Friday, January 29

Our Tour in the Galilee – Anice and Arnold Stark
We have just returned from a 3 day trip to the lower Golan where we stayed on a kibbutz called Gonen. They have cottages which they call “chalets”, as well as a hotel. All the chalets have Jacuzzis. While the weather was unseasonably warm, morning and evenings were not. But the skies were clear and we could see millions of stars!
Each day we had a new adventure starting in Haifa at the National Maritime Museum – a history of the sea and trading in the area from ancient to modern times. There were many artifacts brought up from the sea including 3 small figurines, one of which was Mercury. A rare find was the battering ram made of bronze and weighing over 1,000 pounds. It was attached to the front of a ship and used to make a hole in another ship (your enemy?), but not to sink it. It still had some sea life attached to it even thought it was cleaned up.
The next day we went to the Hula Nature Reserve where we saw some birds, coots, ducks, pelicans, cormorants – not as many as there will be in a couple of weeks when the migration will be in full swing. We went to Katzrin to see a restored village and we had a yartzeit service of Susan’s Mother. It was both meaningful and emotional for all of us – praying in s synagogue from the 2nd century.
After our lunch we went to a chocolate factory where we all got to get our handy “dirty” with chocolate – making our own truffles! The smell of chocolate and the taste were out of this world. We ended our day on an sad note at El Ron Kibbutz (in the Golan) where a major tank battle took place in the Yom Kippur War. We saw a movie, the memorial and the battlefield. Now, it looks so peaceful – it is hard to imagine what it looked like in 1973.
Our last day in the Golan we visited the ancient restored city of Korizim – and saw intricate carvings in the basaltic rock that was used in the ancient synagogue from the 2nd and 3rd Century. Our next stop was Kibbutz Amiad to visit their JNF reservoir. We walked to the reservoir passing the kibbutz avocado and citrus fields and an old Turkish caravansary. We were not surprised to see the low level of water in the reservoir – very sad. We know that JNF has helped Israeli communities and kibbutzim by building over 200 water reservoirs over the past 10 years. Four small pools and 1 large one comprise the reservoir complex.

Our day ended at a special place - a recreated ancient Galilean village called Kfar Kedem. We met with Mecnahem who shows visitors how Jews lived in ancient times. We dressed up in tunics, and wore head coverings – made cheese and bread as our ancestors did in the time of the Bible – learned about farming techniques and of course, ate a “sumptuous” lunch in a tent. It was a fun way to end our trip to the Golan.

Back to Tel Aviv for our traditional Shabbat Dinner. Our Galilee trip was truly a wonderful and enlightening experience and a meaningful way to begin Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom,
Arnold and Anice

Thursday, January 29 by Thelma Shore – Toronto, Canada

Thursday, January 29 by Thelma Shore – Toronto, Canada
We boarded our bus at 8:00 for what proved to be an informative and most enjoyable day – touring the northern Galilee.
Our first stop was the Hula Nature Reserve. We were treated to a 3D audio-visual presentation complete with moving seats, depicting the migration of birds coming from Europe and going to the warmer climates of Africa (in the fall and reversing this trip in the spring). Following the movie, we walked through the reserve where we saw water buffalo, assorted ducks, pelicans, Kingfishers and many other birds and HUGE catfish and nutria. The weather was perfect and with our knowledgeable guide, Neil Eisenstadt, it was a very pleasant hour and short hike!!
Our next stop was the restored village of Katzrin built during the Hellenistic Period. Here we saw a restored home and learned the way people lived when this was a large and busy city. We went to the synagogue where we held a service, the Yartzeit honoring Susan’s Mother. After all this walking we were ready for a lunch break. The big treat came after lunch where we visited a boutique chocolate factory (De Karina) located in Kibbutz Ein Zivan, Golan Heights. We watched chocolates being made and were then given the opportunity to make our own chocolate balls with a variety of coatings. We even were able to eat them – a chocoholic’s dream!
Our last stop was the site of a major tank battle during the Yom Kippur War between October 8 – 10 in 1973. This took place on the Golan Heights between a vastly outnumbered Israeli tank corp and a much better equipped Syrian Corp. This resulted in many dead Israeli soldiers and commanders. After viewing a moving film we were taken to the Kunitra lookout overlooking the Field of Tears, where the battle took place. Neil described the old and inferior equipment that the Israelis had. The Israeli victory was a turning point in the 1973 War.
We returned to our present base at Kibbutz Gonen tired but very satisfied about a wonderful day.
After dinner, one of the founders of the Kibbutz spoke to us about the kibbutz life, especially living along the border of Syria. Tomorrow we will be returning to Tel Aviv for Shabbat. I am sure we will have another interesting tour day….what else can we expect???
Love to family and friends,
Thelma

North to the Galilee - January 28th

Seven participants joined CAARI this week . We are very proud of the dedication of all the participants and their commitment to Israel - not one person cancelled the program. We have 35 people joining CAARI this year. While other groups cancelled trips - for various reasons, including the Gaza conflict - CAARI continued in it's 26th year.

Wednesday morning we headed for few days in the Galilee, taking a break from our community service and local tours in the Tel Aviv area - first stopping in Haifa for a visit to the National Maritime Museum. This is one of those museums that is "off the beaten" path. It was a surprise to all of us to see the amazing collection of seafaring artifacts dating from ancient to modern times. We enjoyed the enthusiasm of our guide who explained the maritime history of the region through the various exhibits from the Nile River to the Mediterranean Sea. One of the most important and rare discoveries displayed was the Atlit Ram which was found in the 1980's in the bay of Atlit (Israel). It was retrieved from the sea by the staff and students of the Maritime Civilizations Department at the Centre for Marine Studies at Haifa University. A ram is a weapon that was attached to the prow of a vessel at or below the water-line, and was intended to ram enemy vessels, inflicting damage that would prevent their further use, or even sink them. This ram is one of the largest single bronze castings ever found.

Although the day was overcast, we enjoyed the sprawling view of Haifa from the Bahai Gardens. What From there we headed north to our chalets at Kibbutz Gonen, overlooking the Golan Heights. But - not before a short stop at Israel's leading shoe manufactures - Naot - for some real bargains! In the evening, our Kibbutz hosts invited us to their evening at the movies where enjoyed the film.

Thanks for comments from our friends, the Tesslers, Barbells and others who have emailed us about how much they are enjoying following our adventures! Next year - join us!!!

Love to our family and freinds,

CAARI 2009

Tuesday, January 25

Tuesday, January 25 (Day in JNF Nursery and Speaker Program)
Dear Friends and Family,
Sorry, that we have been behind in writing the blog. We have been so busy – just didn’t get a chance to get it all down. But…now you have it. Today was forest day in the central JNF Nursery. We prepared trays of soil for others to plant seedlings. We were told that we do more work in the few hours we are there - than the employees do in a workday. We prepared over 3 pallets of trays – stacked 7 layers high! Even our bus driver, Moti, helped out. After a picnic lunch – yes, the weather was warm and sunny – great to be outdoors – we headed back to Tel Aviv for rest and for some shopping at the Tuesday Craft Fair.
We are looking forward to new people joining us today, but sorry to say goodbye to Nina and Rosalie. This evening we will be viewing a movie and meeting the Israeli producer, Yael Katzir. Another first for CAARI! Tomorrow we leave for a few days in the Galilee.
Our best to family and friends,
CAARI

Anice and Arnold Stark - Jaffa Tour

Each year on the CAARI program we do a tour of Jaffa, the clock tower, the square, the underground museum, and the old streets. This year - it was different! We went to the old American Colony (originally inhabited by Christians from Maine) where we saw one of the houses renovated from the 1800's with some of the original wood on the back and sides of the building. Aside from the slightly different shade, it was difficult to tell. Imagine - they brought this wood from Maine! We also visited a grand house which is now a hostel. It belonged to the Peter Ustinov's (the actor) Grandfather. There we met Pedro an architect who is in charge of the renovations and rebuilding of the area. He showed us original glass slides from the late 1800's to the early 1900's. The slides were shown on a projector from that era of life in Palestine, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem - what great views! He found this treasure of slides while cleaning out one of the old buildings. We ended our visit with a tour of the old Jaffa port which is also being renewed. They had just uncovered the orginal steps to the port built by the Turks. We couldn't help thinking of the people who walked these steps as they landed on the shores of Palestine. The renewel in the area is unbelievable. It will be a great place to visit next year.

'My Adventures' by Susan Stock
This morning we walked to school for our classes with students. We work with a few students during each class period, mostly conversation so that they get to practice speaking in English.
Lunch back at the hotel. This afternoon, our regular guide in CAARI, Neil Eisenstadt, joined the group. He is just back from serving in the IDF and was in Gaza. Needless to say, we were all happy to see him!
Our visit to the home of Hannah Senesh filed us with admiration for this your poet who lost her life during the World War II. It is a story of heroism and strength. I won’t go into it now, but you must read about her. Following our lecture and movie at her Kibbutz, Sdot Yam, near we had a sumptuous dinner while we watched the sun set over the sea in Caesarea.
We saw waves crashing against the shore, sending cascades of white water on to the beach. At the same time, we helped ourselves from dishes of delectable delights, including cauliflower, taboulie, and eggplant. The second course was sensational – Greek salad, green salad and foccacia filled our plates. Then came the main course, plenty of pasta, sweet potato ravioli – proclaimed to be the best dish of all. Then dessert – various cheesecakes and a chocolate tower cake with ice cream – of course, coffee and tea. Hungry??? We weren’t after all this! It is nice to get meal outside the hotel.
On the bus back to Tel Aviv, we listened to Neil, our guide; share with us a few of his recent military experiences.

Warm Regards to all,

Susan Stock

January 15- 17

“My Travels” by Rosalie Whitehill
Dear All,
Well, Thursday here was another great day - sensational weather - warm, sunny and a fine walk to and from school for me. In the afternoon we visited the Yemenite Heritage Experience Museum in Rosh Ha’yin, near Tel Aviv. It was the place where the Yemenite Jews were first taken when they arrived as part of the ‘Magic Carpet Operation’ in 1948-1950. It was an immigration center, and the Yemenites were then supposed to leave and become part of the Israeli population throughout the country. However, some of you may remember as I do, that the Yemenites had a difficult times - many Ashkenazi Jews discriminated against them, and so did the Arabs. Many returned to Rosh Ha’yin which became pretty much a Yemenite community.

We had another marvelous guide through the history of the community in a building that was built by the British and later became a school. We learned about their customs and traditions. Some of us were dressed in typical Yemenite wedding garb for some good photo ops. I keep having new, fascinating, and wonderful experiences here.
Friday afaternoon, I met one of my former students at the Pizza place. I also saw several kids - one little girl with her father who knew of Long Island. - he had been to Syosset!!! My young ‘boyfriend’ from last year came and was all smiles and hugs. He showed me where on the sidewalk they were selling puppies.....and the little park where there was a small band playing Beatle music, and then walked with me almost as far as back to my hotel. His English is a bit better than last year. I gave him my cell phone number, and later last nite, his mom called and invited me over for Saturday night.
Friday night, I went to services, had Shabbat dinner with the group, attended the Oneg for a while and then left for a Chava Silberstein concert at 10 p.m. at the Tel Aviv Museum theater. That was a real treat - she is a performer who seems to hold the audience in the palm of her hands. She sang one song in English, 3 in Yiddish and the rest in Hebrew.
Saturday, I folk danced on the Tayelet.....the weather was overcast, walked with another friend to the Rubin Museum - .Rubin, the Tel Aviv artist's home.
Guess you can tell, I am having a wonderful and exciting time!!!
Love to all,
Rosalie

Susan Stock (New York) " My Thoughts" including the IAI visit - Monday - January 19

Susan Stock (New York) " My Thoughts" including the IAI visit

I know that others have written on this subject, but I needed to add my 2 shekels. You won't see any pictures of this visit, as you can imagine that this facility is sensitive. However, you will see a few of my pictures on various other days - along with my fellow CAARI travelers!

We walked through a huge hanger/warehouse at the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) facility filled with all shapes and sizes of UAV's. We were astonished at this various aircraft in varying stages of readiness to be delivered to customers around the world. We observed 2 group of men in white lab coats clustered around 2 air crafts. We were hold these people were being trained to use the equipment. What pride we felt observing these high tech devices. As Anice Stark from Canada said - "Our coordinator, Susan Horwitz, and guide, Neil Eisenstadt, are always looking for new and exciting places for us to see. They came up with a good one – Israel Aircraft Industries!"

In addition to touring, I work in the mornings at one of the local elementary schools, which means I get to walk to work!!! It takes about 20 minutes, down Allenby Street. So...there I am with all the other Israelis going to work. This school has a different approach than some of the schools I have previously volunteered. They want to expose many students to an "English speaker" so each class is a different group of students with various levels of English. The other day we wrote to a letter to congratulate President Obama. I was impressed with their knowledge of what is happening in the USA - with the Obamas and that the two daughters want a dog! They wrote him that they want peace not only for Israel, but the world!

Love to family and friends,

Susan Stock

(Small world - Susan Horwitz, our coordinator, and I have something in common - we both have sisters that are involved with Etz Hadar Congregation in Redlands, CA - this is a small Jewish world!

by Joan and Bernie Hulkower - "Our Travels" - January 19-20

Forest Work and Touring by Joan and Bernie Hulkower (Long Island)
It has been a very busy week and we have 3 days to go!

Sunday after community work, we drove to the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) facility. Israel Aerospace Industries, employing 16,000 workers, is globally recognized as a leader in developing military and commercial aerospace technology. We had a terrific tour and learned so much about one of Israel’s leading industries. We were fascinated by the UAV’s unmanned aerial vehicles – of all sizes and shapes. They range from one (1) pound to 500 tons! One of the uses of the UAV’s is that they allow military ground forces, to see via cameras, what is going on the ground. In addition to the UAV’s, IAI converts passenger planes to cargo planes, as well as many other aerospace functions. I think each of us felt as sense of pride in the accomplishments of this Israeli company.
Today, Tuesday, January 20, we spent our morning in the Canadian Ayalon Forest. As usual, we were quite productive – we pruned trees, shlepped the cuttings, snacked on oranges, had a tour of the Roman Springs and heard the history of this special area. After…picnicked on tasty sandwiches - the weather was sunny and in the 70's!

Two volunteers (Moaz and Eyal) from KKL were are guides for the morning. They said that they couldn’t believe how much work we accomplished. They said that the other day some IDF soldiers volunteered in the forest and these 18 year olds didn’t do half the work that we did – maybe at our age we are more experienced? Moaz and Eyal have volunteered to perform community service work before going into the army. They have elected to do this and requested to work in something that dealt with the environment and nature. We are always amazed at young Israelis and their commitment to Israel and the sense of pride in the country.
Then on to the museum in Rishon L’zion, the first town in Palestine inhabited by 17 families from Russia and the Ukraine in 1882. Today, it is the 4th largest city in Israel. The museum was a wonderful walk through history and we could envision life of the early pioneers.
We ended our day with an early dinner in order to watch history in action – the Inauguration of President Obama. An exciting time and day!

"Our Tour"- January 14, & 15 by Rosalie Whitehill and the Starks

Email from Rosalie Whitehill - New York
Shalom to all of you. As you know many of you receive my daily emails, but I wanted to share this with all those who read our wonderful blog!
I must tell you the best part first this morning was my first day back at the school where I have been the past 3 years. The kids were so happy to see me - smiles bigger than last year and one girl even brought in a little gift for me. Last year one of my groups - 5 boys was a bit difficult - but they always said thanks and seemed happy when leaving. I guess the special attention they got meant something.

This morning, I cringed a little when the 5 returned together, but they were much better with much more smiling during the period and they followed instructions so well. I was a bit surprised. Since I work with them in the teachers' room, another teacher had come in for the last part of our time together. When the boys left she remarked about their good behavior, as she knew them and that really made me feel marvelous. They politely said “thank you” and smiles as they left is just something that can't be bought - and that's a big part of why I am here.
The other great part - feeding my Jewish neshama (soul)....was administered a huge dose of nourishment by yesterday afternoon's program. Our schedule called for a tour of Tel Aviv. I really thought of skipping it, having spent so much time here on my own before I joined CAARI. I had not gone to Independence Hall in many years, I thought I would try that part and maybe leave the group since it was on Rothschild Blvd. and Brenner's great chocolates are on that street. So, I went. And, as usual with stuff here in Israel, the presentation surpassed my greatest expectations.
Independence Hall, the house that used to be the home of Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv, houses the room where Ben Gurion first declared the existence of a Jewish state - in 1948. Before we visited that special room we were treated to a film about the 66 settlers who started Tel Aviv 100 years ago this April and the life of Dizengoff.
Then we went into a room that looked like it could hold 100 people and were told that 400 people crowded into in for Ben Gurion's historic announcement. The man who spoke to us was about as good as one could be. His presentation was humorous, intelligent, and for me so touching. Before long, I was in tears and listened to most of his lecture with tears in my eyes.
Part of my emotional response was because there were about 30-40 birthright kids sitting behind us old folks and he talked to them of what their grandparents had done to help the fledgling state of Israel. The kids on the birthright trip were mesmerized with the story of the birth of Israel and the ensuing War for Independence. The ones I spoke with were from Denver and Ohio. I think I will never stop becoming emotional when someone discusses Israel's beginning. I know many of you remember, as I do, listening to the radio as the U.N. reps voted.
Coming out of the hall, we met a LARGE group of Gentile tourists from Texas and Arizona and some of them had been to Israel before. Need I had that both groups were having a wonderful time.....as we were.
We then took a bus tour through part of the newly renovated German Colony in Tel Aviv and stopped at Rabin Square. We were treated to frozen yogurt sundaes at a new Israeli frozen yogurt place nearby.
After dinner last night we had a terrific speaker, Amotz Asa-El, a journalist with the Jerusalem Post, who spoke with us about Gaza, the attack, which had been over a year in planning, and how Israel had caught Hamas by surprise. Israel is using all they learned in Lebanon and are determined to cut out Hamas' ability to launch rockets and missiles. The country is really behind the effort......no peace demonstrations yet, peace will come when the rockets cease!!!! It was a wonderful evening and I enjoyed the Q and A almost as much as the talk. - every question was answered forthrightly and intelligently.
And now, back to today. We have just returned from a few hours of orange picking sponsored by Table to Table (M'shulchan l'shulchan) which picks fruit and then delivers its products to food pantries for delivery to poor and hungry people. About a dozen of us picked about 1000 kilos - 1 ton!
Tomorrow we head to Meggido with an archeologist.....and since I haven't been there in a long time, I anticipate another good day - .and then of course Shabbat - when the whole city slows down, shops close, buses and cars are rare and people are seen carrying their flowers for their special Shabbat dinners.
I shall go to shul before our dinner, then we have a fun Oneg, with lots of singing.....and then Saturday.......dancing on the tayelet (boardwalk)
My cup runneth over with joy!!!
Shabbat shalom

Love,
Rosalie

Shalom from Tel Aviv – Anice and Arnold Stark – Toronto, Canada
As we come to our first Shabbat in Israel, I am always in wonder of how the cities and people welcome the Shabbat. It doesn’t matter if you are religious or not, “Shabbat Shalom” is heard all day as people get together.
Most of us have gotten over our jet lag and starting into the routine of our weeks here. Both of us are helping tutor English in schools – Arnold is in Bal Shem Tov. We have been tutoring in this school for over 10 years and teacher and students warmly great us. In fact, the former teacher, Fania, who is now retired, visited the CAARI group. What a wonderful and special surprise for them. I am also at a school called Golumb. My first day went well; the children are better in English than I expected. (Frances, you did a good job)
We have also been busy touring. It was wonderful seeing all the tourists at Independence Hall – we never fail to be moved by Ben Gurion’s words as he proclaims the Jewish State – Israel! At the end we are rise to sing Hatikva.
It is calm and quiet in Tel Aviv, people going about their business as normal. Of course, we all watch and read the news.
A special “hello” to Bev in Winnipeg – we do wish you were here with us.
Spent a great day at Meggido, tho it was a windy and cold. Some of us had been there before, but we still learned and saw many new things as it is an on-going archeology site. We were fortunate to have Norma Franklin as our guide as she has been digging there for many years.
Another highlight came on Thursday when we picked oranges to be distributed to food banks. The trees were full of fruit and we were the first group to pick the oranges from this particular field. A lawyer owns the land and he donates all the crops to food banks. We were asked to “glean”. We picked the fruit from the top to the bottom of the tree – not so easy to reach the top and clean the tree of all the fruit. Success – we picked 30 containers – 1000 kilos or 1 ton! Not bad for “active” seniors!

Shabbat Shalom,

Anice and Arnold Stark

"Our Thoughts" by Marion and Paul Silberman (New York)
How delightful it is to be in Israel again. We feel perfectly safe in Tel Aviv. We’ve already walked on the Tayelet (Promenade) along side the beautiful sea. The is sunny and balmy. We have a most intense and emotional experience re-visiting Independence Hall. A Birthright group was there, joining with our group, and we enjoyed talking to the young people and were moved by their very positive response to the presentation and to Israel On our way out a Christian group was entering and we expressed our appreciation for their love and advocacy on Israel’s behalf. We then toured a historic part of Tel Aviv and Rabin Square. We ended the day being treated to delicious “low calorie” yogurt enhanced by hot fudge! YUM!! In the evening, Amotz Asa El, a journalist and former editor of the Jerusalem Post, presented a most informative and interesting analyses of the situation in Gaza, as well as the political outlook in Israel with the upcoming elections. We feel very fortunate to be here at this time.
Enjoy some pictures of our day!
Love to all our family and friends.
Paul and Marion