Week in Review

By Joan and Bernie Hulkower
Week in review – Feb. 3 - 9
Another wonderful week!!
Starting out with our community work, where we’ve become regular participants. When we arrive to our various work assignments (hospitals, schools for a community organization) we are treated as if we have always been there.

The afternoon and evening that we spent with Meir Malka, the original guiding force of CAARI and now the Director of Beit Shemesh Fund, was a most interesting and informative. Meir took us to the center where nursery school children up to teens come to for after school activities and a hot supper in order that their parents can work and support their families. We also visited a sculpture garden donated by the parents of a soldier killed in the Golan. The highlight of the our visit was the Beti Shemesh conservatory, where we were treated to a wonderful concert by 9, 11, 14 & 15 year old students, playing the violin, flute and piano. What talent! The evening was topped off in a Kosher Chinese restaurant.
Another first was our day pruning and clearing olive trees on biblical terraces and a JNF forest called Sataf. What a great job we did pruning, cutting, clearing weeds to help the trees from having their energy taken up by weeds. This was followed by a visit to the Babylonian Museum where we learned about the Iraqi culture and aliyah to Israel.
On another day we visited the Negev community of Sansana where young Israeli families are building homes to settle the Negev in much the same way that their pioneer forefathers did in pre-statehood time. That day we also had a wonderful tour of the Air Force Museum, near Beersheva. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and many of us were delighted to be able to walk around, unlike a previous visit - in a Negev sandstorm. It was really walking through history as we walked around the display of all the old planes used to fight and protect the State of Israel. We were not only amazed, but proud at the success that the Israelis had in winning wars with such equipment.
We have had many wonderful speakers who have given us much insight into the political situation, the Palestinian conflict, the Winograd Report, plus situation in Gaza with Hamas. We also enjoyed a special talk by the son of a CAARI participant, an American – Israeli soldier, who was in the Second Lebanon War - a visit to the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. And ….of course, we are always treated to great knowledge and information by Neil, our guide.
There is so much more to say -…but you have to be here. Enjoy the pictures of the week.
Love,
Joan and Bernie

Negev Day

"Our day in the Negev" by Marcia and Ron Bercov - Edmonton, Canada

Dear Family and Friends,

Shalom, from Tel Aviv. Ron and I wanted to share with you our experience with CAARI's day in the Negev. First stop - Haruvit (Carob) Park, has been designed as a park for those that are physically challenged - known as an "inclusive" Park. JNF has been renovating many of its parks and forest area for all to enjoy - whether you are blind, in a wheel chair or have some other physical challenge. Hadassah dedicated this park several years ago to soldiers.
Carob trees, fill the park area - you may know this fruit as 'boxer". The park has paths especially designed for the physically challenged.

From the Park we continued driving south through the Negev. The Negev comprises 60%
of the land of Israel, with a relatively small but growing population. Only in recent years has it become an area for development when the problem of supplying water was solved. Our group toured a new community called Sansana, settled by young families who are in the process of building new homes to replace the trailers they started out with.
The Jewish National Fund's Blueprint Negev project plans to develop this area, bringing people and facilities to the desert area. With rail transportation, people can work in Tel Aviv and live
in Beersheva, in the heart of the Negev, making the trip in an hour, not much different from some city commutes.
What more, you ask? Well, with 12 minutes left at this computer, only the Air Force Museum and a Yemenite dinner! We saw bombs, missiles and planes, each with its own special story, and watched a film about the Israeli Air Force while seated (in economy class) in a huge plane.
And as for the dinner, it was authentic and delicious, homecooked, with flat bread just out of the oven.
So, this is all for the moment. But stay tuned for
more...
Hoping this finds you well.
Shalom and best wishes,
Marcia and Ron

CAARI's Super Tuesday

CAARI’s Super Tuesday by Rosalie Whitehill
Tuesday is our program's Forest Day...when we do something related to JNF forestry in Israel, not really one of my favorite activities, but I am always interested in what JNF is doing...as it is so much more than trees and so very inspiring. Well, weather wise, things couldn't be better.... short sleeves again for most of the day...it felt like 70.... and even though we went to the Sataf forest near Jerusalem...it was just as warm there. I walked with the group about a mile down to where they would prune olive trees, and clear weeds from around the base of the trees, but because getting to the trees required walking on rocky, hilly ground, I opted just to wait while the real work was done...but it was pleasant and I was happy...especially when a group of school kids came by. The group must have pruned over 50 olive trees located on the biblical terraces – they couldn’t have been happier and so was the JNF forester who worked with us. He kept thanking the group for their help. I don’t think he thought they were capable of doing so much work!
We had a really fine picnic lunch...bagels.... with whatever salad you chose...and cookies home-made by our coordinator, Susan, and the best clementines ever...and the weather was perfect...we ate at some tables on a hill looking out toward other hills around Jerusalem.... you can just imagine what a happy time that was for me!!
After the picnic, we headed to a town called Or Yehuda... located between Lod (Ben Gurion airport)...to a museum that was listed in our activity schedule as “Babylonian Museum”...I had no idea what to expect...and it turned out to be a GEM...completely exceeding any expectation I might have had...and we had a guide whose knowledge and charm made our visit even more enjoyable.........you know I love Israeli museums. And this one did NOT disappoint...it depicts in huge dioramas and displays the Babylonian culture from the time of the Diaspora through the time when the country became part of Iraq and the huge wave of immigration back to Israel in 1951-2...it is meant to give young people of Iraqi descent a sense of their history and culture. As someone whose experiences are limited to mostly Ashkenazi customs, I found the materials and information ...about the culture with Muslim influence so fascinating. I felt like I wanted to hang on to every word she said, and wanted more, more, and more. I loved seeing how they celebrated the Jewish holidays, the important events in a Jewish life...and the museum even contained a small reconstruction of the main synagogue of Baghdad. It was truly one of the most interesting places I have visited here, and part of the CAARI group's attempt to take us to unusual places...it was incredible to find this little treasure located in a small town of which I had never heard.
And so it was really a SUPER Tuesday for me...and I hope I will still feel happy when I see the primary results.
Tomorrow, we are heading south to the Negev. I checked the weather and it is scheduled to be another glorious day...I am almost bursting with happiness, being here ...and each day gets better.... or have I said that before.
Stay well,
Love you all
Rosalie

My view - by Bev Fluxgold

Bev Fluxgold - Toronto, Canada
It has taken me a while to be able to put my thoughts into words. It was always a given that I loved Israel unreservedly. But it just came to me that I feel safe here. This may seem strange because my head tells me there are dangers, but safe is what I feel..
A sense of pride swells within me when I see all the accomplishments that have been made by my fellow Jews. This is something I can not feel anywhere else in this world.
Yesterday it all came to a head when we visited Bet Shemesh. A town of about 80,000 situated between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We viewed the ruins of the ancient city and then went to an after school program for children whose ages run from preschool to teens. This program enables their parents to work while their children are being well looked after.
The teens have a nutritious meal that they have learned to prepare themselves. They are given help with their homework, and the attention they may lack at home.
There is an equipped computer room and they are in the midst of setting up a library.
From there we went to a sculpture garden that was tucked away in the middle of a residential district. This garden was the on a piece of property donated to Bet Shemesh by the husband and wife sculptures. In the centre of the garden was a sculpture depicting a ladder (like Jacob ascending to heaven.) The garden was dedicated to the memory of their son who had died in the Lebanon war. Not 27 virgins, but the beauty that came from their hands.
We'll I thought this must be it, but from there we were taken to a conservatory of music. What a treat. The children put on a concert for us. The culmination was a brother and sister team. She on violin he on piano. Someday I'm sure we will see them in our concert halls.
As we observed Bet Shemish is very diverse. Ethiopians.Russians, Orthodox, Ultra Orthodox. I'm sure it isn't perfect, but a great effort is going into making it work.

Weather in Tel Aviv - CAARI Keeps Going!

By Anice Stark - Toronto, Canada

Dear Friends and Family,
The past few days we have had weather more closely associated with North American or Europe - cold, wet and extremely windy. The windows in the hotel dining area have been moving like they were going to fall out. We have had pelting rain - which was snow in Jerusalem. The only magnificent sight were the waves coming onto the beach area - huge white caps - rolling, bubbling, and spraying both sea and sand. Even the roof top pool, which we can see from our room, had a few white caps!

CAARI still "weathered" the storm - enjoying our work at schools and community organizations. The other day we enjoyed a special afternoon at one of JNF's therapeutic riding centers in Tel Mond, just north of Tel Aviv. It is amazing how the animals relate to those tha have CP, autism or are suffering from head injuries. The staff is so supportive. We were all in awe with the work that is done and some of us got to work with the dogs to experience how they relate.

Our speakers continue to be outstanding. Zelig Chinitz, Sr. Advisor to the JNF CEO, spoke to our group Wednesday evening. He discussed the partnership of the Diaspora to Israel - very relevant of our group.
This week we have the "CAARI turnover" 13 CAARI participants completed their three weeks. We will miss them and there were lots of hugs and even a few tears as the said "farewell"! Diane Amster received flowers from her students, others received notes, candy and lots of thanks! Yael; the head nurse from Ichilov praised the CAARI volunteers! She said - " we can't thank you enough for what you are doing for our patients!" Thursday and Friday new participants joined the group and we are back to a full bus! Next week we are looking forward to better weather - the CAARI program goes on!

We hear it is pretty cold in Canada - stay warm!

Love,

Anice and Arnold Stark

Our Experience - "the Frieds"

By Rhoda and Joe Fried - Paramus, NJ
Shalom to our friends and family. This is our first time with the CAARI program and our first report on the CAARI Blog. Rhoda is volunteering in Ichilov Rehabilitation Center and Joe is at Koach L'Tet. We wanted to share with you a few thoughts on the visits we have experienced. I (Joe) have already been quoted in the KKL website regarding our visit to JNF sites and our Tu’Bshvat experience at the nursery......I said.... “It seems as though KKL-JNF is just as involved in planting the Jewish people in its land, as it is in planting trees!” Last week we visited Eretz Museum in Tel Aviv - "Behold the Land!" From the ages of the Pharaohs, to the smelting of the copper mines (we toured the mines when we were in Timna a couple weeks ago) in Biblical times, we moved to Italia Ebraica where we learned about differences in their liturgy, to the beauty of the magnificently hand crafted glass by modern Israeli artists.
We were supposed to work in the forest, but snow – yes SNOW – was forecasted. Our leaders, Neil and Susan, rearranged the day. In the morning, we had a guided tour of the Diaspora Museum – following the Jews through the ages from all over the world, and how they maintained their religion and culture whereever they lived. We saw a wonderful exhibition of synagogues - some replicas of lost buildings and some still existing. In the afternoon, Dr. Mordechai Kedar, a lecturer in the Department of Arabic at Bar-Ilan University and a research associate at the Begin-Sadat (BESA) Center for Strategic Studies spoke, to the group about Iran. We learned some interesting facts on the issues about the Iranian situation and what it means world.
The other day, through a blowing sand storm we persevered in the tradition of the Irgun, leaving nothing to deter us from reaching the Etzel Museum (located on the Tel Aviv promenade). We were privileged to have Josef Ben David Nachimas, relate personal incidents from the struggle with the British (during the Mandate Period) to the eventual Statehood. Enlisting in the British Army at the age of 14, fighting the Germans, through his service in the Irgun under the Command of Menachum Begin- Josef was a hero!! There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as he recounted his stories. It is indeed an honor to hear about the early days of Eretz Yisrael from people like Josef. Events like these make CAARI a special program. Oh - we also had some Israeli folkdancing lessons!!! Kef (fun)!

Touring Day - Shuni and Casearea

Anice Stark - Toronto, Canada

Sunday, Jan. 26 we had a full travel day - a day off from our community service and an opportunity for those that are with us for 3 weeks to see JNF sites and Israel!!! Our first stop was Shuni Park (JNF tourist project), where we met Eli Shenhav - not only was he the JNF-KKL archaeologist who uncovered the site, but he was also the sheliach for both Montreal and Toronto. Of course, this is where Arnold and I met him. We also discovered another connection, our son who worked with Eli at one time - typical Jewish connection! Eli explained how they uncovered the different layers of the theater, the pools and described the special "finds" uncovered. If you don't know - Shuni is related to Caesarea - Eli described it as the "country club" for the people living in the surrounding area - a place for fun and frolicking! The pools that they uncovered are amazing - you can still see evidence of the types of games they played in the water. Today the area is used as a sculpture garden.

The weather, while threatening, was very good, especially for sightseeing. We made a brief stop at Zichron Yaacov, a charming, restored 19th century village, and then continued on to Caesarea. This is an amazing site built by King Herod, overlooking the beautiful sea. We visited the theater, and walked around the hippodrome - trying to imagine the chariots racing around. There were lots of other ruins, some still are being excavated. We ended the evening with a fabulous meal at the ancient port of Caesarea - watching the sun set over the sea!