Day Two: Golan Heights

Ein a-Tina

We took a nature hike through one are of the Golan Height region, a park called Ein a-Tina. We waded through a river and up to an irrigation pipe. The farmers aren’t allowed to draw away all the spring’s water for their crops, so on random days they open the pipe’s extension and let water flow free to the surrounding plants. The tan reeds and scrub-like trees surrounding the river seemed perfect for lions and straight out of a religious painting. (Which is naïve of me to say, of course, as this is Israel, after all).  It was actually several days before I saw green grass.

 We were out here at the same time as many native Israelis were vacationing. Hassidic Jews waded into the water in full skirts and headscarves for women, pressed black pants and white button-downs for men. I’m told boys don’t cut their hair until they are three years old, and then they leave just the front curls untouched. If their hair grows straight, they twist it into curls.

Droze, a minority religious group, live in this area. They are very secretive and one can only read the holy book after converting. I wonder if anyone leaves after realizing what the beliefs they’d signed on to actually are.  

(Another very secretive group is a Jewish mysticism sect which only men who were over 40, married with kids, and very religious were allowed to read the holy book). 

Day One: kibbutz, Ceasarea, Baha'i Gardens

On the first day, we stopped by kibbutz, one of the community-run farms, for brunch. I’d read that the kibbutz had become so financially successful in Israel that it was starting to tear them apart: now that the communities brought in money enough for necessities and more, disagreements were arising over how to spend the surplus. If you don’t have much money, it’s easy to choose to spend it on food. If you have extra, it’s harder to decide buying stocks versus a new car versus anything else.

 I don’t know anything specific on how this kibbutz was run. It was a pretty site of low white buildings and greenery, but we met few Israelis. 

Next up was the amphitheater in Ceasarea (below photo),  once a notable Roman seaport.

Then to the Baha’i Gardens. At the time, I’m not sure we knew much about the place besides that it was holy, lush, and immaculately maintained.  This garden, I read in my guide book, was made to mark the tomb of a Baha’i spiritual leader.

Israel Birthright: Jew-ish

This trip is long overdue for a write up, and I’m afraid my memories are a bit jumbled. Still I’ve got my notes, so let’s see what I can spin from a ten days in Israel last August . . .

Jew-ish

I told a classmate that I only celebrate a secular version of Hanukkah, and that’s only when my family remembers.

“That’s not so bad,” he said, “Hanukkah’s not a very important holiday.”

What I’d meant was that was the only Jewish thing I did.

Thanks to my half Russian Jew ancestry, I qualified to go on the birthright trip with a close college friend. The night before our flight, we used an ironing board to barricade the door of our slightly seedy hotel, located in the middle of a sea of concrete that is now my only image of Newark, New Jersey.

Up until I was seated on the plane to Israel, I was afraid that someone would call me out as a fake Jew and kick me to the street. Certainly, it was intimidating. The Israel Outdoors phone interview was followed up by a close questioning at the airport. Both coming and going, Israel security quizzed us on topics ranging from if we had friends in Palestine, to what our grandfathers’ names were (“Buell”, apparently, was innocuous enough). I was relieved to find a baptized and communioned girl on my trip: finally, someone more tenuously Jewish than me.

Rumors abound about the birthright trips, and I entered expecting the whole thing to be a grand (and very generous) recruitment effort to convert me to active Judaism and to putting down roots in Israel. I’d even heard that the trips paired each of us up with an opposite gender soldier, in an attempt to seduce us into staying (Myth: busted). My mindset was, “Israel, thank you so much for this trip! Also, you don’t own me!”

Traveler’s Tips

My guide book for this time was Insight Guide’s Israel. This one's particularly great in the photos arena,  and some nice cultural info. It's drawback is that it occasionally tries a little too hard to put a positive spin on all aspects of Israel.