Rained out Forest Day - Visit to Jerusalem for the Day

This post is written by Rosalie Whitehill - New York

Today, Tuesday, was supposed to be our forest day.....but since it was scheduled to rain, our coordinators changed plans and we went to Jerusalem for most of the day....There we went to the headquarters of the JNF and it was interesting to note that they have books of contributors from 1901.....the beginning of JNF.....and they also had a display of the blue and white boxes...that we used to take around as kids.....asking for pennies and nickels to help buy trees in Palestine......before there was an Israel. It took many of us back to our childhoods....After that we had a very beautiful little ceremony where a grove of trees was presented to a Anice and Arnold Stark, a couple from Canada for all they do for JNF....Guess what.....I cried.

Then we went to the old city....where they have a new Jaffa Gate Plaza which goes over the road....and from which you can get the new Mamilla Mall....very, very upscale and pricey.
This city just keeps making improvements and there was building going on inside the Jaffa Gate as well....We had lunch in a charming beautifully renovated house run by a women who has spearheaded a movement for Arab woman, Nora, to assert their rights....and where they are involved in crafts so that they can become more independent. also very impressive..then a walk to get a magnificent view of the city from atop a convent.
In the late afternoon, our speaker was a counsellor from the Canadian Embassy......who was so very intelligent, articulate and well-qualified for her position....that she made the Canadians very proud, while many Americans....like me......wish we had people in our state dept. or embassies who could speak so well and cared so much about Israel. (they might care about Israel, but I have never heard so much support from a non-Jew with so much compassion and understanding)

So that brings me to the end of another GREAT day with my CAARI friends. Every year the program is better than the year before....and we are so busy.....no time for bridge. I AM LOVING IT!!!!

Wishing you all well,
Rosalie

New Arrivals - CAARI tours Negev

Shalom,
The CAARI beat goes on! Sadly, we said l'hitriot (goodbye) to some of our CAARI friends who joined us for the first three weeks. Happily we greeted 13 new participants who joined the group. Our first day together was a touring day in the Negev. We visited Kibbutz Negba and met Meir who described the early days of the kibbutz and their efforts to turn back the Egyptians in the War of Independence. The impressive sculpture by Natan Rappaport overlooks the kibbutz's military cemetery. We also got to see some of the weapons that were used in the war. From there we traveled to Kibbutz Yad Mordechai which also fought against the Egyptian Army but tragically lost the fight after 6 days. We can only admire the soldiers who fought in these battles. After a little lunch we headed south, stopping the JNF Canadian reserviors at Nir Am where Neil described our view with Gaza in the distance. We continued driving south, stopping at a lookout and hillside to view Gaza and the Israeli communities along the border. This certainly gave us a new perspective of the area. Our final stop was the fabulous JNF-USA indoor playground in Sderot! Wow! We were there 2 years ago - it wasn't quite finished and now - a wonderful, safe place for the children to play!

CAARI 2011