A Trip From The Past To The Future

It had been 51 years since I last stepped foot in the cities of Lod/Lydd/Lydda and Ramla. I was 16, and along with 20+ other teens was living just down the road for the summer at Ben Shemen youth village. We were exchange students through what is now called Heller High/EIE and would walk to Lod, or if feeling lazy, take the bus to one of those towns for the afternoon. We studied Hebrew as a group, but worked in the fields with the residents of Ben Shemen as we prepared to spend the fall semester with our Israeli families.

Lod and Ramla were exotic. Arabs and Jews living together. We never even thought about whether the waiters in the cafes were Muslims, Christians, or Jews. We practiced our broken Hebrew on them and they smiled at our efforts (or maybe they were laughing at us.) I kept that idyllic 16-year-old’s vision of Lod and Ramla until about 9 years ago when I read Avi Shavit’s book  My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel.

In his book, Shavit describes the 1948 massacre and expulsion of the Arabs in Lod, perpetrated in part by Israeli soldiers, some of whom were from Ben Shemen. He talks about the thousands of Palestinian residents of Lod who were forced into the main mosque and St. George's church. He places us in the mind of the scared teenage soldier, who fired a rocket into the mosque killing hundreds of men, women, and children. The idyllic vision was shattered. So, when I saw that one of the field trips included in my program at the Shalom Hartman Institute was going to Lod, I immediately signed up.

Physically, Lod had barely changed in 51 years, but the reality on the ground had. We met our guide Dror Rubin at the Lod Chicago Community Center in the Ramat Eshkol (the old city neighborhood of Lod.) Dror is the Director of Inter-Community Partnership for the Center and since 2016, he has been a senior facilitator for “Search for Common Ground”, one of the world’s largest organizations for peace building. After a brief introduction and history lesson, we walked to the newest public building and museum in Lod, The Mosaic Museum which embodied much of the reality of today’s Lod, even though it is not the mission of the museum.

When contractors were excavating to lay a new water line twenty-five years ago, they discovered a large, intricate mosaic from the period when Lod was the headquarters of the Roman Legion. Archeologists determined that it was from the house of a merchant who lived next door to the headquarters. You can see the damage the excavator did in the pictures, but fortunately, it was left largely intact. The mosaic was preserved and some American donors decided to build a home for the Mosaic in Lod, near where it was found. The museum was completed and ready to open when the riots of May 2021 began. Here in the city where St. George, who Christian tradition says slew the dragon is buried, the dragon fires burned again. Responsibility for the riots and the atrocities that were committed, lay with both Palestinians and Israelis and some tensions simmer to this day. Early in the riots, the windows of the Mosaic Museum were shattered and Molotov cocktails hurled inside. What was supposed to be a symbol of unity and a home for some economic growth, was shattered. Thankfully the damage was minimal but it took 14 months for the museum to finally open. We were among the first visitors from outside the city.

Standing outside the museum, we met Hilda Kadasa Bahalul,

who for the past twenty years, has been working as a consultant and facilitator of women's groups. For the past ten years, she has been working as a community coordinator for the Arab community in Lod. She is an amazing woman who creates activities for Arab women and works for civil rights for Palestinians that live in Israel but are not citizens. While she is an Israeli citizen, because she was born in Gaza, she has an understanding of the issues the non-citizens face. She told us uplifting stories about women whom she had helped leave abusive relationships, and about a program she created to teach young girls and women how to ride bicycles.

She also talked about the struggles she and other Palestinian women have faced. At age 52 she is about to complete her B.A. in Humanities at Ariel University3d and is helping others like her find advanced educational programs. Hilda also spoke to us about how her daughter has had to postpone her wedding because neither family could afford a venue large enough to hold the celebration. 

Spontaneously, twenty plus "wealthy" American rabbis were pulling 100 NIS notes to help her pay her tuition and for her daughter's wedding. She refused to take the money unless we told her it could be used to help pay for the programs she runs. We readily agreed to let this remarkable woman use the funds as she saw fit.

Back at the community center, we heard from three other speakers. Rami Younis, who is making a film entitled "Lydd in Exile" that describes the events of 1948 from a purely Palestinian perspective. He was forthright in telling us that his film was totally biased and one-sided.

Lod, and other small Israeli towns, are seeing the establishment of Zionist-Religious settlers (i.e. Hardi Jews) moving in. Their stated goal is to buy homes and property from Palestinians and make these cities 100% Jews. Lod is a major focus of these settlers and this, in part, contributed to the May, 2021 riots. Rabbi Yehuda Gilad, principal of the settlers’ high school came to talk to us and it felt like he came from a different reality. From his perspective, there was no conflict between Arabs and Jews in Lod, and there never had been. While he did not use the term "fake news", it was implicit in his words that any talk of conflict was just that, fake news. He claimed that they were moving into Lod because housing there was cheaper than the cities, especially nearby Tel Aviv, which is true, but he totally ignored the reality that they only bought property that belonged to Arabs, often at higher than normal prices to incentivize the Palestinians to sell their homes and leave town.

Our final speaker was Mine Abu Luban, a Palestinian member of the Ramla city council. He talked about Ramla as a different reality. years before the Zionist-Religious settlers began arriving in Ramla, the community had established a religious leadership council consisting of the local Muslim, Christian, and Jewish senior clergy. Thus, when the settlers began to arrive and advocate for free reign in moving out Arabs from their homes, the religious leadership council stepped forward as a united body to oppose them. This slowed, but did not stopped the takeover by the settlers, and, when the May, 2021 riots began, the council was able to promote dialog and minimize the rioting and its impact. We did not go to Ramlah, but our tour leaders reassured us that what he said was true.

We concluded our time in Lod with a walking tour back to our bus. Normally, St. George's Church (1260 C.E.) is closed to the public, but a group of Christian pilgrims were visiting so it was open and we were able to see the incredible beauty that was within. Unfortunately, we were not able to see St. George's tomb.

St. George's is next door to one of the main mosques in Lod and down the street from a row of synagogues representing the different ethnic Jewish communities of Lod, Ashkenazi to Sefaradi, Bene Menashe to Yemenite. Fifty-one years ago, one of the most moving times at Ben Shemen was when our leaders took us to Lod on Tisha B'Av and we went from synagogue to synagogue experiencing the rich diversity of the Jewish communities there.

Three-quarters of my life have passed since I was last in Lod. My memories of seeing it through the eyes of an idealistic, "innocent" 16-year-old will never leave me. In 1971, I learned to see Israel, not in black and white, but rather in grays. Through the years, I have learned to see Israel through a prism and take in the multitude of colors that is its reality; the glory and the tragedy, the incredible progress and how much work still needs to be done.

May Israel and her residents know shalom uv'racha - peace and blessings.

Back Home In Jerusalem

As I sit here on the hotel patio under the shade of an umbrella and feel the refreshing Jerusalem breeze, I marvel that it has been over three years since I was last in Jerusalem. I signed up to attend the Shalom Hartman Rabbinic Summer Program for the summer of 2020, which thanks to COVID, was cancelled in both 2020 and 2021. Arriving here last Friday, I let out a long held breath and an ease began to settle on me. A feeling of being in my second home.

Since classes do not start until tomorrow (July 5,) I have been free to just walk the city. Much has changed here in these past three years, let alone in the 46 years since I lived here. On the simplest level, as the city has grown, the number of bus routes has grown exponentially. Most of Jaffa Road has been taken over by the light rail. Yet, Jaffa Rd. also remains the same, even from 46 years ago as many of the same stores are still there and open for business.

I have spent the past three days re-exploring the parts of the city I’ve always loved. From Machaneh Yehudah to the interior of the Jaffa Gate, from the dozens of parks just off King David Street to the cafes along King George, to First Station (the old Jerusalem train station). The aromas and flavors are the same, The languages have changed. I’ve heard no Russian so far, and not as much English.

To prepare for this summer, I’ve been taking online Hebrew lessons through the Rosen School at Hebrew University. Today I had a real blessing. The class starts at 8:00 PM Albuquerque time which is 5:00 in the morning in Israel. For some reason I woke up about 4:30 this morning so I decided to sign into the class and am very glad I did. None of the other students signed on so our teacher and I spent the hour just talking. Unlike walking the streets here where I’m immediately spotted for the American I am and people default to English, Ronit and I spent the entire hour conversing in Hebrew. The conversation showed me both how much Hebrew I’ve actually retained over the years as well as reinforcing how much Hebrew I’ve forgotten. As they say, use it or lose it. 

While I have reconnected over dinner with colleagues I haven’t seen in decades, essentially I am here alone as Michele doesn’t arrive until the 13th. Over the past three days I’ve walked over 20 miles and today is not over yet. The sounds of the city remain the same. Okay, to be honest, there is more traffic noise. What a pleasure to be someplace where it is safe to walk most everywhere. The drivers may honk impatiently at each other, but if you are waiting at a crosswalk, the drivers proactively stop to let you cross. Even the so-called rude Israeli drivers respect those of us who travel by foot.

Memories and reminders are flooding back. Not just the places I frequented over the years but more reminders of people. I stopped for a soda at a restaurant that a kind older colleague invited me to join him and his daughter after Shabbat services. I walked by the old Bezalel Academy buildings and thought of a former student who took his year abroad to study in their dance program. Sweetness fills the air.

It is good to be back home and odd to not be home. But that is the way it is here in a place which is still struggling with own multiverse of identities. The air is sweet, the memories sweeter, and the promise of new experiences even sweeter yet.

Antarctica part 3 - Life on a Zodiac

My apologies for taking so long to post part 3. Internet on the ship was very limited and the journey home took us 23 hours. 

I begin the meat of the post, I want to acknowledge our ships crew, especially the captain, Andriy Domanin. Captain Domanin is from Ukraine. I can only imagine his, and the other Ukrainian crew's feelings and concern for family, friends, and country when the ship received the news of the Russian invasion. Our hearts were with them all.

Our four days going up and down the Western Side of the Antarctic Peninsula consisted of two zodiac trips a day. On the first and last days one of the trips was just touring up and down the coast and around the islands. All the other trips involved landings.

The first trip was pretty miserable. It was a zodiac tour around some islands in Cierva Cove. Everyone was pretty miserable. It rained, snowed, and sleeted the whole trip as we navigated through 5 foot swells. My waterproof gloves were not waterproof enough and my rain pants, that I'd had since Alaska, were so old they shredded. Thankfully, I was able to get some duct tape to hold them together until the ship could find me an alternate pair! Thankfully, my long underwear and wool socks from my Anchorage days were great. 

That afternoon we arrived at Mikkelson Harbour, the home of an Argentinean research station. The sun was out, the seas were calm and the seals and penguins were everywhere as we first step foot on the seventh continent. Our faith in the decision to take this trip had been restored!

Rather than try and describe the beauty of the trip, here are the list of other stops we made and the rest of the post will be photos and videos: Lion Sound, Useful Island, Neko Harbour, Cuverville Island, Davis Island, and Hydruga Rock.

And now the videos and pictures!

Antarctica pt 2 - The Drake Passage

People on the SilverSea passenger Facebook page warned us that to cross the Drake Passage we would need scopalene patches, wrist bands and seasickness pills.  We got patches before we left, applied them the evening we were leaving the anchorage off Puerto Williams and went to sleep as the ship began its entry in to the Passage.

The night was a bit rough and a few times thought I would roll off the bed. Fortunately, it wasn’t an issue. At both breakfast and lunch, we noticed that people were missing and overheard several people say their roommate skipped the meal because they weren’t feeling well. Sometime after lunch, I realized my patch had come off in the shower. Even though I felt fine, I replaced it before dinner.

At the pre-dinner briefing, people reported seeing several whales. We are terrible spotters and saw nary a whale or any other mammal. People said birds were plentiful but all we saw was one lone albatross.

The passengers are mostly older, like us, but there is one father with a couple of 20 something children, and what may be two or three younger honeymooners. There are also some folks in their 40’s-50’s. 

The second day crossing the Drake Passage was just like the first without the one albatross. Again, I lost my patch in the shower but this time didn’t replace it and I was fine. Michele is more talented than me and her patch didn’t come off until she consciously took it off the next day.

We went to sleep to the gentle rolling of the ship as we finished our passage through the Passage, awakening the next morning to our arrival at the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctica Part 1

Knowing I would be retiring in the summer of 2022, I decided that for my “retirement trip” I wanted to go to Antarctica. I had wanted to go for a number of years but with working, never seemed to have the time. So, in early 2021, Michele and I worked with our cruise consultant, Ross Spalding at Crown Cruises, and decided we would sail to Antarctica on the Silver Explorer. We decided on the Explorer because it is a smaller ship which would enable everyone on board to land on the continent multiple times.

In 2021, when we booked the cruise, we were still dealing with the idea that the COVID Pandemic was still upon us. So we booked the second last cruise of the season, leaving Argentina on February 16, 2022. Even without COVID, we get trip insurance for these kinds of adventures. So between the insurance and the timing of the trip, we felt prepared in case, by some odd chance, the pandemic was still upon us. 

Within weeks, we received word from SilverSea that, because of Argentina’s closure due to COVID, we would not be leaving from Argentina, but rather from Puerto Williams, Chile. Fortunately, we had the foresight to buy our airfare through SilverSea so that was not a problem.

As the trip got closer, COVID still raged and Chile imposed some pretty strict entry requirements. We had to be fully vaccinated (easy.) We would need a negative PCR test within 72 hours of boarding our connecting flight to Santiago. That was a bit more difficult as most tests in Albuquerque were taking 72 - 96 hours, and we would need to take the test on the weekend. Fortunately, we found that the Albuquerque Sunport has a facility to get test results within 24 hours. It’s more expensive but necessary. Upon arriving at the Santiago Airport, the Chilean Government would do another PCR test and SilverSea would put us up in a hotel to quarantine until the results came back, which they did within 12 hours. Oh, and upon arrival at the hotel, SilverSea administered another PCR test. We never heard, but since we are on the ship and not in quarantine, we are assuming that test was also negative.

So after leaving Albuqueque on February 14, flying overnight to Santiago, quarantining for a night there, it was finally February 16. We were transported back to the airport for the charter flight to Puerto Williams to board the Explorer. Much to SilverSea’s credit, it was the most organized boarding of a cruise ship of our 20+ cruises. I’m sure there only being 73 passengers helped, but the ship’s staff was wonderful.

Aboard and unpacked, we were ready to cross the Drake Passage, the last leg before arriving on the southern most continent. But, alas, the winds were against us and there were 10 - 15 meter swells in the Drake so we anchored in the Puerto Williams harbor for a full 24 hours before we could begin our crossing. Finally, the swells were down to 4 - 5 meters and our journey began.