Odessa - Day 1

It is hard to believe we have only been gone for 28 hours! In 1996 I was privileged to travel to Odessa and Kishinev. I have been looking forward to this return visit to see how things have change in 16 years. In 1996 Jewish life was just starting to rebloom in Odessa. At that time it was hard to imagine that some of our greatest Jewish thought leaders, poets and Zionist visionaries hailed from Odessa. I remembered an Odessa in various shades of grey (not the book)and a lot of what I called industrial Soviet blue. Clearly the Soviet Union had one paint production facility and they created grey and blue paint. The Odessa that we saw today looks like and feels like a different place than it was just 16 years ago. While there are many remnants of Soviet infrastructure, a rejuvenated Odessa has reemrged hearkening back to its former glory. Odessa was a city of not only liberalism, but Jewish renaissance throughout the 1800 and early 1900's. The famous Ze'ev Jabotinsky was born here www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/jabotinsky.html (link for into. on Jabotinsky). Great writers and poets like Sholom Aleichem, Ahad Ha'am and Nachman Bialik all lived at times in Odessa. Upon arriving today we had a brief meeting with our other mission participants and then we headed out for an historical tour of Odessa. After our tour we visited sites of the rich Jewish history in Odessa. From there we had dinner with Jewish residents of Ukraine. I wanted to post pictures to go along with this post but I am having some technical complications with uploading pictures to the blog. It could be the website or it could be that I have barely slept in the last 28 hours. I will share a quick story and upload the photo(s) to Facebook. Just go to Jewish Western Mass on facebook to see them. We had dinner with Oksana. She did not know she was Jewish but Hillel at her college in Ukraine piqued her interest. She knew nothing of Judaism but she connected and began to delve into her roots. Her father's family had been Jewish but their faith was lost under the Soviet regime. Our work in Ukraine funded the Hillel where she connected with other Jewish students, eventually met her husband and reconnected her to our rich past. Today she is a leader in the Jewish community and she thanked us profusely for giving her the opportunity to find herself. She and her husband have one son who attended a Jewish pre-school in her Ukranian JCC. Without us, Oksana never would have known who she was or where she came from. We had a wonderful time with her and it was an honor to hear her story.

Just testing that I can post from my IPad!

Day 10

We spent our last day in Israel visiting in Afula - our Partnership 2000 sister city. Our morning began with a visit to the seam line checkpoint between Afula and the West Bank. Afula's close proximity to the town of Jenin made the area a hot bed of terrorism in the second intifada. 75% of the terrorists who engaged in suicide missions in Israel came from Jenin. Today the situation is completely different. Because of the cooperative efforts between the mayors of Afula/Gilboa and Jenin a spirit of cooperation and coexistence has emerged with the understanding that economic growth in the West Bank and Israel benefits all people. As of two months ago, Israeli Arabs are now allowed to travel back and forth through the checkpoint by car rather than just walking through on foot. This has allowed the economy in Jenin to grow by 40%. We were brought to the roof of the checkpoint and we were briefed by the man who manages the facility. It was incredibly enlightening to learn about the great success that has arisen from this area that was plagued by terrorism and mistrust. As we observed the view from the roof of this very successful checkpoint, it was hard not to be impressed by the peaceful and cooperative atmosphere in the area. We all wished that this was the story that made the news about Israel.

From that visit we traveled to a sifriyat pyjama (PJ Library) kindergarten classroom in Afula. We learned about how the program runs in Israel and we observed a lesson being taught. It was a lovely visit where we also learned about the demographics and challenges of the region. The books from this program are a real gift to the families who receive them and can not afford to buy their own home libraries.

After lunch a program supported by the Southern New England Consortium Partners (SNEC) was our next stop. This was a program run through the Jewish Agency's Youth Futures program. We visited children who live in very difficult home conditions and were not able to be successful in school. The youth futures program provides a holistic approach to children and families to give them they support needed to be successful in school and eventually in life. The children participate in classes that offer counseling, teach self esteem and life skills, communication skills, art therapy, music and much more. A team approach is taken between social workers, teachers and physicians to ensure that each child's needs are met fully. The program utilizes small groups with mentors so that all children receive one on one attention. We were all impressed with this model and felt that our inner cities in the United States could learn some lessons from this program. Proudly, our community supports this effort to make these childrens' lives better every day.

Our next visit was with middle school students who participate in a project through the Ethiopian National Project (ENP). This program takes the best and brightest students who come from disadvantaged homes and gives them the tools to be successful. The vast majority of the children who participate are new immigrant families from Ethiopia and the Former Soviet Union. Through the Anna P. Housen Israel Desk, we fund this program and ensure a bright future for teens who have difficult life circumstances and have significant challenges that other teens in Israel do not face. Without this funding, the program would not be able to operate.

Afula is an area where 40% of the community is made up of new immigrant families and they all face very difficult circumstances on many levels. The work that we are doing now will help make another generation of immigrants prosper in our homeland.

We enjoyed dinner with host families and then trekked back to Tel Aviv for the night. We were exhausted and happy, overwhelmed and inspired, confused and motivated. This was a wonderful trip and I was honored to spend time with such terrific community members. I hope that others will consider joining a Federation Mission the next time we offer one. There is no better way to learn about the intricacies, feel the history, see the sites, taste the food, admire the people, touch the land, and just be in Israel.

A very big big thank you to our mission chairs, Barbara and Jim Sadowsky who through their vision made this trip a reality.

Day 9

Our last full day touring the region began at Israel's national water carrier where we learned how Israel is sending water all over Israel and we learned more about this precious natural resource in the Middle East.

We then wandered the beautiful streets and art galleries of Tsfat and took a shopping break. Our lunch was held in the home of a family that is six generations in Tsfat - in the same home. The family produces cheese from sheep's milk and has been doing so ever since their arrival in Israel in the 1800's.

A stop at the Dalton Winery provided us the opportunity to experience the burgeoning Israeli wine industry. After a tour of the facility, we tasted many of the Dalton wines. We enjoyed both the red and white varieties.

From Tsfat we explored the Golan Heights where we visited Katzrin and traced our biblical history in the region. From Katzrin we went to a previously used Syrian bunker where we could look around the entire area to understand the tremendous strategic significance of the Golan and appreciate its beauty and natural resources. We then enjoyed a lively evening with Colonel Kobi Marom who grew up in the area. We spoke with him about the Northern area of Israel, the Lebanon War of 2006, and the situation of preparedness in Israel today. We addressed Iran's threat in the North arming Hizbullah as well as Israel's other strategic enemies in the area. It was enlightening and hopefully we will be able to bring Kobi to Western Massachusetts for a program in September so that our entire community has the opportunity to hear from this articulate military leader.

Day 8

We left Jerusalem and headed up North where our first stop was an army base in the Galilee. This base serves as the central mainentace station for the Northern command. We were warmly greeted at the base by the commander, a colonel and many other officers. He explained to us the philosophy of the base and took us on a tour of the facility. We had the distinction of meeting the first woman who is about to be promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in the maintenance corps.

We then planted trees in the Galilee and said the prayer for planting trees in Israel that includes the section...make deep their roots and wide their crown, that they may blossom forth in grace amongst all the trees in Israel...

A drive to Tiberius and lunch on the Kinneret (Sea of Galileed) was followed by a much needed rest in order hotel in the North.

Day 7

This very busy started off with an interesting discussion with Michael Kelman who is a foreign correspondent for several publications including the Boston Globe and Time Magazine. The theme of the day was "Israel Today" and we certainly covered that topic investigating the contrast and challenges of this very special city. My father always says a visit to Israel is like taking a walk through history. This is quite true as witnessed on Saturday, but, at the same time a visit to Jerusalem is taking a walk through current events.

Our first stop took us to Hadassah Medical Center where we toured the facility and saw the building of the newest building on the campus. It is an impressive place. We then met with a physician who is one of the chief medical researchers in gene therapy who is investigating cutting edge treatments for many diseases including cancer. We learned about his work and about the process of how studies are done in this particular institution. Following his talk we were brought through the Pediatric Oncology Department where we learned about the treatment in this area. From there we took a tour of the state of the art trauma unit built during the height of the homicide bombings in Israel. This facility was built in a completely secure manner that can be sealed off in case of chemical warfare. The technology of the center, the kindness and openness of the staff and the infrastructure was incredible. What struck me the most was the diversity of the people who are serviced by the hospital, work there and support the institution.

Our lunch was set in a lush garden of a moshav. After a brief visit back at Yad Vashem to see the Children's Memorial, a site that so poignently remembers the 2 million children killed by the Nazis and their potential too, we went onto a facility called Mabat. It was really an honor to see this center in action. Mabat was built in 2000 and serves as central command for the police department in the Old City of Jerusalem. Through a series of 300 cameras in 1 square kilometer, Mabat is able to watch all that is happening in the old city, communicate between the center and the police and record everything that transpires. We were shown several video clips of incidents that were caught on tape - or monitored as they happened - so that people could be apprehended successfully.

From Mabat we were taken on a seam line tour of Jerusalem with a man named Amir Cheshin who was one of Teddy Kollack's right hand men when he was mayor of Jerusalem. Amir explained in depth and showed us on the ground the complicated geography and hence politics of Jerusalem. We toured the area that was recently disputed in the news and caused a flurry of press during Vice President Biden's visit, but more importantly, we saw all the areas that could be problematic at the negotiating table. There is no doubt that we all finished our afternoon with Amir more confused than we started. But what came away clearly from this program was that the issues in Jerusalem are so complex and intertwined with US politics and global politics that the city is in a precarious position from every vantage point.

After another long day we finished with a delicious dinner and a well needed rest.

Day 6

Saturday morning we finally had an opportunity to sleep in and slow down our pace - for a moment. Being that it was Shabbat, our faithful driver, Sasson had the day off so we went on a thorough walking tour of the old city. Looking over the Jerusalem hills, our guide Ronit once again reviewed the time line of the building and destruction of the Temples and the Old City. From there we entered at Zion gate. This particular entrance was built strategically with a 90 degree turn so that if a group wanted to attack the city, they could not enter directly. We witnessed our very own miracle in Jerusalem as a rather large lengthy taxi manipulated its way out of the gate. Our walk took us through the Armenian Quarter and into the Jewish Quarter where we visited the newly opened and rededicated Hurva Synagogue. You may recall a visit to the Old City when you sat in a courtyard and looked at an arch imagining what the synagogue that stood there could have looked like. There is now nothing left to the imagination as this gorgeous rebuilt structure stands proudly again. It was just opened in March. Here is a link to its history http://www.jewish-quarter.org.il/atar-hurva.asp. As you will see this website hasn't been updated with the most recent photo so you will see one here. Here is a link to other pictures of this tremendous structure.http://www.google.co.il/images?hl=en&q=hurva+synagogue&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=CPLVS6naI4-tOIeIvbUO&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CBgQsAQwAw

From the Hurva we continued our walk through the Jewish Quarter, exploring its history. A walk through the Arab market brought us to the rooftop of a building where we were able to view the entire old city in all of its glory and intricacies.

From the Arab Quarter many continued on to the Christian Quarter to see the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. After a rest back at the hotel we returned to the David's City for an outstanding Sound and Light show that graphically displayed the history of Jerusalem's history. It was spectacular. Another full day ended with anticipation of a busy day ahead.