Today
was to be a day of touring north of Modi’in especially in the lower Galilee. The weather predictions were not great and we
started out with a bit of rain and cold, which only increased as the day went
on. Our first stop was the gas station
on Route 6 to pick up coffee. This is a common Israeli custom.
A
little further on and we met our guide for the day, Amitai. From there we went
to Qiryat Tivon to visit the burial caves at Beit She’arim, I think that this
is a site I have not visited since my initial trip to Israel in 1965. It is
strongly believed to be where Judah HaNasi the editor of the Mishna and head of
the Sanhedrin is buried.
It is full of
caves and sarcophagi showing an influence of Roman culture on the Jews during
the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. We also saw beautiful flowers, both anemones (kalaniyot ) and cyclamen (rakefet).
Our second visit was to see the work
of Project TEN at Kibbutz Harduf. First
we stopped at the nearby Bedouin Arab village and school to meet the
volunteers, some of the young students and a few teachers and
coordinators. One of the parts of
Project TEN is to teach the children English and get to know the local
residents to gain better understanding of their particular culture and build
more coexistence. Most of the volunteers were from other countries although
there was one Israeli. They live at Kibbutz Harduf adjoined to the Sha’ar L’Adam
program which is involved with ecology,
conservation and sustainable development. This is a Jewish Agency, MASA sponsored
semester program for volunteers.
We were
given an outline of the program as well as a peek into the Bedouin community of
the Galilee which differs from those in the Negev. We were told by Faiz that they originate from
different locations and have some cultural differences. Many of the men serve
in the Israeli army and at times are caught between being loyal citizens of
Israel and being viewed as traitors by other Arabs. When asked why their
schools are not up to par with other Israeli schools they said the money they
are supposed to receive is not given directly to the schools but to the
municipal authorities who use the funds for other needs and purposes that aren’t
educational.
The participants
in Project TEN do other volunteer work in the area such as working with special
needs students, students at risk and sustainable agriculture and living. This was
another important glimpse into the good work that is done in Israel.
Off to
lunch and then on to the Museum at Atlit.
This is the site of a camp that was used to keep illegal immigrants (by
British standards) before Israel became a nation. In the wind and the rain one could imagine
how difficult life could be in these simple wooden barracks. Psychologically it was also devastating to
come from Europe, perhaps as a survivor from a Nazi concentration camp and be
put in this setting with Barbed wire fences and military guards. The newest addition to this place which I had
not seen in my previous visit was a multimedia experience of a reconstructed
ship of the genre of those that brought the immigrants (mapilim) to
Israel. Some ended up here and others
were deported to Cyprus.
My first
visit here with my cousin was because her parents came here after Israeli independence. These barracks were used as temporary housing
to help give shelter the many immigrants who made aliyah after the
establishment of the state.
On to the
Haifa Mall for an hour of shopping. Then
we had dinner at a fish restaurant in Atlit, Ben Ezra HaDayag (the
fisherman). On the ride home we
encountered heavy rains and hail but made it back to Modi’in by 8:30.
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