Dear TBZ Community,
Today I write this message, from my sister’s living room in Ra’anana. Our TBZ-Sinai trip concluded yesterday; some of the members of the group are already on their way back to Boston, while others are staying a few more days for an extension trip or visiting friends and family. I am visiting my family today and I will be flying tonight (Thursday night), landing in Boston Friday morning.
Our trip was a great success! As we concluded yesterday in Jerusalem and said our goodbyes, we had a wrap-up session with song and reflection. The trip was intense, not easy. We came to this place to grapple with the complexities of the reality of the State of Israel. Learning and seeing with our own eyes the difficult reality of the occupation, and the injustices and suffering that exist here, and we also met incredible people who are committed to making change to create a better future for Israelis and Palestinians. I know that I deepened my understanding, my commitment, and my love for this place.
As last week, I will share a bit about each day. You can read my report from last week if you missed it, as I will continue from where I left off.
Friday, our group went to Ramallah and Bir Zeit. Their visit included a meeting with a representative of A Land For All, an organization which promotes a new solution for two nations to live in this land safely and peacefully. Unfortunately I was not able to join this part of the trip: by Israeli law, Israeli citizens are only allowed to go to Area A in the West Bank with a special permit. I was not able to receive the permit, so both our Jewish tour guide and myself went directly to Jerusalem. The group reported an interesting and difficult day, with more learning and grappling on the situation in the Palestinian territories.
As I wasn’t able to go, I asked one of the Sinai participants in our group, Staci Rosnethal (who works at Facing History and Ourselves and has taught at JCDS too), to write about the experience:
Today we left Haifa and made our way down to Ramallah in the West Bank. We crossed through multiple checkpoints, and, to be honest, it was confusing to follow which territory we were driving through at which time. Thankfully our guide, Samer, pointed out the differences: after Oslo, the West Bank was divided into three areas, A, B, and C. Some areas are controlled by Israel and others by the Palestinian Authority. We crossed from Israeli territory, where we said goodbye to our group members that are Israeli citizens, and continued into Area A, controlled by Palestine. Settlements, Palestinian cities, and refugee camps live side by side with each other. Samer said, “because they are surrounded by settlements, there is no growth possible for Palestinian cities.” Settlements are blocking any efforts of expansion and Palestinians are forced to expand upward. Our first stop is the Yasser Arafat museum. Rabbi Vogel said it’s a very controversial museum, but we chose to go to see how Palestinians discuss Arafat. Samer said it relies on facts more than propaganda, and it is designed to attract tourists. It talks more about Palestinian history rather than Ararat’s life. The museum was big, with a lot of visual aides to help us understand the history of the Palestinian people. While it left out facts we would have otherwise wanted to see, it was indeed straightforward with little propaganda. It attempts to share the Palestinian story with the outside world.
Our next stop is the Sa’Aden Science and Technology House, in the center of a Muslim and Christian town called Bir Zeit, where they have all sorts of exhibits on science and technology. They work with students as young as six years old, and teach them about electric currents, sound vibrations, chemistry, astronomy, and other science topics. About 70% of students who go through this museum change their thinking about science and technology, and some of them enter the science fields.
Our final stop in Ramallah was at a restaurant called Al-nawraj in Bir Zeit. Its name refers to a traditional Palestinian home, often built around the communal courtyard, in which multiple generations or branches of the family might live. We ate delicious food, a traditional Palestinian dish called Musakhan, made of fresh bread, onions, and chicken, and baked in sumac. Then we met with the director of the Palestinian branch of Land For All and heard about their active fight for Palestinian rights in the West Bank.
I took advantage of a day off and spent the day visiting dear friends in Jerusalem. I met the group for Kabbalat Shabbat at Kehilat Kol Haneshama where Rabbi Oded Mazor, a dear friend of mine, welcomed us. Shabbat services felt like a balm to the soul after a few days grappling with the complicated realities. (Some of us also had a chance to visit, quickly, Nava Tehila, a group that meets monthly for Friday night services, is housed by Kol Haneshama, and is the musical experience that TBZ’s Shabbat Nariya is modeled after.) We had Shabbat dinner with members of the Kol Haneshama community, and we were able to meet new people, Israelis and Americans, who have been living in Israel for a long time. Rabbi Oded Mazor powerfully shared with us what zionism means to him, even though he has spent all his adult life fighting against the policies of the government in turn. He spoke about not giving up, and having emunah (faith), trust, and hope about what Israel can be.
On Shabbat morning some members of our group went to the Italian synagogue with Rabbi Vogel, others went for a walk, and others slept late. I was blessed to be in Jerusalem for the bar mitzvah of the son of a dear friend who I went to rabbinical school with. A beautiful coincidence! And then walked to East Jerusalem (lots of walking!). As a group, we visited the Educational Bookshop, a well established and leading bookstore focusing on Middle Eastern culture and the Arab-Israeli conflict. The books are mostly research-based and published by highly respected institutions and publishers world-wide. The owner of the store spoke to us and shared his own story and his commitment to educating people through books.
We continued our walk to Sheikh Jarrah, a predominantly Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. The modern neighborhood was founded in 1865 and gradually became a residential center of Jerusalem’s Muslim elite. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, it came under Jordanian-held East Jerusalem, bordering the no-man’s land area with Israeli-held West Jerusalem until the neighborhood was occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Most of its present Palestinian population is said to come from refugees expelled from Jerusalem’s Talbiya neighborhood in 1948. Certain properties are subject to legal proceedings based on the application of two Israeli laws, the Absentee Property Law and the Legal and Administrative Matters Law of 1970. Israeli nationalists have been working to replace the Palestinian population in the area since 1967. Over a period of five decades, a number of Israeli settlements have been built in and adjacent to Sheikh Jarrah. For this part of the walking tour, we were guided by Yael Moab from Ir Amim. The mission of Ir Amim (“ City of Nations”) is to render Jerusalem a more equitable and sustainable city for the Israelis and Palestinians who share it and to help secure a negotiated resolution on the city through sustained monitoring, reporting, public and legal advocacy, public education, and outreach to re-orient the public discourse on Jerusalem. It was hard and powerful to hear the stories of the homes that are under eviction order or have been evicted, while also seeing the families of settlers celebrating Shabbat. Yael finished her presentation by reminding us of the mishna in Pirkei Avot (Ethics of our Ancestors) 5:10:
אַרְבַּע מִדּוֹת בָּאָדָם.
הָאוֹמֵר שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלָּךְ, זוֹ מִדָּה בֵינוֹנִית. וְיֵשׁ אוֹמְרִים, זוֹ מִדַּת סְדוֹם.
שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלְּךָ וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלִּי, עַם הָאָרֶץ.
שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלְּךָ וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלָּךְ, חָסִיד.
שֶׁלִּי שֶׁלִּי וְשֶׁלְּךָ שֶׁלִּי, רָשָׁע.
There are four types of character in human beings:
One that says: “mine is mine, and yours is yours”: this is a commonplace type; and some say this is a sodom-type of character.
[One that says:] “mine is yours and yours is mine”: is an unlearned person (am haaretz);
[One that says:] “mine is yours and yours is yours” is a pious person.
[One that says:] “mine is mine, and yours is mine” is a wicked person.
In many ways the situation and the laws that are being used for eviction in Sheikh Jarrah (and other places) is one that says what is mine is mine and what’s yours is mine, and this is why there are so many people, both Israelis and Palestinians, opposing these evictions. Yael also emotionally spoke about her commitment and love for Israel and her family who came from Europe and the fact that she is active in Ir Amim because she is a zionist who believes that we can live together in peace.
Beginning Shabbat with Rabbi Oded Mazor and ending Shabbat with Yael Moab, who both spoke about the commitment to Israel and their fight for social justice, equality, and human rights, reminded me that the simplistic understanding that many in our communities, especially in the mainstream American Jewish community, have that zionism (or anti-zionism) means love and blind support (or hate and not supporting the existence) of Israel is problematic and a false dichotomy. This is why our trip, with dual narratives, and these kinds of encounters are so important.
After this emotional tour we walked together back to the hotel, seeing the beautiful sky colors of Shabbat ending for a song-filled Havdalah! But the day didn’t end there: some of us then walked to a demonstration in Jerusalem against the judicial overhaul.
Sunday was another intense, not easy day. We went to Hebron (yes, as an Israeli, I can go to some parts of Hebron), guided by Benzion Sanders from Breaking the Silence, one of the most active anti-occupation organizations in Israel. Breaking the Silence is an Israeli non-governmental organization (NGO) established in 2004 by veterans of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It is intended to give active and discharged Israeli personnel and reservists a means to confidentially recount their experiences in the Occupied Territories. Collections of such accounts have been published in order to educate the Israeli public about conditions (how Palestinians are treated, what IDF soldiers are asked to do) in these areas. Benzi, our guide, made aliyah from the Lower East Side of NYC and came from a religious family. One of the powerful things he said was that his work with Breaking the Silence, making aliyah, and serving in the IDF are all guided by the same values of love for Israel, for human beings, for a better world. We walked in the “ghost town” of Hebron, an area that used to be full of life which is now empty. We also visited the home of Issa who runs Youth Against Settlements, teaching young Palestinian how to practice non-violence resistance. When we asked Issa how he teaches young Palestinians not to use violence, he said by practicing non-violence. Our trip to Hebron also included visiting the Me’arat Hamachpela (the cave of our ancestors). Though politically complicated, I was moved to pray and I stood next to the marker of Sarah Imeinu (Sarah our matriarch) and prayed for bloodshed to end, for peace and justice to prevail… Prayer is not enough, but I hope my prayers and my actions can bring some good to this broken world.
Back in Jerusalem, we heard the heart-breaking stories of Rami and Bassam from Parents Circle – Families Forum, brothers in pain. Though this is an organization I have known and supported for a long time, and I have heard the stories of Rami and Bassam (they were at TBZ a few years back), I cried as I could hear my own story in their words. As they both shared about the death of their young daughters, Rami shared the question he asked himself, a question that I have asked myself: “What am I going to do with this unbearable pain and anger?” Would retaliation bring them back? And he spoke about the power of pain to find connection, to listen, to hope their daughters are their last victimes. They spoke about how each other’s stories have been hidden from each other and how sharing their pain has given them the strength to hope and believe that there is another way. Bassam shared about his journey to learn about the Holocaust, something that was taught to him as a lie. How he traveled to Poland, visited the concentration camps with family, and learned about the suffering of the Jewish people during the Holocaust. In their pain I found hope. They ended by telling us that it is not about being Pro-Israel or Pro-Palestine, it is about being Pro-Peace.
Monday was a day of different encounters. We started visiting Hand in Hand: Center for Jewish-Arab Education, a school in West Jerusalem (Israel) that is transforming Arab-Jewish relations through the power of shared living. So grateful to one of its teachers, Yaffah Shira Grossberg, who showed us around and spoke about this incredible initiative, one that really gave me hope for the possibility of change for the future. Education is perhaps the best tool we have for a shared future for Jews and Arabs in Israel. We stopped at the promenade in Talpiot at the promenade (“tayelet”) for the obligatory group picture and some great learning about Jerusalem from our dear Ross. We went back to the hotel where we had the honor to welcome former Member of the Knesset Tehila Friedman from the Blue & White (Kahol-Lavan) alliance, who spoke to us about her views of Israel and her vision of a covenant of moderate people. We were also honored to welcome my friend and rabbi, Rabbi Art Green, who is spending time in Israel and shared his thoughts and vision. The rest of the afternoon was open, with some people going on a tour of the Jewish Quarter. I chose to enjoy the free afternoon with some obligatory shopping and visiting dear friends.
Our last full day as a group was Tuesday. We once again started bright and early, visiting the Old City with our tour guides, learning the stories and meanings for the three Abrahamic religions’ holy places from different narratives and points of view. On this day, our Palestinian guide was a woman and a Christian; her perspective was new and different, with a profound self-reflection which was inspiring to hear. She added a full other layer to the complexities of identities and stories. There is so much in the Old City: so much beauty, spirituality, history, pain, and complexity of identities. We visited the Egalitarian Kotel (Wall), known as Ezrat Israel or Kotel Hamishpachot, and spoke about challenges facing progressive Jews in a non-egalitarian and Orthodox dominated area. We learned about the challenges between different denominations in Christianity, and of the challenges between Christians as a minority in relation to Muslims. Once again, we got a sense of the complexity of this place, as well as the beauty and the depth of spiritual and historical connection. We even got to sing (the Sanctuary Song, of course!) in an underground water cistern, which made our voices feel powerful. After the Old City we went to Nachlaot, a cluster of 23 courtyard neighborhoods in central Jerusalem surrounding the Mahane Yehuda Market. It is known for its narrow, winding lanes, old-style housing, hidden courtyards, and many small synagogues. This is the place I call home and we were guided by my dearest friend (my brother), Drori Yehoshua. Very cutely, he started the tour at the house of an “important rabbi” who, as he said, is very missed in Jerusalem and even read some writings of this rabbi. The tour began in front of my longtime home in Jerusalem, Ovadia Somech 9! Drori took us through the beautiful neighborhoods and the shuk (market) Machane Yehudah, where we learned about the heritage of Jews from non-Ashkenazi places, especially from Arab countries. Again, our conversations deepened our learning regarding the complexity of identities, of minorities versus majorities, of narratives and belonging.
We said goodbye to each other on Wednesday morning after our concluding session. And some people of the group continued with a tour to the Israel Museum and others explored other places. John Frankel, TBZ member and one of the participants, shared words of thanks with the group and I quote him here (all his words not mine):
Words of thanks:
Mustafa – silent partner, whose job of driving a large bus in Israel – especially here in Jerusalem – none of us would dare to take on, I think he learned the words American Jews as the secret passcode for checkpoints. Little heavy on the horn – a definite fit to move to Boston and be a Boston driver
Samer – another person whose job I’d never take on – Palestinian surrounded by 31 curious Jews, many of whom have never met an Arab before. His humor, humility, knowledge were amazing and contacts enabled us to have some unbelievably unique encounters
Ross – I’m speechless, so I’ll pull some words from what I heard people say – Amazing, you are a highlight, awesome, fascinating, love of Israel, honesty, enlightening, teacher, meaningful, knowledge, great, a listener.
Always had an answer and a story to answer our questions, or in the rare case you didn’t, you were very curious to learn. You’ve been away from your home and family for so long, speaking with us tirelessly and patiently from before coffee until late into the evening. Todah (thanks).
To our 3 leaders who are here Ross, Rav Claudia, and Rabbi Andy – I can not believe the cross section of people we have met. Social workers, settlers, Christians, Muslims, rabbis, prisoners, students, teachers, Sabras, olim, queers, chefs, soldiers, booksellers, evicted Jews and Palestinians, grieving fathers, a member of Knesset, and peace activists. To me, it was seamless who knew each presenter, or brought them to meet us – your work together, and with MEJDI made for exactly what we came for – a multi-narrative tour of this beautiful country – or countries – and its people. Every detail was figured out, any hiccups were not noticed by us participants and flexibility to give us some downtime after Hebron was brilliant. But you’ve just added to our list of questions, so we’re all coming back when you’ve got answers
We will remember this trip at the high holiday appeal (or before). L’hitraot (See you later).
I also add my gratitude to MEJDI Tours for their hard work helping plan this trip. To Kim Passy Yoseph for all her work behind the scenes (so many details). To Joshua Bloom and Shannon Okuongahe for all the pre-planning work. To our driver, Mustafa, who was just the best. To Samer and Ross who were exceptional tour guides. Seeing Palestinian and Israeli tour guides listening to each other’s different narratives, watching them as we met people that have different political or religious affiliations, was powerful. I really encourage you to learn about the story of MEJDI, of two peacebuilding practitioners, Aziz Abu Sarah and Scott Cooper, who founded it. It’s all about relationships.
And my last but not least, gratitude to my partner in crime, Rabbi Andy Vogel! We did it! We have been talking about this trip for so long… and we made it happen.
To see pictures from the trip you can follow me on Facebook and Instagram.
We will plan a program for the participants of the group to share their trip experiences with our larger community. Stay tuned! In the meantime, I look forward to seeing you this shabbat (Shabbat Nariya and Shabbat morning).
May this Shabbat bring renewal and blessings to all of you and your loved ones.
May we find strength, courage, and patience, and open our hearts with generosity.
May all those who are ill find healing. And may we have a joyful, sweet, and peaceful Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rav Claudia