On the road in Israel (A recent visit)

June, 2003 On the last Friday of his trip, George Wilensky slept in a Bedouin tent in the Judaen wilderness.

Towards dawn, he awakened and climbed the mountain known as Masada, where almost 2,000 years ago, Jews endured a three-year siege by the Romans, ultimately choosing to take their own lives rather than relinquish their independence. Standing atop this ancient fortress that looms high above the Dead Sea — an enduring symbol of Jewish courage and self-determination — Wilensky watched the sun rise. Later that same day, after visiting the Dead Sea and several small neighboring towns, he watched the sun set at another sacred Jewish site — a spiritual symbol of hope and faith. He stood at the Western Wall, and along with hundreds of other Jews, ushered in the Sabbath.

When you ask Wilensky, a seventh grader at the Heritage Academy in Longmeadow, about his recent two-week class trip to Israel, this is the day he tells you about. Push him to tell you more, and he talks about the rush of emotion upon entering Jerusalem for the first time, or the long and arduous trek up a stony mountain in the Negev, or the sun-drenched beaches of Eilat and the refreshing waters of the Red Sea. He talks about the possibility of a return trip as early as December. He doesn't talk about a sense of fear. He doesn't talk about security concerns. He doesn't talk about a fatalistic sense of imminent disaster or impending doom among Israelis.

Wilensky is not alone. In fact, his account of his experience is similar to the accounts of other local Western Massachusetts residents who traveled to Israel this spring on a variety of group trips. When asked for their impressions, the travelers focus on the awe-inspiring mix of old and new, the natural beauty of the landscape, the warm and appreciative welcome they received from the populace. Security concerns? What about it?

"People told me that I was crazy," says Linda Karpman, who together with her husband Dan was part of a delegation of seven Western Massachusetts residents organized by the Jewish Federation of Springfield, who traveled to Israel in early May as part of a United Jewish Communities solidarity mission. Diagnosed with ovarian cancer last year, Karpman promised herself a trip to Israel once she recovered from an arduous regimen of chemotherapy.

"I decided I wanted to be in Israel for Yom HaAtzmaut (Israel Independence Day)," she explains. "I wanted to be at the Western Wall and say thank you to G-d in a place that was really meaningful to me."

Warned by friends about the inherent dangers in such a trip, Karpman just shrugged.

The result was what Karpman describes as "one of the most wonderful trips that I ever had... Every single day was an adventure, from morning until night." The group of 110, who hailed from all across the United States, were treated to many activities and toured many sights that they would not have enjoyed had they visited on their own: meetings with high level government officials such as former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu; an afternoon spent as volunteers serving lunch at a soup kitchen; a tour of a naval base in Haifa; and a special Yom HaAtzmaut show staged especially for them in Tel Aviv.

Some of Karpman's most meaningful experiences, however, happened when she and her husband were on their own.

"One day," she says "we went shopping in the shuk in the Arab section of the old City. We ended up having a great political discussion with an Arab shopkeeper. He asked us, ‘What do you think about peace?' I looked him in the eyes and said that I think the leadership has to change. He said, ‘Whose leader?' I said, ‘Yours.' By the time we finished he wanted us to stay for coffee. He said he has not had any business for two and a half years. He only keeps his shop open because he has nothing else to do. The situation has hurt both sides."

To Leon Hatch, a vibrant 85-year-old from Longmeadow on his fourth visit to the Jewish state, a visit to a kibbutz near Afula that houses a high tech factory manufacturing parts used by NASA was just one more example of how technologically advanced the young country has become.

"We were riding along in our tour bus one day, passing strawberry patches and orange groves," comments Hatch, "when we passed a wide open field, just flat land and grass. About a quarter mile back stood a modern-looking building. I asked the guide what the building was. He smiled and said, ‘They make toilet seats there.' Later on he told me why he smiled. It was really a nuclear plant. I thought to myself, here's a country that's only 55 years old and it has already acquired nuclear technology. It's unbelievable. I can't imagine any other country that has developed as quickly…that is so progressive," he said.

Progress is important, but history and Jewish identity was the motivating force behind the 11-day trip to Israel that 12 seventh and eighth graders from the Lubavitcher Yeshivah Academy (LYA) embarked upon in mid-May.

"The goal of the trip," notes LYA Judaic studies teacher Rabbi Chaim Kosofsky, who accompanied the students, "was to instill in the students a love of Israel, the Torah and their Jewish heritage. Through the experience of being in Israel, we wanted the students to learn about themselves, their history and their background."

To accomplish its goal, the LYA trip focused on educational experiences. For example, noted Kosofsky, many events throughout Jewish history and many stories in the Midrash have taken place during droughts. Likewise, he said when there is a lack of sufficient rain in Israel it has a very real impact on the Israelis' way of life. Therefore, the LYA students hiked along streams and studied the flora in order to learn about the value of water from an Israeli perspective.

"We spent several days around the country's main water supply and hiked to tributaries that supply the Kinneret with water and snow melts. The last few winters have been very dry and this winter there was lots of rain. So it was interesting to see that the level of the Kinneret rose several inches this winter and the tops of trees were covered in water."

According to Kosofsky, the students also took advantage of the warmth and friendliness of the Israelis to learn more about their lifestyle, and to experience the diversity of Jews and Jewish customs.

"We stopped strangers and had conversations. We spoke with Israelis from many different backgrounds. We went to Ashkenazic services and to Sephardic services — and the different customs opened their eyes to the diversity within the Jewish people. We learned a lot not only from our wonderful guide, but also from our guard and bus driver. Our guard was a non-observant Jew with whom we became very close. The kids had long conversations with him and he helped them to understand the life of an Israeli on a more personal level."

For Batsheva Schreiber who, like most of her classmates, was visiting Israel for the first time, the experience was overwhelming.

"I've learned about Israel all my life," she said, "and I thought it would be a beautiful country. But nothing could prepare me for being there. I especially loved the countryside. It was so beautiful that, driving through it, I just didn't want to stop looking. I was afraid if I turned away I would miss something."

Schreiber and her classmates were so taken with Israel that they were hoping that an ongoing national strike would delay their departure. It didn't. But it did lead to major airport delays for a group of 12 seventh and eighth graders from Heritage Academy upon their arrival.

"We had planned to go to the Kotel the night we arrived," said Yaakov Asulin, vice principal of Judaic studies at Heritage Academy, who accompanied the students, most of whom were visiting Israel for the first time. "But we were delayed at the airport for four hours. So, instead of arriving in Jerusalem at 8 p.m., we arrived after midnight. We decided to go to the Kotel anyway. The kids were exhausted, but when we got there they suddenly got this energy to run. Seeing them standing there with tears in their eyes made it all worthwhile. All of a sudden everything we have been teaching them became real."

"It was really dark walking through the Old City," recalls Wilensky, "and our tour guides were hurrying us through at a very fast pace. Suddenly, we broke out into the open plaza and there we see the Western Wall and it's unbelievable. As we walked through the security check room, we kept looking at the Wall through the glass. It was so late at night and there were about 50 people at the Wall praying. It was surreal."

Like their LYA counterparts, the Heritage students had the opportunity to interact with many Israelis — even playing a friendly game of softball with a group of kids from Eilat. Just who won the game, according to Asulin, is up for debate, but the fact that the two sets of youngsters established a positive rapport and learned a lot about one another is not.

Despite the fact that they traveled separately and enjoyed different experiences, all three local groups who visited Israel last month seem to agree on several points: they were not afraid to travel to Israel, they were well protected while there (each group had its own guard); they felt entirely safe while in Israel. Their conclusion: media images can be deceiving.

"What Americans see on the nightly news scares them away," says Debbie Peskin, director of the Women's Division of the Jewish Federation of Springfield who accompanied the area's delegation on the UJC mission, "But that's not the Israel we saw. We were extremely comfortable. Never once were we afraid or feel that this wasn't a good time to be there."

That sense of security, according to Karpman, seems to emanate from Israelis themselves.

"We visited friends in Ashdod and Tel Aviv, and they are not at all fearful. They are optimistic and realistic. They believe that difficult times may lie ahead, but peace will come. Of course, they are pragmatic and do what they have to do. But they also know how to have fun."

Interestingly, while Karpman's assessment of the Israeli attitude is shared by many others among the three trips' participants, it is not shared by Asulin, who happens to himself be Israeli and visits Israel every other year.

"As an Israeli," he says, "my sense is that it's not quite the same as it was. People are living their lives, but they are more careful. More vigilant. My sense is that things are not 100 percent."

Asulin admits, however, that the stepped up security within the country can have a calming effect on visitors.

"One of the students told me that he felt safe seeing all the soldiers everywhere. It gave him a sense of security."

Unfortunately, says Peskin, the media images of a terrorist-ravaged Israel have kept tourists away and that, in turn, has had a devastating effect on the Israeli economy.

"A concern for security was the number one reason we did not have more people join our trip," she says. "What a shame — because we were so welcomed by Israelis. They were so happy we were there. They rolled out the red carpet."

As if to prove their deep appreciation, says Peskin, many Israeli stores touted signs proclaiming "Big Discounts for Brave Tourists."

"I hope the people who visited Israel this spring will become active and help spread the message that Israel needs American Jews in Israel," Peskin concludes. "They need us to be there because they feel the world has abandoned them and they are fighting the battle themselves."

Interesting.

Give peace a chance.

Thy Will be done.

3 posted on 07/02/2003 6:42:48 AM PDT by dennisw (G-d is at war with Amalek for all generations)

"they feel the world has abandoned them and they are fighting the battle themselves."

you're not alone, little Israel.

He asked us, ‘What do you think about peace?' I looked him in the eyes and said that I think the leadership has to change. He said, ‘Whose leader?' I said, ‘Yours.'

The leader of this Arab in Jerusalem is Ariel Sharon. They are Israeli citizens not "Palestinians" ruled by Arafat/Abu Mazen. So saying your leader must change, implies they are not Israeli citizens, which they are.

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