, An act of hard work paying off in the end, It's things that make you happy that define your meaning of life. Meaning of life is only defined by the person themselves. Next time you ask ”why does anything ever matter?” It doesn't. Unless you mean it to.

Etgar Keret: One Last Story and That's It

 This story is about a demon that job is to take talents away from people. The demon gets to the house of a man, and the man does not give much hassle, and says thank you for the talent given to him and offers snacks and lemonade. He then ask if he could have one last story, and the demon says sure. As the man is taking his one last story, the demon realizes how kind and nurturing this man is, and finally gets the one last story, which was quite the moving story. The man then ask " what do you do with all the talent you take?" and the demon responds with a simple I don't know. After that the demon takes his talent, and complains about the 2 more people he must take talents from.
  I think the author wants to share how hard it is to recognize all the talent one has, and how peoples talents go to waste easily. Relating to Israel, I feel as if a lot of movements and people get covered up by the overwhelming effects of the pure idea that they a the correct Jew and everyone else isn't. I also find it wrong that a Jewish state, is willing to oppress people, and not find them a home and comfort, because every one has their own struggles. I personally connected most with the part of the story when the man ask where does the talent go, and the demon doesn't know. I personally believe that if everyone in our world had equal opportunity, then we would have accomplished so much more in every way. There could be a kid destined to be a painter, but never has a chance too because his school doesn't have a art program, or another kid be find cures for horrible diseases, but cant afford to go to school and works multiple jobs just to eat. Many children hear the words " You can not do that because...". As a female, I have been told that I couldn't be smart or strong. I consider myself filled with a passion for knowledge, and strong enough to be able to work through obstacles. I think as a people we should build each other up, not down, and we can accomplish so much more. It is so hard to build each other up with the challenge over who's oppression is worst than the others. Well, I think my struggles of being a Jewish female teen are not any more important than a struggle of a black adult or child with a disability. I stand up for people, not any particular race, gender, religion, sex, or characteristic. We are people with Talents. We all want to tell one last story, and should embrace oppression with snacks and lemonade, not with a competition.

Katzenstein: Etgar Keret Assignment

            In this short story called “Katzenstein”, Etgar Keret writes about a man that had always been compared to a person named Katzenstein ever since high school.  The protagonist had been constantly compared to Katzenstein in high school by his mother who would put him down if he didn’t do as well as Katzenstein had done in a class.  The main character had always felt Katzenstein’s shadow in his yard, at work, and everywhere he went.  Years later, the man gets frustrated with his constant comparisons and decides to move away with his wife and son.  The protagonist realizes that he happened to be on the same flight as Katzenstein while leaving Basel, except Katzenstein was in first class and had done better than him again.  The man leaves his seat and is told to go back to his seat by the flight attendant just like everyone else on the plane but he knew that it included Katzenstein.  The protagonist opens the emergency door while in the air, commits suicide, and finds himself in Hell.  In the afterlife, he sees that the plane he was on had crashed and realizes that if he had gone back to his seat, like Katzenstein, the end result would have been the same.

            I connected with this story because especially in modern times, people are either comparing people to others or are being compared to others.  Wondering what other people think of us is something that goes through all of our minds at some point in our lives.  Making judgements on others is something that we are all guilty of and I recommend this story because I feel that many people can relate to the main character and his fear of being judged or compared to others by the rest of society.

            I can relate this story to the current conflict with Arabs and Palestinians because of the judgements and comparisons that Israelis have on Palestinians and Arabs and vice versa.  I think that Etgar Keret is trying to say that nothing will change if there aren’t any efforts to try to change anything.  Relations will stay the same if people run away or avoid the conflicts that they face.

Mock Knesset

Yesterday we had the opportunity to understand the Israeli political system a little bit better by doing a simulation of the Knesset election process. We started off the morning by learning a little bit more about the general information of the Knesset. The Knesset is a parliamentary Jewish democracy. At the moment there are 10 parties in the Knesset that work to form coalitions to win a majority in government (no one party has ever won over 60 seats). There are 120 seats in the Knesset.

We all split up into groups to learn and become part of a single party. Though there are 10 parties in the Knesset, we decided only to present 7 of the parties. We gathered information about our party to campaign in front of the other party members. We wrote a little skit or jingle, made a poster, and created a presentation about our ideals as a party. We heard from the zionistic Avodah (Labor) Party, the Habait Hayehudi party who are keen on keeping all of Israel, the Meretz party who advocated for equality and a more secular state, the United Arab List that combined several former small parties that want rights and equality within a binational state, the Likud Party who want security and a jewish constitution, Shas or the "super jew", quite conservative party, and finally, Yesh Atid, a central party that want equality and advocate for "sharing the burden." The parties presented their views on the conflict, equality within the state, and the need (or not) of a constitution, along with many other issues.

After a long and tough campaign, the Avodah and Yesh Atid party were tied with the highest number of seats (dun dun duuunnnnnnn). They negotiated about who should be prime minister and formed a coalition between the two along with the Meretz party to end up with 73/120 seats in the Knesset. After a vote, the Yesh Atid party was decided to hold the position of prime minister, and the two parties negotiated about which ministry should go to which party within the coalition. Overall, it truly helped us to understand the process of the Knesset as well as get to know a few of the major parties that hold seats within the Knesset (and we had fun!!)

What are the advantages or disadvantages of the Knesset system versus our American political system? Which party do you identify with and why?

Breaking The Pig Etgar Keret assignment

As a child you need to learn what’s right, and good traits as you’re growing up. The main point of this story is learning. A child isn’t able to get a toy that he wants because his father says that he’s spoiled and he wants him to learn respect for money.  Instead he’s given something that he doesn’t really want. After a little bit of time the child grows to love what’s been given to him. Unintentionally and indirectly, the child learns to care for something he loves and in order to reach his goal he must do something he hates. The only reason he does what he hates is for the porcelain pig he receives. He views the pig as being the calmest, most comforting and the most reliable of his belongings. Eventually over time, his father checks on everything and carrying out his original lesson, he promises his son the toy he originally wanted. The only downside is that it’s at the price of destroying this pig. The child pleads for one more day and goes off and saves what he holds dear.

              In the way I interpreted this story, I can say that I connect with it. My outlook on this story was that over time, you change and so do your feelings, thoughts, and emotions. Additionally it shows that you need to protect what you hold dear to you, even if it’s from something you’ve done. I relate to this because as a person I believe that you should do as you feel is right and in the way it’s displayed it’s something important to do regardless of what might come in the future.

              I see the author depicting how Israel as well as anything can change. You might want something, but that’s not something for certain. For instance, in the history of the Jewish people they always experience such hardships and horrors for who they are. Even so, they still keep their Judaism no matter how bad everything gets. Different story, same place for almost every time the Jews leave a certain place or area.

This story could be depicting the Jews throughout history and what the end result is. 

What do you do when rockets start falling?

Shalom y'all!

As promised, below is a link to an interview that I participated in back in 2012 when I first heard the sirens for an incoming rocket. Including Operation Protective Edge, I've now heard the sirens go off between 20-30 times. I can't say you get used to it (you don't), but I am determined not to give them my fear. Also, I would like to add that what I've experienced in no way compares with what the residents down South near the Gaza border have had to endure over the last 10+ years. They have seconds to get to safety and have heard hundreds and hundreds of sirens.

Here is the article: http://atlantajewishtimes.com/2012/11/what-do-you-do-when-rockets-start-falling/

The Flying Santinis

A little boy wants to join the circus. His parents take him to the ringleader willingly, and he asks to join the Flying Santini Brothers. The ringleader asks the boy a series of questions including “are you brave?” and “are you nimble?” and “are how agile are you” each of which followed by a small test. This little boy passes all three tests, until the last one. The little boy ended up pushing himself a little too hard, trying to be perfect, and gets an injury. I connected a little bit, because I tend to push myself as far as possible, sometimes too far. I’m very ambitious and I don’t want to miss out on anything, so even if I know I should stop, I usually do as much as I can and then stop. I would recommend this story, as it is short and gives a good lesson. I think that the author is trying to say that it is okay to push ourselves to try for something we want and believe in, but sometimes it is okay to protect ourselves when we know we’ve pushed ourselves too far. I think part of this relates to Israeli society in that teens growing up in Israel tend to try really hard to get into certain parts of the IDF, and sometimes they will push themselves as hard as they can to get into that unit. I think that sometimes tend to have a similar ideal that I do, in pushing farther than they should in order to achieve their dream job. I think that this story could be considered Israeli culture for the same reason as stated above. I think that in general, Israelis have a tendency to fight for what they believe is right as long and as hard as they possibly can.

-Rachael Coleman

Supreme Court

On Monday we took a trip to the Supreme court. When we first entered, our guide took some time to explain to us the significance of the architecture. There is a great emphasis on the contrast of new and old. We saw the old stone wall on one side, and the new modern wall on the other. We also saw, as we looked out at the panoramic view, the old city of Jerusalem to the right and the new city of Jerusalem to the left. This is emphasized because you need to remember old laws and old rulings to effectively make good decisions today. As we continued on, we saw the path that the judges take on the way to their chambers, First the walk up the stairs in the entryway, which looks like an alley in the Old City. Because the judges are appointed and not elected, this helps to remind them of the connection they have with the people. As the judges continue they walk up a very simple and narrow staircase. This was built this way to humble them. As we continued on we came to the are outside of the library. This is the most important area. Everyone must walk through that spot on the way to the court rooms, All around you can see the library and all the books it contains. This is to remind people that there is the written law, which every judge studies, so they will know that the decision made will be a just one. The library houses many books. There are books that contain laws for Israel as well as ones that contain laws for other countries like America. In Israel, the judges are not allowed to use halacha as precedence, they can however, use past cases from other democratic countries, like America, as precedence. And, although the government is secular, it is still required for all lawyers to take a class on Jewish law.
Next, we went into an empty court room and our guide showed us how the room is set up. In the very front, raised off the ground, are three chairs for the Judges. In front of that is a table with computers where the stenographer and the intern sit. (It is very hard to become an intern in the supreme court and it involves a lot of hard work.) Then there is a semi-circular table where the lawyers sit. If you look around the court rooms you can also see that there are things representing different religions. The benches are said to remind people of the pews in synagogues, the arches remind people of churches and in the back of the court room you can find a muslim motif.
To become a judge in the supreme court you need to be a lawyer and an Israeli citizen. You do not have to be Jewish, Then you are appointed by the Judicial Committee There is currently one Arab-Christian and one woman. The woman is the chief justice which is chosen based on seniority. There are many differences between the American and Israeli Supreme Court. Which do you like better? Why? What do you like and dislike about the Israeli Supreme Court?

After the supreme court we went to visit the sight of a terror attack during the second intifada. At a bus station on November 21, 2002 around 7AM bus number 20 pulled up and exploded. It was a suicide bomber. It was a bus filled with school kids. 11 people were killed and over 50 others were injured. Sadly this wasn't out of the ordinary at this time. At this stop we also heard other stories about terror attacks during this time. Cafes and restaurants were being blown up all over. At the end of the second intifada 3,315 Palestinians died and 1,604 Israelis died. If you were in Israel at this time would you have changed what you did day to day? If so what? Why or why not?

Our last stop on the tiyul was to see the barrier on the West Bank. This was put up for security as a result of the second intifada. Although the wall seems to be effective in some ways it makes life a lot harder for the Palestinians. In many cases the wall separated people from their place of work and schools and in some cases it went through villages. The part of the wall that we saw was very tall and made out of cement. It looked quite harsh. In other places the wall is just a fence with cameras and sensors. The wall makes it extremely difficult for people to get to work. It can take people hours in some cases. In rare occasions a door will be put in for farmers to get to their fields or for kids to get to school. The wall is guided by the green line but doesn't follow it exactly, especially in places around Jerusalem. What do you think about the wall? Should it be left up or taken down? Why?

Later that night we met with Kids For Peace. This organization takes kids, Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Jewish, Muslim, and Christian, from the age of 12 and mentors them to think peacefully until the age of 18. They learn about the conflict and get to discuss problems the have. The kids and advisor we met with told us about their struggle and how they view things. I personally, learned a lot and got a chance to look at things from a perspective I had never thought about before. What is something they said that shocked you? How can/will you spread the message of peace?

Women of the Wall

Early on sunday morning, Rosh Chodesh, EIE went to participate with Women of the Wall. Women of the Wall is an organization that is encouraging the rights of Women to read from the torah and pray at the Western Wall, and be just as proud to be Jews as the Men can be. I have always considered myself a large feminist and for the past year saw Women of the Wall as the most important thing I could do as a young Jewish feminist. In the past year I have worked with my own high school on changing our dress code to not target females, taught elementary school girls the importance on girl power, and have fought for equal rights through social media and online, but I did not seemed fulfilled by these actions because knowing that I had not been a part of Women of the Wall.
  On Thursday we met with the head of the Israeli Religious Action Center, Anat Hoffman, who just happened to be one of my feminist role models. She is a leader of Women of the Wall and shared about how Israel needs to have equality, as a democratic state. When we went early Sunday morning to Women of the Wall, we were greeted by Anat and other ladies leading the service. It was rainy and Eie and about 15 other ladies gathered under 2 umbrellas with Sidurim printed just for this service. It felt normal to be praying, the strangeness came mostly from the fact the service was Orthodox, and was hard to follow as Reform Jews. Although I knew we were a part of something big with Women of the Wall, it just felt very normal and unsymbolic.
  When we got to the Torah service, I was curious whether or not there would be a Torah. The closer and closer we got to the part of the actual reading the more excited I got over if there would be a Torah. I was disappointed when I saw we would be reading from our Siddurim, and I realized that if a was boy, I wouldn't be having the opportunity to pray with one of my role models Anat Hoffman, so I quickly cheered up. Then Eie got called up for an Aliyah, and that was also a moment in which I realized that the women all around me from Eie are my sisters, and that even though there wasn't a Torah, I had something special all around me. We were singing and dancing after the Aliyot, and one lady complained that are group was disturbing her praying, which we shrugged off with out any worries. Finally as the  Torah service we danced around the Kotel singing a tune we learned back in Poland, and had so much fun despite the weather.
  Overall the experience felt normal, which is almost better because the means progress. I learned the Women of the Wall was not the golden grail of feminism, and that I still am not fulfilled with the lack of equality around the world for women. It is important to bring back the values from Women of the Wall around the world and not just at the Kotel.
In what ways do you think you can change your community? What did you take out of Women of the Wall and the service and what was your favorite part? Is it important to bring equality in Israel?
What was the experience for the guys like?

By: Etgar Keret

Critique and Summary by: Max Lenett

Once in generation, people go free. But only for a day at the most. For Anna, working every day and never seeing the same people twice is devastating. Besides the old, the only people she ever sees are the strangers- the tourists. Those who come to Hell and yet can escape. They are seen often but every time they come back, they are somehow different than before. Why, she can't seem to figure out. But it seems like they come from Hell, just so they could go visit Hell.

I do feel connected to the story. It reminded me of all the people I ever had in my life and of how I lost them. And if and when I saw them again, both of us were different, for good or for worse, I do not know; but we were different.

I believe Mr. Keret was symbolizing the War of Attrition. People leaving all the time and sometimes never coming back. Those who came back, were flooded with war memories and became a contrast to their former selves. And those who had to go and defend Israel, they cried. But not because of what was happening around them; but from the knowledge that if they go, they might never come back the same. 

This story could be shown as Israeli literature in a way which it shows the history of the early established  country. It shows Israeli culture during a time of struggle, confusion, anger, and Zionism. 

One Good Deed a Day

Etgar Keret Assignment

“One Good Deed a Day,” in Etgar Keret’s book The Nimrod Flip-Out, describes the simple acts of kindness performed by two Israelis traveling cross-country in America. The story is centered around an experience in Philadelphia that was meaningful for the narrator. The traveling friends struggle with how they should give, and in what capacity, in order to fill their goal of doing one good deed every day of their trip. During their day in Philadelphia, the friends encounter an old man who offers them advice, and then asks for money. The men try to offer him food, but the man becomes extremely upset, because he understands that they don’t believe he was offering them actual advice.

The narrator, and especially his friend, try hard to do the right thing and give people food, instead of money they might spend on drugs. I connected with this story, because I too am strongly affected by personal interactions with those who are much less fortunate than myself. I very much want to help, but I don’t want to do anything wrong. In addition, the setting of the story is comfortingly mundane and familiar. I think, because I have been far from home for so long, that the normality of the United States is a huge draw for me in this story.

The story ends with the narrator giving to another person in need, this time to someone who you would not expect him to give. He retains judgement and simply gives. I believe that Keret is making a commentary about a society in which we are quick to judge, and are conditioned to give only with extreme constraint. I believe this can be viewed as true Jewish/Israeli literature because it involves a struggle to do the right thing, a struggle in which the Jewish people are eternally involved.

Sderot: A city near Gaza

  15 seconds. When the siren goes off the people of Sederot have 15 seconds to run to the nearest shelter. Sederot is a city on the northeast corner of the Gaza strip, and faces many challenges with security and even economy. Although Sederot has challenges, Sederot has a very strong community, and has so much much to offer.
  Our first stop was a playground. We met Danielle, who has lived in Sederot her whole life, and learned about life in this city. We learned about the life in the shadow of rockets being fired from Gaza since the year 2000. After a short time our class noticed two large snake sculptures, and almost as quickly we learned these serve the purpose as bombs shelters in this area where the children play, and gave a quick access to safety. Sederot does not life in sorrow, but this city takes the negative and uses it to make its people stronger. Along the road there are beautiful statues made from parts of rockets, gardens, and people.
  We then went to a look out, and saw Gaza. We learned from Amit (Ariella's husband) about the security situation. I learned about how many misconceptions I had about what Gaza would somewhat look like. I though I would see smoke and destruction, but it seemed like any other city we could see out in the distance. In our view was also a Kibbutz and agriculture growing, and far enough out the sea. Were you surprise at the nof we had of Gaza? What were some misconceptions you may of had about Sederot and Gaza?
  Our day continued at a community center in which we heard about making peace from Roni Keidar, a member of Kibbutz Nativ HaAsara just outside of Gaza. She is one of the founders of "Other Voice". This lady had shared about how in bombings her friends in Gaza would text and ask if she is alright after, and how she would help take members in Gaza to hospitals. I was very moved by her words of peace and education, and all the stories this woman had told. As she was sharing, I noticed myself crying. I could not say I was sad or why I was crying, but I just felt so touched by the words of friendship, love, and care being more powerful than hatred. What was your response to this woman actions and words shared with us? 
  We had around an hour of free time for lunch. Me and a few other students went to a hummus place. The restaurant had many young people dining and lots of cool music in the back and decorations. I felt so welcomed dining there and loved seeing so many happy Israeli strangers. The food was amazing, it was the type of hummus and fallafel you could only get in Israel. Free time was a great way to see culture and life in this community. We then visited our "guide", Danielle, and went to the student village where she she lived, not far from our lunch spot. The apartments were made out of shipping containers, and connected 2 apartments in the middle with a bomb shelter. The student village was a very large and close community for students going to college in Sederot from all over the country. 
  Overall, the day changed how I saw this conflict and what is happening around, to a more positive one. Even though we were in peace, I thought that Sederot would be a torn down city covered with IDF members everywhere. Now is see Sederot as a strong part of Israel with great culture (and hummus). 
  How were you influenced by the places we saw and the people we met with? 

Missing Kissinger

This story is about a man that is trying to prove to his partner that he loves her, which she denies. She tells him to show her that she loves him, but won’t tell him what to do, and he is at a loss. Finally he arrives at the conclusion that he needs to bring her his mother’s heart. His mother, in turn, wants his partner’s heart.

I do personally connect with this story because at its basis it’s about trying to please several different people at once, at the expense of every relationship, something I think most adolescents know something about. It’s not exactly a hard read, but I wouldn’t recommend it just because I think the message is a little too simplistic for the idea behind it, and I am not a fan of short stories in general unless they are very open to interpretation. The story only shows two factors as contributing to the conflict, when in reality the situation is much more complex.

I think Keret is trying to show the complexities of Israeli international policy, specifically between the Arab nations and the US. There’s a code of a four-foot knife in the story, which I think is a symbol of the physical actions and intelligence help that Israel provides, mostly for America. On one hand, the man is desperately trying to assuage the fears of his partner, and is willing to cut the heart out of his mother for some level of personal security, but on the other hand, it is his mother, who has a similar role in his life and requires the same things as his partner. In Israeli politics this comes up in the pull from both Arab countries and the US. Israel relies hugely on foreign aid from America, and as a result has to align itself, but at the same time, wants to create peace in the home, which would require realigning against the US. The title “Missing Kissinger”, referring to Henry Kissinger, who served as National Security Advisor and Secretary of State under Nixon and Ford, further points to this conclusion. Israel, like the man, finds itself between a rock and a hard place. This can be considered Israeli literature because it describes the Israeli attitude of impatience and general discontent with the situation. People are tired of having to pander to benefactors while trying at the same time to mitigate disaster with local nations.

-Noah Arnold

Soldiers with autism take on key roles in the IDF

Shalom! I thought y'all might find this story interesting:

http://www.timesofisrael.com/soldiers-with-autism-take-on-key-roles-in-idf/

There are many different groups within the IDF that offer individuals various ways to serve. Israel truly has an army made up of all her citizens.

Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel - HW assignment for Thursday

Please read the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel and answer the following questions:

1. What goals did the state of Israel set for itself upon its establishment as a Jewish democratic state? What sources are these goals based on?

2. The modern state of Israel does not have a constitution rather a series of basic laws. In recent years, it has been suggested that this document become Israel's constitution. What is your opinion on the matter?

Declaration of Establishment of State of Israel

14 May 1948

	THE DECLARATION OF THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL May 14, 1948 On May 14, 1948, on the day in which the British Mandate over a Palestine expired, the Jewish People's Council gathered at the Tel Aviv Museum, and approved the following proclamation, declaring the establishment of the State of Israel. The new state was recognized that night by the United States and three days later by the USSR.                                                                             Text: ERETZ-ISRAEL [(Hebrew) - the Land of Israel, Palestine] was the birthplace of the Jewish people. Here their spiritual, religious and political identity was shaped. Here they first attained to statehood, created cultural values of national and universal significance and gave to the world the eternal Book of Books. After being forcibly exiled from their land, the people kept faith with it throughout their Dispersion and never ceased to pray and hope for their return to it and for the restoration in it of their political freedom. Impelled by this historic and traditional attachment, Jews strove in every successive generation to re-establish themselves in their ancient homeland. In recent decades they returned in their masses. Pioneers, ma'pilim[(Hebrew) - immigrants coming to Eretz-Israel in defiance of restrictive legislation] and defenders, they made deserts bloom, revived the Hebrew language, built villages and towns, and created a thriving community controlling its own economy and culture, loving peace but knowing how to defend itself, bringing the blessings of progress to all the country's inhabitants, and aspiring towards independent nationhood. In the year 5657 (1897), at the summons of the spiritual father of the Jewish State, Theodore Herzl, the First Zionist Congress convened and proclaimed the right of the Jewish people to national rebirth in its own country. This right was recognized in the Balfour Declaration of the 2nd November, 1917, and re-affirmed in the Mandate of the League of Nations which, in particular, gave international sanction to the historic connection between the Jewish people and Eretz-Israel and to the right of the Jewish people to rebuild its National Home. The catastrophe which recently befell the Jewish people - the massacre of millions of Jews in Europe - was another clear demonstration of the urgency of solving the problem of its homelessness by re-establishing in Eretz-Israel the Jewish State, which would open the gates of the homeland wide to every Jew and confer upon the Jewish people the status of a fully privileged member of the comity of nations. Survivors of the Nazi holocaust in Europe, as well as Jews from other parts of the world, continued to migrate to Eretz-Israel, undaunted by difficulties, restrictions and dangers, and never ceased to assert their right to a life of dignity, freedom and honest toil in their national homeland. In the Second World War, the Jewish community of this country contributed its full share to the struggle of the freedom- and peace-loving nations against the forces of Nazi wickedness and, by the blood of its soldiers and its war effort, gained the right to be reckoned among the peoples who founded the United Nations. On the 29th November, 1947, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for the establishment of a Jewish State in Eretz-Israel; the General Assembly required the inhabitants of Eretz-Israel to take such steps as were necessary on their part for the implementation of that resolution. This recognition by the United Nations of the right of the Jewish people to establish their State is irrevocable. This right is the natural right of the Jewish people to be masters of their own fate, like all other nations, in their own sovereign State. ACCORDINGLY WE, MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL, REPRESENTATIVES OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY OF ERETZ-ISRAEL AND OF THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT, ARE HERE ASSEMBLED ON THE DAY OF THE TERMINATION OF THE BRITISH MANDATE OVER ERETZ-ISRAEL AND, BY VIRTUE OF OUR NATURAL AND HISTORIC RIGHT AND ON THE STRENGTH OF THE RESOLUTION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY, HEREBY DECLARE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE IN ERETZ-ISRAEL, TO BE KNOWN AS THE STATE OF ISRAEL. WE DECLARE that, with effect from the moment of the termination of the Mandate being tonight, the eve of Sabbath, the 6th Iyar, 5708 (15th May, 1948), until the establishment of the elected, regular authorities of the State in accordance with the Constitution which shall be adopted by the Elected Constituent Assembly not later than the 1st October 1948, the People's Council shall act as a Provisional Council of State, and its executive organ, the People's Administration, shall be the Provisional Government of the Jewish State, to be called "Israel". THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations. THE STATE OF ISRAEL is prepared to cooperate with the agencies and representatives of the United Nations in implementing the resolution of the General Assembly of the 29th November, 1947, and will take steps to bring about the economic union of the whole of Eretz-Israel. WE APPEAL to the United Nations to assist the Jewish people in the building-up of its State and to receive the State of Israel into the comity of nations. WE APPEAL - in the very midst of the onslaught launched against us now for months - to the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to preserve peace and participate in the upbuilding of the State on the basis of full and equal citizenship and due representation in all its provisional and permanent institutions. WE EXTEND our hand to all neighbouring states and their peoples in an offer of peace and good neighbourliness, and appeal to them to establish bonds of cooperation and mutual help with the sovereign Jewish people settled in its own land. The State of Israel is prepared to do its share in a common effort for the advancement of the entire Middle East. WE APPEAL to the Jewish people throughout the Diaspora to rally round the Jews of Eretz-Israel in the tasks of immigration and upbuilding and to stand by them in the great struggle for the realization of the age-old dream - the redemption of Israel. PLACING OUR TRUST IN THE "ROCK OF ISRAEL", WE AFFIX OUR SIGNATURES TO THIS PROCLAMATION AT THIS SESSION OF THE PROVISIONAL COUNCIL OF STATE, ON THE SOIL OF THE HOMELAND, IN THE CITY OF TEL-AVIV, ON THIS SABBATH EVE, THE 5TH DAY OF IYAR, 5708 (14TH MAY,1948). David Ben-Gurion Daniel Auster Mordekhai Bentov Yitzchak Ben Zvi Eliyahu Berligne Fritz Bernstein Rabbi Wolf Gold Meir Grabovsky Yitzchak Gruenbaum Dr. Abraham Granovsky Eliyahu Dobkin Meir Wilner-Kovner Zerach Wahrhaftig Herzl Vardi Rachel Cohen Rabbi Kalman Kahana Saadia Kobashi Rabbi Yitzchak Meir Levin Meir David Loewenstein Zvi Luria Golda Myerson Nachum Nir Zvi Segal Rabbi Yehuda Leib Hacohen Fishman David Zvi Pinkas Aharon Zisling Moshe Kolodny Eliezer Kaplan Abraham Katznelson Felix Rosenblueth David Remez Berl Repetur Mordekhai Shattner Ben Zion Sternberg Bekhor Shitreet Moshe Shapira Moshe Shertok * Published in the Official Gazette, No. 1 of the 5th, Iyar, 5708 (14th May, 1948).

Israeli Cinema Day

On Thursday we had Ariella’s mother come in and teach us and provide certain insights within Israeli films around the 60-70’s up until modern time. We were shown three clips and one full movie.

The first clip we used was the one where it depicted Israel through an Egyptian eye, Avanti Popolo. The actors portraying Israelis were terribly mean and seemed drunk on power. Furthermore they hadn’t even the slightest bit of human compassion when they saw the two Egyptian soldiers passing by. The Egyptians were desperate for water and they first of all started shooting at their feet and after that they just treated them like less than human. This clip was representing the state of Israeli euphoria after the 67’ war and how they acted on that power trip.

Next we looked at Time of Favor, directed by Joseph Cedar was a movie about a certain love triangle amidst the turmoil of the West Bank. Menachem, the soldier in the IDF who was offered his own unit made up of his fellow Yeshiva students on the West Bank from Rabbi Meltzer in attempt to have a bigger and more successful religious unit. Additionally, the Rabbi is trying to give his daughter Michal to his star pupil Pini without her consent. Michal is very against because she finds no attraction in him and finds it an embarrassment to just be given away as a prize to someone she doesn’t even like just because she’s the Rabbi’s daughter. The part where it becomes a triangle is because she actually likes Menachem and vice versa. Michal resents the settlement they’re on because of what happened to her mother and holds the quote “This land of Israel is bought with pain” quite highly. Cedar gave the role and voice of reason to a woman in this film about the settlements and some not so pleasant realities that happened in these situations.

Another clip we saw was a short film called “Bus Stop”. This clip depicted an Arab and Charedi woman meeting at a bus stop and despite their cultural differences, they also find similarities and develop a friendship. At one point after the Arab woman made space for the Charedi woman, the tomatoes fall from each bag. There was a little argument on who should take the tomatoes because they both wanted each other to take them and upon seeing this, a Jewish man came up and immediately started suspecting and accusing the Arab woman of trying to steal. Despite just meeting, the Charedi woman lied for the sake of the Arab woman. In the end of the film both of the women leave with their husbands each leaving the bag of tomatoes behind. There are many ways to look at and interpret what the director was trying to portray. The one that clicked the most with me was how the bag represented the moment of hope the women had after meeting but had to leave behind among leaving with their (rather similar looking) husbands.

The last and only full movie we saw was entitled “Late Summer Blues”. That was the movie about the situation of the Israeli youth during the draft in the 60’s. It follows a group of friends with an array of different thoughts and opinions regarding the draft/war and how they handle it. It starts at the end of the school year with their first friend to be drafted and after that goes on different chapters for different people. I learned from this film the varying opinions people had about the draft whether it be what unit to join or to even join at all. It gave me a whole new aspect on how everything back then was really taken by those it affected most in terms of the draft and the war. I think the movie itself was well made and I enjoyed watching it. I also enjoyed the story it told and how even as you watched it, you both learned about the time period in Israel and also what was happening on a personal scale in regards to the situation.

In comparison to American Jewish youth, I think the Israeli youth has a lot more on their mind and deal with it a lot earlier. Instead of just going to college or working, Israelis have to join the military for 2 or 3 years (depending on gender) and serve their country on anything from education to warfare. I feel like having that responsibility starting to form your junior year and going until you’re 20-21 is much more stress than getting accepted into any school. Both Israeli and American Jewish youths are going somewhere after high school at least. Another thing is that they’re all teenagers, let’s not forget that. They at least have some similar priorities just because of the age range. In can be from going with your friends to the same unit/school or just anything really, I think there’d be a lot of similarities between the two groups.   

What do you guys think are the main differences and similarities between Israeli and American Jewish youth?

What did you learn about Israel and its culture based on these clips and films? 

Shoes

This short story by Etgar Keret, Shoes, was about  little boy's first real experience learning about the Holocaust. On his class trip to a Holocaust Museum in Israel, he learns how the Nazi Party started in Germany. A Holocaust survivor speaks to them and tells them that them about how he will never forgive Germany for what they did. When he goes home that day, his mom gives him a new pair of Adidas shoes. He knows that these shoes are from Germany. When he wears these shoes he feels as though he is stepping on his grandfather who was killed in the Shoah. Soon, after playing soccer, he forgets he was even wearing those shoes. He forgot just like he learned how people who have gone through terrible things, may not have a good memory. He realizes how important it is to remember what happened.
I connected with this story because sometimes I forget about what happened when I'm distracted from what is important. And although it is okay to be distracted, it is important to remember the Holocaust at all times in the back of my mind. In this way, I, and many others, are like the little boy in this story.
I think Keret was trying to express the basis of contemporary Israeli culture in relation to the Holocaust. Israel as a whole expresses the need to never forget what happened to the Jews during the Holocaust, yet Israel's culture has sine integrated with a Western society, including the source country of the Holocaust. We remember, what happened, but that doesn't mean the kids in Israel don't wear Adidas shoes, and use other German made products.
This a perfect example of Jewish/Israeli literature. It deals with conflicts that Israel and all Jewish people still struggle with: how to remember and to treat the memory of the Holocaust. It deals with Israel and the Jewish people and he relationship they have with other countries. The statement about our struggle in dealing with the memory of the Holocaust is what made this Israeli/Jewish literature.

Food for Thought

In class yesterday we discussed the issue of racism within the Jewish community between Ashkenazim and Mizrachim. On one hand, the Ashkenazim saw themselves as the true chalutzim of Israel, who built the nation up from the ground, and saw the Mizrachim as refugees coming in to enjoy the fruits of their labor without any contribution. On the other hand, the Mizrachim saw themselves as just as valuable as the Ashkenazim, but lacking a voice in the European Jewry-dominated country. Racism during the 60s and 70s took the most obvious forms of unofficial community segregation, poverty and discrimination. Today racism still exists between the two groupings of Jews but to a much lesser extent. In class, the general consensus to solve racism in Israel was to have an official push for integration between communities and to support the education system for Mizrachim.

What about Palestinian Arabs, living in Israel today? Can the same methods be applied to eliminate racism between Israeli Jews and Arabs that we agreed should be applied for the Ashkenazim and Mizrachim? Why, or why not?

-Noah Arnold

Cocked and Locked- Etgar Keret Assignment

Etgar Keret's short story "Cocked and Locked" is about the interactions between an Israeli soldier on border watch duty, and a member of Hamas. In the story, we see the Israeli soldier being continually harassed by his antagonist, the agent of Hamas. As tensions rise between the two, we begin to see Keret's take on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and his apparent view of terrorists.

Keret's story seems to suggest that Israeli's and Arabs are the same; they're all people. But when push comes to shove, the winner is really the bigger asshole. A soldier and a terrorist are exactly the same in regards to their abilities to thoroughly degrade and/or hurt another human being, so the difference lies in how they are responsible with their obvious power. When it becomes difficult to discern what "responsibility" means, the difference then lies in who can maintain their own integrity. When even that ability fades away, the difference at this point lies in their respective willingness to impose their will on the other.

I recommend this story because it dissects what it means to be "the bigger person" in a confrontation. While it seems to be a commentary on Israeli society and Israelis in general, showing for instance, how Israelis love an argument but hate to lose an argument, it really speaks as more of a commentary on human nature. For the Israeli in the story to allow his antagonist to get the better of him would be to disgrace himself so he lowers himself to the same level, and brutalizes his Arab antagonist. This is powerful statement on Keret's opinion about the Israeli/Palestinian conflict: At some level, we're all horrible people, and the winner will be the one who strikes first.

Hole in the Wall

This is the third of the short stories. I really enjoyed the story, although it was sad and had a certain dark and disturbing humor to it. In the story, there's a man named Udi and a hole in the wall where an ATM used to be. Someone told Udi, a lonely man, that if you screamed a wish in the hole then the wish would come true. One day, when he was alone, he screamed into the hole that he wished for Ruthie Rimalt to fall in love with him, but nothing happened. Another time, he wished for an angel as a friend. This wish came true. The angel would stay with him at all times, and really was a friend. He let Udi talk to him about anything, and let Udi help him with anything he needed, but never returned the favor. He didn't lift a hand Udi at all, and lied to him about everything. One day, the two were sitting on a roof together talking about life. Udi told him that as a child, he used to throw water bombs off the roof and the people below couldn't see because of the awning on the building. He asked the angel to fly, and the angel said no because he didn't want anyone to see him. Udi accused him of not being able to fly, but the angel swore he could. When the angel wasn't looking, Udi shoved him off the roof. He didn't mean to hurt him, but he just wanted to see him fly. The angel fell five stories down, and lay still on the ground with his twitching wings, and died. It turned out that everything the angel told Udi about his powers and his life wasn't true, and all that he was just a lying man with wings.
I really enjoyed this story. I think there's a lot to it, and if you analyze it deep enough you can uncover some really powerful messages. Although it was so short, it had so much to it. You can see how lonely Udi is and how desperate he is to have a friend; literally desperate enough to scream into a hole in the wall. In my interpretation, the angel is just as lonely. I think there are plenty of reasons that the angel doesn't reciprocate Udi's kindness towards him, first and foremost being that he's taking advantage of the lonely man. It's hard to read the angel's character because it's from Udi's point of view, but you can tell that all the stories he tells Udi are lies. This is proof of the angel's loneliness, showing that he wants to keep Udi interested. Udi keeps good intentions throughout the story, all the way to the end when he kills the angel. The characters and plot of the short story was powerful and interesting and provoked a lot of thought.