Remeber how I said that I finally have some interesting stuff to write about now? Well, that's because we took a trip to the Negev and the city of Sderot. The general theme of the trip was learning about the periphery of Israel and the different issues which accompany this region of the country. For those who are not familiar, the Negev is the name of the desert region in the south(in hebrew it means 'dry'), which comprises more than half of the land in Israel. It's incredibly beautiful, hot as hell, in desperate need of water, and lacking in development (for the reasons just mentioned).
We started off with a visit to Ben Gurion University and met with the President of the university. That was nice. Then we visited a unique industrial park which was founded by Stef Wertheimer. (You can read about him and his industrial park model here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stef_Wertheimer#Industrial_parks).
Afterwards, we went to the Abu Basma Regional Council. This is basically an organization/body which is trying to deal with the issue of the Beduins in the South. Before this trip, I really didn't know anything at all about the Beduins of Israel (except that they have camels and very delicious tea). Historically, the beduins were a nomadic people of the region. They are not 'Palestinian', nor are they exactly Muslim (that is, they have their own unique traditions which are not necessarily based on the sharia). There are actually 2 sectors of Beduins in Israel -the ones in the North and the ones in the South. The northern beduins are much more assimilated, less severe in their traditions, and more integrated with modern society. The beduins of the south, however, are much more traditionalist and have not really accepted modernity. Many beduins are invovled in crime, such as theft (EXTREMELY prevalent), drug trafficking, human trafficking, and violence. They accept money from the state but do not really recognize Israel. There is much you can write about this whole situation, so to make a long story short - the Beduins of the south are a serious problem which nobody wants to touch with a 10 foot pole! (seriously). Anymoo - so we visited this organization which is trying to somehow deal with this whole situation.
Continuing with our Beduin theme, we visited a beduin town called Likia. Here, we met with a Beduin woman who is spearheading an organization which is trying to bring about some form of rights (nevermind equality) to beduin women. [As I mentioned, the southern beduins are very traditional. This means that their society is extremely male-dominated. For example, women cannot go anywhere without their husband (or a male family member), they do not work, typically end their schooling after the 8th grade, and have restrictions on who they can marry. A man, on the other hand, can have up to 4 wives.]
So this woman (who'se name I don't remember, sorry), has started several projects. She put together a library, works with the local female community in terms of education, and has provided employment opportunities for women through the craft of embroidery. Traditional embroidery has been a part of the beduin culture, and now these women sell their crafts while getting their message out. She told us a story of how she wanted to take a group of women to the sea - without any male accompaniment. She got a phonecall threatening to burn her house down if she went through with the trip. She decided to go afterall, and her house was indeed burnt down. This just goes to show what this organization is up against. Clearly, bringing about change is no easy task. That's it for day one. (This is me with a cup of Beduin tea -- yummmm!)
The next morning we wake up at 5:30am (that's right - BEFORE dawn) and go for a hike in the Negev. It was absolutely beautiful! And the most amazing part - was that it was GREEN!!! There were dunes covered in yellow and purple flowers, and we got to spend some time sitting on our own little sand hill and enjoy the silence of the desert. Well worth the lack of sleep!
After a nap and lunch, we went over to Ben Gurion's tomb and house. Ben Gurion had a great love and intimate connection with the Negev. He had a lot of things to say about it (which I won't go into - but its very interesting and there is much written about the topic). BG's tomb (and his wife's) are incredibly modest and are on a point which overlooks the Negev. In his will, Ben Gurion requested that his house be preserved as is and become a museum. Walking through the rooms tells much of his personality and passions. He knew 9 languages, would stand on his head every day as part of his health regiment(no joke), was fascinated with Buddhism (spent 3 days in a Buddhist monestary living with the monks), slept no more than 3-4 hours per night (he thought sleeping was a waste of time, and perhaps most importantly - deeply deeply loved Israel! Really a fascinating character.
This was followed by a visit to a 'student village'. Basically, a couple of guys -after finishing the army - decided to initiate this housing project where students can live in wonderful apartments, pay very low rent, and get help with tuition - but in return, must volunteer 10 hours per week in the community and help work the land which this student village is situated on. After studying, the government offers to help subsidize mortgages for people who buy homes in the Negev. The idea is to slowly populate the Negev. By having people contribute to the community as well as invest a part of themselves in the land, they (hopefully) develop a connection to the Negev. So far it has been very successful and is very well organized. I mention this in the blog because it's truly remarkable how much spirit, passion, and dedication these people really have. It's like Zionism of the 21st century! I personally couldn't live there, but it was incredibly inspiring to see something built out of nothing. Not just physical houses but a legitimate and significant movement in its budding stages.
The last day was the most emotional. We got to Sderot and met this guy named Jacob Shrybman, who works for the Sderot Media Center (http://sderotmedia.org.il/). This organization is basically trying to let the world and israel know what people have actually been dealing with for the past 9 years in Sderot. Over
12,000 rockets have fallen on the city! Government has only recently been subsidizing the building of bomb shelters for residents. People can't leave because the value of property in Sderot has dropped by over 50% (I mean think about it... who the hell would want to buy a house that is most likely going to get hit by a rocket anyways?!). So most people are stuck. A generation of children has been growing up in this horrendous environment. There is a bomb shelter every 15 seconds, because that's how much time you have before the rocket hits. Now think about the implications of this.... How do you hear the alarm if you are in the shower? how do you go to the bathroom? how can you go grocery shopping? what if you sleep through the alarm at night? (that's redundant because nobody there has really slept in 9 years). How do you let your kids go play or go to school? The most fundamental aspects of life are completely mutilated because at any momment, a rocket could be launched and all you have is 15 seconds to pray that it doesn't hit you! I really can't imagine a situation any more fucked up than this. It's ABSOLUTELY disgusting and unbelievable.
**some of the many Kassam rockets**
**bus stop**
**That long catapillar is actually a bomb shelter for children to run into**
We also went onto a lookout point from which you can see northern Gaza. Unfortunately it was a bit foggier than usual (normally you can see the cars driving and everything). Never the less, it is RIDICULOUS how close Gaza is to Sderot. 2 miles!!! Can you imagine living 2 miles away from a place which is shooting rockets at you?!?! It was totally sureal to see it. Jacob pointed out the high-rise buildings which Arafat constructed from international aid money. You could see the power-plant in Ashkelon (which provides 70% of the electricity to Gaza) that was also rocketed. It's
extremely difficult to understand the proximity of all these things until you see it with your own eyes. It's just unbelievable. Scary.
Our last stop on the trip was a meeting with a woman by the name of Rachel Saperstein. She and her family were evacuated (or as she says, expelled) out of their home in Gush Katif (Gaza) during the 2005 disengagement. Her husband lost his right arm in the Yom Kipur war. Her oldest daughter was on a bus which was blown up by a suicide bomber (luckily she survived). And then her husband lost several fingers on his left hand and was shot in the leg after a palestinian shot up his car in Gush Katif. Then the government pulled her out of her house and stuck her and her husband in a hotel room for 9 months. Now she is living in a special settlement specially designated for ex-Gush Katif residents. One of the guys in our group asked her if she feels like a refugee and she said yes. She's pissed, has lost much faith and trust in the government, and is not too optimistic about reconciling with the Palestinians. I asked her if she would have felt differently about the situation if peace would have resulted from the pull-out. She said: "It didn't. there is no peace. and that's the only thing that counts. don't be naieve - they want to kill us." Just like everything else we experienced on this trip, there is much to say about the situation and not enough room (or energy) to do so. The point is though, that regardless of how you may feel about the government's decision to evacuate Gaza, it is undeniable that this ruined family and severly damaged the spirit of these people.
So that was my trip in a nut-shell! I'm hoping to do a lot more traveling, now that the weather is turning up.
Hope I didn't exhaust you all with this long entry.
Will be writing you soon about my first experience at a wedding and running the Jerusalem 10k race! weeeeee :-D
All the best to everyone!!!
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