Friday - On Our Way to Tel Aviv by Susan Horwitz

Greetings Family and Friends,
Friday morning we packed up, loaded the bus and said 'litraot' (goodbye) to our friends at the Colony Hotel. Our first stop in the morning was to the site of the tragedy in the Carmel Forest where a 'makeshift' memorial to honor the victims of the people that were trapped in the bus. d We paid our respects and said 'Kaddish'. It was a moving moment for the CAARI group. We continued our journey along the windy road, viewing the burnt and scorched trees and wondered how they were able to fight this fire in the rocky terrain and steep valleys. Ya'acov, the forestor from the Jewish Natioanl Fund, did tell us that they were taking away some of the burnt stumps and also allowing for the return of natural growth before planting. We could see some spring tulips peaking through the blackened ground - quite a contrast.
Continuing down the road we arrived at our next stop, Atlit, the detention camp during the British Mandate period. This visit tied in to our earlier visit to the Illegal Immigration and Naval Museum in Haifa. Our guide, Anna, was terrific. As we toured the 'barracks' and 'showers' she told us personal stories of those who were in the camp. It is amazing that they have such documented history of the detainees. As we were looking at the data, Gloria Kaufman, one of our participants, said that her cousin was detained at Atlit. Anna immediately located the name in the huge date base and in seconds were were viewing all the information and pictures of Gloria's cousin including a detailed account of the story of how she arrived in the camp. This camp is one of the JNF - USA projects and the newest part of the camp is the 'refurbished' ship that is similar to the ships that brought immigrants to the shores of Palestine after World War II. Through a variety of visuals the experience is described - very well done.
Now - time for lunch and so we headed to Zichron Ya'acov, a charming village from the late 1800's, which still maintains it cobblestoned main street lined with cafes and small shops. Some of us shopped and others enjoyed a bite of lunch and coffee.
Next stop - our home for the next 4 weeks, the City Hotel, located a block from the sea and off of the one of Tel Aviv's main streets - Ben Yehuda Street.
Some of us had time to wonder around the neighborhood, view the sun setting and attend services before our 'CAARI Family' Shabbat dinner and Oneg Shabbat.
Shabbat Shalom to all,
CAARI

Akko, Rosh Hanikra and Carmel Forest

Shalom,
Another lovely day - sunny and temperatures in the 60's. However, the winds are a little stronger today - ah...a storm in the forecast?
Our bus headed north to the Crusader city of Akko. Wow - how did they built this fortress? We toured just a small portion of this immense structure, walking through the tunnels that led the Crusaders to the sea! From there we went to Rosh Hanikra for a ride in the cable car which took us to the breathtaking ghottoes. Lunch on the run....back on the bus to meet with JNF Forester to see the terrible destruction to the JNF forest from the Carmel Fire in early December. How sad to see the burnt trees and so very sad to learn about the the loss of life. The JNF is moving forward and planning for replanting. It is amazing to see that even with all the burnt trees one can see that the spring tulips will be blooming among the ashes.
In the evening, Professor Ronen spoke about Iraq and the future for the country. He gave us some real incite into this country and identified both positives and negatives.
Tomorrow we leave Haifa for Tel Aviv - what a wonderful week we have had.
All our best,
CAARI 2011

January 12- Mt. Adir, piano concert and more...by Marcia and Ron Bercov

Hello from Haifa,
Reporting from this beautiful city as we begin another year CAARI Adventure this month. Once more the Bercovs joined the Canadian and American Active Retirees (CAARI) in Israel for a program of community service, touring, lectures and a good time with friends. All of this is through the Jewish National Fund, the organization which plants forest, builds water reservoirs, roads and even contructed an indoor playground in this extraordinary country. Our Tour Coordinator, Susan Horwitz, and guide, Neil Eisenstadt, bring a wealth of experience, knowledge and good humour which make CAARI a most wonderful way to visit Israel.
Where to begin...after only three days in this area, and already so many memorable events and places.....
This morning, for example, our group left bright and early, boarding the CAARI bus and greeting Moti, our excellent driver who had been with us a few times. Just an aside - Israel's roads tend to be narrow at the best times, with sharp curves in this mountainous part of the country, all of which Moti handles with ease. Thanks, Moti!
So, with Moti at the wheel, we headed north toward Akko, driving through a mixed residential and industrial part of the country. In spite of its size, Israel produces a large variety of products, like paint, concrete, has chemical processing and stone polishing using local limestone. The route continued north, through the small city of Naharyia to Mt. Adir along the northern border. We drove as far as we could into a small forest and from there we went by foot. From the view point there, we saw many small villages over the border in Lebanon. Guide Neil brought out his map of the country, explained about the history of the area, adding to what he told us on the drive.
(another aside, later we found out about the internal problems that Lebanon is experiencing...how appropiate that our visit was today).

The next stop, a CAARI first, took us to the top of a mountain for a private piano recital. Yes, that is correct. Yitzak Tavior, virtuoso pianst, composer and conductor, lives with his family in the area of Mt. Meron in the Galilee where he present concerts on Saturday mornings, but gave a command performance to our group this morning. The concerts take place in his studio, a large room with seating around three sides and clusters of potted plants forming a border around one side of his grand piano. On the walls hang large portraits of composers. Maestro Tavior welcomed us and explained that he was probably the only pianist who would serve refreshments at the intermission. He sat down, began to play, and we were entranced. The first part of his program included movements from Mozart and Beethoven sonatas and a Chopin Scherzo, all played with energy and sensitivity and great feeling. Then true to his words, he stood up walked over to the far side of the room and offered coffed, herb tea and cakes which his wife Liora had brought earlier. After everyone finished, Maestro Tavior walked back to the piano, opened the lid and over the keyboard and continues with a Brahms Intermezzo and a final work by Debussy. Sheer joy...
Back down to earth, we thank Maestro Tavior and reluctnatly left his studio driving through forest of pine to the ancient city of Safed. There we encountered mny other groups of tourists, including a Birthright group from Cornell, New York.
Next CAARI headed for the Hazor archeologial site, on the list of UNESCO International Heritage Sites. Here the work continues, excavating and discovering artifacts from ancient cultures. Last summer, for example, archeologists discovered 2 Hammurabi tablets with Acadian writing. I think this means lines, horizontal or vertical in combinations, but Neil really knows...
Yes, there is more to this day. Final stop Rosh Pina and a visit to the synagogue there and an media presentation of the story of Rosh Pina, one of Baron Rothschild's villages. Ah...a delicious dinner and back to Haifa.
Keep well and warm, especially Edmontonians who are expecting -25C tomorrow.

Best wishes and Shalom,
Marcia and Ron (Edmonton, Canada)

Haifa Tour by Marcia and Ron Bercov

Shalom,

CAARI started off with a visit to beautiful Haifa this year. This city is home to a rich ethnic community, as reflected in a very special place, the Leo Baeck School. Our group was priviledged to visit the school, meet some of the students and learn about the Community Center associated with it. The Center works with a variety of ages and populations, such as students with special needs and new immigrants. Within the Ethipoian community, for example, some of the students receive full scholarships to university and participate in a University Leadership Training Program. The Center's director, a musician, started a choir with Arabs and Jews singing and perfoming togeher, while the Centre also offers summer day camp. Last summer the choir went to Italy to Peace Camp, which offered workshops on co-existence.

Our group was invited into a classroom of Grade 2 students who sang Hebrew songs for us, while doing sign language. They all wore colorful embroidered kipas in Sephardic style, more like a cap than a small disc. They also asked us questions, in English, like - "What is your favorite food?" Always a subject of interest! We met with a group of teenagers who had gone on an exchange to a religious school in Boston. By coincidence, two of the boys who had been billeted in the home of the daughter of a member of our group, whose family lives in Boston. We were all impressed with the work of this wonderful school and community center.

In the afternoon our group visited the Hecht Museum, named for one of the founders of Haifa University. Our guide, Amir, explained the Museum's collection of ancient artifacts was donated to the University was donated by Hecht himself. The collection includes an original mosaic floor from the 5th centery and a merchant ship from about 400 BCE.

Stay tuned for more...

Best Wishes and Shalom,

Marcia and Ron Bercov (Edmonton, Canada)

TUESDAY IN HAIFA : MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Our first stop today was at the Illegal Immigration and Clandestine Museum, and we were greeted by two women naval officers who looked about 12 years old! We were treated to a short documentary film of the establishment of Israel's Navy during the trials and tribulations of rescuing WWII 'survivors' of the camps who had lost everything. Special thanks Neil for arranging a private screening for me! The second film presented a very different Israeli Navy - no longer building boats from 'wreckage' but state of art ships and communications prevail. Very impressive indeed.
Next, we were taken to the Bahia Gardens - what a beautiful and serene place. Sad to say, I was to 'beat' to re-visit the Gardens! I just didn't feel like walking down 628 steps! But hats to those who did - I understand they had a great time as well as learning more about the Bahai Faith.
Then, it was time for lunch, so, off we went to the Carmel Centre which offers a great variety of restaurants, cafes and pastry shops. Neil, ever mindful of time, advised that we had 1 1/2 hours for lunch. Gloria (Kaufman) and I, ended up in a very nice cafe and had a thoroughly tasty lunch. Then the adventure followed, when, at 2pm Gloria received a call from Susan (our leader) asking why weren't you sitting in the bus - oy vay! We thought the the bus was leaving 2:10pm, so, plenty of time to enjoy are cappuccino in a real cup - famous last words. Then the balagan ensued: Gloria went ahead to pick up my package from the Pharmacy and to let Susan and Neil know that I was lagging behind! In tandem, I settled the bill and arranged for our coffee 'to go'! In spite of keeping everyone waiting ... all's well that ends well.
We spent the afternoon in Ussifyia, a Druze village up in the Carmel, where we were hosted by a charming young man, who talked about the Druze Community and its role in Israeli Society. His village was established over 500 years ago! In spite of his 17 years, he handled his presentation and the flurry of questions with great aplomb! We were served homemade pita topped with a choice tomato sauce or zatar - yummy, accompanied by a hot sweet tea. And, then we got back on the bus and headed back to our charming hotel in Haifa.
Our evening speaker was Albir Layyous, an engineer by profession, however, he is very involved in the family business - producing olive oil. As an adjunct to this, he began making olive oil products. We were all very interesed in the variety of products he has been developing and again the questions kept flowing. We were treated to a bar of olive soap scented with lavender, sage and tea tree oil - will we look 10 years younger tomorrow?
In closing, I would like to say how happy I am to be back with CAARI after a 2 year absence - I have really missed the programme, Neil and Susan and the member of my CAARI family.
Frances Dvorchik
Toronto

CAARI arrives in Israel - by Anice Stark

Shalom,
What a way to begin our trip to Israel and CAARI! First time in our years of traveling to Israel, our plane in Toronto couldn't leave the airport! It was was frozen to the ground and needed special heavy duty equipment to move it. But - all is well, just about an hour late in arriving to Tel Aviv where Neil met us at the airport.

Since we arrived in Haifa it as been a very busy time, meeting new CAARI participants from both Canada and USA. We welcome all and hope they enjoy themselves. CAARI offers a great alternative to a winter in Canada!

Tomorrow we begin CAARI 2011 - yeah! The weather seems lovely - sunny with patchy clouds and in the 60's during the day. Our hotel, The Colony, is very charming and the staff is very attentive. This hotel is located in the German Colony on one of Haifa's main streets with a view of the Bahai Gardens and lots of cafes and restaurants nearby. One of the pictures is of Gloria Kaufman, Helen Buck and Sheila Rasking enjoying a 'cafe afuk'! The hotel itself is in a building built in 1905 and restored a couple years ago. WE are looking forward to our stay here.

All the best,

Anice and Arnold Stark (Toronto)

CAARI 2011

Janaury 9, 2011 begins the 28 consecutive year for the CAARI Program, affliated with the Jewish National Fund of Canada, Israel and the USA. We in Israel are very excited to meet the group who will be traveling up to Haifa for the week, followed by 4 weeks in Tel Aviv, 3 days in Dead Sea and conclude the 7 week program in Jerusalem.
Stay tuned for our unique program and meet the class of CAARI 2011!
Follow along with us. We welcome your comments.
Warm Regards,

Susan Horwitz and Nahum Eisenstaff (Israel CAARI Administrators)