Final Thoughts

So here I am on the plane back to Toronto. I’m no longer asleep and waiting for them to bring me another crappy meal. I’ve been thinking about the last 9 days, as there isn’t much else to do when everyone around you is fast asleep, and they are showing another crappy movie.
To tour Israel (a country no larger than the state of New Jersey) in 9 days is an impossible feat given its rich history. One could spend a lifetime and still not see everything that Israel has to offer. It feels like I have been in Israel for an entire month because of all the things I have seen and done. At the same time, the trip has felt only like 4 days as we have always been on a tight schedule, and always rushing to get to our next site.
Anyone can travel to Israel and see the sites and learn the rich history, but what I will remember most is the amazing group of people that I got to experience this all with. To be with a group of people my age who are all looking to see, learn about, and connect with Israel has enriched my Israel experience. To meet soldiers in the Israeli army has given me a new outlook on myself, as at the age of 18 all Israelis must dedicate 2 or 3 years of their life to defending Israel.
From meeting the soldiers for the first time at the military cemetery followed immediately by having a good time with them eating lunch and laughing. Or partying one night followed by waking up and learning about the holocaust early the next morning, this trip has been an emotional rollercoaster. These 10 days have challenged me in every way possible – physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Hmmm… final thoughts. I’m not really sure what else I can say. This trip has been a once in a lifetime opportunity. These past 10 days have been everything I expected it to be and so much more. I know that this trip has changed me in many ways in such a short time period. I am excited to see how exactly this trip will change me.

Army Base and Independence Hall

Today, we got to go to the army base where 5 of the Israeli soldier on our trip are stationed. We were able to see the barracks and mess hall, which were both fairly comparable to accommodations at university. After the brief tour, 2 of the soldiers from the K9 unit demonstrated 3 drills involving their attack dogs. Wearing a special suit, the soldier is protected from the dog. The dog was let loose to attack the ‘terrorist’. The dog jumped at him and bit onto his arm and did not let go. The dog is trained to keep hold of the suspect until the dog’s owner – and only the owner pries the dog off the person. In the second drill, the suspect was dressed as a civilian, and again the dog was sent to attack – only this time the dog had a muzzle on. The 125 pound dog jumped at the ‘civilian’ and knocked him over. The dog continued to harass the person by jumping at him and repeatedly knocking him over. The dog owner even had trouble wrestling the dog away from the suspect.
We learned about the 3 types of dogs used in the army (attack, bomb sniffing, and search and rescue). We were told about how the dog units are integrated into other units to assist with the mission at hand. We were also shown some vicious scars that were left on the soldiers during the dangerous training involved with the dogs.
Right as we left the base it started to rain heavily. This was the first time the entire trip where the weather has not been absolutely perfect. It kept raining for at least the next 12 hours which was when we boarded the plane. We had some time to eat and shop before we went for our last activity – a tour of independence hall, the place where Israel was declared a country on Friday May 14, 1948. We were able to sit in the preserved hall and after the brief history lesson; we listened to the audio recording of David Ben Gurion as he declared the establishment of the State of Israel. Following that declaration we all stood and sang Hatikva – Israel’s national anthem, just as the 400 observers did on that day. To stand there and imagine what it would have been like to have been there in person was a breathtaking experience.
One interesting thing that happened was that after the declaration was read aloud, the members of parliament that were supposed to sign it, ended up signing a blank document. There was not enough time for the document to be written on the piece of parchment before May 14th, so it was signed first. The original document is on display at Independence hall, and it written on 3 pieces of parchment which are sewn together. It is not known exactly the reason behind this, but it is said that either the writer spilt some ink on the document or he realized that he was going to run out of room on the paper and needed additional space.
Independence hall was the perfect conclusion to an amazing trip. To see the country then come back full circle to the place where Israel became internationally recognized as a country was the perfect ending.
After Independence Hall, we went for our last dinner together as a group, said goodbye and headed off to the airport.

The last meal :-(

CW starting with me: Me, Ronny, Josh, Michael, Mike, Shay

The Negev

When we woke up at 6AM it was still freezing cold. It was awesome to spend the night at the tent with my friends, but I don’t know if I would choose to stay there again. Once it started to warm up, we took a camel ride for about an hour. Some people rode donkeys, while the rest of us were on camels like myself. It was fun to be on the camel, but man did it ever hurt without having padding down there. The camel ride was fun to see the animals interact with each other – especially the crazy horny donkeys. It was awesome to see the desert in the daylight. After not being able to see anything during the night looking out into the desert during a perfect cloudless day was an awesome scene. Even though it is only sandy hills for as far as the eye can see and even farther, it is amazing to think that it is possible to visit the Golan mountains, see snow in Jerusalem and visit the desert all in the same day.
After the camel ride, we went to Masada. Masada is an amazing site, in the fact that it is the largest mountain in the area surrounded by flat desert and the dead sea, which is the lowest place on earth. Atop Masada there is a city in ruins. Since the 1950s, the site has been excavated and partially reconstructed. Masada was originally occupied by the Romans who had Jews as slaves. The Jews later rebelled and conquered Masada. They were able to live comfortably there for a number of years even though it was in the middle of the desert. At this point, the Romans began conquering Israel, and they had destroyed the second temple. Next they were to conquer Masada. The Jews knew that it was only a matter of time before they would be defeated, as they were hugely outnumbered. On the last possible night before they were to either be defeated by the Romans or taken as their slaves again, the Jews decided to kill themselves as opposed to be at the mercy of the Romans. Each man was sent to kill his family. After that they convened and held a lottery as to who would be the last man standing and must commit suicide (which is illegal for a Jew to do). The next day when the Romans reached Masada, they were surprised to see everyone dead, and the fortress ablaze. Many of the storage areas, and homes were kept in tact to show the Romans that they were able to sustain themselves atom Masada.

Entrance to the Roman King's living quarters atop Masada. Back row: Allison, Josh, Laura, Me. Front row: Shira, Mike

After the tour on top of Masada, we hiked down the snake path and headed to the Ein Gedi Spa. This spa was built 25 years ago, and it was right on the shore of the dead sea. Today, a shuttle is needed to take people 1 km away to the water. The dead sea is drying up due to the salt and mineral farming done in the dead sea. Once standing in the dead sea, I was a little hesitant to lay down on my back and float, even though I had previously been in the dead sea. Once I lay back and kicked my feet up, it was an indescribably awesome feeling to remain motionless and float at the same time. Also at the spa, the dead sea mud is concentrated with many minerals and is very therapeutic. It is also fun to throw! We covered ourselves in mud from head to toe, which was a lot of fun as well.

It was then time to leave the desert as we headed to Tel Aviv to conclude our trip. Once checked into the hotel, it was time for a shower – after sleeping on the ground in the desert, riding smelly camels, sweating from hiking, swimming in salt water, and being covered from head to toe in mud it was nice to be clean again. We had the night free for ourselves to spend in Tel Aviv. We went out for a nice dinner followed by a nightclub and an Irish pub. The night was lots of fun, as it was my last night in Israel.

Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum

This was our last day in Jerusalem before we headed south towards the desert. We spent about 5 hours in Yad Vashem – the holocaust museum. Since I was there last, they had done major renovations to the museum, so it was a new experience for me. One interesting Israeli law is that any foreign diplomat that travels to Israel for the first time must visit Yad Vashem.
At the museum, we had the opportunity to hear a testimony of a child holocaust survivor. Her story was unique in that she had multiple identities and had only recently found out who she really was. Once her parents were murdered in the holocaust, somebody else would take over the mother role, and with that came a new identity. She had 6 different parent figures in her life. The museum starts by explaining the life of Jews before the holocaust. This led into the rise to power of Hitler and the Nazi party. Next, I learnt about how the Nazis spread hate and their propaganda methods. The museum went on to explain the hard labour camps and the ghettos. The museum was very educational, and the end of the museum climaxed with the exiting of the museum overlooking Jerusalem. It was a huge contrast to be in the museam and then to overlook such a beautiful city like Jerusalem. Of the 6 millions Jews commemorated at Yad Vashem, 1.5 million of them were children under the age of 12. There is a special separate section to the museum that pays respect to the children of the holocaust.
Later that night we drove down to the negev (negev in Hebrew means south, referring to the desert). We went to a Bedouin tent to stay the night. The drive down was dark, so there was not much that we could see. It was a perfect time to catch up on some much needed sleep. At the Bedouin tent, we got a traditional meal followed by an explanation of the Bedouin people, culture and customs. We stayed up well into the night enjoying the warmth of the bonfire. Once it was bedtime, a sweatshirt, jacket, toque, and 2 pairs of pants were not able to keep me warm.

The soldiers were not allowed to bring thier M16s into the holocaust museum - only "small guns". They lined up all their guns and gear outside the museum along the wall. Don't worry, there was a guard guarding everything.

Its only the 3rd day for our soldiers, and already they are exhausted. Nir and Andre are getting some much needed rest. Note that Nir is taking good care of his handgun.

Andre, Me, and Nir strike a pose. Both are part of the counter terrorist unit. Andre is a paratrooper.

Shabbat

After a very long night at the bar, we got to sleep in. we needed to be up for 11 oclock, but I woke up at 930. at 11, we hada professor from Hebrew U come to speak to us on the current political situation in Israel. After the lecture we had the rest of the day to relax and enjoy the Shabbat. In the evening we went to Ben Yehuda street in Jerusalem to do some shopping. We also went to a nightclub where we were able to party will all the birthright tours from across Canada.

Mount Hertzl

We went to Mount Hertzl, which is a national military cemetery located in Jerusalem. Theodore Hertzl – the founder of Zionism is buried at the top of the mountain. Former Prime Ministers as well as any fallen soldier killed on duty can be buried at this cemetery.
At this point on the trip, 8 Israeli soldiers joined up with us, and will be touring with our group for the remainder of the trip. They are on the trip for the same reason as the Canadians – to tour Israel. The idea is that us Canadians can meet Israeli peers in the army. Through them, we can learn about Israel through their eyes. As well they can learn about Canada through us. Three of the soldiers are in the K9 unit, 3 in the counter terrorist unit, 1 from the air force, and 1 from the tank unit. These soldiers are 20, and 21 years old, like myself. Conscription is Israel starts at 18, and lasts 2 years for women and 3 for men.

These are our 8 soldiers and medic on the last day of the trip

We had the privaledge to pay respect to a fallen soldier in the K9 unit who was friends with the 3 soldiers in the K9 unit that were with us. He was killed on duty in the Gaza strip only 2 months ago. Burried in that same area are the soldiers who have fallen this past summer while fighting the Hezbollah in Lebanon. Only a few graves away, there was a man paying respect to his son who had been killed when his tank was hit. He was killed only 3 weeks ago. The father was very nice, as he talked to us about his son, and also showed us pictures. Both these soldiers had recently turned 21 just before their deaths.
After the visit to Mount Hertzl, we went to the market for lunch. The market was packed, as the most popular time to shop for the fresh foods is Friday – just before the Sabbath. We bought a fresh challah right from the oven – the best challah I have ever tasted.
We later went back to the Kotel to experience the start of Shabbat. This time it was a completely different experience compared to yesterday because bringing in Shabbat is a special occasion. It was less touristy, and there were many more people there. There is also a certain exciting atmosphere to welcome in the day of rest.
After Shabbat started, we began our hour and a half walk back the kibbutz through the streets of Jerusalem. The weather was perfect for us Canadians, but the Israelis thought it was cold. Once back at the hotel, we had a nice Shabbat meal followed by another long night at the kibbutz bar.
After a long week of traveling, and always on the run, it is nice to bring in the Shabbat, as we get a day to relax and wind down from a long week of travels.

Jerusalem

Today, we left the north and headed to Jerusalem, the capital of Israel. Before we arrived, our first destination was an archeological dig site in the Judean mountains. The caves that toured and excavated have been around for over 2000 years, around the time of the Macabees. This is especially interesting because it is currently Chanukah. Chanukah is the celebration of the Macabeean victory over the Romans, and oil that was only supposed to light the temple menorah (candelabra) for one day, but lasted for 8. For the first part of the tour, we maneuvered through an unexcavated network of caves, called spurlunking. Only small holes, which are the top entrances to different rooms in the cave, were open. We needed to shimmy through these holes on our backs without the use of our hands to get through to the next cave. It was interesting and fun to explore these caves as they were found – unexcavated. After we managed to get everyone out of the network of caves without getting stuck in any of the holes, we were taken to another network of caves in which they were currently doing excavation. They gave us buckets and shovels, and we were able to dig for artifacts. I mostly found dirt and rocks, but towards the end I did find both pottery and animal bones, which were the common finds. It was fascinating to do this digging because nobody before us in over 2000 years had handled the artifacts that I dug up.
After the dig, wedrove to the old city of Jerusalem. First we walked along the outside of the old city. The first landmark we came across was the ‘mount of olives’. This site is a cemetery, which has been used for thousands of years. It is located on a hill directly across from the old city. There are 4 different religious groups that share the old city of Jerusalem – Jewish, Christina, Muslim, and Armenian. Each faith has their own section in the old city. After learning about the different religious groups, we walked through the old city towards the Kotel (Western/Wailing wall). This wall is a section of the base of the second temple, which was destroyed by the Romans. This section of the base of the temple is the holiest because it is the closest part of the wall to the holiest of holies – the dome of the rock. This was the site of the second temple. It is hard to explain the full beauty of the Kotel. It was exciting and humbling to stand before the center of the world for the Jewish people.
After dinner, we went to a bar on the kibbutz where we were staying. The bar was located in the bomb shelter. There was a bar, dance floor, and even a few lounge areas. If I had not seen the entrance, I never would have noticed it was a bomb shelter. It was fun to see how Israelis party, even though most of the people in the bar were Canadians.

The Golan Heights

We started the day off with a nice 2 hour hike through the Golan heights in the northeastern part of the country. The weather was perfect – about 20 degrees not too hot, not too cold. We saw a huge waterfall which leads into the Jordan river. The scenery was awesome, and the day was perfect.

We drove up north to close to the border with Syria. We watched a movie on the Yom Kippur War and the battle at the ‘Valley of Tears’ in the Golan. Israel had only 2 hours to prepare for war on the holiest day of the year – Yom Kippur. Syrian tanks outnumbered the Israelis 10 to 1, but the Israelis outlasted approximately 2000 Syrian tanks for 3 full days until reinforcements arrived. Not only did Israel defend itself, but it captured land from Syria in the north.

We drove to an outlook over the Israeli –Syrian border. This border is the most peaceful border that Israel has because of the extremely high tension between Israel and Syria. It has been extremely calm for 30 years because both sides do not want war. It was extremely vital that Israel defended the Golan during the Yom Kippur war in 1973 because these outposts in the Golan are to give 48 hours notice for war, even though this did not happen in 1973.

From the Golan we traveled to a hot springs located near the border intersection of Syria, Jordan, and Israel. The hot springs was a nice way to relax after a long day of touring. When we got back to the kibbutz, we had a nice dinner and had a bonfire outside by the beach. The weather was perfect, and the view overlooking the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) to Tiberius was outstanding.

The North

The first full day of the trip started with a hike on Mount Arbel, which is the highest point in Israel. It was a hazy day, and we were not able to see as far as normal. Mount Arbel oversees the Kineret (Sea of Galilee) which is the main fresh water source for Israel.

We drove to the mystical city of Tzfat. The Sephardic Jews moved to Tzfat after being exiled from Spain in 1492. Kaballah – the study of Jewish mysticism is studied in Tzfat. We were told a story of a person who began to study Kaballah, but who was not ready to learn it. One must be extremely learned in Judaism and above the age of 40 before they can begin to study Kaballah. This individual eventually went crazy and committed suicide – watch out Madonna and Britney Spears!

We ate lunch in Tzfat. I had a falafel – it took long enough (6 years since I was last in Israel) but I finally ate another good one. They cram it full of falafel balls and other goodness. And to top it off they ad French fries! The fries are my favourite part of the falafel, which they don’t do in Canada.
We had a brief tour of a winery manufacturing and aging plant. After the tour, we got to do some wine tasting. We were instructed on how to properly taste the wine. They even had those sophisticated spit buckets for the wine. I however am not that sophisticated, so I drank the wine.

Israel Day 1

I was excited about going to the airport for the first time in months. This time I am traveling as opposed to working. I received my luggage in Tel Aviv, which is good – otherwise I would know who to blame. It was a long 10 hour overnight flight direct to Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel. The flight was ideal for sleeping, but naturally that did not happen. I only got one hour of sleep, and for that I should thank the makers of the movie ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ for putting me to sleep.

Once we arrived at about 5PM local time, our first tourist destination was Mini Israel. The name is self explanatory – it is a mini park with all the sights of Israel. For the group, it was foreshadowing what would be of our next 10 days in Israel.