By Rabbi David Wilfond, Director of Education
On Friday, the teens began the “Kishrei Noar” segment of the NFTY in Israel Program. “Kishrei Noar” is Hebrew for “Youth Connections,” and for many of the American Teens this is a highlight of the summer in Israel. During this part of the program, eight Israeli teens join the group full time for seven days. The idea is to break the illusion that the tour bus is like an “aquarium” in which the participants look out upon Israel from the bus window but fail to get to know real Israelis and their lives. In Kisrei Noar, the Israeli and American teens spend time 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 also the part of the program in we focus on modern Israel and its complexities. At NFTY in Israel we believe that the best way to engage with modern Israel is alongside modern Israelis in a peer teen dialogue. They got to begin their first day as a group at the Sea of Galilee swimming, going on banana boats and playing water sports. There were also ice-breakers and group-building activities. This was meant to create an atmosphere of fun for making new friends with the Israeli teens and to welcome them to the NFTY in Israel Bus. Friday evening the group celebrated Kabbalat Shabbat in the classic NFTY style with Guitars and spirited music and singing.
Today, Sunday, the teens drove to Mount Bental in the Golan Heights overlooking the border. During the last few weeks, thousands of Syrian civilians have fled to the area near the border of Israel. This area is considered a safe zone free from the intensive aerial assaults of the Russian Air Force. The visit of the teens to this look out point provides an opportunity to have a conversation about Syria and the “Arab Spring,” and what it means for Israel and the region. This war has displaced millions of people. Israel has played an important role proving medical support to any wounded that arrive at the Israeli border, all while Israel strives not to take a side or get drown into the messy state of affairs on Syria.
Then the group drove to the Gadot Observation Point, on the Western Golan Heights overlooking the Galilee Mountains, the Jordan River and Kibbutz Gadot, located on the banks of the river. Here the group learned about Syrian Occupation of the Golan Heights from 1948-1967. During this time the Syrians used the Gadot Observation Point as an army base to fire artillery shells on the Israeli farmers at the bottom of the mountain. After 19 years of constant shelling by the Syrians, the Israelis pushed the Syrian Army off the Golan Heights in the 1967 Six-Day War. The tone of the teen’s discussion was not a Rambo like glorification of might, but a somber and serious engagement with the reality that Israel is a small country in a “Rough Neighborhood.” The Israeli teens explained that soon instead of going off to University like many Americans, it would be expected of them to join the Israeli Defense Forces for 2 to 3 years in order to protect their county. For the American teens hearing their Israeli peers talking about their upcoming army service – it is a lot to digest – just how different lives can be in different places.
After a lunch break, everyone went rafting in a tributary of the Jordan River near Kibbutz HaGoshrim. With not a cloud in the sky and hot weather, the cooling waters of the rafting adventure were much appreciated. In the evening the teens had a program about Current Events in Israel in order to become better informed of the issues confronting the People of Israel today.
Tomorrow, Monday, some teens will begin the day with a morning hike down Mount Arbel which provides breath taking vistas of the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights off in the distance. For lunch, the teens will be hosted by a family who is part of the Druze Community of Daliyat haCarmel. The Druze are a highly respected minority in Israel with a secret religion. They broke away from Islam more than 1,000 years ago and today are fiercely loyal to Israel. This may be due to the fact this minority suffered severe discrimination under Islamic rule. In the afternoon the group will travel to Bat Hefer to see and discuss the complexities of Israel’s “Separation Barrier.” Though the fence separates the land, there is an inspiring story here about how the Israelis and Palestinians jointly purify the wastewater that collects in a local reservoir and is then jointly shared for agriculture. Our students learn here is hope even in sites of conflict.
Tuesday the teens will meet 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. The Palestinian and the Settler speak open 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.
All of these activities are done jointly with the Israeli teens of the Kishrei Noar Program. There is no better was to learn about modern Israel than through the eyes of, and in conversation with, Israeli teen peers.
