Satell Teen Fellowship Israel Trip 2007: Day 5

June 25, 2007

Tammuz 9, 5767

Israel, Day 5

Tel Aviv and the Galillee

         
Today, we had an early start and woke up at 6 am to make the long drive to Tel Aviv before we got caught in classic Israeli rush hour traffic.
 
The first place we went was the Palmach Museum, which was an interactive museum that introduced the Palmach – the young underground resistance fighters in the War of Independence - and taught how they helped to create Israel. The Palmach were originally trained by the British who controlled the area of Palestine and Israel. The Palmach members who originally were trained by the British in turn then trained the rest of their units. During their struggle for independence, the Palmach were severely under supplied with weapons and lost many brave men and women.  As one walked through life sized creations that looked like scenes out of a movie one felt as if you personally knew the people whose stories you were hearing.  I got to know the second division of the Palmach and learned of their struggles, sorrows, joys, and everything in between. The culmination of the museum was the last of the twelve rooms where you saw the end of the Independence War, and the end of this set of personal struggles.
 
The next place we went was the Jaffa Institute in which we met a wonderful man who showed us how easy it is to help those in need. We were situated in a warehouse full of boxes filled with packages of food waiting to be packed and sent out to families in need. Each day the Jaffa Institute sends out about 4,000 meals to those in need. They deliver the food each and every day including holidays and when there’s bad weather. As soon as we arrived we received the usual Israeli hospitality and were immediately given food and drinks, and told to enjoy. While we were there we packed boxes full of food, drinks and other needed items for those who can’t buy it for themselves. We worked with a partner and it showed us that we can help people by doing simple things. When we had packed all of the boxes we had a little fun and taped the boxes closed and worked together yet again to stack them with all of the other boxes that were already packed.
 
While the rest of the group continued to pack boxes three Satell fellows went off to have a deeper conversation with Mitch. The students wished to speak with Mitch concerning their previous information about the Israeli laws regarding non profit organizations. Earlier, the Satell fellows heard about the lack of tax exemption for non profit groups. Unlike American legislation, Israeli non profit businesses are required to pay the VAT, which is 15.5 percent tax, on all goods. This specific law also affects the donors and the donations, decreasing their incentive to aid. The Satell fellows collaborated with Mitch, urging him to approach the Kenesset with the combined goals of other non profit organizations.  
 
After that we headed over to Givat Haviva and talked to a very exciting and interesting speaker, Lydia, a journalist originally from Wales who immigrated in the 60’s. She informed us about the Israeli Palestinian conflicts that have been going on since the Independence War. During her presentation we took a trip to a lookout above the West Bank. While standing high up on a mountain we overlooked some of the small villages and saw the “fence” that was being built to keep Palestinians ad Israelis separate. When you looked off the mountain you could clearly see two Arab-Israeli villages named East and West Barta. Both Bartas are situated on the border on the West Bank. When it was originally divided, East Barta was in Israel and West Barta was in Jordan. Families that lived down the street from each other were now divided and couldn’t communicate with each other for fear of the Jordanian soldiers. Now the two communities are reunited and living peacefully as Arab-Israelis.
 
The last thing we did today was to visit the children’s village Yemin Orde. In Yemin Orde there are children from many different countries that come to study and learn or escape bad family situations. The children have to work together to achieve a peaceful and happy village. One of the main goals of Yemin Orde is to provide a place for children alone, or without their parents and help them to be well rounded community members who can find their niche in society and make a difference. It was slightly awkward at first, but soon we were talking about music, sports, TV, what we do for fun, what’s our favorite thing about the place we live in, and anything else that came to our minds. By the end of dinner we had all managed to communicate fairly well. We then walked, talked and took a tour their village. We saw where some of the Jews from Ethiopia prayed, and also the village synagogue. The students were basically the same as us, teens trying to find their place in society. We then all sang songs together in Hebrew, and we began to feel close. We had to leave too soon but of course we got our signature group photo first.
 
We then had a long drive to a kibbutz where we settled in for the night for some well deserved rest!
 
Love,
Jess Johnson

General Yoram Yair points to the Ahulah Valley, the former border of Israel and Syria, where he fought as a Battalion Commander during the Yom Kippur War.

Omri and Rachel say "g'vina" (cheese) on the bus.

A view of sunset over the Kinneret - the Sea of Galillee.