By Rabbi David Wilfond, Director of Education
Since Friday, the teens have been in the “Kishrei Noar” segment of the NFTY in Israel Program. ” During Kisrei Noar, eight Israeli teens join with the American teens for a week of socializing and talking about the “Big Questions” of being a teenager in Israel and in America. The program is presented like a “Big Family Reunion” with long-lost relatives. Educationally this is the part of the program in we focus on modern Israel and its complexities. There is no better was to learn about modern Israel than through the eyes of, and in conversation with, Israeli teen peers. Sunday the teens traveled to Mount Bental in the Golan Height to learn about the complexities of the Syrian Civil War and how this affects Israel’s borders. Israel’s northern neighbors are Lebanon and Syria. Israel’s relationship with its northern neighbors has been marked by some periods of calm and then by some periods of intensity. When the Israeli teens of the Kishrei Noar program speak with the American teens about their feelings about their upcoming military service after high school, it brings into stark contrast just how different how a young Israeli’s life is from a young American’s life. There is much that both the Americans and Israelis teens can learn from each other during this week when they travel together. The recreational highlight of Sunday was the rafting experience on the Jordan River.
Yesterday, the teens went to Bar Heifer, the community which initiated the building of the separation barrier between Israel and the West Bank. In Bat Heifer in the mid-90’s, families complained about their homes being fired upon by Palestinian riflemen from the West Bank village of Tul Karem. The Bat Heifer town council petitioned the national government to put up a cement wall to absorb the bullets being shot from the nearby Arab village directly in to the living rooms of the residents of Bat Heifer. The government agreed to build a separation barrier which later became extended into what is known today as the security fence between Israel and the West Bank. Most of the security fence is indeed that – a metal fence. However, in a few key places instead of a fence a concrete wall has been built for security reasons. Today, from Bat Heifer one can see a Palestinian pride in the form of a huge Palestinian flag (least 100 feet long) flies above the neighboring village of Tul Karem. Though a concrete barrier separates the land, there is an inspiring story of here of hope, about how the Israelis and Palestinians jointly purify the wastewater that collects in a local reservoir along both sides of the fence, and is then jointly shared for agriculture. Our students learn there is hope even in sites of conflict.
On Tuesday afternoon, the teens met at their hotel with an Israeli Settler and a Palestinian Resident of the West Bank to hear their narratives of the conflict. Both the Palestinian and the Settler belong to an organization for people who were formally militant extremists who have come to an understanding that peace can only be achieved through listening, and respect. They speak openly and honestly about the conflict and the need to find another way beyond the current violence and lack of recognition of the narrative of the other.
Today, Wednesday, the main activity of the day will be a visit to Yad Vashem, Israel’s Holocaust Museum and Memorial. Also, on Wednesday the teens will visit the Belz Hasidic Center in Jerusalem to learn about the growing role of the Haredi community in Israel.
Thursday the teens will make their way to Tel Aviv to explore this explore this exciting cultural capital on the Mediterranean. Tel Aviv was founded to be the first Hebrew-speaking city after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. Tel Aviv in many ways tries to be the opposite of Jerusalem. Jerusalem is timeless. Tel Aviv is timely. Jerusalem looks back on history. Tel Aviv looks forward into the future. Jerusalem is religious. Tel Aviv is secular. Yes, these are stereotypes and there are important exceptions. Nonetheless, it is so interesting just how different these two cities are in spirit, yet geographically, they are less than an hour a part. To get to know the Tel Aviv spirit better the teens will spend a good part of the morning with Eitan Chinitz, a local music star and rhythm artist who shares his story as an Israeli who loves being Jewish but creates secular Jewish culture in Tel Aviv. Teens will also visit the Weizmann Institute in Rechovot, where of the 21 of the most prescribed medicines on the planet seven of them are the direct results of research done at the Weizmann Institute for Science and Medicine. No other research center on the planet can claim to have done as much to heal humanity than the Weitzman Institute. There is much to be proud of when discussing Israel’s achievements in science and its application. This is Jewish Tikkun Olam at its best – making contributions to help cure humanity’s illnesses throughout the world.
Friday, it will be the teens last Shabbat in Israel. The summer has been full of so many rich and meaningful experiences. But, the spiritual peak will be the teens last Shabbat in Israel celebrated at the egalitarian section of the Western Wall Kotel in Jerusalem.
