Back by Popular Demand...From my Brother and Father! An Overview

Hey all!

It sure has been a while, what, about 2 months or so? Sadly, my semester comes to an end really soon, and at this time two weeks from now I'll be back in Thornhill!!  These past two months have been pretty crazy, so I'll do an overview in this post so I can remember it all and then I will post individual blog posts with more detail! I'll go chronologically.  After Israel Apartheid Week (reminder: week around March 9th or something, like that!), I participated in Cave Day - the university took a group of students on a hike in the hills around Jerusalem, near Beit Shemesh, including some adventures through caves! Pictures to follow in the specific blog post!  Shortly after that was the Jewish holiday Purim, which is a preeeeetty big deal here! A friend and I went to the local family synagogue in the area of the dorms. It was a very interesting experience-I hadn't been to a synagogue for Purim in years! It was very nice to see all the kids in different Purim costumes!  Purim in Israel basically means party, and streets that night and the next day were PACKED! There were special events at Mamilla Mall (the new, outdoor mall in Jerusalem right near the Old City).  Overall, a very different Purim from what I'm used to at home.  Somewhere around here was the bombing near the Central Bus Station in Jerusalem, about a 10-15 minute ride from where I live in the Kfar HaStudentim.  The next weekend, a friend and I decided to head to the Jerusalem food festival in the Old City; food, wines, and live music in an ancient setting-what's not to love! The following week I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo.  Unfortunately there were no camels, but really, all I have to do is drive 20 minutes out of my dorm and I can see them in their "natural" habitat in Israel - parked outside of gas stations (pictures in a later post)!  I then got the chance to take an intercity bus to Tel Aviv and spent the day at the Diezengoff Mall and the beach! Great day-not hot by Tel Aviv standards, but perfect for those of us more acclimated to a cold Canadian winter than the sweltering humidity that usually plagues Tel Aviv, haha! Following this adventure, Deborah, Kimmie and I decided to try Jerusalem's answer to "American" style Chinese food.  I can't say that I'm overly pleased with "Beijing"  (the name of the restaurant) but what can I say-this country's specialty is falafel, shawarma and humus.  For Passover break, Kimmie, Deb and I traveled through Italy and Paris, but much more on this later!  When we got back from Europe, Deb and I had a visit from a high school friend who's spending part of the summer in Israel.  Of course, only a few days after our return from Paris, it was the royal wedding, which, I must admit, I watched online, but in my defense, I didn't have to wake up at an ungodly time to do so, because Jerusalem is 2 hours ahead of London!  The Monday following, there was Yom HaShoah, Israel's national Holocaust Remembrance Day in honour of all those who perished in the Holocaust.  I guess I can devote a bit of time to that here, now, since I don't have pictures of the day (there's not much to take pictures of).

As in the second, more modern Memorial Day in Israel (about a week after Yom HaShoah), the siren was sounded throughout Israel at 10am in memory of those who died in the Holocaust.  The full name for Yom HaShoah in Israel is Yom HaShoah Ve'HaGvura (loosely translated to Holocaust Remembrance Day for those who fell and the brave as well).  This really symbolizes Israel's feelings about the Holocaust.  Especially in the early years of the State of Israel, Holocaust survivors were seen as weak people who marched "like sheep to the slaughter" to use the phrase, to the concentration camps and didn't fight back, whereas true chalutzim, young Jewish pioneers, worked hard to create something from nothing before the establishment of the State. As such, it was decided in Israel to not just merely commemorate and remember those who died in the gas chambers, camps, and other workings of the Nazi machine, but to make special mention of those who decided to fight back, embodying to possible true spirit of the Israeli.  This is further captured in the new Yad Vashem Holocaust remembrance museum, which opens up at the end with a breathtaking view of the Jerusalem forest, once again emphasizing the "look what we have because we fought for it" mentality.

Following Yom HaShoah is Yom HaZikaron, Israel's national remembrance day for those who fell in the army and those killed by terror attacks in Israel over the years.  A very moving day in the country, because it is safe to say that every Israeli has some personal connection to someone who died in either the army or a terrorist attack.  I spent the evening of at a MASA ceremony on Ammunition Hill and the morning of in Har Herzl, the national military cemetery in Jerusalem. More on this later!  Immediately (and I mean immediately) after Yom HaZikaron, the country does a COMPLETE 180 and shifts into the ultimate street party mode.  If Yom HaZikaron goes until 8pm, then at 8:01pm people take to the streets with silly string and inflatable hammers to spray and smack people while celebrating the independence of Israel.  The following day, Israelis take to the parks and hold barbecues of epic proportions in celebration. Again, more on this crazy day later!

This past Thursday, I was fortunate enough to be able to go to Ein Gedi, a natural spring about 500 meters from the Dead Sea - yes, in the middle of the desert there is a spring complete with waterfalls. I kid you not, I have the pictures to prove it! Another amazing experience that I sincerely recommend to anyone traveling to Israel.

That's all for now, I will start individual posts (hopefully) later tonight, with pictures!

Dale :)

Israeli Apartheid Week - A View from the "Apartheid State"

Once again, Israeli Apartheid Week (IAW) has descended onto university campuses. This annual campaign aims to point out so-called apartheid in Israel, injustices, and other such crimes committed by Israel, the Jewish state.  There is no getting around this last fact - Israel IS a Jewish state (though this does not necessarily mean that it is a religious state).  That is what it was created for; a national homeland for the Jews.  Although what Israel is for the Jews isn't the topic of Israeli Apartheid Week, and issues in Israeli society notwithstanding, I find serious flaws in the arguments of IAW.

At my home campus York University, IAW is, shall we say, a rather heated issue.  A number of years ago a demonstration during IAW at York bubbled over into a huge conflict between the IAW supporters and other students, many Jewish, in Vari Hall.  To the best of my knowledge, the York administration has constructed a help desk right smack in the middle of Vari Hall (though of course the administration denies any such help desk as a deterrent for rallies and demonstrations).  But that is not the topic of this blog post, though it will be interesting to see if any mass demonstrations or rallies occur this year.

The aim of IAW is "to educate people about the nature of Israel as an apartheid system and to build Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns as part of a growing global BDS movement" (from the IAW website). How interesting that they consider Israel an apartheid system. If this was indeed true, then I would like the IAW supporters to explain how the following situation that I have personally witnessed could have happened:

I was sitting in Aroma in Mamilla Mall, in Jerusalem.  I ordered some food, and went to sit down.  When I sat down, I realized what a beautiful day it was - I looked around.  The patio was packed; it was one of the first really nice days in a while.  I saw many different people sitting on the patio - religious Jews, secular Jews, Christians, Muslims wearing hijabs...and I couldn't help but wonder what an IAW supporter would think of this.  People were sitting at whichever tables they pleased - there were no signs stating that certain tables were only for certain people. The same can be said for the public buses that run through Jerusalem.  There are no places reserved for any particular group of people to sit in a particular spot.  Yet another thing I have noticed: I am on a campus with Jews, Arabs, Muslims, Christians...We all take the same classes, with the same professors, in the same buildings.  I am not sure what IAW defines as apartheid, but to the best of my knowledge, these situations would have been radically different in apartheid states that I am familiar with (such as South Africa 20 years ago).

There are issues in Israel - it is run by humans, and just as humans are not perfect, Israel isn't either.  The issue, in my opinion, lies in Palestinian territories which are, technically speaking, still part of sovereign Israel, though they have some sort of functioning representatives.  Come September, there are to be independent elections in the West Bank. With regards to Gaza, although Israel has no presence on the ground there, and though Hamas holds power in the region, Gaza is still technically part of sovereign Israel. For IAW to proclaim Israel an apartheid state is an insult to those who lived through apartheid in South Africa, for though Israel has issues, apartheid is certainly not one of them.

Desert, Camel Photo Op, and Eilat!

Hi from the Ben Gurion airport!!

I am in the departure lounge, waiting for the flight down to Eilat with Mom, Bubby, Auntie Michelle, and Deb!  Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with sand, sun, and water!

Last weekend, I went on a desert hike and shabbaton - what an experience! There was a part of the hike where we literally scaled the side of a cliff.  It was super sketchy, but super fun! Pictures to follow, I don't have time to post them now! Stayed at a very nice youth hostel (I wouldn't even call it that!!) in Arad, a city in the desert.  Went to a glass museum on the Saturday morning, and there was some very interesting stuff there!

Had a field trip from my Archaeology in Jerusalem class to the City of David - a small area just south of the Old City, where it is believed David set up his settlement (before his son built the Temple a short distance away).  Bus got stoned while we were touring around the site - a few broken windows!  Before we got to the City of David, we stopped on Mount of Olives for an outlook over the city of Jerusalem, including the Old City and the City of David!! Here, there was a camel very carefully situated on an outlook point.  Got a bunch of pictures, and even mom said it was CUTE! That's right!  Pictures will be posted once I have more time!  Still waiting to ride a camel...

Boarding time now, I will post more later!

Dale Gold

Tree "Planting" (Haircutting...) in the North!

Hey All!

First week of classes finished, and so now I can FINALLY give a list of courses I am taking!  In addition to Hebrew, I am taking Archaeology of Jerusalem, Murder, Rape, and Other Original Sins: Genesis and its Interpretations, History of the Modern State of Israel, Jewish-Non-Jewish Relations and Rescue During the Holocaust and I am auditing Biblical Figures and Stories in Jewish, Christian and Muslim Art.  I know...only a few classes...suuuuuch long names!!

What else has happened...well, in the absence of a microwave in the dorms, Deborah and I had to think outside of the box because we wanted popcorn (we also haven't seen it pre-packaged ala Smartfood).  Luckily the grocery store near the Kfar had plain kernels of corn, and so I, having worked at Silver City for the summer, devised a plan to make popcorn sans microwave - it was very serious.  See, working at the movie theater this summer DID teach me things!  We ended up putting kernels into a pot with some oil and salt, and then I shook the pan back and forth while the kernels popped and Deb melted the butter. 'Twas delicious!

In other news, today I went up north with the school to the Carmel Forest - a forest that was devastated by a fire a few months ago.  We surveyed the outer rim of the damage, and then we were supposed to plant trees, but this being Israel, plans changed and we ended up going to a different site (that had been burned about 15 years ago - new trees were growing).  At this new site, the trees had been growing naturally and sporadically in the area we were in.  Our job was to, as I like to say, give the trees a "hair cut".  We had to cut the branches off the bottom 1/3 of the tree so that if there was ever another forest fire, it wouldn't spread as easily to the tops of trees, and therefore wouldn't destroy the entire forest.  We also had to cut down diseased trees and trees that were growing too close to other trees - again for fire safety.  On our way down the hill (we were cutting the trees on a mountainside, it was quite the experience =P) we found an animal skull - the person who works for JNF assumes that it belonged to either a cow or a boar, which Deborah gleefully proclaimed as "Pumba" and many pictures ensued.

That's all for now!!

Dale

Before...

After!

Damage from Carmel Fire

Some goats near the forest

The Loner Goat (Dad)

Destroyed forest

Trimming the Tree

Action Shot!

Schlepping a tree down the side of the hill

Deb and I with the skull

The Skull

The Skull

Start of Classes, Hail, and a Sandstorm!

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's been a while since I last updated - it's been busy here! Regular university classes have finally started (good-bye 5.5 hours of Hebrew class a day!) and stuff has been pretty crazy.  I haven't finalized my schedule yet, but when I do I'll  be suuuuuure to post the courses here! What have I done since the last update...I went to a Hadag Nachash concert in Jerusalem.  They are an Israeli music group, very popular here!  I booked my trip to Europe over Passover break - Rome, Venice, Florence, Paris, here I come! Any suggestions of things I must see while I am away? Post suggestions in the comments section (yes, this is for you, Barry...).  The weather has been super crazy here.  A few days ago there was a thunderstorm, followed by hail and today it has been so windy that the sand and dust from the surrounding Judean Desert is being blown around (see picture on Facebook).  I'd post pictures here, but I'm not totally sure how to get pictures here from my Blackberry.  Maybe one day soon!

The situation here with regards to what is happening in Egypt is cautious - Israel, in general, is worried that there is a possibility that whoever gets control of the country might cancel the Camp David agreement, which is (obviously) a very important (and the longest lasting) peace agreement between Israel and any of its neighbours.  Also, the unrest in Egypt is spreading to the rest of the Middle East, and Israel is worried about it becoming more of an issue in Jordan, since that is also a fairly peaceful border.  Other than that...well, it's Israel! They just go with the flow, and whatever happens happens!

Onto better and brighter things...This past Saturday night I trekked out to Talpiyot, all the way on the other side of Jerusalem, because that is the ONLY place in the city that has a bowling alley.  It was a friend's birthday, so we decided to schlep out!  It was super fun, and in the same building as the alley they have go carts.  My friend, who is from Paris, had never been go carting before, so naturally we went with her for her first time! I am proud to say that I came in first (shoutout to Eric! You taught me well).

That's pretty much it for now, I promise to update more frequently now that everything is becoming more of a routine!

Time to eat a Flake Bar (yup, they exist here fresh all year around, not just Passover!!) =D

Dale

Hadag Nachash

The haaaaail

Me in the go kart. Notice that I am in Kart 1

Me, Roma, Myriam!

That's right. Kart 1, first place. 

A Foggy Desert, Masada, and The Dead Sea!

Whats up!

As the title suggests, I went to Masada and the Dead Sea this morning with school.  It was awesome! I was FINALLY able to hike up and down Masada, an ancient fortress/palace built by the Roman ruler Herod (who built a lot of stuff...like the Western Wall and the ancient port city of Caesarea).  Although I have still never been at Masada for sun rise, it is on my list of things that I hope I can do while I am here.  The drive from Jerusalem to Masada's Roman Path (the path I hiked up) was about an hour and a half.  We drove through the desert, which, shockingly, was extremely foggy.  I, for one, didn't know that the desert got foggy at all! Luckily it cleared away so we could all appreciate the breathtaking views of the desert.  A few things about the desert around Masada and the Dead Sea: it is in fact very mountainous, rocky, and there is not a cactus in sight, nor is there mass amounts of sand and high sand dunes!  Shocking, I know!  Nevertheless, it is very beautiful (in a sort of dry, rocky sort of way).  Seriously, some of the landscapes look like they are totally fake!

After a hike down the Snake Path at Masada (its name can be understood once one walks the path - it's all winding!) we went for a dip/float in the Dead Sea.  It was a REALLY nice way to relax after hiking for a bit!  Unfortunately there wasn't enough time for me to put on the famous Dead Sea mud. Ah well, next time!  On the way back to Jerusalem, we again drove through the desert and was fortunate to see a few donkeys, lots of sheep, and of course, a few camels parked on the side of the road by a market! For those of you who don't know me too well, my favourite animal is the camel (no I do not know why, so don't ask =P).  Because we were driving in the bus when I saw all the animals (who I can only assume belong to Bedouins), I didn't get a chance to take any pictures of them. Again, I'll just have to go back! 

That's all for now!

Dale

Fogginess. Not clouds. Fog. In the desert!

Oasis in the Desert

Masada!

The Roman Path

The Top of the Roman Paty

Me, at the top of Masada

Ancient Roman Siege Camp

Ancient Roman Bath

Synagogue atop Masada

Walking down the Snake Path

The Snake Path

The Dead Sea ("Look mom! No hands or feet!")

Mountains around Dead Sea

I Can See the Palestinian Territories from My House!

Hi All!

I know, it's been a while! Ulpan (intensive Hebrew class) started this week, and I have been in class pretty much all day learning Hebrew.  Unfortunately, it's all been grammar thus far, which really makes us sound ridiculous when speaking to Israelis, who tell us we sound like academics.  Of course, it has given me an opportunity to meet lots of people (mostly Americans), so this is good!

As the title of this post suggests, my dorm/campus is extremely close to the West Bank.  In fact, from my Ulpan class, I can see "The Wall" - not the Western Wall, but rather the other now-infamous border between Israel and the West Bank. Or Yehuda-Shomron, or the Palestinian Territories, or the Occupied Territories. This all depends on who in Israel you speak to. You know what they say: For every two Israelis there are at least three opinions!

I went to the Israel Museum this week - what a great place! It's a huge museum that was just redone and reopened this summer.  It has everything in it from Jewish ritual objects from all over the world, to traditional Jewish garments from all over the world, and even four replica synagogues from all corners of the earth.  Also on the museum grounds is the Shrine of the Book, the building that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls.

I realize that I have not uploaded any pictures of my dorm yet, so I will do that here.  Unfortunately it is almost 10pm here, so I cannot take pictures of my view from the window right now, but I will be sure to do so when it's light out (and when I remember)!!  I will also be sure to take pictures of the Boyar Building (the one building that all of my classes are in; also known as the Rothberg International School) and the rest of the beautiful Har Tzofim (Mount Scopus) Hebrew U campus.

A thought that struck me today when I was at the Kotel: there was a big gathering of young soldiers in the Israeli Army at the Wall.  They were combat soldiers of some sort (they all had guns), and it struck me that as a young person, I thought back on my Grade 12 year.  For me, I was deciding where I wanted to go to school and what I wanted to study.  In Israel, however, the mentality is very different.  Instead, students in Grade 12 here decide what part of the army they want to get in to.  This sharp contrast really stood out at me today.

That's all for now from Israel! Hopefully I will be able to post more frequently now that I have more of a schedule!

Peace, love, shwarma!

Dale =)

Replica Synagogue from the Caribbean

Replica Aron Kodesh from India

Replica Aron Kodesh from Italy

Replica ceiling from a synagogue in Germany

Dreidles

My Bedroom

Bathroom Area

Sitting Area

Kitchen

Kitchen Table