Boneh Update - May #2

Shalom parents!

I wanted to write and specifically update you about the incredible seminar that we had last week: the Israeli Society Seminar. This five day seminar – four days in Jerusalem, and one back on Ein Gev wrapping up – took the Shnatties to meet a wide variety of people and places in Israel’s fantastically diverse capital city, as a microcosm of the challenges Israeli society faces today.



The first day and a half dealt with government and politics. After an introductory discussion at the Haas Promenade (the Tayelet) overlooking the city, we toured the Knesset, and then spent several hours learning about the Israeli political system and current issues with well known educator Mark Lazar. The following morning we then toured the Supreme Court and then did a workshop on human rights and democracy with law student and former Habonim shlicha in Canada Naomi Kassel.




shnatties in the Supreme Court

The second day dealt with the waves of immigration to Israel and the challenges of integrating the diverse Jewish population into one unified society. After watching Israeli film classic Sallah Shabati the previous evening to get a humourous look at immigrant experience, the shnatties had a free lunch in the Machaneh Yehuda market, one of the most delicious places to experience Israel’s ethnically diverse composition. We then toured the Musrara neighborhood, formerly a poor Sephardi neighborhood, with Reuven Abergil, a Morrocan Jew who helped found the Israeli Black Panthers protest organization.


The shnatties with Reuven

The third day dealt with the question of Arab-Jewish relations. We spent the morning at different viewpoints overlooking East Jerusalem with Eitan Katz of the Ir Amim organization, learning about the different issues between Jerusalem City Hall, the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority about how to manage the lives of the 200,000 Arabs that live in the city of Jerusalem. In the afternoon we visited the Museum on the Seam, a modern art museum that deals with themes of conflict, coexistence and peace through art in different media. Then we met up with the Machon Habo shnatties on Ben-Yehuda street for some quality time.



The fourth day dealt with religion in society. In the morning we traveled to Israeli Reform Movement headquarters and heard a presentation by Rabbi Gilad Kariv about the way the Israeli government relates to non-Orthodox religious groups. Then we went to the Kotel in the Old City’s Jewish quarter and talked about the way the site is managed and its significance in Israeli society. After lunch, we visited the Rabbi Kook Museum to learn about the founder of religious Zionism. We finished the seminar off with a stop at Bnei Akiva World Headquarters and where we heard from Anton, the BA rakaz chinuch (education worker) who managed to provoke and interest every single Shnattie with his perspective on secular Zionism.




Back on Ein Gev the next morning, we read an excerpt from the Israeli declaration of independence and then used our experiences from the seminar to talk about what parts of the Zionist dream for this state have been fulfilled and what still needs work. To wrap up, the Boneh-nikim planned peulot they will run in the movement at home in Australia and New Zealand about issues in Israel that they care about and think are important to educate on.

Ruth Stevens & The Boneh Team

Boneh Update - May

Shalom parents!

The Boneh program is entering into its last month and we wanted to give you another update on what has been happening.
Since the Pesach chofesh we have had all the national holidays, as described below, but also have been continuing on with general Boneh programming.

The week of Yom Ha’atzmaut was also the week dealing with the British Mandate period, dealing with the rise of the Zionist settlement in Palestine, the development of the different political movements and defense groups in Jewish society, and the relations between the Jews and Arabs here. The siyur (excursion) that week began in Akko at the Underground Prisoners’ Museum, a former Ottoman and British jail where a famous break-out occurred in 1947. Here is a group picture just outside the museum:



The rest of the siyur took place in different Jewish and Arab neighborhoods in the historically mixed city of Haifa, looking both at the way that conflict developed between the population in the Mandate period, and some important examples of cooperation and coexistence.

The next week the Shnatties went on tiyul(hike)! They spent four days hiking and camping in the Golan Heights, one of the most beautiful areas in Israel, going up and down mountains and through waterfalls and streams. Each night they also practiced their field cooking skills, preparing dinner at the campsite, and then slept under the stars. The tiyul was by far a highlight of Boneh and Shnat so far.

Last week was the week dealing with the Arab-Israeli conflict. The seminar classes looked at the major wars between the State of Israel and Arab countries, the evolution of Arab-Israeli relations, the peace process, and also at our responsibility for the future. The Thursday siyur (excursion) went back to Golan, this time doing a tour of the battlefields of this much-contested region in order to understand the wars Israel has fought here in a real way. The tour actually began at the lookout point of Kibbutz Kfar Haruv, in former Syrian territory which sits on the edge of the Golan Heights directly overlooking Ein Gev and the Kinneret



This week we are headed to Jerusalem for four days for a seminar on modern Israeli society and politics. We will be exploring the different places and cultures of the city and meeting with people from all the different sectors of Israel – Jewish and Arab, religious and secular, Ashkenazi and Sephardi – to try and understand how far the country has come, and what challenges it faces today.

Machon Update - May

hi again, below is an update we received from the Machon staff. there is some overlap between this and our last general update. best wishes!

Shalom again from Jerusalem where the Machon is entering its final month and it's time for our third update letter. Everyone returned from the Pesach holiday refreshed and hopefully raring to go and they spent much of the first day excitedly sharing their different holiday experiences with us and each other, whether that was for example a very different kind of Seder night than they were used to, a lovely few days spent with their Israeli family, an energetic camping trip or a laid back dance and music festival called Boombamella which many of them went to.

They were soon back into the atmosphere and routine of their regular classes but equally the first two weeks after Pesach were special because of the Israeli chagim of Yom HaShoah (Holocaust memorial day), Yom HaZikaron (Memorial Day for Fallen Israeli Soldiers) and Yom HaAtzma'ut (Independence Day).

On the Monday evening night and Tuesday of the first week back it was Yom HaShoah and more or less the whole week was given over to a special Shoah Seminar. On the Sunday there was an outing to Yad Vashem to start the week off and then we explored various aspects of the Holocaust including the history itself, religious responses to the Shoah, the impact on Israeli society and how to educate about the issue as madrichim.

On the Monday evening they all went to an excellent and moving Hebrew play (with English subtitles) called 'Court Jesters' which is about four concentration camp inmates who are chosen to serve as the court jesters of the camp commander, and survive thanks to their theatrical prowess. After the play there was a short question and answer sessions with the director and some of the actors as well as with an inspiring Shoah survivor who had worked with the theatre group on the play and had actually accompanied them to Poland and to visit the camps as part of their preparation.

The next morning there was an excellent tekes (commemorative ceremony) prepared and run by a group of the Machonikim which included some really moving testimonial from one or two Machonikim about their own family who had been murdered in or had survived the Shoah. As the tekes finished we all walked down the road to one of the local busy junctions to listen to the siren and to see the response of Israeli society where everything comes to a halt and most people stop their cars and get out to observe the one minute silence.

We then finished the seminar with a processing session to help them reflect on all of the learning and the emotions that the week had provided.

The middle of the following week was as noted above Yom HaZikaron and Yom HaAtzma'ut and here too there were various special programmes. On the evening of Yom HaZikaron we attended a special tekes and then on the next morning took them up to Mount Herzl to see how Israeli families who have lost loved ones deal with this difficult day and we gave them time to be able to wander around the graves and reflect on what the day meant to them as well as to Israelis. Though it was for many a very moving morning it also gave many of them a sense of being somewhat more of an outsider to Israeli society than they are usually used to feeling as this is perhaps the most "Israeli" chag of all.

We gave the evening and day of Yom HaAtzma'ut as free time and encouraged them to go off and explore how Israelis and different parts of Israel celebrate Independence day here. For most that consisted of many of them were able to reflect on the very different ways that Israelis celebrate Yom HaAtzma'ut here as compared to how this is done and what they are used to in the Diaspora.

These special days have of course taken up much of the focus of the time since the holiday but, apart from their regular courses and classes, there have also been a number of other special events and highlights. There were siyurim (outings) to the Neve Shalom peace village where Jews and Arabs have lived together for many years in an attempt to demonstrate that this kind of coexistence is possible and a trip to the City of David in the Old City which included the really interesting walk through Hezekia's tunnel.

There have been three special Sunday evening programmes, one a fantastic "Bible Rap" optional activity where they were introduced to Matt Bar who writes and performs educational raps to biblical themes and stories and then they wrote and produced their own rap based on a short study of the Lech Lacha piece of Torah text where Abraham is told by God to leave his home and they wrote a rap comparing Abraham's journey to their own journey involved in coming on Shnat. It was generally agreed by the group to gave been one of the best Sunday selection events we have held.

Then the next week was the long awaited programme with the South America Machon. Through a fun treasure hunt activity in mixed groups, which also involved them in performing various tasks and missions throughout the city centre, they got to know some of the South American madrichim, at least those of the 200 of them that speak pretty good English. It was a fun evening with a very good atmosphere and those that took the opportunity now feel that they have made some new friends who as youth movement madrichim, despite being from a different culture, share many of the same values and beliefs that they do. Finally, this week was a somewhat quieter option of a newly released (in Israel at least) and very moving film with a Holocaust related theme that many of them really wanted to see; 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas'. Also tonight is Lag B'Omer, a time traditionally marked in Israel with bonfires. On Machon the moetza (the committee of Machon representatives) has also organised their own such bonfire and barbeque, including having to compete with thousands of other Israelis to find spare wood for the fire from around the neighbourhood, and the event is looking like it will be a great success.

This Thursday we are all off on our 5 day Northern tiyul including a pluralistic style Machon Shabbat which will be spent together right up in the North near Kiryat Shmoneh. I will fill you in on some of the highlights from that tiyul and my next letter, which will also be my final one.

best wishes,

Iris Gazit and the Machon staff

Post Pesach Update

Hi all,
Since returning from the Pesach break, the shnatties have plunged into the frenzy of national holidays in Israel. Thus far we have commemorated Yom Hashoa (Holocaust remembrance day), Yom Hazikaron (Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers and Victims of Terror Attacks) and Yom Ha'atsmaut (Israel Independence Day).
On Yom Hashoa, all the Habonim Dror shnat groups from around the world gathered at Lochamei Hagetoaot, a kibbutz near Acco that was founded by fighters in the Warsaw ghetto and members of Dror, which also contains a very unique musuem [that we will visit as part of the Poland preparation process]. Every year the official ceremony to close Yom Hashoa is held at the Amphitheater. It is a very special and unique ceremony, often with a focus towards the Youth movements in Israel. This year the ceremony involved many different survivors, whose stories were both heartbreaking and fascinating. Before the ceremony itself, we held a small Habonim Dror remembrance ceremony which was prepared by the madrichim.
This past weekend, we held a joint Habonim Dror Olami english-speaking weekend, where all the shnatties from North America, England, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia met at Kibbutz Afikim near the Kinneret for an intense and fun weekend together. The aims of the weekend were both to learn historially about May Day, and look at what effect the gaps in society have on the relationship between individuals/governments. It ended with a look at solidarity and how Habonim Dror as a worldwide movement, can have a collective outlook for an alternative society. A highlight of the weekend was the viewing of a movie "Shvita" (Strike) which looks at the struggle of a group of workers in the South of Israel. One of the reasons it was so interesting was because of the very personal look it gave into people's lives and the unique socio-economic situation in the South of Israel. The weekend also gave everyone a great opportunity to discover more about Habonim Dror worldwide.
Monday night and Tuesday were Yom Hazikaron. On Monday the Boneh group had a special tour around Ein Gev with renowned historian and frequent guest lecturer Muki Tsur, who is also a member of the kibbutz. Ein Gev for many years was a border settlement and came under heavy attack in the '48, '67 and '73 wars in particular. It was really significant to link the place where the shnatties are living to events from history. The shnatties also participated in a tekes (ceremony) on the kibbutz.
On Tuesday both Machon and Boneh groups were at Har Herzl, the largest military cemetery in Israel, where the official ceremonies are also held. Afterward the Boneh group met with 2 soldiers who fought in the 2nd Lebanon war and lost members of their platoon, and heard their stories. Later in the day the Machon and Boneh groups went on a short walk - limmud beshetach (outdoor learning)- on the Burma Road - the road that was created during the Independence War and enabled Israeli fighters to get to Jerusalem and bring food and supplies. Throughout the walk, they heard stories of the battles that took place. The day ended with a short ceremony at the Machal monument (Machal - Overseas Volunteers who came to fight in the Israeli army) that signified the changeover between commemoration and celebration. Physically being in Israel at this time lends an extra special significance to these events and the meaning behind them.
On Tuesday night and Wednesday the shnatties enjoyed celebrating Yom Ha'atsmaut at various parties and events throughout the country, particularly in downtown Jerusalem, and the "RockAtzmaut" festival in Rishon L'tzion.
Tomorrow is May Day celebrations in Tel Aviv, which will hopefully prove to be an exciting and interesting experience for most shnatties, as they celebrate this holiday for the first time. There is a gathering in Kikar Rabin, and a short march through Tel Aviv streets, followed by performances, dancing and singing. This event is done together with a few thousand members of youth movements in Israel - Hanoar Ha'oved V'lomed, Hashomer Hatzair, and Machanot HaOlim.
Just a short note for any parents concerned about the cases of Swine Flu reported in Israel. Up to date there have been only two confirmed cases, and each has been very mild with no complications. The government at this time has not classified this as a serious public health threat and has stated that no preventative treatment is necessary. We will of course continue to monitor this situation and will update you all if there are any significant changes to protocol.

Boneh Update

This is an update from the Boneh staff. Unfortunately due to technical difficulties we were unable to post it during the chag. Enjoy!

Shalom Boneh parents!
I hope that this Passover finds you happy and full of delicious matza-based foods.
Here in Israel, the Boneh participants are discovering the unique aspects of Pesach in Israel – from the bread aisles closed in supermarkets to the many festivals taking place across the country, including a music festival at home on Ein Gev. And of course, all this chofesh is a good opportunity to let you know a bit more of what has been going on with them these past few weeks.
Three weeks ago, we wrapped up our look at the pre-modern era with a unit on Jews on the Christian world. We tackled the persecution of the Crusades and the Inquisition, [some other stuff] and also the unique culture of the Jews that developed during that time – including a look at the legend of the Golem. That week we also went out to Tel Aviv for a siyur in the Diaspora Museum, a museum that gives interactive expression to so much of what we talked about in Jewish history. Then just for fun we went down to trendy Rothschild Boulevard in south Tel Aviv for a photo-musical exploration of Israeli city culture.
The following week we looked into onset of modernity, and the new challenges and opportunities faced by the Jews at that time and still today. The coursework dealt both with Western Europe’s Jewish emancipation, where Jews first faced the question of choosing between different national identities, and Eastern Europe’s cultural changes among Jews in the face of continued and increased persecution. We then delved into many of the answers Jews chose in response, including the Reform movement, modern Orthodoxy, assimilation, immigration, communism and Bundism. That week we also did a project creating profiles on the website Facebook for intellectual and political figures from that era and chugim on the literature, music, and philosophy of this era. Below you can see a picture of a creative chug building a mock shtetl out of edible ingredients:



The last full module before chofesh was on another movement from that time, Zionism. The participants learned about the advent of European nationalism and how, along with the Dreyfuss Affair, that sparked a young Austrian journalist named Theodor Herzl to create a vision for a Jewish home in Israel. They then moved on to a look at the different streams that developed within Zionism – religious, cultural, political, revisionist and labor – and where those streams are today. Anton Marks of Kvutzat Yovel came to speak to the Boneh about the origins of Zionism, and they also watched a movie. The week’s project was to create children’s story-books which told the story of Jewish history from the perspective of the different Zionist streams. The books came out beautifully and the stories expressed a lot of meaning in a very creative way, as you can see here:



Finally we kicked off Pesach chofesh with two days of study about what is Passover, including Muki Tzur, renowned historian and former mazkir of the Kibbutz Movement, speaking with the shnatties about kibbutz Passover through the years. Then the shnatties split into different teams which created different elements of their own Passover seder using different media – written materials, songs, art, decorations, food, games and drama. Of course the big finale was the seder itself, which was beautiful, interesting and tasty! Have a look:



The shnatties have also been continuing on with the Hebrew classes, their hadracha (leadership) course, their jobs in different kibbutz anafim (branches) and their yemei kvutza (group days), as well as enjoying fierce games of ping-pong and foozeball around the house and finally getting to see Ein Gev in good and sunny weather. Also 20 of them traveled to Ramat Gan for the Israel-Greece World Cup qualifier and many others have been traveling on their weekends off. Finally now all are relaxing and enjoying the chofesh, and we will all be back together to start again next Sunday the 19th.

Machon Update - April

hi everyone, as below is an update from the Machon. the next Boneh update will be posted shortly, as well as some updates on dates for the rest of the year.

Dear Parents, Shalom,

I hope this letter finds you well. It is now very nearly the half way point of the Machon programme and, I wanted just before the Pesach break to write to you again to let you know how things are going since I sent the last letter. Overall our feeling is that Machon continues to go really well and that in the main the Machonikim are having a great time and learning a lot but that, given the intensity of the programme, they are also looking forward to their holiday.

The regular courses are all continuing and are mostly going very well and one measure of that for us is the relatively small number of Machonikim who have asked to change their classes, something which we allow them to do in the first week or so of each course.

The weekly siyurim (trips out) have included a couple of afternoons where they got to explore some of the more difficult social issues in modern Israeli society; a visit to 'Retorno' which is a very special drugs rehabilitation programme where they got to meet some of the residents and a second visit to Tel Aviv, this time with a social justice focus to see to look at the issue of foreign workers and refugees. We also offered an optional tour of Hezekia's tunnels a unique feature of the Old City in Jerusalem that some Machonikim had already been to on previous Israel tours but not everyone. Even though this was on their one free midweek evening, some 35 of the 50 of them signed up for this which took place a couple of days ago.

The optional Sunday selection evenings have continued to draw people even after a long day including the weekly siyur. The three sessions since I last wrote have been an improvisation workshop by the Jerusalem Theatre company, a meeting with the 'Three Faiths Forum, where we explored the issue of Christian/Muslim/Jewish dialogue in Israel and a meeting with 'Maagalei Tzedek' an organisation that coordinates various volunteering and social; justice projects in Israel.

We also had a special guest speaker coming in to our regular Israel Update class which focuses on political and other current affairs in Israel. Uri Bank is one of the few an Anglo-Israelis to stand for the Knesset in the last election. Of American origin, he stood for the right-wing National Union party and just missed out being elected by one seat. He came and spoke very eloquently about his idea of a peace plan that did not involve a two state solution and I think the Machonikim found it most challenging. After Pesach we will be inviting in for that same course a left wing speaker from Peace Now to put an opposite perspective. This is just one of many examples of our commitment as the Machon to presenting a plurality of views from across the Jewish-Zionist spectrum, whether that be religious or political, and encouraging the Machonikim to question, debate, to challenge and be challenged by the material.

A week or so ago we had a week-long desert based Tiyul down the South of the country. Just some of the highlights from this really successful and enjoyable tiyul included a 7 hour hike through the Ramon Crater (one of the world's unique geographical features), a meeting with the Black Hebrews community in Dimona, a night camping out under the stars, a desert bike ride and a snorkelling activity and a disco boat evening in Eilat – very tiring but very worthwhile.

In addition to these elements of the formal programme are of course the things the Machonikim organise for themselves. Again, in the last couple of weeks, there have been a number of events within Israeli society that many of them have attended in their own time. Two weeks ago over 150 of them, including South American Machon, organised to go to the Israel v Greece World Cup Qualifying soccer match in Ramat Gan. Though the game was not the most exciting ever, and though Israel could only draw, the atmosphere, especially during the singing of the Hatikva at the start of the game, we something very special for them. This last weekend quite a number of them spent the weekend in Tel Aviv, many attending a special mock Seder Night for refugees which looked at the meaning of freedom in a modern Israeli context and others attending concerts and other events that took place as the start of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of Tel Aviv as the first Hebrew city. In similar vein, many of them are planning to attend the popular camping and music festival Boombamella which takes place during Pesach.

Overall we the staff find them to be bonding well and generally operating as a very close community with very few cliques. You can see this in all kinds of ways.
In the last week we have also had a couple of Machonikim who have needed to spend a few nights in hospital and it has been great to see their Machon friends, especially from their movement, rallying round to visit them and speak to them on the phone regularly and we really hope that they are both out and fully recovered in time to enjoy their Pesach break.

Finally, the last couple of weeks have seen the clocks go forward to summer time and finally some sustained nice sunny weather in Jerusalem and some of them have now taken to going for a regular morning jog to stay fit. Given that classes start at 8.00am this is certainly impressive!

If any of you are visiting Jerusalem in the coming weeks please do be in contact and feel free to come up to Kiryat Moriah and say hello to us here in the Machon offices.

Best Regards and Chag Pesach Sameach,

Iris Gazit

Director, English speaking Machon

Boneh Update

Shalom from beautiful kibbutz Ein Gev, on the shores of the Kinneret and at the foot of the Golan! Here in this beautiful location, Boneh has been moving along at a brisk pace. The Boneh-nikim have continued along in their Jewish history curriculum for the past three weeks – the last three topics were the origins of the Exile, Jews in the Muslim World and Jews in the Christian World.

During the week of Exile, we looked at how the Jewish people were divided during the late second temple period and how that allowed the Romans to conquer them; with miniature bows and arrows and enacted and debated the Bar Kochba Rebellion; we watched the Rabbis transform Judaism in order to save it and questioned just how fine the points of Talmudic logic could get; and then wrapped it all up with Amos Oz’s understanding of Judaism as a civilization. On film night we watched Monty Python’s Life of Brian to get a feel for the period. That week we also traveled to ancient Tiberias, just across the Kinneret from Ein Gev, to explore an ancient synagogue and Beit Midrash (study house) where the Sanhedrin’s rabbis studied, wrote and completed the writing the Palestinian Talmud. From there, we went on to Jerusalem to meet Machon and many other Masa participants and to enjoy an amazing concert of the Idan Raichel Project!

Then we moved on to learn about Jews in the Muslim world, starting from a look at the Muslim conquest and the new perils and opportunities it brought to the majority of the world’s Jews at that time. We looked at a variety of responses Jews chose to this new situation, and particularly at the strong Rabbinic leadership that eventually reunited the people, including such important figures as Saadia Gaon, Ibn Ezra and particularly the great Moses Maimonides. We then looked at the Golden Age for Jews in Spain under Muslim rule, at the development and progress of Jewish thought at this time, and also at Yehuda Halevi’s poetry which in the face of this good situation still focused so strongly on yearning for Zion. The week was wrapped up by projects – this week it was creating game shows which could be used to teach about Jews in the Muslim World - we enjoyed such creative shows as Hollywood Squares, Taboo and Top Jewish Chef.

This week was interrupted briefly in the middle by Purim, which of course is an opportunity to celebrate! Many Shnatties traveled for the evening, mainly to Holon to celebrate together with the British shnatties, but came back Tuesday afternoon in time to participate in running a Purim carnival for the kibbutz children. The little kids had a great time and the Shnatties had a great chance to meet kibbutzniks and experience the holiday Israel-style. They also prepared a special dance for the kibbutz grownups’ Purim Play which they performed on the Friday night.

Last week we learnt about Jews in the Christian World, focusing on both the Spanish Inquisition and the rise of Polish Jewry. Questions they asked included: “How did the Jewish community look under conditions of freedom and tolerance?” “How did the Golden Age end? What were the reasons the Inquisition happened? What were the external factors going on at the time?” “How did the Jews respond to persecution?” The Boneh-nikim also had a siyur (excursion) to the Diaspora Musuem in Tel Aviv, also known as the Museum of the Jewish People. The museum conveys the story of the Jewish people from the time of their expulsion after the 2nd temple destruction, to the present day and relates to the unique story of the continuity of the Jewish people.

The above questions continue in this weeks’ seminar which looks at both “Shtetl” life and the Emancipation period.

Other highlights of the Boneh tochnit (program) include Hadracha and Israel Update. Hadracha is the leadership course that all Habonim Dror shnatties participate in. Through this course we combine both practical and theory leadership aspects and all that is connected to being a responsible madrich (leader) upon return to Australia or New Zealand. So far this Boneh, we have looked at the concept of groups as opposed to teams, and “reading” a group such that you can appropriately respond and deal with its needs; working as a tzevet (team) which is a crucial aspect of hadracha, basic youth psychology and development, counseling and duty of care; all of which are topics imperative to being in charge for children and young adults. Hadracha classes take place every week, with an additional specialization afternoon to take place in May.

Israel Update also takes place every week, and allows the Boneh-nikim to spend some more time getting to know in depth what is going on in Israeli society today. As you can probably imagine, the focus is mainly on the ever changing political situation given the aftermath of the February elections.

That’s all for now – some pictures to follow soon!