Some reflections from my recent trip to Israel on an Associated Mission to show solidarity with Israel and to celebrate 20 years of the Baltimore-Ashkelon Partnership. I want to remember what Israel felt like during this painful time of war, hostages, displaced families, and an uncertain future.
Day 1 - Monday 3/11/24
1) Always special arriving in Israel, but especially now with soldiers in the line of fire and citizens held captive.
2) This is my 1st visit to Ashkelon. It is a lovely city with friendly people.
4) Visited the Ashkelon municipal war room, where city leaders monitor missile launches and other threats. Met with Colonel (Res.) Shai Belaish, who is in charge of a new initiative called Meishiv HaRuach, whose mission is to help Ashkelon citizens build resilience.
5) Delicious Moroccan lunch. Time to get to know the other members of this Baltimore delegation.
6) Met with Liat Rif and her team. Liat is the Founder and Director of Project Heartbeats, an effort to provide support and mentorship to parents of toddlers.
7) A few minutes to enjoy an Ice Cafe and some beautiful weather here in Ashkelon. The city looks to an outsider like me as if it is fully functioning. Families are playing in the parks. People are shopping and eating at cafes. Amazing how people keep on going even with a war just a few miles down the road.
8) Visit to the Ilay Soccer Association, an amazing club for children and young adults with special needs to develop soccer skills, build confidence, and make friends.
9) Delicious home hospitality dinner, followed by a drive to our hotel overlooking the Ashdod Port.
Off to sleep now, with another packed day scheduled for tomorrow.
Day 2 - Tuesday 3/12/24
1) We started the day at a Merkaz Klita (Absorption Center) in Ashkelon, where we witnessed beautiful weaving techniques traditional to Ethiopia and learned about how the center responded to 10/7. This visit was especially meaningful for me, having lived on a Merkaz Klita myself at age 3.
2) We then visited the Ashkelon Resiliency Center (Merkaz Hosen) and met with Talia Levanon of the Israel Trauma Coalition, to discuss how the country is trying to face the impossible challenge of supporting an entire nation going through collective trauma. This word, Hosen (Resilience) would come up again and again on this mission.
3) Driving around Ashkelon, we saw many beautiful sights, including the promenade by the sea, Park Baltimore, and incredible sculptures at the center of the big roundabouts. We also saw several buildings and homes that had been hit by missiles. Ashkelon has been the target of 30% of all missiles launched from Gaza since 10/7.
4) We had lunch with teen leaders at The Amen Center, and learned about their incredible volunteerism (under the leadership of Dafna Biton) since 10/7, despite being in a city that was in lockdown due to falling missiles.
5) We toured the Madaim school, one of the partner schools of our Shevet Achim school twinning project. They have beautiful posters hung around the building with inspirational quotes from recently fallen soldiers, the goal being to help the students feel more connected.
6) We set up a Purim costume pop up shop where Ashkelon kids could pick up costumes.
7) We caught a Mincha minyan at a local Sephardic kollel around the corner.
9) We finished the day with an incredible dinner near the marina at an Italian restaurant called Gatos. The food was amazing, and I spent much of the meal talking with someone who was in the real Fauda unit. His stories were incredible. But it was also fascinating hearing his perspective on the war, the draft, and the future of Israel.
10) Finally back at the hotel at 11pm. Time to do the Daf and catch some sleep. Tomorrow morning we go to bear witness at Kibbutz Beiri.
Day 3 - Wednesday 3/13/24 (Part 1)
Today is a day I will never forget. We visited Kibbutz Beiri and bore witness to the horror that happened there on October 7th.
As we drove south from Ashkelon, our tour guide pointed out that the term Otef Gaza (Gaza Envelope) is interesting because the word Otef means hug (to envelop something). It refers to the kibbutzim that are spread out around Gaza. But it also is a reminder to us of the hug that all the residents of this region could use.
Visitors to this area are no longer required to wear vests and helmets. But we did have an armed guard. And there were security forces in the area as well. [It also happened to be that the Minister of Education was visiting at the same time.]
We toured the Kibbutz with a resident who survived the day with his family by hiding in their safe room. When asked how his teenage children stayed calm, he replied that teens on the Kibbutz are taught how to calm their breathing during stressful situations like rocket fire. He also said that they gave each child a job to keep them focused. One kept track of what's app. Another watched over the dogs (who, by the way, did not bark or pee even once the entire 20 hours in hiding!).
The Kibbutz is beautiful, full of flowers, trees, and birds chirping. Walking through the houses, you can understand why someone would want to live here. We were asked not to take photos unless we asked permission because some residents wished to maintain their privacy.
About 1200 residents called Kibbutz Beiri home before 10/7. Almost every house we passed had bullet holes, burned out roofs and walls, and signs hanging in front showing who lived there that was either killed or taken hostage. It is so painful to see and hard to imagine. Our host told us stories of his friends and neighbors, and tried to help us feel both what it was like on that awful day, and what the survivors (most of whom are temporarily relocated to the Dead Sea) are experiencing now. He expressed gratitude for us coming and emphasized that this was not an Anti-Zionist attack, but an Anti-Semitic one, which will spread to our communities as well if we don't combat it.
Twice during the tour a huge explosion was heard that sounded like it was 20 feet away and made us all jump. Thus was the sound of IDF artillery landing in Gaza, just a short distance away. The Ashkelon residents among us especially seemed unnerved by this sudden boom, clearly bringing back memories of rockets falling on their city. Our host shared that little things can sometimes trigger strong memories that bring back the terror of that day. At the mall, for example, when announcements are made over the loudspeaker, those 1st few seconds when the crackle of the speaker comes on make many residents of the south tense up.
Another example of the PTSD and challenge of how to keep living is the question of how and when Beiri will rebuild. Our hosted quoted Winston Chuchill who talked about never missing an opportunity to take advantage of a tragedy. He is determined to build Beiri back better than ever, with a vision not of restoring what was, but of imagining what could be, including sharing his vision for a modernized school and child center. When I asked him how residents would be able to return to a place of such horror, he said that this is their home. But he did acknowledge that it will be hard. Even though his own home wasn't damaged, he says that he can't imagine sleeping there again and reliving that terrible day. As for the many homes that were destroyed, they will be knocked down and rebuilt. But they are lobbying the government not to just paint over bullet holes on other homes, but to replace them. When asked whether the Kibbutz might leave one house standing as a memorial to what happened in Beiri, he said that he understands the question but that he personally would not want to see that every day.
I pray for the return of all the hostages. I pray for peace and security. I pray for a rebuilt Beiri. And I pray for the mental wellness of the residents of Otef Aza and the entire country.
It is our duty to support our brothers and sisters who endured this pogrom and to keep awareness of the October 7th attacks and the plight of the hostages alive.
Day 3 - Wednesday 3/13/24 (Part 2)
After a heavy morning bearing witness in Kibbutz Beiri (see Part 1), we drove to the nearby city of Sderot for lunch. Only recently have residents been coming back and tourists returning. In Sderot we met Col (Ret) Grisha Yakobovich, who took us to reporter's hill, a lookout to Gaza that helped us see just how close Gaza is to Sderot and to Ashkelon. We also stopped at a playground with fortified shelters for children to hide in when under rocket attack. And we saw the former location of the now destroyed police station, where a long battle with Hamas terrorists took place on 10/7. Grisha helped us understand the Gaza issue on a much deeper level than we are used to hearing in the press. After a stop for ice cream in Yad Mordechai, home to a famous battle during the 1948 War of Independence, we made our way to Tel Aviv.
We met a guide named Aaron who led us through a Graffiti Tour in the Florentino section of the city. The art installations gave us a sense of the many ways artists are expressing their pain, their hope, and their resolve in the aftermath of 10/7. Sometimes, when there are no words to express what is inside, it takes something like Art or Music to let out our emotions.
After checking into the hotel I took a short stroll along the promenade overlooking the sea and enjoyed a beautiful sunset.
Over dinner we shared how we are feeling after a day like today and talked about the questions we are sitting with. Shelley Kedar, of the Jewish Agency for Israel, led us in a reflection activity using cards with drawings. My card had a drawing of a camping tent and I shared that this idea of being displaced and living a temporary existence is everywhere we look right now (even in our hotel where hundreds of Mefunim, displaced Israeli citizens, from both the South and the North are living). I reflected on the still standing Sukkah that we witnessed in Kibbutz Beiri earlier in the day, and on a language error I made yesterday at the absorption center. The host was talking to us about vocational training (Ta'asukah) that residents receive. I thought she had said Sukkah, and I reflected that a temporary stay in an absorption center is like living in a Sukkah, a temporary dwelling. In truth, I think the whole country is living a temporary Sukkah-like existence right now, unable to settle down, feel at home, and imagine what the future will bring. The way Shelley phrased it is "every Israeli has experienced 159 days of October." There is much more to share, but that will have to do for now.
Day 4 - Thursday 3/14/24
1) Our 4th and final day of the Mission started at the hotel in Tel Aviv where we had breakfast in the dining room alongside many families from both the North and South of Israel who have been displaced from their homes due to the war. On the one hand, the fact that Israel is paying to house, feed, clothe, educate, and care for so many of its citizens is incredible. At the same time, I think about how uncomfortable it must be to have to live for so long in a hotel room, to rely on others for food, laundry, and so much else, and to have no clarity on when and how you can return home.
2) Today's itinerary began with a fun volunteering opportunity. We went to a shop which used to host cooking classes and now has been transformed into a center to cook meals for soldiers, displaced families, and families who have a parent in Miluim (reserve duty). We peeled and chopped vegetables, boiled pasta, fried onions and carrots, and cooked potatoes and chicken. In the big picture, this is a tiny helping hand. But things like this are happening all over the country right now. We met one woman who said that once a week she does the laundry for a displaced family that she doesn't know. Many non-kosher restaurants kashered their kitchens through the Rabbanut so that they could help cook meals as well. There are groups tying tzitzit for soldiers and folding their laundered uniforms. And so much more.
3) After a brief stop at a coffee shop (our guide told us that Tel Aviv has more coffee shops per capita than any city in the world!), we drove to a funky office space in an industrial area where we met with Daniel Gradus and the incredible people behind Project 24. Named for the 24 Kibbutzim, Yishuvim, Moshavim, and cities that were attacked on October 7th, this group aims to use an entrepreneurial approach and a Start-Up Nation spirit to bring people together in support of each other. Each of their projects stems from meeting with an October 7th survivor or someone else impacted by the war and listening to their needs. A project is then developed that not only helps that person, but many others along the way as well. For example, one survivor is a 19 year old young man with Autism who loves Lego. A partnership was created with a Jewish community and a Jewish owned toy store in New York. Not only was this young man invited to select the Lego set of his choice as a Chanukah gift. But families from the synagogue also then came to the store to purchase presents which they wrapped and wrote personal cards for, and these gifts were then sent to Israel and given to other children from the same Kibbutz. And the young man with Autism, who had difficulty building friendships in the past, was asked to go around delivering each present to the children. So a community in NY did something meaningful. A toy store that was willing to partner ended up benefitting with increased business. A lot of kids received a gift that put a smile on their faces. And a young man felt like a million bucks. They have other projects as well, such as missions to America for teen athletes who survived 10/7, The Challah Project, in which local American kosher bakeries sell challah on Fridays, and for each challah sold a voucher for a free challah is sent to a displaced family. That voucher can be used at a local bakery near them that has been hurting as well. The family gets a voucher for a free challah and the bakery is helped by bringing in new customers. There are similar initiatives with kosher wine sales and much more. I encourage you to check out their website. Their work is very inspiring. And they are looking for people to join the movement and partner with them on other inspiring projects. By the way, when I asked Daniel how he learned to think like this, he said something interesting. From his perspective, the reason there is so much entrepreneurship in Israel is because of the lack of hierarchy. Whoever has the best idea wins. "If you don't send the elevator down no one will go up."
4) Our group enjoyed our final meal together (the food here is so good!). Each of us shared reflections on what this trip has meant to us personally. Many reflected on the awe they have for the Resilience of the Israeli People. Several got very emotional sharing their own emotions in the weeks since 10/7. Others shared what a deeper understanding they have now about what is really happening in Israel and a responsibility they feel to share that back home. As for me, I reflected on my new understanding of what it means to have a partner city. I had never been to Ashkelon before, and meeting so many special people from that city helped me see what those relationships mean to so many in both Baltimore and Ashkelon. I understood, to some degree, the value of building bridges across the ocean. But I now understand that the kesher (connection) people develop through this partnership is also to others in their own community whom they had not previously known but now feel close to for life. I also shared my amazement of how human beings can hold opposite emotions at the same time. We tend to talk about the roller coaster of emotions, the ups and downs of life. Bruce Feiler describes the oscillating family narrative. But I see now that it is possible to feel incredibly hopeful, loving, joyous, grateful, and inspired while also feeling immensely sad, scared, angry, worried, and guilty.
5) Our final stop of the day and of the mission was to Kikar HaChatufim (Hostage Square). This is the area where hostage families and their supporters have been since 10/7, right in front of the Kiriya (Israel's military headquarters) making sure to keep the world's attention on their loved ones being held captive in Gaza. It is hard to describe the feeling of this place in words, but hopefully the photos I took will give you a sense.
6) As we said goodbye and went our separate ways, our group felt so grateful to have been here to bear witness and express support. So many people that we met this week shared how much it meant to them that we showed up at such a scary time. They really wanted us to know that in their eyes it was no small thing.
7) I took the train to Jerusalem (so smooth and quick!) and was greeted with singing and music as we went up the many escalators (making Aliyah!) out of the station. And of course, as often happens in Israel, the person right behind me on the escalator recognized me from when we lived in Florida 12 years ago.
8) I now look forward to several calmer days with family here in Jerusalem before heading back to Maryland. I'm sure it will take me some time to process everything we have seen and all the deep conversations we have had. But for now, I just feel grateful to be here. Shabbat Shalom
Day 6 - Saturday Night 3/16/24
