First Ten Days Of Israel Summer Seminar - Embracing The Sweat!

Day 1 – July 4^th 2016

We - the first cohort of Cape Town - (החלוצים   hachalutzim) "The Pioneers", met at Cape Town international. Together, thirteen brothers and sisters, plus one Lee and a Tao set off on a journey that none of us have ever faced. In a poetic way, we were Pioneers finally on our way;  in a less poetic way the servers crashed at check-in and we were stranded at the start. Regardless of this obstacle, our spirits stayed high and we moved on - first to Johannesburg.

High on compressed oxygen we landed with no trouble, we all ate supper, went to woolies etc. Then we were off to check-in to El-Al it all felt too real. In fact, it was very real! we were sniffed by a dog, interrogated by security and then they, literally,  took our bags (by hand), glad wrapped them behind a barrier and sent us on our way. Our affidavits passed and our passports were stamped. Then... duty free closed after not even fifteen minutes through security.

To any other group this would have caused distress - to us it was a disaster.

After many hours of waiting we were finally boarding. It all got very real the moment  the captain spoke Hebrew and the lights went off the hue of blue and the seat belt signs above... we knew it...we knew it!  We were of!

-       - Jared May

Day 2 – July 5^th 2016

On the first day we landed in this land that is filled with culture, spirituality, beauty and difficulties. Driving through the cities it was hard to get a feeling of the place, but as soon as we  arrived in the Druze village and were welcomed into a small restaurant run by two Druze sisters it allowed us, as a cohort, to be exposed to one of the rich cultures that exist in Israel and thus be exposed to this country as a cultural melting pot. This was followed by a conversation with Frida, one of the owners of the restaurant that gave us insight into the Druze religion. This was proceeded by a drive to Haifa to see the Baha'i gardens and eat some well desired ice cream. Once arriving at the hostel it was clear that the only thing on everyone's minds was a good sleep. This was a perfect beginning to our journey as a group as we got to see a lot as well as establish great group dynamics. 

-       - Hannah- Rose Fleishman

Day 3 – July 6^th 2016

Yesterday we explored different minority groups in Israel such as the Bahai'i, Israeli-Arabs and Druzim. Following from yesterday, today we looked at some difficulties and efforts that go towards co-existing. We started our exploration at the Ecommunity, which is an e-waste factory that hires and trains special needs people in order to include them in the employed class of Israel. We then discussed the idea of Zionism in an Educational Kibbutz called Eshbal. This Kibbutz follows the Zionist ideas that Theodore Herzl put forward so many years ago. Herzl's vision of Zionism was to create a spiritually and morally perfect society in Israel and less about Israel purely being a safe haven for the Jews. We have to strive to make the best society that we can through Tikkun Olam: opening up our eyes to the world around us and bettering it. 

After some deep contemplation of Zionism we stopped for fine some fine dining at a restaurant hall next to the Kinneret in Tiberius. We enjoyed a three course healthy Israeli meal and then took our very full stomachs into the Kinneret for a swim. The water was lovely and refreshing. It was great to be relieved from the heat outside.

Feeling relaxed and refreshed, we then traveled to an Arab city next to Shorashim where we had, as we realized, the rare opportunity to have discussions with Israeli-Jews and Israeli-Arabs. Sigalit opened up the discussion about the different narratives of the Jews and Arabs in Israel and how we have to recognize those separate narratives with they share a space and coexist with each other in Israel while living separated realities. In the groups that we were then divided into we discussed our different narratives and realities as South African Jews, Israeli Jews and Israeli Arabs. We discussed the extent to which we practise our religion, we discussed our belief in God, we discussed the celebration of independence versus the pain felt during the Nakba.
 
I think that the facts, feelings and opinions could never be portrayed through the news or any broadcast and although conversations like the ones we had aren't everyday occurances, we should make the effort to speak and engage with people who are different to us and maybe believed to be in conflict with us.

-       - Aviva Phillips

Day 4 – July 7^th 2016

Today we all had a very early start to the day. Everyone had to be ready for the day by the early hour of 7:30am. We, again, had a healthy and hearty breakfast that our hostel provided and then immediately boarded our bus to start our journey of the day. 

We started off at Achula Valley where we all rode bicycles in a smashing 38 degrees Celsius but the temperature didn't stop us from doing anything. The surrounding scenery was flat, and somewhat colour-less but never the less it was truly beautiful! We made a few stops in some much-needed shade to learn a bit about the area's history - for example, how the swamps used to be a breeding ground for malaria and back in the day doctors were unable to identify what was killing all the inhabitants of the land until they discovered that it was the anopheles mosquito causing all the damage. 

After our ride we made our way to Nehar Yarden (the Jordan River.) We all quickly slipped into our costumes, due to the fact that we were behind schedule, and scurried down to the river. We split up into groups of 5 or 6 and hopped on to our rafts. The trip lasted approximately 2 hours. It was evident that even though the sun was beating down on us, we were all having a blast! We even saw cows towards the end of the river, which was exciting for some but a non-event for others. We then headed back to the Jordan River base where we ate the most delectable lunch - fast-food burgers and chips! 

After our lunch, we headed to Tzfat - a religious and beautiful city. The streets were all cobble-stoned as well as the surrounding walls. It had a very natural and organic aura to it. We started off with a short tour, lead by our tour educator Amit. We went into two synagogues which had a very different dynamic to Cape Town's shuls. The colour blue was a prominent feature in the architecture in Tzfat. It represents the evil eye to ward off bad spirits and it is believed that when the angel of death comes to take someone's Neshama, it becomes confused and assumes it is in heaven already because of all the blue. After the short tour, we went for a 35 minute shop. We all purchased some goodies including earrings, ice-creams, necklaces, bracelets and other ornaments. 

We then made our way to Kibbutz Channaton- our last stop of the day. All of us immediately got into our costumes and jumped into the pool. This was a lovely bonding experience as we played an intense game of volleyball and other water sports. We ended the day with a Ma'agal Layla. I handed out flowers printed on paper to everyone as a way to reflect on the day. I asked the group to write down anything significant that happened or they achieved during the day. We had a light discussion followed by the schedule for the next day. 

Eventually it was bed time! We all said our Layla tov's and headed to bed. 

-       - Melissa Moritz

Day 5 – July 8^th 2016

This morning we had a great opportunity to meet with someone that is on Kibbutz Channaton. Her name was Sophia. We spoke about the history of the Kibbutz and what problems there are in the Kibbutz and how to overcome them. We were shown what an egalitarian shul looks like and also some of the housing around the Kibbutz. After that, we got onto the bus and drove to Machane Ben Yehuda and had a bit of free time walking around and getting lunch for ourselves with money that we got given. After lunch we drove to Ramat Rachel,  joining everyone from the diaspora that is on the Diller program. We then had the opening ceremony for Kennes. And that! I must say... was amazing!After that, we got our room keys and went straight to our rooms to get ready for Shabbat. Once everyone was ready we all meet under a white marque and sang songs and met new people. Once it was done we went to the shabbat service that we wanted to do and then went for supper. After supper we had a few activities to get to know one another better then it was off to bed  

-       - Adam Osrin

Day 6 – July 9^th 2016

After an incredible Friday in Ramat Rachel, beginning our Kennes Shabbos, we finally had an opportunity to sleep in a bit later on Saturday morning (besides for if you chose to go to the orthodox service which started bright and early, so I was definitely not going to be there.) This was the best chance for us all to re-charge our batteries after a jam-packed first week in Israel, and in preparation for the weeks to come, which include Community Week and Congress.
As my day was the 9th of July, that being Hannah's birthday, at 12:00 we threw her a little "birthday party" and put balloons and chocolates in her room and sang birthday songs. 
 
After a classic Israeli breakfast, and I handed out my quotes of the day - that being silly quotes with the intend to make you contemplate your life and it's meaning (e.g. If you replace the W in "What", "Where" and "When" with T, you get the answer, or "if you clean your vacuum cleaner, you're making your vacuum cleaner, and you're a vacuum cleaner" or "a pregnant woman swimming is just a human submarine") us fellows had to choose a Shabbat morning service which we would like to attend. These services were a games service, a god talk, an orthodox service, a reform service and a yoga service. I chose to go to the Game Service, where we played various active games and then answered questions on how these games could relate to things such as prayer and Judaism. 

After the Shabbat morning service, we had "Shnayim Ochazim" in our colour groups. Before reading through the parasha, we were split up into pairs and asked a series of questions ranging from what our favourite tv series is, to what the responsibility of being a leader is. The parasha of the week is "Korach." In the parasha we learn how Korach, followed by other well-respected Israelites of the time, stood up to Moses, telling him that he has taken on too much responsibility. Instead of treating the rest of the Israelites like his equals, Moses perceived himself as higher and far superior than them. After reading through extracts of the parasha, and discussing them with partners, we re-gathered, and discussed our understanding of the text. Afterwards, we spoke about the responsibility of power, and how we should not abuse this power and use it to create a false sense of hierarchy, but rather to use it to uplift others and benefit those around us. 

Following "Shnayim Ochazim," we had lunch. After lunch, we had another opportunity to have a quick rest or to get ready before we headed on our long walk to the Kotel. As it was absolutely sweltering outside, we weren't too chuffed for the long walk in the heat. As we left Ramat Rachel and began our long walk to freedom, we stopped on the road where the "green line" is situated (separating the Palestinians and Israelis) and learnt a bit about the history of this devision. Amit spoke a bit about a statue in the olive field in front of Ramat Rachel, which is made of 3 tall pillars, with olive trees on top. These 3 trees and pillars interestingly enough signify the 3 prominent religions in Jerusalem that have a connection to the land - that being Judaism, Christianity and Islam. This was the perfect thing to start off with as my activity that followed was about the significance of Jerusalem to those 3 religions. 

Fortunately for us, our fascinating tour guide Amit was able to keep our spirits alive by asking us various interesting questions about our Judaism, which we discussed in partners, as well as by stopping several times along the way for rests and explanations of the areas we were in. At around 5/6, we stopped in a beautiful park for "Seudah Shlishit" with all the other international cohorts. This could not have come at a better time, as we were all hot, hungry and thirsty, and in desperate need for a sit down and chill. This park was particularly interesting because it's a mixed park, allowing both Jews and Palestinians, but they do not mix. 

We continued our walk to the Kotel, and as we arrived just before the old city, we sat in a circle and spoke about the history of the area and sang songs, which was a great bonding experience. We were also given 5 minutes to ourselves to reflect and think about our experience so far, and to think about the future and what's to come. This was so special and so beautiful, as the sun was setting by the old city, and the sky was filled with a warm pink glow. 

We proceeded to Kotel, and learnt about all the spots we passed and their significance. We finally arrived at the main entrance and walked into the Kotel area, after an extremely long journey. We were all extremely overwhelmed by the sensation of being exposed to this wall that has been spoken about to us since we could remember. Some chose to go and pray at the wall, and others chose to observe. For some, this was there first experience, and they didn't know quite how to handle it, but this also applies for those that have been before. Regardless of if you felt a connection to the wall or not, it was an amazing experience to be there with the whole cohort and it was truly so special to have our Havdallah there, bringing in the new week. 
We finished our Havdallah service, and walked back to the entrance of the old city through the Christian and Armenian quarters. We then made our way on a seemingly quick walk to Ben Yehuda street. 

At Ben Yehuda Street, we had free time, where fellows who had friends and family in the area could come and visit. Those without family or friends, split up and either went missioning for a falafel/shawarma, pizza or a waffle in my case. This waffle was possibly one of the best waffles I've ever had, and I highly recommend it. (It's called בבית קפה)

We then shopped and walked around, and spent some time with the other international cohorts - which was super fun. 
We also sang and danced and overall had a blast! 

On the bus ride home, we travelled with the Melbourners - which was really cool. We chatted and laughed and sang happy birthday to one of the Melbourne girls, Hagar - in true Cape Town style (jump up, turn around and all). We finally got back to Ramat Rachel at around 12, and then all headed to bed as we were absolutely exhausted from the long, but nevertheless amazing day.

Overall we had so much fun and really got to bond both on Saturday, and the whole of Kennes. We got to meet so many new people and had an absolute blast! I can't wait for the weeks to come! 

-       - Jaime Locketz

Day 7- July 10^th 2016

Today was our final full day of Kennes, our weekend with the 'non-Israeli' cities. We began  the day with an enlightening workshop called 'journey of the people', which educated us on the international Jewish community and the journey of the Jewish people throughout history. We were able to get involved and interact with the different topics discussed. One of the topics we discussed was looking at the amount of Jews in countries around the world. 

After the 'Journey of the people' workshop we were fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to go on an array of bus tours.  There were 8 options to chose from with a wide variety of topics, ranging from different foods in Israel, visiting the Knesset and discussing politics and certain issues, to visiting the security wall between the West Bank and Jerusalem. 

I chose to go on the bus tour named 'Unpacking the Israeli Narrative', this involved a talk by Neil Lazarus, who is an internationally acclaimed expert in the fields of Middle East politics, public diplomacy and effective communication training. He discussed different techniques in which we can formulate an argument when asked about the conflict in Israel, along with informing us on the topic. 

One message he gave to us was that as the Jewish youth, we do not always need to have the answer when asked about the conflict, as we don't know everything about it, and it is unlikely we will ever know everything regarding the conflict. 

Once Neil finished speaking to us, we boarded a bus and travelled from Ramat Rachel to a section of the wall that acts as a barrier between Jerusalem and the West Bank. Once we reached the wall I was struck by the scale of the wall and the extremity of it. We also saw the check point beside it and it gave me more insight into the process of crossing the wall. 

For a second time we boarded the bus and went to a new location. We travelled to a viewpoint in Jerusalem where we could see almost the whole of the West Bank, and we were told how the area we were standing on was used in a previous war as an area of defense. 

The over all tour enlightened me on the conflict in a way which was educational and enjoyable! 

Once we returned to Ramat Rachel we had a closing ceremony for Kennes, where people had the opportunity to stand up and say ways in which Kennes changed them, and lessons that they will take with them to their home communities. It ended with a video of photos taken over the past few days. 

Following the closing ceremony we had a dance party organized by the Junior Counsellors to allow us to end off Kennes on a positive, enjoyable note! 

We ended off our night with a heartfelt Ma'agal Leila, which I felt brought our cohort closer. Finally all of the Cape Townians, after an extremely busy, but incredible day, felt content with the now stronger dynamic of the group.

-       - Dani Wilck

Day 8 – July 11^th 2016

Leader of the day: This morning marked the last day of our kennes experience. We woke up, packed our bags and met downstairs in the ulam(big hall where we've been eating meals with all other cohorts). We ate a quick breakfast and said goodbye to our friends from the respective cohorts. As a group I think we were all quite upset to say goodbye to those we had bonded with over the weekend and were also nervous for the day ahead(very much mixed feelings). By 9 o'clock had gotten our bags and made our way onto the bus. 

We arrived at Mt Herzl and met our guide, Neta, who took us to an interactive part of the museum where we played a quiz on Herzl's life and read/listened to stories about Herzl and his ideology. We then made our way to the mountain itself, stopping along the way to discuss the history of the mountain, reasoning behind the position of the cemetry etc. We then visited both Herzl's and jaburtinsky' graves and discussed the difference between them and their ideologies. It was interesting to discuss which ideology is being put into use in today's modern Israel and also to discover that Herzl(considered to have very right wing views) was actually more left wing, unlike jaburtinsky. Furthermore we spoke about how Ben Gurion had for many years forbidden the transfer of Jaburtinsky's grave to Mt Herzl as he did not identify with Jaburtinskys views in the slightest, but to his disappointment/dismay it was organized that Jaburtinsky would be commemorated on Mt Herzl near Herzl himself.

 We then made our way to a house like memorial commemorating last of kin who lost their lives (the memorial was designed in such a way that it appeared to be a divided house representing the breaking up of families and impossibility of the continuation of these families-no generations to come). We then walked to our last stop within the cemetery-huge walls listing all the names of victims of terrorist attacks from the beginning of Israelis independence till today. We spoke about the way in which there is a large amount of empty wall, unfortunately, remaining for the names of victims to come, in the same way that there is a massive, empty field in the area commemorating soldiers specifically(we unfortunately never visited this section but got a more in depth tour on the history of Herzl ). 

The group then engaged in a heated conversation with Neta about the controversial incident of the removal of 13 year old Mohammed Abu khdeirs name from this wall(Kheider was a terrorist victim having being murdered by Israeli Jews and the inclusion of his name of this wall was largely condemned by the Israeli population). As a collective we mostly felt that his name should have remained on the wall as the names represented PEOPLE who lost their lives in terrorist attacks(from a humanity perspective it felt unfair that his name was removed) but simultaneously we felt that it must've been uncomfortable for the family to have the name of their son present in a space where it didn't seem welcomed(we thought the parents would've been under a lot of scrutiny in the public eye rather than being surrounded by a support system of people mourning the loss of their son). Finally, Neta ended off telling us it was actually his parents descision to have his name removed as they did not want their sons name represented in a space/land that they didn't feel was their own(his father stated that: "We don’t need the recognition ... we’re not Israeli citizens. Instead of this list we want justice and the prosecution of the criminals.” 

We then made our way to Yad Vashem were we ate our sandwiches, drank some water(refreshed) and then entered the museum itself. We met our guide and were given our headphones for the tour. First stop was the children's memorial which was received in a more positive way that the museum itself as a lot of the group felt that being immersed in darkness, and the multiple reflections of 5 candles(creating confusion) was rather overwhelming creating a specific atmosphere, integral to the commemoration of those that lost their lives(being surrounded by the sounds of children's names(victims of the genocide), darkness and mirrors made the experience real). 

We then made our way into the museum and our guide spoke to us about the day to day life period to the holocaust and we discussed the politics of the time(elections etc), stereotypes being thrown into the public realm, and the beginning of hitlers reign. Whilst our guide was knowledgeable on yad vashem I think the group felt abit upset that we skipped specific rooms and videos as they felt it was easier to absorb information when they read information/watched movies themselves as supposed to being spoke to. Nonetheless It was really interesting to learn about the methods used by the nazis to conduct a genocide of the holocausts mass, as well as to stand on the same cobbled roads as the generations of the time, making us feel as though we were literally transported to Poland/Europe. We were given some time to watch snippets of videos about holocaust survivors themselves, and lastly made our way towards the hall of names containing files upon files of names on those who perished(only names of those whose families had evidence of their existence-photos etc). This room was really meaningful as we learnt of the importance of names which give us identity and the way in which people wished for their names to be remembered creating a kind of legacy. 

After de briefing the experience it was evident that people who went to Yad Vashem for the first time felt somewhat let down in the sense that the museum was not made uncomfortable(a lot of light enters the building, aircon at optimal temp(in comparison to architecture of other holocaust centers) but Lee explained that Yad Vashem is a place that needs to be visited on multiple occasions in order to begin to grasp a part of history that is inconceivable. We then got back on the bus and drove toward shoham. After a 45 minute subs ride we arrived in shoham, met our fellows at the purple house and went straight into an activity that allowed us to experience the well known sights of Shoham(the shopping mall, central fountain, large park..) which was a lot of fun as we got to sight see and bond with one another at the same time, in a light hearted fashion. 

We then went to another hall for dinner where we introduced ourselves to our partners parents, ate a delicious dinner together(both cohorts and Israeli families) and watched a video, took some photos and spoke to one another. We then left with our shoham families for the night. 

It was a jam packed day full of emotions and I think we are all excited and nervous for what community week holds.

-       

          - Kira Meltzer

Day 9 – July 12^th 2016          

On Tuesday morning was the Dillers first full day of Community week. Some drove and  others walked to the Purple house where this was the starting point of the day ahead. The Cape Townians started off with a Ma'agal boker where we spoke about our first night experience in our Shoham Dillers' homes. Everybody brought positive feedback about how their host families and about settling in. Then all the Dillers got onto a bus and we headed off the a farm,Neket Yisrael, where we were introduced by the farm co-ordinator. He explained that this organisation produces vegetables which is all given to people in Israel who don't have food and all the vegetables are picked by volunteers. Dillers job was to pick tomatoes from the bushes and each person picked a whole crate full of tomatoes. The leaders of the day picked this activity because by picking tomatoes directly makes an impact in people's lives. Neket Yisrael provides 180 000 people food weekly in Israel and every year Neket Yisrael is helped by 60 000 volunteers.
 
We returned back to the Purple House and got to reconnect with our fellow Dillers from Shoham while waiting for lunch. After lunch we were introduced by citizens of Shoham who were social workers in the community. These people have brought positive change to the city of Shoham by giving up their time and putting their efforts to improve the city of Shoham. They spoke to us in groups and explained their objective in their different organisations. These social workers jobs include volunteering for the police, helping teenagers with emotional problems, helping disable  people, volunteer ambulance driver and for providing food for the needy.
 
We are then visited by a international Diller staff, Keren, who sat back and experienced what was prepared by the leaders of the day and by the co-ordinators. Lee and Reut separated us into between our different cohorts and told each group to write down their country's 5 main ways that shaped their country into what they are like today. Nearly every group gave similar answers. Then we were told to combine the Shoham and Cape Town groups and discuss the 5 main moments in the Jewish People's history. Each group's answer was diverse and brought interesting new ideas into play.

The leadership of the day's main aim was the idea of volunteering and that volunteering is not about the glory and the fame but the passion one has to improve his community and by putting ones effort and realising that one is part of something greater.

-       - Aaron Sherman

Day 10 – July 13^th 2016

ISS, a day to remember.

We started off by all meeting at a field at 8:00 am. From there we walked through a really small tunnel under a road. 

Once on the other side we were in a forest. After walking abit longer in the hot humidity of the early day we came to a picnicing spot with benchs and tables, fire pits and play equipment.We all rehydrated and ready to start the activities that had been planned for the day. This is where the group got spilt into 4 people from our partnered cohort decided they'd prepare and cook lunch for us while the rest of us did out door activities. These activities were based on building trust and bonds through verbal and visual communications. After we completed this we had lunch which was shuckshoka. We then all walked back to the Purple House where we had two discussions with a relaxing break between. The first discussion was about weather a leader is needed in life and what is a leader. The second discussion was about how the activities earlier in the day can/cant be seen as similar to isreal. 

After this alot of us decided to go to Tel Aviv for sushi and a good evening which turned out to be loads of fun.

   - Amy Staniland