Day 5 - The People who Shaped Modern Israel
The Handsome and organized birthright crew of bus 291 arose to a lovely Tel Aviv morning. In proper form we wound down the Sea Net hotel stairs to devour the standard birthright breakfast; an option of 3 styles of egg, 2 off brand cereals, a bread, and powdered coffee. there may also have been some square cut fish. This miracle combination of foodstuffs, specifically designed for Birthrighters, would give us all the energy we needed to get through the day. It was delicious! Breakfast finished, we loaded the bus and traveled to our first destination of the day, Rabin Square. A former prime minister of Israel, Itzhak Rabin was assassinated in this eponymous square. Shot by a man who believed Itzhak Rabin was too moderate in his political beliefs. Mr.Rabin had been a symbol for Israeli peace, negotiating with her Arab neighbors. We learned all of this from our expert guide, Tsach, as we stood in the square. For further exploration we broke into several small groups after our discussion of the historic event. Our staff implored us to go around the square and ask the residents of the city how the assassination impacted their lives. Unbelievably the first person we approached actually lived in an apartment above the square and had been there when the assassination took place. Understandably it was a very sad day for him but he elaborated and told us that the loss was a great one for both Arab and Jew because violence should never be used as a tool. It was great to hear him stress the loss to the region, the human loss, and place the politics aside. Many of the people interviewed echoed a similar sentiment. With our interviews done we left Rabin square and its beautiful civic statuary behind, peregrinating eastward towards the city of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is a city like no other. With a penchant for beige stone so strong that its been wrote into law as the sole material for use in building facades. Jerusalem represents a formidable testimony to humanities efficacious nature; Enduring the march of time and the corrosive forces of the desert environment in which the city set its roots some 5,000 years ago. A fitting allegory for the Jewish people. On arrival we took the opportunity to take a group photo.
It was in Jerusalem that we would be visiting one of the sites I was most curious to see, Yad Veshem, the Holocaust Museum. Its not easy to explain the feeling as we walked through the museum. The deeply personal nature of how an individual handles loss created a unique experience for each of us as we witnessed the difficult legacy within. The isolating effects, however, were what bound us together as a group in this moment. We were, after all, witnessing a shared history. It's a difficult topic but our museum guide performed wonderfully as she wound us through the subterranean museum, explaining the story of the Jewish people leading up to and through this period of our history. For me the most difficult part of our journey was not the photos taken of the holocaust. I had seen these photos or similar ones before. It was the sheer enormity of the event, expertly conveyed through the Museums design and curation, that made me tremble. The final room with its reflecting pool dead center encircled by thousands of books containing the names of those who did not survive the Holocaust is a great testament to this point. The museum really has to be experienced, I urge everyone to go.
When we left the museum we headed out to spend the night in the Almog kibbutz. It was a lovely Kibbutz which graciously fed and sheltered our group. Our night there was capped with a presentation by an Israeli expert on the geopolitical environment surrounding us. He taught us about the development of Israel and the relationships that developed between Israel and her neighbors. Our group left the lecture to head towards our beds with plenty to reflect on from the day.
