You all look great in the photos and the blog is fantastic. Thanks to the leaders for keeping everyone safe, happy, and full of falafel. Am absorbed in reading everyday and always waiting for the next instalment. Lots of love to everyone---Audrey (Eli's mom)
It is difficult (once again) to put my thoughts into words. Your accounts of what you are seeing, how you are feeling and the transformations are inspiring. I do pray that you all are fully experiencing all you had hoped to. You all are doing a fantastic job of describing what you see and what you feel - it makes us feel like we are right there with you. I especially appreciated the irony of Hasmig's recount of how she happened to be reunited with her camera bag - thank God for devine interventions!
Please stay safe and continue to keep us posted on your adventures as you pay tribute to Kyle. I know (I KNOW) he is with you - every step of the way!
Hello Craig , this is a "comment" from Areej, Habib, and Zenat (Palestinians Israeli Civilians Homegroup ) . It was really nice to meet you all, we felt bad , it was for short time, we really wanted to share more, and to do some other activities with you all. Thank you all for your questions, thank you for listening to us, thank you all for sharing what did you do in your trip before you met us ;) . If you have any other questions, or anything you would like to share with us, you are more than welcome .
Hope the rest of your trip is going to be amazing, and meaningful :).
There is something that stayed with me that I need to address. It relates to Leib's "astute" comment about the density of inhabitants in the Muslim quarter. Was that meant to convey his idea that the Warsaw ghetto was only twice as bad as living in the Muslim quarter? If his comment was a sarcastic complaint about the narrative of the guide, it was inappropriate (and lost on her). If it was really a comparison, it is egregious. I thought that Leib was a thoughtful young man. I hope that he gets to reflect on that. My first trip to Israel was a formative step in my Jewish identity, as I realized the enormity of history, culture, character that being Jewish meant. In subsequent visits I continued to be amazed at the vibrancy of the country, the diversity of its society and culture, the enormous challenges and accomplishments. I hope that all of you will get a glimpse of that as well. Rachelle
I am so touched that this dream of going to Israel became a reality! I have tears in my eyes after reading all of these beautiful posts. What a wonderful life changing, and bonding adventure this is for CAS '11!! Best Wishes! Ilana Wexler
To Rachelle and others reading the Comments: I think your reaction to Leib's observation may be more related to my out-of-context presentation of his words, then to his intent. For that I apologize both to you and to Leib. As everyone on this trip, his friends, his teachers, his friends' parents, his coaches know, Leib is indeed a thoughtful young man, among the most thoughtful and full of integrity I know, young or old. He was being neither sarcastic nor weighing the suffering of the Palestinians against the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. He was making, what I found to be, an astute observation about the many contradictions, complexities and irony that are found in all facets of the Conflict. Our guide in East Jerusalem, Yahav, an Israeli Jew, had told us the day before we visited Yad Vashem that the Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem is the most crowded city in the world. I did not find it inappropriate in the least for Leib to make connections between what he learned one day and what he learned the next, to make that observation, to relate the past and its painful history to painful conditions in the present, not for the purpose of contesting who has suffered the most, but rather to bring history to life, to make it relevant to our lives, perhaps even to learn from it by letting it inform our values and our humanity. Most of all, Rachelle, I want you to know that we are getting what I consider to be an extraordinarily balanced view of this incredibly complex situation. We have heard from Israeli Jews all about how pulling out of Gaza resulted in rockets being fired from there into Israel, just as we have heard about the injustices and indignities that Palestinians feel they are subjected to by check points and the continual loss of land. We are not hearing from extremists on either side. We are having extended discussions with well-educated, fair-minded, humane and thoughtful people on both sides who disagree with one another, and yet are still desperately trying to create a vision of the future free from terror and violence. In that context, I hope you will forgive us (the 18 year olds and the 50 year olds) if we on occasion produce a thought or make a statement that offends anyone's sensibilities.
Reading your posts backwards is having a profound effect on my perception of your trip. I have the advantage of knowing what you were doing and feeling toward the end of your trip as I am moving through the crowded perceptions and conflicting feelings of the earlier part.
What if you had known how it was going to turn out? But you didn't. Just like in life, you go forward in good faith, hoping that you can process everything that is happening, hoping you can respond authentically in the moment as something is happening.
You all look great in the photos and the blog is fantastic. Thanks to the leaders for keeping everyone safe, happy, and full of falafel. Am absorbed in reading everyday and always waiting for the next instalment. Lots of love to everyone---Audrey (Eli's mom)
ReplyDeleteIt is difficult (once again) to put my thoughts into words. Your accounts of what you are seeing, how you are feeling and the transformations are inspiring. I do pray that you all are fully experiencing all you had hoped to. You all are doing a fantastic job of describing what you see and what you feel - it makes us feel like we are right there with you. I especially appreciated the irony of Hasmig's recount of how she happened to be reunited with her camera bag - thank God for devine interventions!
ReplyDeletePlease stay safe and continue to keep us posted on your adventures as you pay tribute to Kyle. I know (I KNOW) he is with you - every step of the way!
Enjoy, Craig! Love, Terrie
Hello Craig ,
ReplyDeletethis is a "comment" from Areej, Habib, and Zenat (Palestinians Israeli Civilians Homegroup ) .
It was really nice to meet you all, we felt bad , it was for short time, we really wanted to share more, and to do some other activities with you all.
Thank you all for your questions, thank you for listening to us, thank you all for sharing what did you do in your trip before you met us ;) . If you have any other questions, or anything you would like to share with us, you are more than welcome .
Hope the rest of your trip is going to be amazing, and meaningful :).
Best,
Zenat, Areej, Habib
Thank you so much for coming, Zenat, Areej and Habib. We very much enjoyed meeting you and especially seeing your great video project. Best regards,
ReplyDeleteCraig
There is something that stayed with me that I need to address. It relates to Leib's "astute" comment about the density of inhabitants in the Muslim quarter. Was that meant to convey his idea that the Warsaw ghetto was only twice as bad as living in the Muslim quarter? If his comment was a sarcastic complaint about the narrative of the guide, it was inappropriate (and lost on her). If it was really a comparison, it is egregious. I thought that Leib was a thoughtful young man. I hope that he gets to reflect on that. My first trip to Israel was a formative step in my Jewish identity, as I realized the enormity of history, culture, character that being Jewish meant. In subsequent visits I continued to be amazed at the vibrancy of the country, the diversity of its society and culture, the enormous challenges and accomplishments. I hope that all of you will get a glimpse of that as well. Rachelle
ReplyDeleteI am so touched that this dream of going to Israel became a reality! I have tears in my eyes after reading all of these beautiful posts. What a wonderful life changing, and bonding adventure this is for CAS '11!! Best Wishes! Ilana Wexler
ReplyDeleteTo Rachelle and others reading the Comments:
ReplyDeleteI think your reaction to Leib's observation may be more related to my out-of-context presentation of his words, then to his intent. For that I apologize both to you and to Leib. As everyone on this trip, his friends, his teachers, his friends' parents, his coaches know, Leib is indeed a thoughtful young man, among the most thoughtful and full of integrity I know, young or old. He was being neither sarcastic nor weighing the suffering of the Palestinians against the Jews of the Warsaw Ghetto. He was making, what I found to be, an astute observation about the many contradictions, complexities and irony that are found in all facets of the Conflict. Our guide in East Jerusalem, Yahav, an Israeli Jew, had told us the day before we visited Yad Vashem that the Muslim Quarter in Jerusalem is the most crowded city in the world. I did not find it inappropriate in the least for Leib to make connections between what he learned one day and what he learned the next, to make that observation, to relate the past and its painful history to painful conditions in the present, not for the purpose of contesting who has suffered the most, but rather to bring history to life, to make it relevant to our lives, perhaps even to learn from it by letting it inform our values and our humanity. Most of all, Rachelle, I want you to know that we are getting what I consider to be an extraordinarily balanced view of this incredibly complex situation. We have heard from Israeli Jews all about how pulling out of Gaza resulted in rockets being fired from there into Israel, just as we have heard about the injustices and indignities that Palestinians feel they are subjected to by check points and the continual loss of land. We are not hearing from extremists on either side. We are having extended discussions with well-educated, fair-minded, humane and thoughtful people on both sides who disagree with one another, and yet are still desperately trying to create a vision of the future free from terror and violence. In that context, I hope you will forgive us (the 18 year olds and the 50 year olds) if we on occasion produce a thought or make a statement that offends anyone's sensibilities.
Reading your posts backwards is having a profound effect on my perception of your trip. I have the advantage of knowing what you were doing and feeling toward the end of your trip as I am moving through the crowded perceptions and conflicting feelings of the earlier part.
ReplyDeleteWhat if you had known how it was going to turn out?
But you didn't.
Just like in life, you go forward in good faith,
hoping that you can process everything that is happening,
hoping you can respond authentically in the moment
as something is happening.
So much to think about.