Dear TBZ Community:
I write this Shabbat N’kabla message from my hotel room in Haifa, near Carmel Mountain, overlooking the beautiful Haifa Bay and Mediterranean sea.
We arrived on Sunday. A group of 31, TBZ members and Sinai members accompanied by me and Rabbi Andy Vogel. It has been only four days and we have learned and seen so much. It has been emotionally intense, encountering beauty and hope together with brokenness and suffering, realizing the tension that this place holds in it.
I’m sharing with you a little bit of each day, hoping this report gives you a sense of our trip.
We arrived in Yafo, the southern part of Tel-Aviv, a mixed area of Arabs and Israelies, with an old city. Our hotel was located in the more gentrified area of Yafo, filled with bars, restaurants, and boutiques, and bursting with nightlife. Our first night was a feast in a wonderful restaurant. Our trip is organized by MEJDI TOURS, a company that creates trips for people who believe that both sides of the story matter (check out their website for more information and the story of two peacebuilding practitioners, Aziz Abu Sarah and Scott Cooper, who founded Mejdi). We are being led by two fantastic tour guides, one Palestinian, Samer Siam, and one Jewish, Ross Singer.
On Monday our focus was Jaffa (also known as Yafo) and Tel-Aviv. We heard the narratives and the challenges from the perspectives of Ross and Samer, sometimes agreeing and sometimes disagreeing on how we tell the story of how Tel-Aviv and the State of Israel came to be with its beauty and its tragedy. As we stood in the place where the State of Israel was declared, I, personally, felt both emotional for the dream and vision for a homeland for the Jewish people, and devastated and broken for the cost and suffering that it has brought and for the sense that in many ways we have failed to bring to fulfillment a state that, as the declaration reads,
“will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture…”
I still hope and pray that this fulfillment is possible and I know that many continue to work tirelessly here to make this happen. Much of this trip is meeting those who are working toward this goal.
The next day, Tuesday, we took the bus south to the border with Gaza. We stood overlooking Gaza, on a hill that is dedicated to the memory of Israeli soldiers who were killed by Hamas terrorists who had crossed the border through tunnels built from Gaza to Israel. Reading the account of the death of those four soldiers broke my heart once again. We then met two social workers who run the Resilience Center in Sha’ar Hanegev, whose mission is to support people (adults, children, families) in finding strength, coping mechanisms, and resilience as they live in a constant reality of attacks. I cried during their presentation as I thought of the kids in Sderot and the surrounding area that live under attack and I was moved to hear about the support they receive, including trying to give them something close to a normal life. As we walked in the area, we saw the bomb shelters, one next to each other, as people have only 15 seconds to get to a shelter when the siren goes off. From there we went to Kibbutz Nirim, just 5 miles from Khan Yunis, where we learned about the experience and the lessons learned from living there. At the Kibbutz, we met with a former settler of Gaza (Gush Katif) who told us his story and what it meant to him to be taken away from his home during the Israeli disengagement from Gaza in 2005. We also met with two teenagers from the Kibbutz who shared their love for the kibbutz and their commitment to become better human beings, not to judge others for the place they live or were born. They spoke with so much compassion about the children who are trapped in the humanitarian tragedy of Gaza and it was so inspiring to hear them share that as they talked about growing up constantly running to shelters because of the attacks from Hammas. Rabbi Nava Hefetz from Rabbis for Human Rights and Anat Heffetz from the kibbutz guided us during the day. We also had the honor to meet with Avi Dabush, Executive Director of Rabbis for Human Rights. These people remind me that Israel is filled with people and organizations that believe it is possible to build a shared society and create a path for peace. Yes, these are hard times and many are scared, but my impression has been that those who are on this path for peace and justice are not giving up so easily.
On Wednesday, we drove to Haifa. Our day began with a walking tour for the Queer History Haifa, a unique and interesting way to learn about this city. Then we had a delicious food tour that included amazing hummus and falafel at a restaurant of a four-generation Arab family and we stopped at a local brewery for some beer tasting. Our afternoon included visiting the Leo Baeck Education Center, where we met with students as well as with two of its rabbis, Rabbi Oshrat Morag and Rabbi Ariela Greatz Bartuv (meeting two women rabbis in one afternoon in Israel is not a small thing!). It was inspiring once again to hear from young people regarding their lives here in Haifa. Our last stop yesterday was Isha L’isha, the oldest feminist center in Israel and a leading voice in the struggle for women’s rights in the country. This meeting was both painful and inspiring, as we learned about the challenges and campaigns these and many other feminist organizations work for, including abortion rights, affordable housing, and ending violence against women. But we also heard the commitment of this organization and many others that will continue to fight for policy changes for women, especially those who are marginalized. Haifa, as one of the largest mixed cities in Israel, is home to many social justice organizations and that is perhaps one of the things that makes this city so special.
Today, Thursday, our day began with meeting a prominent Palestinian activist, Sally Abed, from Standing Together, a grassroots movement mobilizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel in pursuit of peace, equality, and social and climate justice. We heard about the importance of standing together, to fundamentally alter the existing socio-political reality. Though there was some rain today, we had the opportunity to visit some important places in Haifa: we went to the Baha’i Gardens and learned about Baha’i tradition; we visited the Cave of Elijah, the prophet, learning about both Elijah’s importance in both Judaism and Islam; we had an opportunity to walk in the beautiful German Colony; and we had a meeting with another prominent Palestinian activist, Jafer Farah, founder and general director of the Mossawa Center: the Advocacy Center for Palestinian Arab Citizens of Israel. As we came back, we had an opportunity to reflect and debrief together as a group.
Tomorrow morning, Friday, the group will be going to Ramallah, and eventually ascending to Jerusalem, for what we expect to be a wonderful shabbat.
So far, our trip has been incredibly special. We have enjoyed each other’s company, met new people from our own TBZ community and from Sinai, enjoyed delicious (and abundant quantities of) food, been learning new things and struggling with issues, and connecting deeply. And we still have more than half the trip to go.
Personally, I have been able to see family and friends (in the evenings, once the program has ended). And, as always, coming here is coming home for me, connecting with Israel, a place that is deep in my heart, a place I love, with its challenges and beauty.
I will share more next week towards the end of the trip… I will also share more when I am back as I hope others from the group will do as well (and we will not all agree on our take-ways from this trip). For now, I think that I am holding both the heart-break and the hope, the disappointment, and the beauty and the belief that there is still a path and a possibility for tikkun, for repair, and maybe… one day… for peace.
To see pictures and follow my daily reports, which I have used to write this email, you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing. And may we have a joyful, sweet, and peaceful Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia