This was a very exciting week in/for Israel; we were all hoping to finally be able to celebrate the winning of an Oscar but yet fell short, this is the tenth time Israel is in the Foreign Language category but still hasn’t been able to win one small statue. While we are in the matter of hoping, we are hoping to wake up to a white Jerusalem tomorrow morning, it is not the first time that Jerusalem gets ready for snow, but last time the snow melted as it landed on the ground so we are keeping our fingers crossed that just maybe tomorrow will be the day we wake up to a magical view.
On a totally different matter, there is a subject that touched my heart that I wish to address. The Ethiopian Jews arrived to Israel thru different historical operations, and there has been a debate about if they have adjusted well into the Israeli society, even though they have not had it easy they have come a long way. Israel has gone the extra mile to give them different kinds of assistance, such as full academic tuition for example. This week for the first time an Ethiopian Jew has been accepted to start working in the Council of Higher Education, which is the in charge of the everything that has to do with higher education here in Israel. And to top this, also for the first time an Ethiopian Jew has been selected to be an Israeli ambassador. This news just blew my mind.
As for our shnatties, they are finishing their third week of Etgar/Machon, studying hard, being challenged, exploring themselves and volunteering in different projects. Last Monday they went to a cultural evening sponsored by Masa, there were different lectures by different artists (singers, dancers, etc) and in the end a concert by Mookie, an Israeli hip hop singer. On Tuesday we had our second Yom Tnua, where we finished the activity that we started during the first Yom Tnua, about stereotypes and judging people; our shnatties had some very meaningful things to say.
I have attached pictures of last weeks Yom Tnua, of Etgars day field trip in Jerusalem and from the cultural evening. You can find more pictures on our facebook page.
I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom.
Michael
Weekly report by Naomi S (Machonick)
It is snowing!!! But before I tell you all what is happening currently on Machon, I will back track to this past week.
Last Thursday, we all finished up our first week of classes in the morning. It seems that almost everyone is happy with their classes and finds them all enjoyable , yet challenging. In the afternoon, we all picked our weekly volunteer options which we do almost every Thursday. We were able to pick from the following options: planting and gardening around the Kiryat Moria neighborhood, Tzedak Rounds and going on journey’s throughout Jerusalem. We are all very excited for our own volunteering options that we choose.
Over the weekend, some of us traveled throughout the country, while a few of us stayed and experienced Shabbat in Jerusalem. Tara, Jess and Ruthie went back to Kibbutz Lotan to visit some of their old friends. Ruthie was very excited to reunite with the cows. Jade, Shoshana, Jordy and Sophie went to the beautiful Kibbutz Sasa in the north. While they were there, they visited Afula Valley and watched lots of Sponge Bob. Naomi, Abby, Ben and Becca spent the weekend exploring various parts of Jerusalem. Naomi, Lilly and Becca went to Women of the Wall, a women’s prayer group that meets on Rosh Hodesh at the Kotel, on Friday morning with a few other Etgar Shnatties. After their empowering service, they joined up with Ben, Abby and other Netzer Shnatties and explored the streets of Jerusalem including Mechina Yehuda and even saw an Ethopian Church. Benjy had a very fun and relaxing weekend at Kiryat Moria with other Machon Shnatties. In the end, we were all very satisfied with our weekends and had great stories to tell.
On Sunday, we started our first full week of classes. We all took part in Hadracha, Zionism, Judaism, Hebrew, individual electives and in-depth classes as well. Sunday evening, some of us took part in a Hebrew Sign Language class in our Sunday Selection. On Monday night, we all went to a Masa cultural event. There, we all went to various different types of shows including dance, performances by authors and musicians and some watched a movie. Following our activities, we all went to a concert by Moki with many other Masa program participants. After the concert, some of us and other Machonnicks went to a part at the Machane Yehudah shuck.
On Tuesday, all of Shnat Netzer took part in Yom Tunia, our time to come together as a movement. We had a very interesting discussion and peula about making judgments on others and how people expose themselves to others in different types of relationships.
Today was Yom Yisrael and we learned about the different education systems in Israel, and specifically in Jerusalem. We each visited two different types of schools in Jerusalem. We visited Orthodox schools and various types of secular schools throughout the city. Later, we met with two teenagers who are participants of Noar Telem, Netzer Olami’s snif in Israel. Our long day ended with an optional Beit Midrash about making mistakes and moving on. To do this, we focused on Adam and Eve. It was very interesting and was a great way to end the week.
And now it is snowing!
Weekly report by Rebekkah K. (Etgar)
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