Thursday, July 2, 2015

Tel Aviv: New Beginnings and Final Farewells

Today was another incredible day filled with so many different emotions.  It started with our breakfast, where you could hear our travelers speaking about how much they would miss Israel and how they wished we could stay longer.  It is a very good sign when people are speaking about wanting to stay longer and not wanting to go home.  Even though we knew there would be some sadness as we bid farewell to Israel, we still had an exciting day of touring ahead of us.

Our first stop was the Ayalon Intsitute near Rehovot for an eye-opening tour of a clandestine munitions factory used during the Brittish Mandate.  When we arrived I could tell that many in the group did not know what to expect and thought this might not be such a great activity.  I knew from my experience two years ago that this was an amazing stop and could not wait to see everyone's reaction to our visit.  This museum tells the story of how Israelis during the years of 1945 through 1948 created this secret munitions factory beneath the bakery and laundry facilities at a kibbutz in order to produce bullets for the war of independence.  Creating bullets was totally against the laws set forth by the Brittish.  We learned that the secret factory worked for about 9 hours a day and during the three years of its operation created more than 2.5 million bullets used in the fight.  In other words, this factory literally saved the Jewish people and was instrumental in the creation of the state of Israel.  The kids, mere teenagers, worked underground on this secret mission, a mission they could not even share with their spouses, at great personal risk. They were at constant risk of being caught and punished, and they were at risk of being injured or killed by the factory itself, with gun powder being used.  The courage displayed by these kids was inspiring.  We learned that the reason the laundry was on top of the factory was the machine was loud enough to hide the noise and smells coming from the factory.  In order to mask the factory, the washing machine needed to run every day for 9 hours.  We learned that the kibbutz only needed about two hours of laundry time each day.  In order to keep the machine running, the kibbutz laundry would wash the clothes for the local hospital.  This added another 4 hours to the workload, not enough to cover the entire work day.  In order to keep the machine going they would wash the clothes of the Brittish soldiers, the very people they were hiding the factory from.  If you want to hide something from someone, the best place to do so is right in front of their faces.  We saw the secret entrance to the factory beneath the large washing machine that would rotate out of the way to uncover a ladder system to get down into the basement where the factory was housed.  We learned that the entire project was built in just three weeks, 21 days to dig out and create the fully functional basement factory.  The Brittish soldiers were told that they were building a basement storage facility for food.  We learned how the workers countered the negative effects of not being in the sun and turning pale, where artificial sunlit was brough in in the form of ultra violet light that they would sit under so they would not be too pale.  We learned about the special communication system created using red lights that people on the surface would use to tell the workers if someone was coming so they could stop working and turn off the machines.  We learned how they would smuggle ammunition out in the gasoline trucks that would come every couple of months.  Think of it, gun powder and gasoline in the same truck...  The residents of the kibbutz who knew what was happening were so smart that they served warm beer to the Brittish soldiers, which was not to the liking of the soldiers who preferred cold beer to warm.  The residents told them to call ahead and they would put beer in the fridge for the soldiers, creating a warning system that would tell workers three hours before any soldiers would come so they could be prepared, reminding us of the non-indigenous trees we saw in the Golan Heights that alerted the Israeli military to where the Syrians were hiding.  It is another heroic example of the Israeli spirit, a spirit we all hope we can take home with us.

After this visit we took a short ride to the ancient city of Jaffa, a city with 5000 years of history found in its layers.  This is an example of a tel, where we see one civilization building on top of another, and another, and archeologists are able to look at these layers by slicing the ground like a piece of cake to reveal the history of a location.  We learned how, when people would make Aliyah to Israel they would come through the Jaffa port and were so disappointed at what they found, no schools and not even a working sewage system.  Because of this 66 families turned to the north and saw sand dune upon sand dune and decided to settle there.  These are the people who created Tel Aviv, which has turned into a thriving, modern city full of life.  These settlers had the courage to do what was hard and create something new for themselves and their families.  Here is our group of travelers as we looked from ancient Jaffa towards Tel Aviv. You can see our hotel in the distance.


And a selfie with our guide, Uri...


Tel Aviv means old and new city (tel is something old and aviv means spring representing newness), and these settlers represented the new type of Jew that would eventually be instrumental in the formation of the state of Israel.  

After a stop for lunch and shopping in the open air market in Jaffa we made our way to Independence Hall for our final touring destination during the trip.  Here, we would recreate the story of the formation of Israel in the exact location where our statehood was declared on May 14, 1948.  Our visit to Independance Hall began with a short movie about the events leading up to the declaration of statehood.  We learned even more about the formation of Tel Aviv, and even saw the wall of the original house that was built on this location by Mayor Meir Dizengoff, Tel Aviv's first mayor.  It was amazing to learn how they divided the land for the 66 families who formed the new city.  They got 66 white shells and wrote the names of one family per shell and 66 black shells and wrote the numbers 1-66 on these.  They drew one black and one white shell and that was the order in which people chose their land.  Mayor Dizengoff was the 43rd prison to pick his land.  The hall has been renovated a number of times, as it became an art museum after Mayor Dizengoff's wife passed away.  When he died some time later, he donated his home to Tel Aviv in the hopes that the story of the history of the city was preserved.  Little did he know that this place would serve as the most historic place in recent Jewish history as Israel was declared a state.  Following the film about the site, we went inside the actual room, set up as it was in 1948.  We learned that invitations for the pronouncement were handed out in secret the day before the event.  Jerusalem could not be the site for the announcement because it was under siege at the time, as Israel was already fighting her neighbors as statehood was announced.  This location had thick concrete walls with few windows so it offered protection from any kind of attack.  The announcement was going to happen on Friday, may 14 because the Brittish had announced that they were leaving that evening.  At 3:30 pm on Friday, the 300 people that were invited arrived (it was a miracle that no one showed up late).  Chairs, rugs and microphones were borrowed from neighboring stores, and at 4 pm the announcement was made so that it would be done before the beginning of Shabbat.  After our guide shares with us all the background we listened to the original broadcast of the pronouncement.  We could hear Ben Gurion declare statehood (our guide, Uri, translated as Ben 
Gurion spoke), and then we heard the rabbi read the shehechianu prayer, the same prayer we sang as we looked upon the Old City for the first time).  Then the orchestra began to play Hatikvah.  Because of the size of the room, the orchestra had to be placed on the second floor.  This made the sound feel like it was coming from heaven.  As the first notes played, we all stood up out of respect.  I watched our guide, Uri and our youth counselor Shachar begin to sing the words.  Seeing the pride in their eyes, knowing that each of them had served Israel in the military brought me to tears.  I began to sing along as well, as did many in our group.  As the music swelled I began to weep, tears rolling down my face.  I could sense others in our group were having the same emotional reaction.  This song is forever changed for me because of hearing it in this location.  Every time I sing or hear it I will be back in those uncomfortable wooden chairs, tears rolling down my cheeks again.  

As you look around the room, on the walls you can see pictures painted by famous Jewish artists.  Many of them show pictures of the Jews from the old country.  How interesting to see those pictures as a new, modern Israel was being declared.  Uri explained that it was not a statement saying "you are the old Jews and we are the new Jews," almost like there was no place for them here in Israel.  Rather, he explained, it was us saying that we are here BECAUSE of you, that even though those Jews pictured might not be here physically, their spirit is part of what has made Israel what she is.  It is a reminder that we carry those who came before us with us as we move forward.


It was so fitting that our tour ended with Independence Hall.  The pronouncement of statehood does not represent an ending, but rather a beginning.  And our tour, although comprehensive and expansive, only represents a small portion of what Israel has to offer.  Her story is just beginning to be written, and our relationship with her is just beginning to be defined.  It is amazing to think of all of the accomplishments she has made in her short history, literally changing the world for the better in so many ways.  And we also recognize that there are areas in which she falls short, as we all do, and we should not hesitate to criticize her as we do America.  But there is a certain pride that we all should have for her.  Standing in that room where ordinary men and women accomplished extraordinary things by action.  In the face of certain failure, Israel has endured again and again.  And she has endured because people saw that she was worth fighting for, worth standing up for.  And we are the ones who have to be her advocates in the diaspora.  I also take away from this trip the fact that I am too lax in my support of our country.  I need to reevaluate how I stand up for and support our ideals. 

After leaving we had some time to pack before meeting as a group to do a debriefing of our experience.  First Uri did an overview of our tour and all that we did in our ten days together.  It was an exhausting trip, both physically and emotionally.  After this, we then opened up the conversation to allow people to share their thoughts of what they were taking away from this experience.  I was so amazed by what people said, from our youngest travelers to our oldest, about how Israel has changed them.  Some spoke of the connections they made with others in our tour.  You could see relationships solidifying as we experienced unique things together.  Others spoke of the emotional impact of places like Yad Vashem and the Wall, and how they will not be the same because of those experiences.  Israel has a way of holding up a mirror in front of our faces and forces us to face realities about ourselves that are sometimes uncomfortable.  What is our impact going to be on the world?  What can I do to add light to the darkness that is around us?  What we take away is that it is not about israel's story, but rather our story.  How will we write our story?

Our final activity was a farewell dinner at Goshen, an absolutely amazing meat restaurant in Tel Aviv.  Here we made toasts to each other, officially thanked Uri and Shachar for all of their work and began the difficult task of saying goodbye to each other.  Saying goodbye was much harder than anyone thought it would be.  After all of the planning and preparing, all of the pre-trip programming and ten intense days together, the trip officially becomes a memory.  I am so grateful for each and every person who was a part of our tour.  Together we created a special group that will remain bonded together in a special way forever.  I cannot wait to get back to TAE and share the special glances with these people, the special hugs that we will share that will be a little stronger because of our experiences.  This is how we keep our trip to Israel alive, as we recognize that we come home different.  I cannot wait to face east for the Bar'chu again, so I can close my eyes and feel my hands touching the Wall that has become so important to me.  I cannot wait to sing L'cha Dodi and close my eyes and find myself in Tsfat connected to the Mystics of our past.  And I can't wait to walk the Old City again.  I urge you to consider taking a trip to Israel.  Talk to our travelers and learn of their experiences, and see why just reading these words is not enough.  You simply MUST experience it for yourself.  And TAE is happy to take you there.  We will begin planning our next trip as soon as possible.

A special note: after saying goodbye to people who were leaving this evening we had the chance to visit with Miss Tara, who taught a number of our younger travelers in our preschool at TAE.  It was so special to see her in Israel, a place she loves so dearly, and to see her with her kids again.  Listening to her talk with Hayley about her experiences was so special.  It was a sweet moment that helped to get through the sadness of our tour ending, and I could tell how moved she was by the impact Israel had a on all of us.

As I write this we are sitting in the airport waiting for our flight to Amsterdam for a special meeting that is also two years in the making.  Even though the blog is ended because the trip to Israel is over, I will probably add two more posts, one for this special meeting and one for the Anne Frank house.  





No comments:

Post a Comment