Day 3

Today we started out in the lovely old port city of Jaffa. We walked through the lovely narrow streets in the artist colony and made our way to the port. Jaffa has had an incredible face lift in the last few years and it continues to be more and more charming.

From Jaffa we went to Hiriya, also known as Israel's largest dump. Yes, you read that properly, we went to the dump. It was closed and capped off in 1998 as the dump became a mountain. It is now the largest transfer station in Israel and we learned about how Israel is managing its waste and utilizing recycling and alternate forms of energy from the product of waste management. Let's just say, it was not your normal tourist attraction. We did go to the very top of the mountain to see the view - which was lovely - and we learned about how this prime area of real estate is now being recylced into a national park. It is named after Ariel Sharon as he was the Prime Minister who was able to preserve this land as a natural resource.

While at Hiriya we ate lunch in a cafe there - yes - we even stayed for lunch at the dump (for any of you who were considering a trip to Israel, I hope this doesn't turn you off!). The cafe is run by youth at risk through a program called Turning Point that is sponsored by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee a.k.a. JDC or the Joint. There are 40 such programs like this one that give kids, who have difficult life circumstances, jobs where they can develop entrepreneurial skills in order to seek a brighter future.

We did eventually leave the dump and we headed to the Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer where we met with Dr. Itzak Siev-Ner. He gave us a tour through the rehabilitation facility in the hospital and showed us the holistic approach to healing in the hospital. It was a very impressive facility. We had the opportunity sit and speak with Dr. Siev-Ner and we were able to discuss the Israel medical system with its challenges and successes. Dr. Siev-Ner was also a lead physician for the Israel medical team in Haiti and he shared with us his experiences there as did one of the physical therapists. Dr. Siev-Ner is returning to Haiti with a team next week to help set up long term care and rehabilitation services in Haiti - funded by the JDC - through its humanitarian efforts. He spoke of what it was like on the ground and his growing concerns for the future of this country because of the devastation. It was a fascinating visit with an inspirational man.

You will see in one of the photos a picture of a poster. This for me was an "only in Israel moment." Since we were in a rehabilitation facility there are many people there who are learning how to cope with the loss of a limb through the rehabilitation process. This poster showed devices that one could use to help with day to day tasks when you do not have two hands or arms. If you look closely you will see that there is a picture of an arm with tefillin. This poster is showing the instrument that one can use to put on tefillin - with just one hand - only in Israel.

From the hospital we headed to the Carmel Market for a walk through to see the wares, smell the scents of fresh fruit and sample some of the yummy things being sold. Tomorrow we travel to Jerusalem and everyone is very much looking forward to our time there.