May 21, 2010
WIZO MISSION 2010
MAY 10, 2010
This morning Tzfat woke us up with its unimaginable aura of mysticism and serene beauty. The view from our picturesque hotel was breathtaking. After a delicious Israeli breakfast we walked for two hours down the winding roads of Tzfat. We were swept away by its endless art galleries, the colorful painting of every municipal cover of electrical equipment by local artists and the aroma of the exotic spices used by Yemenite cooks preparing their delicious breads in the streets.
From there we visited Qatzir, the “capital” of the Golan Heights. We saw an amazing 3D presentation and we learned about the different historic periods proving the presence of Jews in the area prior to that of other groups. We had a delicious lunch at the Brewery, center of production of a first class beer. In the afternoon we had a private visit to a center that manufactures night vision instruments mainly for the IDF. We all got to try the gear and enjoyed the interesting explanations by the chief engineer of the plant . At 5:00 pm we headed to our cherished WIZO Nir Haemek School and Youth Village. More than 200 children where there to greet us and the whole World WIZO Executive Board joined us for a most meaningful afternoon. To see those once lost, troubled children dancing and singing with such joy and enthusiasm warms one’s heart in an instant. We met our dear friend Yoshi Goshen, former principal of Nir Haemek and its new director, Esti Cohen to whom we wished all the best. Later we visited the Rohr Synagogue where so many of our Florida donors have chosen to honor their loved ones with beautiful dedications. From there we attended a basketball game for handicapped players from Afula against their counterparts from Tel Aviv. The beautiful gym stands where two years ago there was nothing but an old room, and the children had to travel through the dangerous roads of Afula to practice in a rented gym 30 minutes away. The golden brooch was the barbecue that we offer for all the teachers and administrators on the roof of the Science Lab, while the 200 children downstairs enjoyed a great grill for themselves. The feeling of camaraderie was evident when we left and everyone exchanged hugs and kisses as we have known each other forever. It is funny, but in a way we do. We are all together working for this wonderful cause in favor of the children and women of Israel.
MAY 11, 2010
What a day today! We woke up really early and went to Palmachim, the second largest air base in the country. The Koplowitz donated a center for the children of the officers and pilots that live in the base. They were so thankful for the difference a social center makes in their isolated lives. From there we went to our day care center in Rishon Le Tzion, one of the first projects we started more than 20 years ago. As we opened the door, the children came out of a room as in a formal parade playing instruments and singing to the top of their lungs. They were just adorable. We spoke with the teachers and helpers and we noticed how ran down everything is, especially the bathrooms and kitchen, and right there we decided to start a new campaign to renovate this vital center of care for children of mostly single parent families. At 1:00 pm they were expecting us at Better Place, an amazing project of battery switching stations network for electrical cars, born and developed in Israel. With more than 750 million dollars in private contributions, this project has grown by leaps and bounds since 2008 and promises to be a worldwide phenomenon in the planet's search of an option for gasoline. The presentation was fascinating and then we were able to test drive the prototypes. Check it out at www.betterplace.com because it is really worth it.
From there we separated into two groups: the guys went to Eli, a 700-family settlement embroidered with the most beautiful trees and flowers, and surrounded by one of the most spectacular views in Israel. The women went to visit our Miami Beach center in Ramat Gan, It is the hub of social and cultural activities in town. WIZO just inaugurated the third floor through the generosity of the Falic Family. Over 20 girls prepared a hip hop dance for us in the beautiful gym. After numerous presentations, we ran outside since we were getting ready to leave for Eli and meet the guys. There, more than 200 parents and children were waiting to thank us for supporting this center that is so important in their lives. We invited everyone for pizza and ice cream and between endless hugs and kisses we left for Eli. When one gets there, even the air that one breaths feels different. The sense of freedom, devotion to the land, fraternity, readiness to give your life to protect it all are almost palpable. You can see it in everyone's eyes, in their firm grip, in their reticence to smile followed by a short silence and then a most friendly grin. Everyone has lost a son, a father, two children. Everyone has a heartbreaking story that far from paralyzing them gives them an almost heroic strength to go on, for themselves and for their country. They prepared for us the most amazing barbecue in a gazebo overlooking the valley. At the end of the delicious dinner, Yechiel Leiter came as a surprise speaker to say a few words. Leiter was Deputy Director General of Israel's Ministry of Education and Chief of Staff to Benjamin Netanyahu at Israel's Ministry of Finance. He once came to Miami to speak for us and he was equally passionate and thorough in his feelings and views. Just when we were ready to go to sleep, Simon gave us the news that he had got us seats at the Mercaz HaRav Yeshiva where the government officially declares the opening of Yom Yerushalayim festivities. That is the yeshiva where 8 students were killed by a terrorist while studying at the Library. Off we went and when we got there we could not believe our eyes. Hundreds of students dressed in white were dancing in the street outside the Yeshiva with a huge screen showing the ceremony going on inside. We came in like a group of movie stars, surrounded by security, and had the opportunity to participate in this majestic ceremony that celebrates the reunification of Jerusalem and much, much more. After the Major of Jerusalem spoke, surrounded by rabbis and professors, Prime Minister Netanyahu made his entrance to the joy of all present. From his whole speech translated to me by Linda Cohen, I will not forget his last words: You think you came here today to give me strength. But relax, it is the other way around. I am the one that will support you with all my might. Words of a true leader. It was exhausting,, so so exciting and wonderful. May tomorrow continue just like today.
Good night.
MAY 12, 2010
Today was Yom Yerushalayim. We started the day with a private visit to the most recent excavations facing the Kotel. We actually got to see a section of one of the walls of the First Temple. Just staring at it left one speechless. We proceeded to visit the Hurva, one of the most ancient synagogues of Jerusalem. The renovation project took several years but the final result is simply amazing. We went up the exterior staircase to a narrow balcony that surrounds the building and from there the view of the old city was majestic. Slowly. dozens of students started appearing in the different plazas with their flags and banners, in preparation for the afternoon parade. They all sang different melodies at the same time and their voices got together by the wind and seemed to come up to us as a wonderful song. After a walk down the Jewish Quarter, we had lunch at Bein Hakshatot, a restaurant set up inside a cave close to the Kotel. The ceiling is extremely tall, the tables are made of glass and the food is gourmet kosher at its best. After lunch came the surprise: go get your passport, Prime Minister Netanyahu is expecting us in his office at 4:00 pm! We ran to the hotel and before 4:00 pm we were all in our best behavior in the waiting area of Netanyahu's office at the Knesset. Once in the conference room, we were greeted by the Prime Minister Spokesperson, a charming Australian who introduced us to his closest staff. Moments later, Netanyahu came into the room after having a vital meeting with the former Prime Minister of Spain who will now be the President of the EU -a very important contact for the State of Israel. He spoke uncharacteristically softly because he said he had an important speech shortly thereafter. He asked us to make questions and we did. In summary he said he is confident that the Israeli economy will come out strong after this period of world crisis and he downplayed any discrepancy with the current US administration stating that Israel has a tight relationship with the US for too many years and that this is just a temporary situation that does not represent the feeling of Middle America. He said that Iran is no longer OUR problem but a world problem, except that the world realized it a little too late. He does not believe that sanctions will make any difference at this point but they certainly prove that the UN is on the right track. The meeting was friendly, informative and emotional for all of us. We could not believe we were sitting there chatting with the Prime Minister of Israel in the most informal setting. Thank you Simon.
From the Knesset we all got our WIZO and Israeli flags and went singing and dancing in the streets of Jerusalem towards the Kotel, along with 100,000 other Jewish souls. The feeling was overwhelming. We smiled at strangers and each other with incredible joy. We were here, in Yom Yerushalayim, celebrating life. What else can one ask for? nce at the Kotel, we went up to the balcony that overlooks the big plaza and from there we wave our flags and sang with the crowd that kept growing by the minute. At some point, we heard that the access to the Kotel was closed and looking up, one could see hundreds of people in every balcony, terrace and staircase, trying to catch a glimpse of the festivities. There was a great band that played very popular songs. All the yeshiva students jumped and sang along in total frenzy. As it got darker, the color of the flags became brilliant and the scene was almost surreal. Close to total physical and emotional exhaustion, we went to dinner at the Ohel Yitzchak, an ancient synagogue renovated by the Moskowitz family. Afterwards, we watched an incredible movie about three soldiers that fought during the 1967 war, where they explained their personal feelings back when they finally reached the Wall. One of them was the radio operator that we all heard yelling "We have reached the Wall! We are here! We are here!" There was a deep silence in the room when the movie was over. There's only so much a Jewish heart can take in. An absolutely unforgettable day.
MAY13, 2010
Dear all,
Wednesday was Yom Yerushalayim; Thursday was Yom Hebron. Twenty four hours after our soldiers reached the Western Wall, they continued to Hebron and without firing a single shot, they took nack the city of Hebron, the cave of the Patriarchs, the soul of the Jewish people. I that day, we traveled in a time capsule 1,600 years ago as we visited Susia, the archaeological jewel of Israel. After excavation efforts started forty years ago, the remnants of the village are out in the open, with an amazing synagogue at its center. The tour guide is a potter who recites verbatim full passages of the Torah that for the first time made sense to many of us. Jews used to live in caves where the temperature is permanently 15 degrees Fahrenheit -during the harsh winters and the suffocating summers. With the material that they removed to dig the caves, they built their homes outside where they used to live also in the open. All the caves were connected to the synagogue in case of attack by "animals in two or four legs" as the tour guide told us. The funniest part was to find a plaque, big and intact, where a family is acknowledged for having made a contribution in honor of their son's bar mitzvah! over 1,600 years ago! I wonder who was the caterer! Nobody knows what happened to the inhabitants of this village -maybe lack of water or an endemic malady, but its most important testament is that EVERYTHING is written in the same Hebrew that is spoken today, thus showing once again that the most ancient buildings in the area are of Jewish origin. From Susia we went to visit the Falic Goat Farm. Even though we got there almost two hours behind schedule, Hashem prepared the most unbelievable spectacle for us: as we walked in, we heard the screams of a goat giving birth to her baby. Everyone surrounded the animal and watched in awe, cheering her on, as she struggled along. But all of a sudden, a man approached her and removed the newborn and shook his head indicating to us that it was a stillborn. There was a sudden silence, everyone stopped taking photographs and video, and we simply turned around and went to visit the upper floor of the farm. Not two minutes went by when someone yelled "she's having another baby! We had pretended as if the failed birth had never happened but you should have seen us all, grown men and women with watery eyes witnessing once again the miracle of life. And that’s the way it is: sometimes joy is taken away from us in the blink of an eye and then, when we least expect it, we experience indescribable happiness once again. That was our miracle of the farm. No one wanted to leave. A sweet, peaceful kind of joy overcame us as we watched the baby stand on her fours, under the loving care of her mother who kissed her and leaked her incessantly -we have to start from the premise that that was a Jewish Goat farm!. After tasting delicious goat cheeses and yogurts, we watched the automatic process of milking of the goats and some of us even tried it ourselves! From there we went to Kyriat Arba where Rabbi Horowitz from the local Yeshiva was waiting for us with his usual, kind smile. The streets were festive with flags honoring THE WIZO WOMEN. Inside the yeshiva, a band of students played for us and after lunch, a group of more than 20 Ethiopian students received their own tefilim from the hands of Rabbi Lipskar and our husbands. You should have seen their faces beaming with pride. Before our arrival, each one of them had decorated the bags of their tefilim as if they were their most precious belongings. This is part of a program that our dear Rabbi initiated in Miami a long time ago. May Hashem bless you, Rabbi, on behalf of those children.
Afterwards, we drove to Hebron. On the way, a tractor with open roof was driving down the road with the Arab father and his six children, enjoying the sun and the wind in their faces, while we were nervously riding in an armored bus. As Simon noted, this is one of the absurdities of Israel today. In Hebron, we visited homes that were attacked by their neighbors across a small valley, with the bullet holes in the front to prove it. Like in Eli, everyone has a sad story behind them, and a look of determination that is unsurpassed. They refuse to build walls or fences, they say it is a sign of weakness for the Arabs. And they refuse to lose their freedom to deter the enemy. We met Baruch Marzel, leader of the National Jewish Front who has dedicated his life to reclaiming this area for the Jewish people. Whether one agrees with his views or not, his words were passionate and inspiring. The modesty in which he lives with his family legitimizes his devotion to the cause. The whole group was pensive and emotionally affected by what we saw and breathed in this town of heroes.From Hebron we rushed to the Tower of David where we watched the most amazing light show depicting the history of Jerusalem. Utilizing all the buildings that are part of the Tower as giant screens, an endless parade of images are projected against their walls, accompanied by vibrant music. There are no bad seats in the house. The public seats in the lowest area of the central courtyard and everyone enjoys the show in awe. Even my daughter Melissa, quite a techie herself, told me that the quality of the show was better than Avatar! You see the ancient Jews, Romans, the Byzantine Period conquerors, the Crusaders, Turks and British in their attempts to hold on to Jerusalem. But we prevailed. And at the end of the show, Jana stood up and started singing the Hatikva at the top of her lungs. The whole crowd followed her and the courtyard was filled with its beautiful melody. Hundreds of voices saying "this is our land!" Dinner at one of Jerusalem's best, Gabriel -had to have my son's name. Filet mignon, great wine and company. All of a sudden...surprise! Natan Sharanski came to share dinner with us, courtesy of Simon. He is still the same approachable, affable guy who is the symbol of freedom for millions of Jews in the world. With his green safari jacket and hat, he shook hands with all of us, thanked WIZO for its noble work in Israel and seemed humbled by the words of recognition by Jana and Rabbi Lipskar. An example of dignity and devotion to the Jewish community around the world.
Til tomorrow!
MAY 14, 2010
Friday was a glorious day in Jerusalem. Early in the morning, most of the group went on an unforgettable Segway trip down the most colorful pathway overlooking Ir David, the old city of Jerusalem. We had so much fun trying first to domesticate the two-wheeled animals. They concentrated us in a restricted area where we all tried to learn how to move forward, stop, accelerate and turn. Number one distinction, by far, goes to our Founding President Mercedes Ivcher who could not get enough speed and fun out of her Segway. She was laughing and yelling to all of us "relax! Don’t be chickens! This is the best ever!" And we did, and it was fantastic. Following each other at a safe distance we mastered the curves and the smooth hills with its ups and downs. We stopped every so often to try to absorb the view, the colors, the fragrance of the most beautiful flowers that adorned this endless park. Our guide described the origins of many of Jerusalem neighborhoods and surrounding areas. We could even see Jordan in the distance. He told us stories of courage and heroism as we recovered our breath and started wondering how much was the real estate these days in this enchanted city... On the way back, and inspired by the light show of the night before, we passed other tourists walking on our pathway accompanied by some boring tour guide, and we yelled "watch out! Here come the Romans in their chariots!" It was the funniest thing as everyone looked at us wandering why they did not come with the WIZO Mission instead. Delicious lunch at the Begin Museum followed and right there we took the guided tour that was priceless. It depicts the life of Menachem Begin with solemnity and intimacy at once. Innumerable pictures, reproductions of his offices, the original modest living room where he conducted the business of the nation up until the time he was elected Prime Minister 29 years after arriving at Eretz Israel. A sweet and sour story, embroidered with the deep love he felt for his wife, his country, his people. Some of his speeches are reproduced and it is truly worthy reading them. One of his statements will remain in my heart forever: "We are here not for the right of might, but for the might of right." After the first afternoon off we went to the Kotel and from there to the Falic's home where we were invited for Shabbat dinner. Since the beautiful house overlooks all Jerusalem, I cannot think of a more befitting way to close the Mission. The weather was simply perfect; Jana filled her house with flowers, modern dinner settings over tables spread from the terrace to the garden. Many members of the Falic and Levi families were there as well, since we are celebrating the upshearin of Joseph, one of Jana's grandchildren on Sunday. Everyone said a few words, some related to the Mission, some to the family reunion. But most of all, we were all thankful for the joy of celebrating Shabbat in Medinat Israel.
Shabbat Shalom
MAY 15, 2010
Shabbat was as quiet as it should be. Some people went to morning services and some decided to go for a walk or simply stay in and read. Lunch was at the Mount Zion hotel, built in 1884 as a hospital and transformed into a hotel in 1945. It has an incredible atmosphere and one can find historic memorabilia at every turn. As the Mission came to an end, it was evident that its legacy are the warm hugs that replaced the almost formal kisses when we first met at the airport; we went from making small talk with those we were not close to, to long walks together, laughter and relevant conversation. Its legacy is that we are all happier than ever to be part of WIZO and to feel energized and more committed than ever to continue working for our children and women of Israel.
We hope you enjoyed this compilation as much as we enjoyed the trip.
Join us in 2012. it will only get better and better!
Jana Falic Judit Groisman
Proud Co-chairpersons WIZO Mission 2010