Day 3

Day 3 - Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Tel Aviv, Israel

The first full day of the Mount Zion trip’s adventures
By Stuart and Jean King Appelbaum

Monday evening- World Cup soccer broadcast on screens in restaurants, bars, and clubs up and down the Tel Aviv beach.
Tuesday morning- We begin the morning with a 6:15 AM wake-up call (that would be 10:15 PM Monday, MN time, but who’s paying attention?). Our first Israeli breakfast buffet offers the full complement of items Israelis eat first thing in the morning, including green salad with tomatoes, cucumbers. and carrots, many types of cheese (cottage, labene, herbed feta, and more), hard boiled eggs, hot items including scrambled eggs and blintzes, breads, buns, muffins, sweet rolls, juice, coffee--and that list is not inclusive. We eat. Then we eat some more.
We are pleased to welcome Sandy and Carol Weisberg, who have had an adventure in travel that eventually featured a cab ride from Philadelphia to Kennedy Airport and two business class seats that folded into beds where they slept seven hours as they were flying to Tel Aviv.
Onto our bus, and we head to Israel’s Independence Hall. Tali, the same woman who spoke to the 2006 Mount Zion group, orients us to the building (which began as Meir Dizengoff’s home, then became the city’s first art museum) before we see a short film about the declaration of independence. She is enthusiastic and funny and has given this presentation a few thousand times, but remains inspiring. We move to the hall where the chairs, wall coverings, mikes, and gavel are exactly as they were Erev Shabbat, May 14, 1948. It is moving to hear the recordings of Ben-Gurion’s voice, Israel’s Senior Rabbi reciting the Shehekianu, and the orchestra playing Hatikva after the declaration. We move outside to the 1949 monument that documents the sand dune origins of the city, the Jewish workers doing physical labor (the “new Jew), and the modern city. Back on the bus.
Important background note: There are a small number of toilets at Independence Hall. A line instantly forms and we’re on a schedule, so many dutifully wait.
The bus drives us to Jaffa where we stop at a breathtaking overview that features the Mediterranean and Tel Aviv’s skyline. Our guide reads the beginning of the book of Jonah, which contains reference to Jaffa. Many pictures are taken.
A second point of background: Back on the bus, Rabbi Spilker introduces himself, explaining that his role on the trip is to provide spiritual advice and guidance. He begins by instructing us on how to use Israeli toilets, expounding on the difference between a light (half) flush and a heavy (heavy) flush. We are also warned of the dangers of dehydration in the June heat, the importance of drinking lots of water, and the related importance of using toilet s when they are available. A Mount Zion Temple banner is draped across the front of the bus and Rabbi Spilker’s name is prominently displayed as our leader.
Our group divides into two options:
• One group is dropped at the IDF Museum on the coast. [A member of that group will add details.]

• A second group heads back to Jaffa for a “walking tour of the city” featuring the competing Palestinian and Jewish narratives. Well, sort of. The Jewish narrative is presented by an American guide who has just completed his master’s degree in Middle Eastern history; the Palestinian narrative is presented by, well, a Palestinian, who presents his narrative much more powerfully. His counterpart is mainly silent.
The cards are not evenly stacked and, after the walk ends and we’re back on the bus, our guide offers us a more nuanced interpretation of Israel’s history, noting that Jews were not a colonial power, that many displaced residents of Jaffa during Israel’s war of independence, whose descendants are now seeking the right of return, were themselves relative newcomers in Palestine, drawn to the area by the prospect of employment; that Jews were also displaced persons, thrown out of Arab lands.
Rabbi Spilker notes that the language of the British Balfour Declaration (1917) was ambiguous. To some Zionists, it held the promise of The Jewish homeland of Palestine; to others, the language promised a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
By this time, time has passed. It’s been four and a half hours since we left the hotel; three and half hours since the last available toilets at Independence Hall. Remember that we were advised to drink lots of water, and we were obedient. Many people request a bathroom, but there are none available until we arrive at the restaurants of Nachalat Binyamin, a pedestrian mall with arts and crafts merchants, fresh produce and fruits, and (as we are told several times) shmatas where we get lunch (and toilets) on our own.
We spend the afternoon at the Rabin Center, a beautiful new museum (opened two months ago) that traces Israel’s history and the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s life, showing their intersections. It was informative and moving.
The day’s activities were formally concluded with an (optional) visit to Nalaga’ at Theater. Mary Ann and David Wark finally arrived following their own adventure in international travel 10 minutes before the bus was scheduled to take us back to Jaffa for the performance. Good sports, they joined us for an incredible experience. An acting troupe of deaf, blind, deaf/blind performers invited us into their world – their joys, frustrations, aspirations, fantasies. The only one of its kind in the world, Nalaga’at Theater has performed internationally and won widespread acclaim. Safe to say that none of us had ever experienced anything quite like this and were literally moved to tears. Kudos and thanks to Rabbi Spilker for making this option available to us.

The stalwart seven, Carolyn, Harper, Satchel, Robyn, Rebecca, Stuart and Jean walked 3+ miles along the sea back to the hotel... On the way, Brazil scored the winning goal in its World Cup match against North Korea. We saw it on one of many giant screens erected on the beach by local bars and restaurants so guests could watch the games outside with the Mediterranean as backdrop. Quite a day.