Picture: Anita, on the right, belly-dancing: from the protest tent in Nahariya during the “Cottage Cheese Uprising”.

I look at myself as a late bloomer; by this I mean that I have had experiences that I should have had in my teenage years and in my early twenties instead of well into middle age. O.k., I had an excuse, though it is now very clear to me that it was only an excuse, when I have no choice, then I can do anything.

I came to Israel when I was 17 and lived on a kibbutz.  This is the mother of all excuses; after all, I had to be on a waiting list for everything imaginable from higher education, to travel abroad, to getting a driver’s license and down to getting a family sized refrigerator. You get the picture, I am sure.  Last year, I finally experienced what it was like to actively become a protester for social change.

I first heard of the war in Viet Nam when I was in fourth grade .We were given a lesson on the art of debate, told there was a war on, given background information, now go and debate the pros and cons. By the time I left the States for Israel, they held the lottery for the draft. On my last day in the U.S. my boyfriend told me that his number was 19.

As everyone knows last year was the Arab Spring, but it was also the Summer of Protest for Social Justice in Israel. To me, this was absolutely amazing.  I have lived in Israel for 40 years and believe me; Israeli’s do not know how to protest. This is probably due to the fact that major life-changing protests start with students. Israelis only start university after 3 years of military service, at 21, the average Israeli is too busy running around between school and part-time jobs to even think about protesting.  Last year was different, perhaps fueled by the euphoria of the Arab Spring, or else the fact that even couples who work in high tech can no longer make ends meet, set the wheels rolling.

Prices are constantly rising and the Israelis seemed to take it in stride until they started messing with the staple of the Israeli diet – cottage cheese, or “cottage” as it is known here. This was considered a casus belli for the average Israeli; an attack on our way of life. Since mass demonstration is not the Israeli forte, when we finally did it, we did it in style. In contrast to the rest of the world, this was to be a peaceful movement by the People of the Book.

Since it was a protest of the middle class, it could not be ignored by the government or conglomerates in Israel.  These were not hippies nor the unemployed nor squatters.  These were the students, the highly educated, and the average Israeli wage earner who could not make ends meet.  They were supported by popular singers just like the folk-singers of the anti- Viet Nam days, only here we protested against the tycoons – a dirty word for the few businessmen and families who control every major industry after privatization in Israel. There were actual boycotts and no one bought cottage cheese. The CEO of Tnuva (Israel’s largest dairy company) resigned. The price of cottage cheese came down.  Tent camps began to sprout in major cities, where lectures were given, discussions held, guitars played, Friday evening candle lighting ceremonies took place, as well as other activities; even the well-known Judge Shlomo Shoham (ret.) and former Commissioner for Future Generations in the Knesset [Israeli Parliament], spoke about the process of change..  When people were called on to show up at a major rally in Tel Aviv, the unbelievable happened, Israelis actually left their homes and flocked to Rabin Square, half – a million strong, not bad for a country of 7 million. It was the most electrifying moment ever. Positive energy spread across the land.

Even in Naharia (pop. 50,000) near my kibbutz, a tent camp was established.  I went to Friday night meetings where Kabbalat Shabbat (a Friday night candle lighting ceremony) was held.  We each prepared a dish and shared the meal, sitting on blankets or old furniture and talked through the night with people whom we had never met before. The highlight for me was a mass gathering to take place in a small amphitheatre on the main street of Naharia. A popular singer, Alon Olearchik, who I had the hots for in 1995, performed. We were standing, chanting “the people want social justice” in unison and dancing in the street with complete strangers!  It was then that I had my first Kumbaya moment at the age of 57.

The little things are what make up our memories. Much has been written about how Israelis coped during the first Gulf War but there are lots of little stories we remember that add color to our lives.

In the first week of the Gulf War, we were given instructions not to leave our homes.

With little to do but to wait for the next air siren, all of us were cursing out the Iraqis, not because of the war but because on average every Israeli gained at least 5 pounds in that week. Yes, we were doing what all Jews do when the whole family is together – we were stuffing our faces, or as my mother used to say, “Es epess” (Yiddish for eat something). Well es epess we did. I decided to make it fun for my kids and made pancakes.  All kinds of pancakes with lots of different toppings.

To this day, my kids are traumatized even by the sight of pancakes

Once, when we were in the sealed room, my son Oren uttered the words that all mothers of young kids dread – “Mommy, I have to pee”. Great, I thought, just great. Conscientiously following instructions broadcast on TV, I had prepared a bucket with chlorine inside covered with a lid.  This was supposed to be our make-shift chemical toilet. Well, my kid did his business; suddenly we all started to cough and choke.  It seemed that noxious fumes of chlorine gas were being released from the result of the combination. I think that in the end, the only chemical weapon in the Gulf War was one of our making.

Many years have passed. We were handed out masks for the third time. I have become a complacent Israeli. I have nothing prepared and I still don’t understand how a piece of plastic taped over my window with duct tape and a wet shmata (rag) under the door is going to keep us safe.

When two Israelis meet the first thing they do is “try to find the social link”. Yes, Israel is a small country by any standards, and feels even smaller when you find that everyone knows everyone else either from school, scouts, army, kibbutz movement, university or work.  This is true for those born and raised in Israel, but what about those who have immigrated to Israel? Have no fear; the Israeli will not rest until some kind of link is found however obscure it may seem. 

I immigrated to Israel forty years ago, but I am still considered an immigrant.  Without basic army service, I do not have the common ground so needed as a starting point for finding the link. But once a link is somehow established, we can get on with the business at hand. 

I live on a kibbutz in the Western Galilee with about 120 households which has remained more or less the same over the years.  Today the kibbutzim are privatized, but in the past there were communal nurseries, childrens’ houses and a grade school on the kibbutz and as such each group had it’s own designated class (this does not refer to your class at grade-school for you might never been at school together).  From the moment you are born, until the day you die, that is how you are identified. For instance, if someone asks you if you know Moshe, you may say, yes, he is in Alon’s class.

On Friday nights there was a Kabbalat Shabbat, a festive meal in honor of the Sabbath. Two extended families usually sat at each table. Someone from my husband’s class sat at our table with his new bride, Tova.  She was a city girl from Tel Aviv and after two minutes of small talk we had established that she had lived in the building where my father’s friend Ella, from the old country, lived and whom I had visited when I first came to Israel. Furthermore, she was friend of Ella’s son. Tova is my best friend because she is a good person, not because she was a neighbor of my father’s girlfriend when he was 15 in Poland; but I think that if the original link between us had not been found, the beautiful friendship might have never developed. 

Many years ago, my husband wanted to take a year off from living on the kibbutz.  Since my parents lived in Brooklyn, that’s where we were headed.  My husband told me that his best friend from his tank unit now lives in Brooklyn. He wanted to look up Yossi Cohen when we got there.  Right, go find Yossi Cohen in Brooklyn.

Being the dutiful wife, I dully looked up Yossi Cohen in the Brooklyn telephone directory and noticed that a version of Cohen was spelled Kahn. Since the number was for a Canarsie address, where we were living, I went through the motions and called. To my amazement it was him! Never again will I laugh at an Israeli who asks “do you know…..?”

We became close friends and did everything together. On my son Oren’s first birthday, we invited them over to the party, as well as my Aunt Sima. Now Aunt Sima was from “the old country” as well as having lived in Israel- a double whammy. The minute she met Yossi—she asked “the question”- where are your parents from?

“Poland”.  Where in Poland?”- “Warsaw”- now the excitement started to set in. “Do you know this family?” (my paternal grandmother). Yes, we have cousins in Tel Aviv and Haifa”.  Menahem in Tel-Aviv? Yossi in Haifa? “YES”. All hell broke loose. It turns out that Yossi Kahn’s grandfather and my grandmother were siblings!!!

Who would have thought? 

A few years ago, I met a woman on-line from Malta named Monique and we had many common interests. We had great messaging conversations and I was learning about Malta but that was about it. Then one day I started to work as a Clinical Research Assistant and the first question I was asked was if I had a valid passport. I was being sent to Malta where the international conference for the drug study trial was being held. I was thrilled about going to Malta (imagine) since I would be able to finally meet my friend. One evening after we finished schmoozing and boozing with our colleagues, Monique came to my hotel with her friend Rita and David, Rita’s Israeli boyfriend. David looked somewhat familiar, but I put that down to his wearing Israeli “the typical Israeli male- “shlumpy” style (like a slob- shirt tails out, etc.). We sat in the lobby over coffee and I must have been staring at David since Monique asked if we knew each other.  David was much younger than I was and I could not think of any possible link. After the process of “finding the social link”, we found that we had both gone to the same local college.  David blurted out “I remember that you asked a question about research methods, I sat at the back of the classroom. Flabbergasted, the conversation picked up and became livelier after the link was found.

As I was walking down the road, a girl my son’s age passed by me without saying hello.  She seemed to have looked right through me and I felt as if I had been slapped in the face. It is not uncommon for someone to walk by you in a kibbutz without saying hello but this was a special case.  This was Meital, and as she walked by I felt like screaming,

“How dare you ignore me, I changed your diapers!” Meital was born one week after my son.  They were raised together ever since they were 3 months old in the kibbutz nursery and pre-school children’s houses and slept in the communal children’s houses.  They went to school together from kindergarten to high school.

It has been 30 years since the children stopped sleeping in communal childrens’ houses, way before the kibbutz underwent privatization.  This, because the parents had probably had had enough. Childcare was available until 4 pm when the children were taken home. They were then brought back to the childrens’ houses to be put to bed by their parents.  Every night, a parent would be on duty until the night watchman, and night watchwoman would come on duty. The night watchman would patrol the perimeter of the kibbutz and the night watchwoman would listen in on an intercom system set up between the houses.  She would then go take care of any crying baby. In addition she would cook for the night watchman, warm up the formula for the babies and sound off the alarm bells set up to wake the mothers of babies in the nursery so they could come and feed the babies. Believe me, it is not a pleasant experience to wake up from a loud hammering bell at 5:30 a.m. dress and ride your bike in the rain to the nursery.    

When my son Oren was 5 years old, we moved to the States for a year. We went up to Boston to visit our friends Susan and David.  Their daughter Rachel was born a week before Oren and of course was in the same nursery as Oren until they went back to the States after a year. As David was holding Oren on his lap he explained to Rachel how special Oren was; “Rachel, I used to change Oren’s diapers when we lived on the kibbutz”.

Last month, I met Shari’s husband Tom who was a doctor, pushing a baby carriage along the road. I stopped him and introduced myself. “I am Anita, Oren’s mother. Oren was in the same nursery as Shari. I changed her diapers I said with a beaming smile” to which he nodded, probably having been told the same thing by the other 5 parents.  

I guess, changing a baby’s diapers is inherent in granting you Godmother status. In Israel, this would mean granting you “bragging rights” and “sighing rights” characteristic of any Jewish mother. What Jewish mother has not bragged that her daughter married a doctor or sighed that she gave up everything for her child.

I remember being told whenever I would meet my parent’s friends or distant relatives how they knew me when I was little. Kibbutniks take this one step further, after all, “I used to change your diapers”.

On September 22, 2013, Ballet Austin’s Light/The Holocaust and Humanity Project will have its international premiere at Israel’s Acco Festival.

The performance will result in Austin’s most visible presence in Israel to date. Joining the company – twenty-two dancers and eight staff members, including choreographer/Artistic Director Stephen Mills and Executive Director Cookie Ruiz – will be a delegation of up to forty leaders from the city’s Jewish, arts and civic community, many of whom will be traveling to Israel for the first time. The delegation is sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Greater Austin.

Ballet Austin launched Light in 2005. The full-length contemporary ballet tells the story of Holocaust survivor Naomi Warren; however, the project extends well beyond the stage. An integral component of the work is the Holocaust education partnership, a city-wide endeavor that entails not only in-depth discussions about the atrocities of World War II, but also, by extension, larger dialogues about the protection of human rights.

When the project returned to Austin in 2012, forty-six partners engaged in the community collaboration, including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Austin Independent School District, the City of Austin, and the Austin Police Department. Ballet Austin is in discussions with a number of U.S. cities interested in the Light, which has already appeared in Miami, Pittsburgh, and Denver.

“From its inception it was our hope to have the opportunity to show the work in Israel,” says Mills. “It’s been a challenging task. But early last year Ballet Austin board member Steve Adler developed a relationship with the Western Galilee Partnership, which led us to Albert Ben-Shloosh, General Director and Chief Producer of the Acco Festival. Without Steve and Albert, the tour would not have happened.”

For years, local attorney and past co-chair of the ADL Steve Adler has been part of an effort to take Light to Israel. It seemed a logistical and financial impossibility. Then, in 2008, Adler and his wife, Diane, met Orit Katzenstein-Guri, a spirited Israeli volunteer leader from the Western Galilee. The Adlers hosted Katzenstein-Guri when she visited Austin as part of a Israeli leadership delegation sponsored by the Jewish Federation. And she, in turn, hosted them on their first and second trips to Israel.

For The full Article Press Here

This was the third meeting by the members of the partnership community team – On Wednesday April 24, 16 active members – some older and some newer to the partnership community team – traveled to Jerusalem.

Goals for the trip:

• To become familiar with the Jewish Agency institutions and the National Buildings
• To meet with soldiers from the Nativ Program for Judaic and Zionist Studies at Kiryat Moriah, the Jewish Agency’s education campus
• To meet with participants of the different tracks in the Masa Program
• To consolidate the team of activists.

We started our trip by introducing ourselves on the bus. We chose songs we liked, talked about our connection with the partnership, and enjoyed an indulgent breakfast on the bus as well.  We arrived at the National Buildings, continued on to Kiryat Moriah, and ended with a visit to the Herzl Museum on Mt. Herzl.

We achieved all of our goals.  The tour of the National Buildings was highly professional, as well as very interesting and fascinating. It was also an excellent way to kick off a day that focused on Zionism, the Jewish connection and Jewish peoplehood. Stu explained the demographic status of the Jewish people in Israel and the Diaspora, and successfully posed the question of who is entitled to come on aliyah to Israel and the various differences in definitions, with all of the significances these imply. It also provided the perfect background for our next stop, our meeting with soldiers in the Nativ Program.  These young men and women moved us with their personal stories.  Once again we were privileged to meet a group of people who all want to know more about their identity but not all of whom will necessarily make it to the end of the road – the Orthodox conversion they would need in order to be considered “proper” Jews and be able to be married and buried by the Chief Rabbinate in Israel.  We did not feel that they had joined Nativ through any sort of coercion, and they all noted that the course has given them a chance to feel more connected to the Jewish people.

After that we met with three young women who are participating in the Masa Program and spending a year in Israel.  Congratulations go to Stu, who brought Sarah from Omaha to the meeting – she was able to prove that “Partnership2Getther” is something with “real substance.”  The group immediately felt a connection, opening their hearts and their homes for visits – a slogan that took on a genuine expression.

There are no words to express the impression made by the Herzl Museum. Beyond the story of the personality, we learned about Herzl’s life work as presented through excellent technical devices in a highly interesting format.  The movie at the end of the visit, which presents Israel’s achievements and those of its citizens throughout the state’s history was something that should not be missed.  We are so used to criticizing and complaining about the state, we forget to stop from time to time and see where we have been successful – and it’s amazing.  A visit to this site is absolutely required for every Jew, and it is a very enjoyable requirement at that.

The organization for the trip was perfect.  We kept to our schedule brilliantly, the participants’ self-control was exemplary, and the feeling that we had a top-quality group accompanied us throughout the day.  The feeling of indulgence and the connection to the professional staff volunteers was outstanding, and very heartwarming.

As chairperson, all that is left for me to do is to express my thanks to the staff that accompanied us on our extraordinary trip and that I am proud to be part of, to the office staff in Nahariya, to Stu and to Natan Ro’i for a real experience that was also great fun.

Tania Ronen

Chairperson, Members of the Partnership Community Team

Sometimes, the best way to find common ground is not through foreign policy or trade, but a simple chat — and ice cream.

A delegation of Israeli citizens is visiting the area under the auspices of Partnership2Gether, an organization that fosters educational and cultural exchanges between communities in Western Galilee and Jewish federations in North America. It includes 12 communities in Western Galilee, and 12 American cities including Canton, Youngstown, Toledo and Dayton

For The Full Post

Omaha welcomes you to the July 21-23 Steering Committee Meetings

Join us in Omaha!

Sun, July 21, 10 am – Tue, July 23, 12 noon

We are pleased to invite you to the Partnership2Gether Steering Committee Meeting in Omaha, Nebraska, Sunday, July 21, beginning at 10 am through Tuesday, July 23, concluding at 12 noon.  Meetings will be held on the Jewish Federation of Omaha campus located at 333 South 132nd Street, Omaha NE  68154.

The registration fee for the conference is $210 per person if made by June 1st.  For registrations after June 1st, the fee will be $250.  The fee includes all meals, snacks and materials. Those arriving early are also invited to join us for Shabbat dinner on Friday night as well as dinner on Saturday evening. Reservations for those events can be made at the time you register for the meeting.

Please note!  First-time participants are eligible for a $100 discount on his/her registration.  The discount is limited to the first ten registrants so don’t delay!  (Discount information is available on the registration site.)

We look forward to seeing you in Omaha!
Zoë, Beth and Mary Sue

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER NOW

Questions?

Please contact Mary Sue at mgrossman@jewishomaha.org or (402) 334-6445 or Beth at bcohen@jewishomaha.org or (402) 334-6446.

Hotel Accommodation

Hotel accommodations have been arranged at the Omaha Marriott, 10200 Regency Circle, Omaha, NE 68114, at a group rate of $94 per night.  A link for the hotel registration will be provided when registering for the conference or you may link here.

If you prefer to make reservations by phone, you may call the Marriott Worldwide reservations line at 1-888-236-2427 or call the hotel directly at (402) 399-9000. Please mention you are eligible for the group rate, code CJLCJLA, Partnership Conf.

Home hospitality is also available.

Local Attractions

You are encouraged to arrive early – or stay late – and enjoy the many great offerings in Omaha.  The world famous Henry Doorly Zoo, the Old Market, the Strategic Air Command Museum, Lauritzen Gardens, the Western Heritage Museum and Joslyn Art Museum are just a few of the great choices.  Learn more about our great city!

See you in July!

On April 11th arrived the Israeli group to meet face to face with the friends from the other side of the ocean.

The did 2Gether with their friends the Memorial day and the independence day ceremonies and voulenteered 2Gether in the schools and in the community.

ATTACHED:

Izkor Ceremony Presentation

Amit & Amit Presentation

Vicky & Shira Presentation

Youth Futures Akko Trustees Learn About the Other through an Encounter with the Holocaust

In advance of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Youth Futures Akko trustees underwent training on the topic of “the other” at the Yad LaYeled Museum, at the Ghetto Fighters’ House Museum. The Ghetto Fighters House encounter laid a shared groundwork of dialogue between the Arab and Jewish staff members, for learning about the other through the fate of children during the Holocaust.

The encounter with the troubling images and stories was difficult and elicited myriad emotions and feelings. On the one hand it initiated additional learning about the Holocaust and, in particular, about the philosophy of Janusz Korczak; on the other hand, the encounter taught the trustees how, as professionals, they are responsible for children, and how they could potentially help in various ways at times of crisis and distress.

The fruitful dialogue between the staff members about the meaning of the museum visit led to an understanding that, ultimately, the outrage was inflicted by “one people on another,” and that it had been done with prior planning and prejudice. Unfortunately, however, people are still trying to hurt each other today based on their group affiliations.

The tour was conducted on a volunteer basis by Tania, a Western Galilee partnership activist and volunteer, and we thank her for providing this service.