Matisyahu cut his beard, but will he forget Jerusalem? No chance.

 Wow, the rumors are true, the reggae Chasidich superstar Matisyahu has cut his beard, and is no longer a chasidich Jew. As someone who has been following his music since the day his first album "Shake of the Dust Arise" dropped, this does not come as such a massive shock. Mats's music has been getting successively less religion based, and his black hatter attire has long been forgotten since he appeared in an ad for a secular clothing company. Regardless, I hope this is the right choice for Matisyahu(now back to Matt Miller), and that he can find a way to produce music that was as heartfelt and dope as his first album was. He is still a practicing Jew, and as far as I'm concerned he is still the man.



He's still a rockstar don't worry

Peace out Jerusalem, hello Bat Yam

 Wow, tonight is the last night of my Jerusalem semester. The past two weeks have been a mess of studying, finals, arguments about left over stipend money, cleaning, packing, and a little bit of reflection here and there. The trimester has physically been the longest of the three this year, yet it seems not long ago that we had our opening ceremony over looking Jerusalem.

  Tonight we went back to the same look out, instead this time it was a group of 70 friends, who had just experienced some amazing things together. We sat down on some candle lit stairs, and a few Year Coursers shared what they’ve been doing in the past three months. Our Section leader spoke about how tight a group we are, and how our passion to explore has brought us to really see Jerusalem. Our Counselor who went on Year Course in 2007 stayed at a different Hostel not so close to downtown Jerusalem, and explained that when he was on Year Course, the group never fully immersed themselves in the city the way we did.

  We ended the night with a mock Year Course Bar Mitzvah (13 weeks in Jerusalem); filled with a skit, candle lighting, a slide show, and dancing. It was a funny and great way to sum up the trimester. Tomorrow we leave for a hike and the desert, and then onward to a new like in Bat Yam.

  I have truly come to love the city of Jerusalem, and have a deep personal connection with it. It is really the center of the world and of so many religions, including Judaism. I will miss the diversity, the food, and the ancient stones city only blocks away from the modern bar scene. It’s just all so much fun, and I know I will be back soon.

  This Trimester was amazing, but was also very challenging for me. The death of my Grandma Dorothea on the first day of Year Course was a huge loss, and forced me to dig deeply as to why and how I should spend a year in Israel. With the terrible apartment conditions, lack of food, family, and familiarity, the meaning of this year became that much more challenging and also important. I am here to become a good independent Jewish person, which means I may be placed in tough situations that will test my skills. I do wish that some parts of this semester could have been easier, but as my section leader said, “it’s a blank slate now”.

 I feel completely ready for Bat Yam, because of the adjustment process I have already gone through. Bat Yam is a fun lower class immigrant town next to Tel Aviv. I will be living with my good friends in our own apartment near the beach, and will hopefully be volunteering at a marine school. I will not have to share an apartment with fifteen other people. A great semester is behind me, and a great one is to come. Here we come freedom!

 Thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog, and keeping up with my adventures (even when the blog posts are lame). My year has been such a success so far, because I have been able to make new friends while keeping in touch with the old ones.

 Thanks and happy holidays,

 Alex

Abu Gosh and the greatest amount of mediocre hummus in the world

A few weeks ago one of my classes went to Abu Gosh and Ein Rafah, which are two Israeli-Arab villages located just outside Jerusalem. We spoke to a British Moslem woman, who is married to one of the men in the villages. Everyone in Ein Rafah has the same last name, because they are all one family. She was a very smart woman, and described her life as an Arab living in Israel. She explained that Israel has two separate education systems, one for Jewish children and one for Arab children. Both groups have the option to go to any school they choose, however this woman has chosen to send her children to Arab speaking schools, so they can be with their friends.

 In my opinion having two separate school systems is lame, and prevents unity between Jews and Arabs. This is not segregation, but Arab-Israeli schools often have worse conditions than Israeli schools. The government claims that a main reason for having two systems, is because of a language barrier, however almost all Arab-Israeli’s speak Hebrew, and many Jews speak Arabic. Both Hebrew and Arabic are the official languages of the State of Israel, and many places such as the multi-cultural city of Haifa, make their students take Hebrew and Arabic.

  Besides being a fantastic Arab-Israeli town, Abu Gosh is famous for it’s Hummus. We went to a beautiful Hummus restaurant, with lavish décor, and a view of the Jerusalem hills. It turns out that the owner had won the lottery. Also, apparently Abu Gosh holds the current Guinness world record for most hummus! They put a lot of hummus in a big vat, beating out the Lebanese. Israel wins again! To be honest the hummus was a worse version of Pinati’s, but there was a lot of it. Almost as cool as Aaron Lyon, Moshe Arazi, and David Micley’s record of the longest skateboard.

This was the exact restaurant we ate at 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-1kpmrQmN4   

  "The Lebanese are planning a hummus counter attack" 

                       Pre-chickpead

Aaron Jijj going for the reach

            
                        Take that Lebanon!

Remember these guys...yep Jewish/Israeli to. 

Back to the Blogging

 Wow, it has been way to long since I last blogged. My deepest apologies. I could make up some excuses, such as laziness, a broken camera, tests, or lots of traveling, but none of these things are more important than blogging. Here are some things I’ve been doing in the past few weeks.

Biked around the Kinneret (Sea of Galilea).

Went to a Moshav in the North and picked olives

Went to a David Broza concert

Ate a lot of Hummus

Went to Tel-Aviv

Did not shave

Israel Advocacy Seminar

Enjoyed Sushi for the first time

Ate a lot of hummus

Ke11y Slater Wins His Eleventh ASP World Cup Of Surfing!...or almost

Kelly Slater was thought to have won his eleventh ASP World Cup, but it turns out he still needs to win one more heat to beat out Aussie Owen Wright. The good news is that this awesome video was made with a great song behind it by surfer-british-song-writer Ben Howard. Been listening to it non-stop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv17rf24boo

Cool Guy of The Year (So Far) Goes TO: Gilad

 Went to the supermarket and saw this sticker that was put up before Gilad Shalit's release. Well he's back, and straight killin' at the beach every weekend sticking it to Hamas. Gilad you the man!

Cool guy of last week goes to: Tsitsit Man

It's a plane, it's Ted Kenedy, it's the Moshiach....it's just Tstsit Man. I passed this guy tying tstsit in the Old City and didn't think anything of it, until I came back four hours later and he was still there. His dress code is impeccable. 

Cool Guy of the Week: Kilt Man

Here Kilt Man looks like a normal inDnegev hardcore fan, but actually he may be the event planner for the entire festival. On the last night of inDnegev he was still wearing his kelt, and when all the staff members went to dance around on the stage, he was right there rocking his kilt and staff shirt. Just kilt man being kilt man.

InDnegev

4,000 hippies, one million cigarette buts, four million falafel balls, three stages, 70 performers, 20 staff members, three days of music, one dessert, one InDnegev. This was my experience at the InDNegev music festival last weekend. The festival was one of the most amazing, spiritual, and fun events that I have ever been apart of, and brought together many aspect of Israeli culture.

On Tuesday word got around Section 1, that a small alternative music festival was to take place in the desert, at a reasonable cost of 180 Shekel. Many of my friends love alternative music also known as “indie”, and were pumped to buy tickets. Our hopes were quickly dashed, when we went to the website to find that the tickets were completely sold out. Somehow we found a loophole in the Israeli ticket system, and soon enough all fifteen of us were packing our frame packs with pitot, hippie bandannas, tents, and cooking stoves.  

 We arrived in Ber Sheva on Thursday night, to find a mass of young Israeli’s (equipped with camping materials for three days) aggressively pushing their way towards a massive egged bus. We arrived at the festival site around dark, to find a sea of tents, and hippies everywhere. We set up camp, and quickly made the three-minute walk to the two main stages.

 I quickly noticed that InDnegev is a very low budget, organic, and independent music festival, which attracts a loyal fan base of enthusiastic Israelis. There were no commercial food stalls, logos, or trailers anywhere. Art of all forms were everywhere, with wildly painted tents, sculptures, and a few clowns doing tricks.

 The bands were almost all indie bands that no one had really heard of, but were nonetheless a lot of fun to listen to. At around one a.m., I made my way to the bonfire at the back of the camping area, and met a nice woman from Jerusalem named Shiri. Shiri spoke only Hebrew to me, and we had a nice conversation about her being Vegan, and how she currently is not in school.

 On Friday morning, we woke up to loud funk music being blasted from the massive speakers. Time to get up and start dancing. There were a few funk bands that were a lot of fun. It got very hot during the day, so in order to cool off the crowds, the festival implemented a drip sprinkler system to cool us off.

 My favorite performers of the day were four Chasidim, who played crazy rock music and rapped.

 In the midst of all these secular Israeli’s, three Chabad Rabbi’s were determined to have a successful Shabbas, and erected a massive tent with a torah and mashiach flags waving high. Only in Israel would Judaism be brought to a music festival in the middle of nowhere. We attended Shabbat services with thumping guitar solos in the background, which a very unique and strange experience.

 The headliner for the night was Mass Dubstep, who started their set at 3 AM, dropping some crazy electronic dance beats. All the Year Course guys took off our shirts and started a mosh pit, until the director of the festival pulled the plug at around 4am.

  The food at Indie was all local and pretty cheap. I had the most amazing Falafel, which was drenched in home made mango sauce that literally melted in my mouth.

 We spent the last few hours of the Festival dancing to the British-Israeli band Umlala. We were front row and knew all their lyrics. The last band of the night was called Funkenstein. These guys were the Israeli Earth Wind And Fire, and dressed in elves style suits and hippie spandex. The sun was setting over the desert, creating a scenic picture to end an amazing three days. I really didn’t want to leave, but there is always Boomamella, which is an even bigger music festival coming up in the spring in Eilat!

                                   Good morning InDnegev

                                                      We want Mashiach now!

The orange stuff was the mango sauce

                                  Anyone want to take a cigarette bath?

                           The Crowd

                                                              This woman was very pregnant

                          Some festival art

                                             Artsy tents

                                                              Shtar keeping it kosher

                                    This was a staff guy who was wearing a kilt

                                        Geting intimate with kilt guy!

This was the guitarist and singer for Electronic Zoo. This dude played, sang, acted, and even looked like Jimi Hendrix. Defenitly one of the best acts of the festival. He went crazy during his set, making weird faces and attempting stage splits.

Gap Yah

A really fun Klezmer band

Funkenstein getin funky!

             And the sun sets over Indnegev....

Back to the hummus

A few weeks ago I went to the most hyped Hummusaria in all of Jerusalem; Pinati’s. I first went to Pinati’s last summer with Josh Pankin, who took me to the original store on Yafo street. It is really a unique little place, with pictures of famous people eating Hummus all over the wall. Just like the many restaurants in Israel that were once small stores and are now large chains (ie Burgers Bar, Marzapan, New Deli, Holly Bagel), Pinati’s is apparently no longer a commodity. I went to the Pinatis in Talpiyot with my two friends Molly and Nathan. At Pinati’s you order a very simple hummus dish, with your choice of meat, shawarma, chikpeas, etc. on top all for only 20 sheck. They then bring you unlimited amounts of fresh warm pita! We spent a solid hour and a half, scooping hummus, talking loudly in English, and having a nice break fro our classes. Next place to discover will be the coveted Abu Gosh hummus!

                                                                                The Spread                           

The goods

                                                                      Deeyupin in

                                                                        Get in my belly

Gilad Shalit Returns Home!

 Gilad Shalit is finally home after six long years in captivity.

 I was able to see every stage of Gilad's release live. I was volunteering at an old age home in the morning, when I first saw the sixteen-year-old looking Gilad being escorted through Egypt. Every Israeli in the room was crying. The news kept switching between Gilad and the celebration of terrorists being released.

Here in Israel, there are many opinions on the deal. About 70% of Israelis support Prime Minister Netanyahu’s decision, with 30% opposing it. Many Israeli’s have known someone or had a family member murdered in a terrorist attack, making the Shalit deal an emotional and heart wrenching time for them.

  I finally understood the reasoning behind the trade, when I heard Netanyahu deliver his speech. It was one of the best speeches I have ever heard. Bibi justified to the world and Israel why he personally chose to go through with the trade, and why it was so essential. He explained that if the trade had not happened, Gilad would have been lost forever. He promised to keep the terrorists under strict surveillance, and stated that if he or she returns to terrorism, “his blood Is upon his head”. Most importantly, he concluded with how important human life is, stating that Israel sanctifies life.

 Walking down Emek Refaim on the night of Gilad’s release, there were signs everywhere with "welcome home Gilad". There were also fireworks.

Gilad’s release comes with a heavy price, but it is clear that the country is okay with it. As Jews we value human life, and will do everything possible to save even one person.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL8SwgnKVY8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uZslXHPTEg

http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng/Communication/PMSpeaks/speechshalit181011.htm

Soulfarm dedicated their concert to Gilad

PM Netanyahu, Gilad Shalit, Noam Shalit

Bring Gilad Home!: Being part of history.

 Five years ago, Hamas terrorists attacked an Israeli tank with a rocket propelled grenade, killing two soldiers and injuring nineteen-year-old Gilad Shalit. Gilad was captured and taken to an unknown location in Gaza, where he has been living in captivity for 1,938 days.

 Since Gilad’s capture, Israeli’s and supporters abroad have lobbied for his return: rallying, protesting, and sitting with Gilad’s parents Noam and Aviva Shalit in the tent they have erected next to prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s house. Whether you’re a supporter of the past and present negotiations for Gilad, everyone is deeply concerned for Gilad’s safety and health, and wish to see him return home.

   On Tuesday October 11^th 2011, year course was receiving a presentation from current year course parent Marsha Gladstone, whose son Yoni was killed eleven years ago to the date in a bus bombing on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv. Her story was sad, but her strength and willingness to allow Yoni’s organs to be given to two Israeli’s and one Palestinian girl was moving.

 After the presentation had finished, every year courser remained motionless in our seats, our faces somber, unsure of how to transition into the exciting Sukkot break that awaited us.

  It was then that out our counselor Yehudit informed us that Prime Minister Benjamen Netanyahu was in the process of signing an agreement to bring home Gilad Shalit. She told as that the deal was not final, but that she was going to the Shalit tent in fifteen minutes to show support, if anyone wanted join her. We were in total shock. The attention in the room shifted from the tragic story of Yoni, to the tragic but  hopeful story of Gilad.

 When we arrived at the Shalit tent, there were already about fifty people swarming the tent, with several news stations interviewing the supporters. Dressed in our YJ shirts, we did what any youth movement would do; we joined arms and started singing “am yisroel chai” (Israel will live). Some supporters disagreed with our singing, because they felt there should be no celebration until Gilad is returned home. The Shalit family was also giving a press release at the time, so we eventually did stop.

  Although we maybe should have been slightly less celebratory with our singing, we were singing out of hope, unity, and our excitement for the long awaited return of one of Israel’s own. It was truly a bonding experience to be singing so closely with my fellow year coursers during such a historic and emotional time. We also got a lot of media attention that went viral, which showed the world how supportive we are of Israel.

  

On Tuesday Israel will release 450 evil terrorists, so one Jewish person can live. If Gilad does come home alive, it will be a miraculous and emotional time for everyone. 

Look for YJ kids...

http://www.subber.com/v.php?t=cb89e7fd570d7c1bdac274a4ede29443&tid=4714&l=1&s=0

  
Some excited young Zionists. 

                1,938 days and counting.

   and the Shalit family waits....

A beautiful poem written by Libbie Snyder who made Aliyah from Boston and is now living in Tel-
Aviv.

Gilad Is Coming Home

The absurdity

Absurdity in its absolute purest form

Of the ultimate trade

The ultimate measure of a Jewish life

The demands put upon us, expected upon us

Speak for themselves.

What is the value of a Jewish life?

How far are we willing to go, to stand by what we cherish?

The decision we have made today

The headlines we put into print that we never thought we’d see

Spell it out for us,

In black and white,

That at the end of the day

There is good and there is evil.

There is one Jewish life, and there are a thousand Palestinians.

There is no scale

To measure justice, because ultimately there is no justice –

There are just declarations

Of what we stand for, what matters to us, what we believe in

And at the end of the day

Those who want to kill, will kill

Whether it’s the thousand Palestinians we release today

Or a decade ago

Or a decade from now

They’re all the same

And the one thing we have proved today, if anything,

Is that there is only one Gilad Shalit.

We gave meaning to the saying

“If you save a Jewish life, it is as if you have saved the entire Jewish people.”

If there’s anything we have proved

In our 3,000-year-plus history

It’s that we will always beat our enemies, in the end

Anyone who chooses to rise against the Jewish people, in the end,

Meets their demise.

So to the thousand Palestinians being released today, I say to you:

You are irrelevant.

In your so-called victory, you equal one-thousandth of a Jew,

if that. No one knows your name, or will remember you.

Gilad Shalit,

Even if your freedom means I am now in one thousand times greater danger,

I have to accept that.

Because at the end of the day,

You would have done the same for me.

That is what it means to be Jewish.

Post Rosh Hashanah Report

 Wow, Rosh Hashanah was really an incredible experience. Spending the high holidays in Jerusalem is very unique, and is one of the reasons I chose to start my year here in Jeru.

 
My good friend Aaron Karas (who I have known since we were in dippers) spent the Rosh Hashanah with me. On the first night I went to dinner with my cousins. The food was great, and they had at least four fish heads on the table. They were all Israeli, and tried to convince me to make Aliyah. We shall see.

 Thursday was a day of exploration. Aaron, Joe Step, and I, decided that the best way to truly experience Jerusalem during Rosh Hashanah was to see as many synagogues as possible. Thus we went Shul hopping. In total, we went to nine shuls and one church. Here are a few of the shuls we went to, and what we thought of them. I will be using the Jewish American Princess (JAP) synagogue standard judging scale. 1 is J.A.P. Temple Emanuel status, and 5 is Mea Shariim watch out!

 Shir Chadasha: This shul off Emek Refaim was the first stop on our Shulka Hop. It has a reputation for having loud enthusiastic singing. Congregates are so obsessed with themselves that they recorded their very own album. The beema is placed in between the men and women’s section, which is very unique, progressive, and controversial. Despite it’s reputation, it was not a fun place to be for Rosh Hashana. It was very American and there were no seats. “I feel I’m at Temple Emanuel” said Joe Step.

Grade: 1.2-Modertly to Extremely JAPy and American

Sphardik Shul: We left Shir Chadasha and were walking down Emek Refaim, when we heard a powerful Shofar being sounded above. We soon realized that it was coming from a shul above a shop. We walked up a flight of stairs and entered a beautiful Sphardik Shul, which means the members were all from the Middle East. They blew the shofar during the middle of the Amidah (a very important silent prayer), which I had never seen before. Every few minutes the sound of the Shofar would cut through the solemn silence, bringing everyone back to reality. There was also a congregate who had Down syndrome, who at one point was called up to the bima to chant a prayer with the canter. 

Grade: 3-A genuine local Shul.

 The Great Synagogue: Walking up to the Great Synagogue, we were greeted by a man dressed in an all black suit, dark sunglasses, and a massive machine gun. To be honest we weren’t exactly sure if this Matrix looking security guard was going shoot us, karate chop us, frisk us, or just ask to put cell phones on silent. As we walked passed, the man nodded, and in a thick Israeli accent wished us a kind hearted “Shannah Tovah”. The Great synaguagoes slogan is “one people one synagogue. It seats 850 men and 505 women. It is massive. The cantor wore a funny hat that looked like it could be worn by a hot dog vendor. He was surrounded by a chorus of old men, who would randomly chime in with dramatic bravado harmonies. It was nice to sit back, and enjoy this show like service.

Grade: 2-Cool Shul with some Temple Emenual aspects.

Mea Shearim: A block away from Crack Square (one of the grossest bar scenes in Israel) is the ultra orthodox neighborhood known as Mea Shearim. The residents of Mea Sharim take everything in the Torah very literally, and prefer to isolate themselves from the secular world. At the entrance to the Mea Shearim neighborhood, a large sign warns visitors to dress modestly. Women who are not dressed modestly have been yelled at, and even had rotten vegetables thrown at them. This however, did not deter three secular boys wearing colorful button down shirts from exploring.

 The neighborhood itself was rather grimy, and the streets were right out of a Polish shtettle. I have never been stared at so much in my life. We made our way to the heart of the residential area, where we spotted a baby with a Strimel on, which is a large tradition wool hat. At the entrance to the strictly residential area, there was another sign. It stated again the rules of the neighborhood, and also added that this specific area was “not for tourists or groups.” Being that we are on Year Course and are not tourists, we went in. Inside the residential area there were signs that that read, “Jews are not Zionists”, and "Free Gaza”. There were also more Chasidim, who continued to glare at us. After growing tired of feeling like aliens on a foreign planet, we left.

Grade: 5.7 Mea Shariim watch out! 

 Aaron and I finished our Rosh Hashanah by playing a lot of basketball against Israelis, and eating dinners random kind host families. Overall, my Rosh Hashanah experience open my eyes to the wide variety of Jews living in Israel, and how they each observe the holiday. Out of the countries I’ve visited in my life, Israel is the most culturally diverse place I have ever seen.  

     Respek the dress code!

Cantor for the great Synagogue.......or the hot dog man?

 Just took this quick candid of Obama doing his thing at the Kotel the other day.

Rosh Hashana!

  Rosh Hashana 2011 is gonna be the bomb! I'm staying in Jerusalem, and will be going to various dinners, shuls, and hangouts around the city. Please forgive me for any wrongs I have committed in the past year. Shanna Tova!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_M5-qthA8w

Wedding Course

 Last week some Your Coursers crashed a wedding in the Old City, which was absolutely nuts. A rabbi that works for the Heritage House (which is a free hostel in Jerusalem) invited us, and hooked us up with free dwanks and food. The band was real funky, and the lead guitarist was shredding all night. It was Leah Lebowitz wedding caliber. L’chaim to crashing as many simchas as possible! 

The Scene

Shredding...this guy was so cool I may have to make him a cool guy of the week.

What's up with Palestine?

 It is a very tense time in the Middle East right now. As each speech at the United Nations conference in New York City is delivered, Jews and Palestinians from all over the world look on in wonder. 6,000 years of conflict is basically being boiled down to one question. Will Palestine become as state?

 Over the past few days, I have been analyzing the media coverage on the bid for a Palestinian state in my David Project Class. The David Project is an initiation to educate people about the State of Israel, and teaches students how to be activists. Our talented teacher Zev is a Middle East analyst, and has been giving us updates and showing us clips on the bid for Palestine.

Here is what I’ve seen from the three speeches given by Netanyahu, Obama, and Abbas:

http://news.yahoo.com/israel-pm-peace-impossible-u-n-resolutions-174859388.html;_ylt=Ajz3ovw_1vSCc6w6PaNlKays0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTNsMGMyNmpmBG1pdANUb3BTdG9yeSBGUARwa2cDMTg1ZWFmMzktZDk0MS0zZmY5LWJmNTAtOTdkZmQ1YWI0Njk4BHBvcwMxBHNlYwN0b3Bfc3RvcnkEdmVyAzg0NzE4NmUwLWU2MTEtMTFlMC1hNzdhLWRhZmZhYmViMWQyNw--;_ylg=X3oDMTFvdnRqYzJoBGludGwDdXMEbGFuZwNlbi11cwRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Netanyahu: Let me first say that no one wants peace more than Israel. Prime Minister Netanyahu’s goal is for peace, and he wishes to achieve this goal by negotiating with the Palestinian Authority. In Netanyahu’s speech in New York City, he stated, "The truth is that Israel wants peace, the truth is that I want peace”.

Along with Netanyahu, I believe a two state solution could accomplish this common goal, however the current UN Palestine bid is not a legitimate way to create a country or to achieve peace. Bibi goes on to say, “We cannot achieve peace through U.N. resolutions."

Grade: B+

http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=238923

Obama: When I first saw Obama’s speech in class, I almost cried from a mix of relief and American pride. I have always known that Obama has been very pro-Israel, and have misunderstood the wide criticism given by both Jews and non-Jews towards Obama’s views. With the exception of the settlement frieze that Obama orchestrated, and the terrible “lets go back to 1967 borders speech” (which he later clarified at an AIPAC conference), Obama is loving Israel is still the man straight up G. His idea of having mutually agreed swaps to create two states is a solid one. In one of the most pro-Israel speeches ever given by an American president, Obama solidified America’s support for Israel, and declared that Palestine’s bid for a state is not a cohesive solution for either the Israeli or Palestinian people. Obama is a realist, who knows that an end to this issue must be solved by continued negoteations, not by passing a premature United Nations bid for sovereignty. Great work Barack keep it up.

The Highlights:

“Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians – not us – who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem.”

Peace, he said, “depends upon compromise among peoples who must live together long after our speeches are over, and our votes have been counted.”

Grade: A

http://www.jpost.com/VideoArticles/Video/Article.aspx?id=238923

 Abbas: Abbas was by far the most intense and hilarious speaker of the three. Many people actually walked out during his speech. He claimed that Israel was unable to negotiate with Palestine, and waived his UN application like a victory flag.

Highlights: “This is a copy of the application!”

Grade: Incomplete

In my opinion, the people of Palestine deserve a Palestinian state just as the Jewish people deserve a Jewish state. However, the current PA campaign will not create a peaceful, safe, strong, or successful Palestine.

 Hopefully in the next few days and weeks we will see little violence. My counselor Yehudeet has a top-secret job in the IDF, and was called back to the Army two nights ago. It would be amazing if I were in Israel to experience the end of a 6,000 year old conflict, but it seems doubtful. Who knows, after all this is Israel: anything could happen.

And on a lighter note, Jon Stewart’s take on the current situation.

http://www.haaretz.com/culture/jon-stewart-lampoons-obama-s-stance-on-palestinian-statehood-1.386237

   

Gotta love the face. 

Cool looking guy of the week goes to:

Dress guy. This cool looking guy was just killing it on Yafo all day chatting up a storm. Gotta love the dress.

Craziest weekend of our lives part 2

 We awoke the next day to loud Arabic yelling, and turned over on our sides to find a fifteen person Arab family making camp next to us. It was around 7:00 a.m., so we decided to pack up camp and head to the trailhead. Danny and Hershel (who went to private school and Yishiva) were particularly nervous about the large Arab-Israeli family next to them. Jacob and I, (who went to public school and are now exploring Israel and the world), did not feel threatened. This sparked a great convo about racism, tolerance, and the Arab-Israeli conflict.

  

 We reached our hike, which was named the nachal arugot, and within ten minutes had found our first cliff jump. Nachal Arugot is a beautiful hike, which winds in and out of river canyon. Our first jump was about ten feet, and Danny started us off with some fearless leaps. We spent the day climbing, swimming, canyonering, arguing, jumping, and sunbathing.

 After a solid eight hours in the sun, we headed to Ein Gedi Kibbutz for a swim in their outdoor pool. On the way we suffered our first casualty. Hershman was only twenty minutes form the kibbutz, when he stepped in a pot hole and re-sprained his ankle. Dr. Lebowitz had to perform sports medicine on the side of road, which was very entertaining.

 We caught a packed bus back to Jerusalem, and readied ourselves for a week of classes and blah blah blah. This was a great trip, and showed us a diverse side of Israel both ethnically and geographically. Good-bye dessert, here we come Tel Aviv!! 

    King Kong aint got shit on me!

    Weeeeeeeeeeee

  exploring

    Much better than college...

  Front flip

  Dr. Lebowitz on scene

Craziest weekend of our lives part 1

I just got back from a two-day dessert adventure with Jacob Gilbert, Hershel Singer, and Danny Lebowitz, and it was absolutely meshugenah (crazy)! Ein Gedi (Kid-Spring) is a beautiful oasis next to the Dead Sea, which is about an hour bus ride from Jerusalem. If you can bear the extreme heat, the water pools, ibexes, and expansive scenes are well worth the trip. As the main motivator, planner, dad, and chef of the adventure, I can proudly say that we were well prepared for the rugged climate of the Judean dessert. Nonetheless, there are some things you just can't plan for: after all this is Israel!

  Our first mission on Friday morning was to meet at the Central Bus station to catch the ten o'clock bus to Ein Gedi. In Israel the weekend starts on Thursday night, and ends on Saturday night. This is to honor Shabbat, and in religious cities such as Jerusalem, the city comes to a stand still (which means very few cars are seen on the road). The Central Bus Station on Fridays is a busy scene, with students, soldiers, and families traveling or coming home for the weekend. Jacob, Danny, and I showed up on time with our sleeping bags, and massive backpacks filled with food, wine, challah, frisbees, and lots of other crap. It was 9:45 and we were all ready to go, we just needed Hershel. "Where is Hershman?" We called him. "I'm still in the Rova (old city)", says Hershel. "I won't be there for another half hour." Plans ruined and we hadn’t even left yet! I wanted to leave the lazy man behind, but the kind hearts of Lebowitz and Gilbert persuaded me to wait for the next bus. 

 After eating some decent falafel made by an angry Israeli man, we finally hopped the one o'clock bus. On the bus I spotted a young looking guy with a Red Sox hat, and immediately shouted "Go Sox!” It turned out this guy was actually an atheist from Canada, who had been traveling through the Middle East with his girlfriend for the past couple of weeks. He wasn't Jewish, and knew almost nothing about Judaism or Israel. This was a great opportunity for Danny and I to show our Jewish knowledge and pride. He asked us questions like "what are those funny hats you are wearing? Why are you (Danny) wearing one, but you (Alex) aren't? Does this mean that you (Alex) aren't Jewish? He told us that he had just gone to Mount Sinai in Egypt, and wanted to know why it was unsafe for us to travel there. These questions were simple, but really made us think on our feet. There are so many different people in Israel It's intriguing. 

 

   As we stepped off the bus in Ein Gedi, the heat slapped us in the face like an angry girlfriend. We grabbed our bags and assessed our new surroundings. Sand, rocks, a few buildings, and the beautiful mountains of the dessert were all that could be seen. We were certainly not in Jerusalem anymore. The egged bus zoomed off down the highway, leaving four bewildered teenagers standing on the side of the road.

Jacob: “Oh my god, no one knows where we are right now. This is the most free feeling ever.”

Hershel: “I feel like we are in the movie the hangover right now!”

 Our first stop the stream of David, was only a ten-minute walk down the road. We’d been to the David pools before, except this time there was no tour guide. We splashed around in the cool refreshing springs, and climbed a huge boulder. At this point Danny realized he wanted the rest of his falafel, and climbed down the rock to retrieve it. Danny being Danny, he decided to throw the falafel up to us before climbing the boulder himself. His throw was a decent one, but had a little bit too much arc on it. Gilbert managed to grab it, but somehow it slipped out of the bag. The half eaten falafel bounced off the boulder and exploded in mid air, showering the Israeli family below us in hummus, chips, and soggy bead. Hilarious.

  Next we met up with an Israeli guy from Kibbutz En Gedi, who told us there was a fight between two male Ibex’s just beyond the ridge. It was incredible to see these two beautiful animals compete for a mate, by smashing their massive shofar-like horns together.

 After a nice afternoon in the pools, we walked to our “campsite”, which was actually just a dirty public park next to the Dead Sea. We went for a nice swim in the Yam Hamelach and attempted to float to Jordan, but eventually became to dehydrated to continue.

Finding a campsite for the night was a sure challenge. The campsite was one of the most ethnically diverse places I have ever seen, and was filled to the capacity with all types of people. Also, did I mention the campsite was free? We found a decent place to sleep, but were soon bombarded by a large Russian family who made camp three to five feet away from us. We moved our things across the park to some picnic benches, and finally brought in the Shabbas.

  Our meal of my Grandma’s famous schnitzel, complimented by some challah and beans was simple yet satisfying. We sat around drinking wine, and had an intense emotional conversation about the importance of god, grandparents, balance and humbleness.

 After our Shabbas meal, we decided to make the twenty-minute trek down highway 90 to Ein Gedi Kibbutz, where we heard there was a concert. We stashed our backpacks behind a rock circle, and headed off onto the darkness. A half our later we were trekking up a massive hill to the entrance of the kibbutz. We exited the sandy dessert and entered a raging tropical party. The kibbutz had a full bar, and a stage with colorfully lit trees surrounding it. The performer was a woman named Dania, who had a beautiful voice that echoed off the mountains. We grabbed a table on the patio, and opened our last bottle of wine.

 After a long night of playing Shesh Besh with some local kibbutzniks, we headed back to our Dead Sea campground. We had to move our campsite once again, this time because of the loud Arabic music being blasted from the parking lot. At around 2 a.m., we finally laid out our sleeping bags on at the edge of the Dead Sea, and peacefully fell asleep under the stars.

      Sir Gilbert checking out the Lenny Zakem-Golda Meir bridge at the central bus station.

The Lenny Zakem-Yitzchak Rabin bridge.

   Danny in the zone energizing for the dessert.

  The Crew

   Howawe?

    Some of the best lifeguards Yisrael has to offer.

    The scene at Kibgutz Ein Gedi.