The Weekly Report: 10/05/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

Last week finished with the machonicks staying in Machon for a Shabbat Beyachad that was very lovely.

The week started with democracy at it’s best and continued with politics at its best, the same day our etgarnicks went to visit the Kneset, was the day that the Israeli government was to supposed to be dissolved, they saw a lot of commotion going on, we even thought that our southern shnatties would be able to experience election day in Israel. In Israel, elections are held every 4 years, however since the assassination of Itzhack Rabin there hasn’t been one government that has finished its term and we thought the same was going to happen this time when we woke up the next morning to find that politics had a different plan for us. The head of the opposition Shaul Mofaz has joined the coalition and therefore the early elections have been canceled (for now).

This weekend the etgarnicks will be leaving for their northern tyul, the machonicks will be leaving for their northern tyul on Sunday, the tyul committees have been working very hard to plan the tyul, and our representatives form Netzer Barcelona that are doing the Spanish speaking Machon, are getting ready to leave for Poland with Machon.

Hopefully I will have pictures from the tyul for the next report, meanwhile I am attaching pictures form our machonicks.

I wish you a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,

Michael

Weekly report by Jade K (Machon)

Hi everyone’s mums and dads!!! (and Sam Osborn, who recently informed me that people who aren’t parents actually read the parents report. I must say though I’m still not entirely convinced that this isn’t one of your many quirks, so if you’re reading this and you aren’t everyone’s mums and dads and you aren’t Sam, give me a yell, I’d love to know that you exist!)

The Machonikim began this week on a bit of a low in the wake of Tara’s departure, but we soon dried our tears knowing firstly that she had followed her heart and done what would make her happy and secondly that Etgar isn’t North Korea, we’d still be able to see her all the time. In fact, we’ve probably seen Tara more in this one week than we ever did on Machon.

As it was so wisely put this week by our very own Lily Manoim, “Pluralism means that in order to make everyone comfortable, everyone needs to be a little bit uncomfortable.” (A simply hilarious side note for those who know Lily: when quoting this exact statement 5 minutes after she had coined it, Haggai attributed it to Abra who is not only a Habonik, but a man and worst of all an Australian, needless to say she was not impressed.) Jokes aside, I truly believe that this statement strikes at the core of Machon’s pluralist ideology and like a Machane provides a Movement with the opportunity to practice Hagshama collectively, so does Shabbat Beyachad provide the Machon with a similar vehicle for the practical realisation of its ideology.

As a fairly distinctive (and sometimes misunderstood) Progressive minority faced with the prospect of `presenting ‘our Shabbat’ to our Cultural, Secular Humanist and Modern Orthodox friends, it was safe to say that Teva was feeling a little bit uncomfortable, however, in true Netzer style we didn’t let this deter us. Three services, three meals, two sets of chuggim, two divrei torah, five aliyot and one tish later with our fingers practically bleeding from all the guitar playing, siddur making, challah braiding, leyning and of course tree hugging we sat back, reflected on all of our hard work in preparation for shabbat and we saw that it was good. All in all it was a very restful and enlightening experience.

Shabbat was followed by an otherwise uneventful week as far as the day to day running of Machon was concerned, however that’s more than I can say for the Knesset. In the interest of not stealing Michael’s thunder, I’m sure he has already had lots to say on the subject in his funny little introduction thing… (Michael, if you are reading this know that by ‘funny’ I mean lovely and very informative.) All I’ll say is that if you get the chance to ask your Machonikim their opinions on the coalition, I promise you won’t be disappointed. After all, both a Machonik and a Netzernik are nothing if not informed and I’m not trying to impress you or anything but we happen to be a delicious combination of both.

Today's Yom Yisrael was truly unbelieveable (pictures included). We were given a choice between 4 tours that each examined a different aspect of Israeli high culture. Shoshana, Jords, Becca, Naomi, Lily and I chose to visit the main campus of the Hebrew University's affiliated design school, Bezalel. There is something weirdly comforting about walking through the campus of an Arts Collage. I think this is probably because no matter where you go in the world, they all look more or less the same (polished concrete floors, exposed pipes painted a bright 'unexpected' colour) and tend to be populated by the same general crowd of hipsters. Having said that, there were a few cool things that set Bezalel apart from the rest, most noteworthy being that Herzel was a huge fan, (saaaah Zionist!) he really pushed for it's establishment making it the oldest tertiary institution in Israel. Also, in the spirit of preserving the classic hands-on roots of the fine arts in the digital age, Bezalel is the only institution in the whole of Israel that teaches glassblowing and wet print colour photography. Pretty cool. We were then taken to the Cinemateque (yeah, the Cinemateque! I couldn’t believe it either!) where Steve Israel gave those hardcore enough to fight off their undeniable exhaustion an incredible lecture complete with film excerpts as examples about the history and thematic development of the Israeli film industry, which really was a perfect end to what was one of my favorite days of Shnat so far. As is evident from Benjy’s face (see photo), we sure found it interesting but I know film isn’t everyone’s cup of tea so I won’t bore you with the details (If you’re dying to hear them I’d be happy to send you my notes)

So there you go, another week has gone by in a flash. We all can’t wait for Northern Tiyul next week but also would never dream of wishing our time on Machon (or with our beautiful Northerners!!!) away. The last thing I wanted to say was thank you for sending us, I don’t think we say it enough. I honestly can’t imagine what our lives would be like now without Shnat and without each other.

We miss you! (but probably not quite as much as you miss us…)

O’s X’s and just an insane amount of love,

Jade (and all your kids by extension)

Weekly report by Tara D (Etgar)

Hello all from Beit shmuel,
you'll be pleased to know all is well
This may be a suprise, for not all of you are aware
I'm now an "etgar-nick", if anyone cares
Life here is peaceful and calm
We are all safe and have come to no harm.
We've toured the knesset and attended court
Learnt the difference between "bought" and "brought"
This week has featured pokemon
And on top of it all, the sun has shone
Shabbat service was arranged by Kitty,
Combined with star wars- how creative and witty!
We've been on buses, trams and walked,
We've had heated discussions and calmer talks
Today's Lag B'omer and we all cant wait
To celebrate here in the Jewish state
Its been a week of gluttony and excessive greed
Each person has been out for their own selfish needs
The cheddar went missing and chaos broke out
"It was Alyson Rolfe", we all heard Naomi shout
with hummus, champagne, strawberries and fruit
We picknicked happily at the shukh
Seeing as we are on the topic of appetite
We are due to barbeque this very night
Jeff has offered us a unique opportunity
and will answer questions for the community
Naomi is busy roshing the week
We are researching holidays in Mozambique
Lactose intolerance has become an epidemic,
Emily was the last to be taken sick
Jemma and I have been doing a lot of debating
Whilst Naomi did all the catering,
Theme night was "Thai", I am pleased to say,
A great way to start the month of may.

The Weekly Report: 03/05/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

We finished last week with the celebration on Israel's Independence, 64th and counting. In the pictures attach you can see my son proudly holding the Israeli flag celebrating his first time Israel's Independence.
And now we are back in class until the next celebration. Just to mention a few of the interesting places our shnatties went to this week, our machonicks went to the Supreme Court and to the Kneset and our etgarnicks went to the Palmach Museum.

This week I heard about something interesting, an Israeli Pharmaceutical company "Protalix" has just developed a drug for a rare disease, what I found interesting is that for the first time we are talking about a drug that was developed by testing it on plants cells, carrots to be exact instead of animals. And while I am on the medical subject, our etgarnicks had an intense MDA (Magen David Adom – Israel's Red Cross) course; I have attached pictures.

We have also opened up a new Netzer group on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/?ref=tn_tnmn#!/groups/netzer.olami/

You are welcome to follow us on facebook, read what else is happening with Netzer and enjoy more pictures.

I wish you a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom.

Michael

Weekly Report by Rebecca W (Machon)
We've been having our first normal week since before Chofesh here on Machon, and even though we're over halfway through, we're making the best of our second half of Machon. Sunday and Monday were largely uneventful; Tuesday's Yom Tnua was a packed lesson on the history of Reform Judaism and Reform Zionism. Wednesday's Yom Yisrael took us to the Supreme Court and the Knesset to learn about the Israeli justice system and government. Yom Yisrael was followed by a murder mystery erev peulah run by Hannah's chavura. This weekend is Shabbat Beyachad with all of Machon, which some of us helped to plan. Sadly, this Shabbat will be spent without Tara, who switched to Etgar this morning. Although we'll miss her here, we know she'll have a great time on Etgar.

Weekly report by Emily k. (Etgar)

This weekly report is dedicated to Jemma who is in England doing something none of us fully understand to her leg. Jemma, if you’re reading this, we miss you, come home please.

Hello from Etgar! This week’s report features the likes of a new flat mate, a dead bird and a toilet paper fort, amongst many other things. Got your attention there, didn’t I? Well, let’s begin.

This morning Tara arrived to the flat with 2 suitcases (more than originally came to Israel with her) and after many hours of folding and rearranging, is now a fully fledged member of our wonderfully dysfunctional Etgar community! Yay! We’ve spent the evening making mini pizzas (I made the dough myself, no big deal) and hanging out in the Dojo to celebrate her arrival.

In other news, it’s been a great week so far. Some highlights include a water fight/ deadly wrestling match in the park (apparently to demonstrate something to do with immigration- ask Josh), Man City’s victory against Man U (I heard it was good) and the development of the toilet paper fort in the boys’ bathroom, which now covers most of the walls. Good work lads. There is also a dead bird on the balcony who we think may have arrived sometime last weekend. Instead of disposing of the body in the dignified way, the only action being taken on this front has been several intense discussions over his name. I think it’s between Henry and Simon or something. If you have any better suggestions, please feel free to send them on a postcard. Odds are the bird will still be here when the postcard arrives.

I’ve promised so many people personal mentions in this week’s report that I think the most effective course of action might be to just let you all know what everyone’s doing:

Emily- Well I’m fine. Have a large insect bite on my foot which is impairing my sleep but I’ll be ok, don’t worry.

Alyson- Currently wearing a sequined bikini top and tie dye shorts for no reason anyone could fathom. She keeps us on our toes.

Rebekkah- I think she’s mad at me because I wanted to write the report this week instead of her for once. Maybe I should have just let her in the end. Sorry Rebekkah.
*Hi, this is Rebekkah. Emily let me edit, so it’s almost as if I wrote it instead. Take that, Jeff.

Naomi- Today she drew a very nice picture of everyone on Etgar. There’s talk of putting it on a t-shirt.
*Hi, Rebekkah again. I’m definitely making it into a t-shirt, if you’re interested, let me know.

Jeff- This week he’s been looking after his sister;s guitar as well as his own. This has made him pretty happy.

Jake- The horrific sunburns have all but gone and he now spends his days mocking those of us who made the same mistake

Dan Aron- Last weekend he watched 4 Twilight movies in 2 days. Nice.

Dan Rattan- The hand is healing well (he sliced it open on a broken wine bottle a few weeks ago)

Josh- Just made some “fairy bread”. A triumph.

Tara- Says she’s enjoying Etgar so far, all 8 hours or so.

Jemma- Well she’s not here but it would be mean not to give her a mention. We love you.

Kathryn- She’s looking for glue which probably means she’s doing something artsy and we’ll wake up to more flat decorations :)

Liz- Found a “guilty pleasures” 90s playlist yesterday, and for that I am forever grateful

And that’s it really. Hope you’re all well.

*Last one, sorry Emily. I just wanted to mention that if it weren’t for me, there would be no punctuation in this at all. And also, look forward to next week’s weekly report, which will contain a formal pronouncement of Emily’s and my love for each other, if she ever forgives me for hi-jacking this weekly report.

The Weekly Report: 26/04/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim, Shanties. Shalom Rav,

This week Israel wept, it shed tears of sadness remembering the 22993 Israelis who died while serving our country as soldiers and as civilians. It also shed tears of joy celebrating Israelis 64th birthday and it doesn’t really matter if you are right wing or left wing or central wing, if you agree with Israel’s government actions or not, if you think that the settlers are doing a heroic job or if we should not have settlers whatsoever, if the army should protect the settlers or not, the fact remains that it is children who do the army and too many have died, Israelis who at the age of 18 instead of going on a gap year they are asked to serve to protect and enlist in a 3 year program in what I think is the biggest youth movement, the IDF.

Growing up in Venezuela, going to a Jewish school, we would have more than one ceremony for the fallen soldiers, one at school, one at the Jewish Federation building, one with the youth movement, and would also say a prayer the Friday of that same week at the synagogue. Our hearts would ache when we would hear the news of a bomb exploding in Israel and we believed we were feeling the same pain that the Israelis were felling, however something was missing and I did not quite know what until I actually made Alyah in 1997.

I enlisted in the army in February 2000 and when I called my father to tell him, here I am looking over the Lebanese border it dawned on him, for the first time one of those Israeli soldiers not only had a face but it was the face of his own son. And this is what was missing all time at those ceremonies, we thought we had solidarity with the Israeli soldiers but we had never met one, there really was no face to remember.

My father being the Rabbi for the Venezuelan community had to officiate many funerals and I remember as a small child who always wanted to go where his father went, that I wanted to accompany him even to these funerals, and he always said that a funeral is no place for a child. Boy, did I sure make up for this in the army.
I started my basic training in March 2000 for a tank battalion, not month went by and already one of the soldiers in our platoon committed suicide. I lost 6 more friends in a matter of a month. A group of terrorist opened fire on a bus and my 3 of my friends hopped on a tank and set out to help those civilians, when it drove over a bomb placed by those terrorist prior to their attack on the bus. We woke up a month latter and started getting ready to go the Shloshim for those 3 friends when the same thing happened all over again. We had to attend 3 more funerals on our way to the 3 Shloshim.

This past Tuesday, on Yom Tnua, we tried hard to give the shnatties the sense of feeling of what is Yom Hazikaron here in Israel, we finished the day by going to a ceremony sponsored by MASA that was very moving and really got them in the atmosphere.

This evening our shnatties will experience something that in my point of view can only be experienced in Israel, and that is the switch from sadness to happiness when we welcome Israel’s Independence Day. There is dancing, singing, cheering, and the popular Israeli singers give free performances in central squares.

I want to finish this weeks report with a poem written by Rodrigo Soliz, the singer Fernando Delgadillo composed music to these words. The poem is written to their froend that died in a traffic accident. I heard this poem for the first time when I was on Shnat and it stuck with since.

I did my best to translate it from Spanish to English.

“Suplica” – “Beg”

And if I told you, Miguel
That I haven’t missed you,
That I didn’t care that you left
That I haven’t felt anger,
That I haven’t felt shame,
That your death was only one more way
For me to appreciate my life with double the efforts.

That I did not cry at your grave,
If I told you!

That I haven’t felt lost,
That I did not suffer
More so, if I said, just to give an example
That in a way I am glad that you died.
That way, you won’t go with me anymore,
Making me lose my time by talking bombs and politics.

If I told you my friend,
That I think you are quite stupid
For dying on a beautiful night,
That you lost your pose, when you fell
On the sidewalk, with a motorcycle in your legs,
And splitting your head.

If I told you my life
Continues to de a happy one,
That Pink Floyd sucks and the
World still goes around,
That we still party
That the shame does not stop us

If I told you,
If I screamed at you!
That I like the girlfriend you left behind
That I have seen your sister and
I like her as well
And that you are a bastard for making them cry

Tell me, Miguel
My friend
If I seriously meant
Every word I have said
Would that make you leave your grave?

Because, if so,
Rest assure, I will say them!

Have a Shabbat shalom,

Michael

Weekly report by Kathryn H. (Etgar)

Captain’s Log

2012/04/22
08h30 – Commander K and Commander R were summoned to the Head Cadet’s
quarters for a meeting of the utmost importance. We were given a task: Operation
Chayelim shel Etgar. And thus the NDF (Netzer Defense Force) was formed.
09h00 – Espionage.
The soldiers undertook an intensive communications course to understand and
infiltrate Israeli society, through language and communications devices.
1130 – First Aid.
In field medical training, because we all know even the strongest of soldiers can get
hurt.
16h30 – Intelligence.
In order to better understand the mission, we were given information from a legend
called The Tanak. We studied ancient battles like David and Goliath to improve our
own fighting skills.
19h00 – Rations.
20h31 – Moving Out
The troops were late; we as commanders feared the worst. A rough start to the
operation. The mission was finally revealed but we lost a few good men out there.
24h28 – Refueling
Our ration packs are running low, only ice cream, Sour Patch Kids, tea, cookies, and
pasta are to be found. We don’t know if we’ll make it to the end of the week. There
is a cold shiver in both the trees and our minds as we wait for the dawn to come. The leaves rustle as they echo our biggest worry: D'o the troops have what it takes?

2012/04/23
On the day of April 23, 2012 at 06h00, the troops awoke. Dressed in uniform, they
trekked downstairs, out of base camp, across the wilderness that is Jerusalem, onto
the tram, and into the bus station. To keep up spirits, we gave the men some free
time to buy provisions. Colonel Noa met us and directed us onto our transport: the
bus to Tel Aviv.
A massive staircase tested our endurance, but we finally arrived at our destination:
Beit Kfustot at Tel Aviv University. There we learned briefly about Diaspora Jewry,
and then we discussed how what we were told actually fits in to what we know
to be true. After, the troops were dismissed. A large majority opted to go back to
base camp, but the commanders and two soldiers (Naomi and Emily) stayed back to
spend our off-time at the beach.
Mission Chof B'shemesh was a failure from the start. From having to climb those
treacherous stairs once more to falling asleep on the bus, we started off on the
wrong foot. When we perplexedly arrived in Bat Yam, we replenished ourselves
with King Falafel but decided we had to move on.
On the bus back to Tel Aviv, we laughed about the situation, but little did we know
that was only the beginning. Naomi and Emily departed on a new journey,
leaving the commanders on their own.
To describe what happened that day would take much more time than is available.
In addition, most of it is Top Secret anyway. The information that I have been
approved to tell is this:

We started at Savidor Train Station in Tel Aviv. We walked literally the entirety of
Tel Aviv looking for the bus station, and ended up finding ourselves at Azrieli. We
refueled with ice cream there, and moved on. Our troops had left us, and us them,
and we desperately needed to return. We called for backup, but they wouldn’t
arrive soon enough to help us.
We managed to arrange transport to a destination and rode the top deck of the
train to Savidor. When we saw the bus leaving from our location to base camp, we
quickly boarded.
Once back in our general area, we realized we needed to get back as soon as possible
and took a private transport service to base camp. Much sleep was needed to
prepare ourselves for the day that was to come.

2012/04/24
08h00. Intelegence.
The troops were back, somewhat rested after the prevous days challenges and ready to learn. They knew their intelegence training was important. The country and their fellow soldiers lives depended on it.

13h0- Lunch. Having restocked the supples the day before, the troops had a hearty lunch that will hopefully keep them healthy as we continue our mission. We don't know when we'll be able to have fresh provsions again.

Combat Training. The troops set out for their Combat Training of the Mind course lead by one of the Comanders in Cheif. The troops debated extensivly about Zionism and Aliyah Nimchechet. The comander was impressed and promised the troops a reprise from their mission the following night. Something they had all been waiting for. As with most things in the NDF, this too is Top Secret.

At 14h00 the troops set off for the Kiryat Moriah Base for a debriefing with the Colonal. The troops held a small Yom Ha Zikaron Tekes, and then were transported to the Offical Tekes by MASA in Litrum. The occasion was solomn and the bus ride home less than excitable. We hope this expirence has taught us all to really understand the significance of rememberance.

We hope the troops have enough strength to make it through the rest of th week.

Yeshar Koach. May you have strength.

2012/04/25

The troops were sombre as we made our way to the Memorial Ceremony at Har Hertzl the morning of Yom Ha Zikaron. They stoood on a crowded bus in silence as the many Soldiers and Officers passed them by. The siren sounded at precisly 11h00 and an entire nation stood at attention. The troops were given free time to comemorate with the families of the fallen soldiers and friends they knew from far away.

13h00- Lunch for the troops. A secret mission to pick up supplies from sources that cannot be identified due to NDF polocy was embarked upon by the Comanders K and R. The troops were mildly disgruntled because they were not for told of this spontanious mission.

Aproximatly 14h30- The commandes lay in wat for the tirade of ammunition about to be hurled at them from their officers. Their Colonal was no where to be found.

We consider this opperation to have failed, and the NDF will be disbanded by the time the fireworks start for Yom ha' atz' maut (Independence Day).

Signing off, for the last time, Comanders Kathryn H. and Rebekkah K. If you hear this message, please help.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Weekly report by Benjy (Machon)

From Yom Hashoa to Yom Hazikaron to Yom Ha’atzmaut
This week is arguably the most polarizing week in all of Israel. It begins with Yom Hashoa, Holocaust remembrance day in Israel. On this day, Israel stops for 1 minute to the sound of a siren. 2 Aussie shanties describe the experience as eerie and powerful, “it felt like the whole world had stopped.” A week later is Yom Hazikaron, a day to remember fallen Israeli soldiers and victims of terror. As one of the most serious days of the year, you can feel the somberness in the air. Everyone in Israel has been affected by the army and is either related to or knows of a victim of war or terror. This sad state will immediately transition to a party craze once night has officially fallen. This is because Yom Ha’atzmaut will have started, Israel’s independence day. It has been a mentally tough week that will end with our eyes to future of Israel and its independence.
New Machon Classes

In other news, since we have completed half of machon some of our classes our finished and we started new classes this week. A new elective, Judasim, and on sudnays an activity called open house. All the classes have started off well and we are excited to begin analyzing our new subjects.

The Weekly Report 19/04/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shantties. Shalom Rav,

The week started with a few big events, our shnatties and the staff as well, came back from their Pessach vacation full of stories, anecdotes and renewed energy. It seems that they could not stay away from each other for to long since in the end almost all of them ended up going to the Zorba Festival. They went back to class and to the intensity of Etgar and Machon.

As for a few interesting updates on Israel, in 1943 a rare frog was discovered in Israel, to be more specific in the Chula Valley, and that existed only in Israel, however when the pioneers dried up the swamps, the frog was extinct. After many years of trying to reforest what was damaged during that time, during our Pessach vacation, this extinct frog was rediscovered. Another important event, in my opinion, is that Gilad Shalit has been give the highest rank any soldier can aspire, he received the rank of "Civilian", yesterday, a half a year after he was liberated from captivity, he was liberated from the Israeli Army.

Last Tuesday, on Yom Tnua, Guy prepared an activity about Yom Hashoa (Holocaust Memorial Remembrance Day), we talked about what it means to follow orders in the army, we compared it to the Israeli Army where there are 3 different category of orders, there are the orders you must follow, there are the illegal orders that you must follow but you must report your commander to the superior officers and there are the extremely illegal orders which under no circumstance are you allowed to follow them. We talked about morality, we talked about getting involved, we talked about acting and doing something when you see someone doing wrong to others or when someone is in need.


Today Thursday is Yom Hashoa, today we remember those who tragically lost their lives and we are inspired by those who survived, a day when we once again question ourselves how much evil can there be in the world, a day where we forgive but not forget.
In Israel on this day we stand a minute of silence, and it is just so amazing to see how, traffic stops, trains stop, buses stop, people walking in the street stop, people that are even alone in their office our at home stop, the whole country just come to a complete stop for that one minute when the siren is heard and a minute of silence and respect is given to those who perished in the Holocaust.

We are concerned every day with numbers, for example our salaries, the price of oil/gas, time, but the one number that still today makes stand up straight and gives us chills is the number 6.000.000. But these people are not just numbers, everyone has a name and I want to finish this weeks report with the poem:

"Everyone Has a Name" by Zelda

Everyone has a name
given to him by God
and given to him by his parents

Everyone has a name
given to him by his stature
and the way he smiles
and given to him by his clothing

Everyone has a name
given to him by the mountains
and given to him by his walls

Everyone has a name
given to him by the stars
and given to him by his neighbors

Everyone has a name
given to him by his sins
and given to him by his longing

Everyone has a name
given to him by his enemies
and given to him by his love

Everyone has a name
given to him by his feasts
and given to him by his work

Everyone has a name
given to him by the seasons
and given to him by his blindness

Everyone has a name
given to him by the sea and
given to him
by his death.

Forgive but not forget, Shabbat Shalom,

Michael

Weekly Report by Kathryn H. (Etgar)

There were still a few faces illuminated in the dark by their open lap top screens at 2:30am early Sunday Morning. Jeffrey was finalising some business for Project6millon in the Cheder Kef (Be sure to check out the website which is now up and running, and make your statement against hatred and intolerance). Backpacks and suitcases littering the living room floor, almost getting lost in the mess that had accumulated during our Chofesh. Liz arrived just in time to see the Brits off, exhausted but happy from her time at Zorba. Rebekkah and I had gotten back earlier that morning after having one of the best nights of Shnat so far, and missing our new Australian Friends. Soon after, we all filtered into our beds for a well deserved sleep before Hebrew bright and early the next morning.

Sunday:
A quiet morning if there ever was one. There was a silence around the house', as Daron was not there to grace us with his guitar playing, there was no sound of Naomi and Emily singing from the shower. I woke up late without Jemmas usual deodorant spraying and Liz was excitedly packing for her Israel Advocacy Seminar by the ZFA. Dan was still in Tel Aviv taking care of his hand. Josh was enjoying his extended vacation with his family, wich left me, the lonely South African and four Americans.
As it was a lovely Spring day in Jerusalem Noa and Guy treated us to a trip to the shuk and a little picnic in the park. We ate hummus, Assorted Pitah Breads and finished off a lovely day with Strawberries and Rougalah. (We saved the Chocolate Chip Chalvah for later...)
A quiet Tanach lesson, as there were only 5 of us, all about Bereishit. Jake finally got to exhibit his Artistic Talent, blowing us all away with his creative and unique rendition of the stories.
The house was once again eerily quiet. Alyson made dinner and we all ate in the DOJO amongst the candle light and incense. The boys (and Ruthie) had gone out for dinner. Pizza and Burgers we were told later. Josh came home unexpectedly to a dark house and nearly scared the begeezus out of me. It was a traumatic moment in my life. I think I'll be scared forever. We ate Girl Scout Cookies and tried to persuade Josh to join our Girl Talk. It was rather amusing, although not very successful. Josh left for more Brother time, Rebekkah read us stories complete with different voices for each character.

Sprite Day:
MAKE ALIYAH MAKE ALIYAH! We had some interesting discussions about he concept of Aliyah and what it meant to us. coughindoctrinationcough
DAN WAS BACK! He still need to go back to hospital, but at least we know he's alive and that he has great friends that'll make him lunch (and dress him) because his hand is in a bandage, and he's quite the sad little teddy bear.

Tuna Tuesday:
A class on Holocaust remembrance and a challenge from MKK to be the ones who pass on the message, to tell the stories, to never forget the people who helped make us the nation we are today.
Our Challenge: Tell their stories. Never Forget. (coughproject6millioncough)
YAY! Movement time! Playing games on the grass, having intense discussions about morality, questioning our Judaism and Ideology. This seems to be a growing trend at these things. Salad and Pizza for dinner after an intense discussion on toppings. Important issues I tell you.

Wednesday:
A productive day for volunteering, judging by the lack of complaining and abundant good moods. Now some lunch, maybe a nap and a long break before our Modern History class. A good day me thinks.
I sign off to the sound of Dan, Josh, Jake and Jeff setting up the projector for a Pokemon Marathon.
Kathryn H.

Weekly report by Lily M. (Machon)

This was our first week back from Chofesh, where Kiryat Moriah once again welcomed us back to what has become our home, since throwing us out on the Friday of Pesach. We all had amazing chofesh’s, where between us there were music festivals, international and local travel, seeing family and friends (and then saying goodbye), exciting Pesach seders, and a general hellavuh good time. However there was a general consensus that in some way, we were all happy to be back Machon-ing-it-up.

Our first week back has been really intense. I’m going to try and tell you about what we’ve been up to, but since everyone has had such a different experience, in between my narrative will be each Netzer-machonnik’s time back on Machon so far in the form of a three word summary. {{In these double curly brackets }}

Many of us got back from our vacations really late that night…I don’t even want to talk about it. {{Naomi: Chocolate; AHH; BigEmotions}}
So Sunday morning bright and early, we had a welcome back breakfast picnic which was incredibly pleasant. The day was spent reflecting on being back, catching up on the time apart from one another, trying to get back into the flow of Machon.. oh and we bussed all the way to an Arab Israeli settlement to engage in a program with women studying at a university there. For some, it was their first proper interaction with Arabs, after months in Israel. Before that we had an intense sum-up of the arab-israeli conflict over the last few hundred years, by an incredible journalist, with a focus on Arab-Israelis or ‘Palestinians-with-Israeli-citizenship’ and their complex situation.

{{Benjy: Feeling Shnat Senioritus.}}

That night was an optional class about creating dialogue between Palestinians and Israeli Jews, which I found to be incredible. After a day of mind-hurting I fell asleep and dreamt of the Arab-Israeli-conflict. Not even joking.

{{Ruthi: Holocaust; Badfood; Coldshowers.}}

The next day was somewhat less intense. Half of Machon went to the Australian Israel Advocacy seminar for two loaded days where they seem to have had some great speakers and learnt a lot.

{{Jade: I’m Not Brainwashed! }}

We went to the Blind museum, called Dialogue in the Dark. Incredible, ironically eye-opening experience. We were guided around in the dark by a blind guy, and learnt how to see so much more.

{{ Sophie: Tired; Holocaust; Routine.}}

Tuesday was Yom Tnua, where we did some holocaust. Actually, it was really interesting, we learnt about good and evil in a very complex way. And reuniting Netzer was beautiful.

{{ Jordy: Holocaust; Holocaust; Shoah }}

Wednesday, we’ve been doing Holocaust since 8 in the morning, and shall continue until 11ish tonight.

{{ Becca: ALL the Holocaust-programming.}}

Tomorrow is Yom HaShoah, all day until late. I’ve heard it’s a unique experience in Israel, where the whole country stands still at the siren.

{{Shosh: is asleep so I cant ask her..shall leave it up to your imagination}}

Lastly, for my mom who doesn’t see my name often enough in the weekly reports that she reads alarmingly devotedly, and hence seems to think I’ve disappeared, I have Not!

{{ Lily: See Weekly Report}}

 

The Weekly Report: 12/04/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shantties. Shalom Rav,

"Simcha raba, Simcha raba aviv igia Pessach ba.."

We could not have asked for a better way to finish off last week and be sent off into a small vacation than with the celebration of Jake's Bar Mitzva.
We all gathered together last Thursday to join Jake and his family at the Southern Wall and celebrate his Bar Mitzva, our Etgar Shnatties helped prepare the mincha services, they prepared a fabulous sidur for the occasion, Jeff Josh and Jemma helped Rabbi Rich officiate and the texts were divided among the rest of the shnatties that took and active roll in the Bar Mitzva. Jake debuted reading the Torah and we heard very beutifull words from Jake and his parents and some words of wisdom from all the shnatties to Jake. After ceremony we were invited to a late lunch early diner hosted by Jake's family at the Begin Center where once again we were moved with emotions ( I even saw some tears) when the shnatties showed an amazing presentation in Jake's honor. We were thrilled to take part in this meaningful event.

With the culmination of the Bar Mitzva our shnatties and staff as well went out in a well deserved vacation, that started last Friday with the Pessach seder, our shnatties celebrated with family and some were invited to host families to celebrate and have been exploring during the last week the marvelous things that this small country has to offer during Pessach, this time is a week of festivals, shows, and much much heat.

We know some of you are here visiting our shnatties and we welcome you to come by the office and say hello.

There is an activity I used to do with my chanichim back in Venezuela, where I would I ask them to write (creatively) 10 new modern plagues, and I invite you if you wish to share with us your version of 10 modern plagues.

I wish you all a great weekend, Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach,

Michael

Weekly report by Tara D. (Machon)

Hello all. Its pesach chofesh and I text this to you from a place called 'shittim' where I am mid the buddha festival, ' zorba'. highlights so far include ' the red tent' session where I discovered the meaning of femininity, ' trance dance' ( could't exactly work out what was required of me here) and gypsy yoga indian dance, where I was taught to feel the ground through my hips. We all retired to bed at 10 pm last night, the excitement of it all proving too much, so we are all fresh and ready to learn, pray and party today. I have no idea where in israel anyone else is, but if anyone from shnat netzer is reading this I hope everything is going nicely for you. Emily kay has summed up chofesh so far as ' inspiring' which I consider to be an accurate description so thankyou emily. Wish I could tell you all more but its time for my afternoon nap before I discover the meaning of truth. Chag sameach.
Weekly report by Jeff S (Etgar)

Well it would seem that it’s that day again: Wednesday, or as we on Shnat Netzer like to call it, the day that somebody must write the weekly report. It certainly has been an eventful week since the last time you heard from us as a collective, so I’ll just get started.

Thursday was arguably the proudest day of our year so far as Jake Borsuk became a Bar Mitzvah at the Western Wall. He did an amazing job and was joined by all of our group and his family, along with many of ours. I had the honor of reading from the Torah during his service, as did Josh Lazarus. It was truly a simcha and Jake is now truly “the man.”

On Friday, our chofesh (break) began and we immediately dispersed into different parts of the land, and in some cases the Middle East. I went to Kibbutz Gezer with my sister where we had a beautiful and very interesting Seder. Daron (Dan Aron) and Jemma went to Kibbutz Lotan. Jake went all the way to Jordan for Pesach, and a sizeable crew of Etgarnikim stayed in Jerusalem and had Seder with random families. From what I hear, a great time was had by all. I think, although I’m not 100% sure, that Rebekkah went to the north for her Seder. Dan Rattan was in Tel Aviv with his father, brother, friend from Germany, and a whole host of other people having what must have been a very cool Seder.

The rest of Chag and Shabbat was spent in general relaxation (I think) by everybody. I returned to Jerusalem on Sunday to find the flat running amok with Emily, Kitty, Naomi, Liz, and eventually Rebekkah all frantically scrambling to get ready for Zorba, a festival in the dessert that I cannot even begin to describe, because to be honest, I don’t really know what it is. They were excited about it, and I’m sure they’re having a great time. Alyson was also around getting ready to travel to the North with a mixed group of Etgarnikim and Machonikim.

On Sprite Day I woke up to an almost empty flat, as everybody was gone except for Rebekkah and Kitty. They left the next day. Monday was a great day for me. I read the hunger games and saw the movie with my sister. I recommend it to all of you and “may the odds be ever in your favor.”

On Tuesday everybody was gone traveling already, so I hopped on a sheirut monit (taxi van thing) to Tel Aviv with my sister. We went to the beach and met up with some of our Israeli friends from Goldman Union Camp Institue. Can you believe I’ve gone this long before giving G.U.C.I. a shout out in my weekly reports? Anyway, It was a very nice and relaxing day that was topped off by having two very interesting kosher for Passover meals. I’ll briefly mention lunch at a Tel Aviv restaurant called Fresh. Essentially it’s just super healthy food, but it was actually quite delicious. I recommend it to anybody who wants to know exactly what they are eating, but still wants a good meal.

Well, that brings us to today, Wednesday, day of days. I know that Jake and Alyson and Jemma are in Nazareth and are headed to Rosh HaNikra soon. I am still in Jerusalem, relaxing it up, spending time with my sister, and working on Project6Million, which has actually been the bulk of my chofesh. I suppose this would be a great time for me to briefly introduce you to that, since it is noon and barely anything else has happened today.

Project6Million is a Holocaust remembrance movement that I am involved in launching. It is unlike any other movement in that we seek to not only remember and honor, but also to act. Our goal is to activate 6 million people to stand up and fight hatred and intolerance in today’s world. I would like to encourage you all to check out our new website: www.project6million.org and be sure to like us on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/project6million. Also, if you want any more information or want to discuss anything else related to the project you are all welcome to e-mail me at jeff.silverstein@project6million.org . I am the Outreach Coordinator and Content editor for Project6Million, and my goal is to spread this to as many people as possible, so that the dream of “never again” can be a promise.

Anyway, that about wraps up our weekly report, although with this one you get a call to action for social justice!

I hope that all of you are having a wonderful Pesach, and that your next year may truly be in Jerusalem. I can tell you from my own experience that there is just no place like it.

Chag Sameach!



 

The Weekly Report: 05/04/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shantties. Shalom Rav,

This week we had a few small historical events, last Thursday and Friday, our British shnatties were on their third and last Keshet seminar, the theme was Jewish life back in England while going to university, on Friday we were honored by the visit of the British Ambassador in Israel, who happens to be the first British Ambassador in Israel that is Jewish. There is an attached picture of the group with him. Our South African shnatties, spent last Thursday in the city of Ranana where the headquarters of TELFELD are, it is an organization that helps South Africans that have made Alyah and also do a lot for the community in Ranana, their day finished by being invited to diner at the house of a Sout African family that has made Alyah.

We will be finishing the week by celebrating Jake's Bar Mitzva, we are very excited about this, and we are thrilled to be able to take place, participate and witness this big event. Right after the Bar Mitzva, just like Pessach that symbolizes freedom, our shanties will be off to their Pessach vacation. During the next week all of our shnatties will be on vacation and will be free (while still keeping to our code of conduct) to travel and explore Israel, the week of Pessach is a week full of festivals and events to see and participate, there are a lot of parks and museums that are opened for free during this time, our madrichim Noa and Guy have sent our shnatties an email full of information and tips on what to do during their small vacation.

We know that some parents are already in Israel and that some of you are on your way, if you are Jerusalem, you are more than welcome to stop by the Netzer Offices for a cup of coffee we will be thrilled to meet you.

Please find attached pictures of the third and last Keshet seminar, the South African's visit to Ranana and although a bit late pictures from Purim.

I want to finish by wishing all of you a Chag Pessach Sameach, this year we are very happy that after five years, Gilad Shalit will finally be able to celebrate the seder with his family, and his family can go back to leaving an empty chair (with a glass of wine) just for Elyahu Hanabi.

I wish you all a great weekend, a marvelous time in Israel, a Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.

Michael


Weekly Report – By Alyson Rolfe and Elizabeth Herman (Etgar)

On Thursday morning our Brits went off to their final Keshet Seminar in Jerusalem where they were prepared for things that may come up during their years at university. During this time our South African went to Raanana for a day where she learnt about…. The rest of us who were left in Beit Shmuel had a Q&A session with the fabulous MKK and went to the HUC library where we looked at different Haggadot started to form our own ideas.

We came back from the weekend on Sunday, starting bright and early with Hebrew at 9:00. During the day we had Tanach for the time in what seems like ages. That night we had a spy program with our Madrichim Guy and Noa where we ran around Beit Shmuel and HUC looking for clues that they left for us. During the program we were required to go to places we don’t usually frequent and as a result Alyson, Naomi and Emily got lost while trying to find us.

On Monday we had History with Mark Lazar. This week we went to Mount Herzl. During the day we read a play about Herzl’s life then we had to creatively teach to the others in groups about the different Zionist thinkers. We saw the graves of many important people in Israeli history such as Jabotinsky and Golda Meir. It was an amazing experience.

Tuesday was another day starting with Hebrew class and a small Pesach seder after the break. We had Reform Judaism with M.K.K at 11:30. At three we had Yom Tnua with the machoniks. At 5 the British had a meeting about their Poland trip, which will take place after chofesh and the Southerners has a meeting with our mad for Kibbutz Hannah.

On Wednesday there was a massive cleaning operation of the flat after volunteering. After cleaning we had our meeting with Tal. The lesson was about Israeli trends. It is also the last day before Jake’s Bar Mitzvah, with everyone secretly preparing for it. Jake has been kicked out of rooms and taken out of the flat so we all can make him the best gifts and skits for the day.

Wait until next week to hear all about our time on chofesh.

Weekly report by the Machonicks,

It has been a supreme week for us machoniks.
We have been blessed with visits from Abby’s, Naomi’s, Ruthie’s, Dan Rat’s and Jake’s wonderful families and have spent a large part of our week wining and dining – being kept in the luxury we deserve.
As I write this everybody here is getting ready for Jake’s barmitzvah which will take place today (Thursday) at 2.30, at the Southern Wall of the 2nd temple – the cockpit of Jewish spiritual life and learning, and a place befitting of our excitement and joy. This will be, in many ways, the seminal event of our collective Jewish experience in Israel and a day I am sure we will all treasure forever.
The past week itself has been special enough. On Tuesday we had a moving, at times harrowing, few hours at Yad Vashem (the Holocaust museum/memorial in Jerusalem). This was followed, for the Brits, by a 4 hour preparation seminar for the March of the Living – a commemorative trip to Poland which is just 10 days away.
There was no respite yesterday, heading first to an elite army unit to ask select soldiers questions before being faced with more death at the Mt. Herzl, Israel’s military cemetery. There we saw the graves of many great men. From the famous - David Elazar (chief of staff during the Yom Kippur war), Yigael Yadin (archaeologist, Chief of Staff and Deputy Prime Minister) and Yoni Netanyahu (Bibi’s brother killed during the Entebbe raid) – to the lesser known, but equally inspirational soldiers including one man, Nir Cohen who was a madrichim on Machon just a few years ago and killed during the Second Lebannon war. Every grave was the same. It was an extremely humbling and very profound experience and one of those days that very much affirms your decision to spend a year in this country.
Yesterday we were confronted by tragedy, today by sheer joy and next week absolute freedom as we go on Chofesh – it’s a crazy but brilliant life.
Chag Sameach



x

The Weekly Report: 29/03/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

This was an intensive week, it was a week that my son decided it was about time to take his first steps without holding on to anyone or anything, it was a week where even though spring has arrived, the cold (well more chilly than cold) and rain still paid a visit.

This past Tuesday we had a long yom tnua, Guy took our shnatties to Tel Aviv for an amazing siur about social differences. This Thursday our lovely British shnatties will be having there third and last Keshet seminar, our lovely South African shnnaties will have a day in Rannana with the TELFELD organization and we will be getting ready for our last week before our Pessach chofesh.

I want to invite you to follow us on facebook

I wish you a great weekend and a Shabbat Shalom.

Michael

Weekly report by Abby M. (Machon)

Well it is late on a Monday night, yet it appears it is already time for me to write about the ‘Machonikim’s’ week; alas, it has only been a few sunny days since you last heard from us. So, forgive me if this account lacks content, but I will do my best to entertain and inform.
This past week has been the standard, yet ever-interesting, Machon Netzer week. In order to fully convey what this may mean, I shall try to illustrate it through the medium of one thing that happened to each of us this week. As, truthfully, I am not sure what else to say (many of us were away this weekend, and we have only had two days of Machon). Here I go…

In alphabetical order…

Abby was presented with her first ever personally hand-knitted scarf today. It was special, and she will treasure the beautiful cream accessory forever. Thank you, Becca.
Ariel discovered the little boy still left in him. He was playing the computer game, ‘counter-strikes’ until the early hours of Saturday morning. He tells me now from underneath the bunk, “it’s still amazing.”
Becca is a different person this evening, to how she was Wednesday evening. No longer is the light brown hair, instead when you see her you see a dark brunette. We all concur that it looks fab.
Ben’s mother and brother were in town this weekend! As well as having a wonderful weekend, Ben also asks that I honour his victorious performance at snooker. He successfully beat poor Gideon 7-1. Commiserations, Giddy.
Benji took a trip to Ein Kerem this weekend, alongwith Ruthie and Dan Aron and Alyson from Etgar. They say it’s a beautiful area, a place worth visiting.
Jade received a not-so-ordinary letter today, much to her joy. It turns out her friend’s workplace is short on paper, but has surplus blue and orange post-it notes. Her letter was in many pieces.
Jess spent the weekend back on Lotan, but also preparing for the festivities of Jake’s Barmitzvah which we are all getting very excited about. Her legs are freshly waxed, her hair styled, and she has her make-up sorted.
Jordy was taken ill, briefly. She suffered from the infectious Conjunctivitis for one day. She soon recovered.
Lily had a very adventurous weekend. I am not sure on the details, but I know it involved a spontaneous camping trip and a number of Israeli cities.
Naomi has run out of shampoo. The shampoos of the room next door is struggling.
Noa, along with the many many South Americans (and Ariel) we share our home with, encountered an ex-terrorist. The concept sounds fascinating.
Ruthie nearly died. No, I’m so sorry. She didn’t at all. What I am trying to say is that she is well once more! We were all thrilled to see her back on her feet; now we can finally celebrate her birthday!
Shoshana has moved on to her next book. Having thoroughly enjoyed ‘Women in Judaism’, she has begun ‘Faith and Practice.’ Good on her.
Sophie, a Uke-ist, was surprised to learn that the song, ‘The Lime in the Cocunut’ is made up of just one chord.
Tara, after copious phonecalls, emails, money exchanges, got the package we had so long been waiting for. We are all very pleased, it really caused a lot of hassle over the last 3 weeks.

So that is our week pretty much. I just want to quickly mention this evening. I have just come from a session which Colin, the head of Machon, put on especially for us Machon Netzer. We are trying to understand our ideology, Reform Zionism, and where they each come from. It was a very intense couple of hours, the ice cream making it marginally easier, and we all came out with far more questions than we had before we went in. But as Colin wisely assured us, if we are not more confused about what we believe after all the discussions we have on Machon, then they are doing something wrong.

Tomorrow we head to Tel Aviv for a Social Gap project. I wish I could tell you about it, but it hasn’t happened yet. Tune in next week to find out…

Weekly report by Rebekkah K. (Etgar)

Yom Afooch
The Shnattim started the week off right with Yom Afooch (Backwards day). Our lovely Rosh Shavuah Tzevet, Rebekkah and Naomi, got up in the early hours of the day to put clothes on backwards and cook everyone dinner. After the challenge of getting the masses up and ready earlier than normal, we all enjoyed a dinner of couscous, corn, pickles, and schnitzel at 8am. Asefah was then held, and it was noticeably quieter due to the absence of any and all mechanical toy noisemakers. We then had Hebrew, which was enlightening and educational.
A hadracha lesson with Guy and Noa left us all wondering with intelligence(s) we had. More asefah happened, and then we headed down for Tanak, but little did they know there was a surprise waiting for them…
Surprise! Our Tanak teacher was sick, so our beautiful Rosh Week Ladies had something in store: A scavenger hunt! Naomi and Rebekkah sent two groups out into the wilds of Jerusalem to complete twenty tasks, which my group successfully accomplished (the other group did not). If I remember, I’ll attach pictures from this adventure. We had to do things like tune-in around a light pole, get a shoe, pick up trash in the Old City, sing the Netzer song, and run an obstacle course, among others. Both groups had a really good time running around Jerusalem, and then met up in Talpiyot (one group taking taxis, the other a bus). The plan was to meet at the mall in Talpiyot, but there are four malls in Talpiyot. A half an hour of chaos ensued, with three different groups of people running around the entirety of Talpiyot trying to find the right mall and each other. Eventually we met up at Burger’s Bar and shared a nice meal together. We then traveled across the street to the mall, where Naomi and Rebekkah had a surprise for the group: Bowling!!! Two elevators took the Shnattim up a floor (well, one group went to every single floor below, and then up to bowling). We bowled. The very first ball rolled (mine) was a strike, jussayin’. Naomi was fun to watch, with her right arm in a cast. After a plethora of strikes, spares, and gutter balls, Dan R came out on top, with Josh following a close second, and Dan A and I in third and fourth. Ice cream and racecar games were played after, and then we started the journey home. It started off badly, with someone (definitely not me) accidentally bumping into a parked car and setting off the car alarm. While one group took a taxi, the others took a bus and got off at the right stop. Beit Shmuel was right around the corner, guys, according to Dan R. Wait, just kidding, it was actually really far away. Oh well. We eventually made it home, Emily made us all coffee, and five or six laptops popped open.
I sit here in the Internet Couch, gross plastic sticking to my legs and arm, next to Jake. Jake isn’t really doing anything, just watching Dan R, who is on the other side of him, surf the web. Alyson is on the Comfy Chair. She’s skyping, getting the ‘dish’ from her connections back home. Naomi sits on the couch, sucking her thumb, rolling her wrist, making cracking noises that make Alyson squirm. Was she supposed to take her cast off already? Probably not. But we all trust her to handle her own breaks by this point. Dan A sits on the Purple Couch making comments to aggravate and infuriate Alyson and humor everyone else. Liz has gone off to bed, and who knows where Kitty went. We usually never know where Kitty has gone. Josh is suspected to be in the toilet right now, but no one is really sure. Jeff and Jemma are off being treated to nicer things than our measly gap year wallets can buy.
Monday (formerly known as Sprite Day)
Monday Monday, what a day. It all began with a lesson on history. Well, kind of. I woke up in the dojo, having fallen asleep in the company of Dan A, Kitty, Jake, and Jeff, alone. A moment of confusion, and then I was on with my day. The few steps it took to get to the kitchen enlightened me as to why my friends stole off to their beds in the middle of the night: the dojo is really uncomfortable to sleep in; I was so sore. After a big cup of coffee and a refreshing shower, I began to detect the stirrings of my other flat mates waking up to the morning. Dan A first, like always, then a special guest, Jess. The rest woke up about five minutes before class at nine, which was unfortunate because we were all wrong: class was at 8:30. We learned, we learned, and then we learned some more. A break that was fifteen minutes long took about twenty-five minutes, and then we ventured out to the park. The Shanttim became NASA (USA ftw!) and figured out how to survive on the moon. We went back to class and learnt some more, and then I had my peer-led peula on Controversy within Netzer ideology. We had a debate about whether or not Hebrew is necessary in true debate form, and then discussed how we treat the importance (or lack thereof) and how it relates to how we teach our chanichim. I think it was the most amazing peula in the world and everybody learned so much, but maybe I think that because it was my peula. Anyway, when we got back to the flat and every single one of us walked into the kitchen to prepare and consume our fifth meal of the day so far, people were still talking about the topic and debating it, which I take as a sign of success. We ate, and then kept eating when Noa came over. We all got on the Netzer bus (plastic chairs set up in our living room) with Dan R as driver. He got to pretend to know how to drive and we were all subject to his crazy whims. Noa took us on a Powerpoint tour of Israel and all the wonderful possibilities for Pesach, like dancing the Horah, creating a play, watching Jake swim down the hall and swimming straight into a door, and playing Sardines. When Noa left, Naomi and Rebekkah (the most beautiful, wonderful, lovely, smart, awesome, amazing, nice, fair, and enlightening Rosh Week Tzevet of all time) went with her to have secret behind-the-scenes conversations. Later, Dan A and Kitty joined us to discuss Tiyul Tzafon (northern trip), but first we made delicious coffee in bowl mugs. We then discussed how much we loved the bowl mugs. Tiyul Tzafon will be an amazing week of SURPRISE!!! I cant tell you yet, but rest assured that it will be worth the wait. Maybe, jokes: most definitely, there will be a t-shirt. Maybe one for each day. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll get Sprite Day t-shirts and all the seven other t-shirts we have planned oswoll.
The best part of the day, however, has just ended: dinner time. Liz and Dan R cooked about forty hot dogs for about five people and a ton of fries (NOT chips). As I sit here, there is still a big bowl mostly full of vege noknikiyot and an empty oily bowl were the fries once were. And don’t tell Jeff, but we’re drinking Coca Cola. Jake was the first to break Shomer Yom Sprite; he bought a Coca Cola and brought it to the park with us. And after we got our groceries delivered to us (yes, we’re that lazy, we do our shopping online and get it delivered to our doorstep), we realized we didn’t have any Sprite, just Coca Cola. So seriously, don’t tell Jeff.
After we finished eating, we sat around eating more fries and talking. What did we talk about? Well, I can’t tell you that. But I can tell you that it was fun, disgusting, wonderful, and made us all laugh way too much for the amount of actual humor there was.
We have a few new additions to the flat:
· - The Rota/Roster: Kitty and I spent a good half an hour making up problems with it to fix. It’s now perfect.
· - The Fun room poster, it’s beautiful
· - Etgar Quote Wall: it is a wall of quotes from Etgar, but you probably figured that out.
· - We moved the couches, and it doesn’t look like anyone wants to move them back, despite a couch blocking the entire hallway and a chair blocking to door to the Fun Room.
The wonderful life of… Kitty and Rebekkah!!! (black is Rebekkah, green is Kitty)
The best part about writing the weekly report is that I get to choose what gets said. And we can mention each other as many times as humanly possible. From this point on, you’ll be counting the amount of times were mentioned or have written the actual report ourselves. For example, I was gone last week on a Masa Building Future Leaders Conference, and I was in the flat and thus wasn’t mentioned in the weekly report (to read about what happened there, check out my blog: http://bekkah-netzer.blogspot.com/). This week, however, I think that the following insertion written by Kitty and I should be said, and thus here it is:

Sour Patch Kids and their implications on the lives of youth
To start off this article, we’ll begin by stating the 3 things we would do for Sour Patch Kids (this is a very hot topic in the Etgar Flat currently)
Rebekkah’s List:
· - Trade my precious Skittles
· - Debate with Jeff
· - Walk anywhere near the boy’s bathroom after it’s been recently used
Kitty’s List:
· Nothing

· Lick peanut butter off someone’s big toe

· Give Jake a piggyback to class down two flights of stairs to class 117.

As you can see, Rebekkah’s list contains much more perilous things than Kitty’s does. Why is this? Maybe it’s because Rebekkah grew up eating SPKs and thus holds much higher value to them. She’d be willing to do much more for the taste of those delicious candies again. Kitty, however, does not even know what she is missing. Having had someone try and bribe me with this means, I have become increasingly more interested in the supposedly delicious taste Rebekkah claims they have. Which position is better? To know and enjoy a luxury item and then have it taken away and dangled in front of you, or to never know and thus be indifferent to the dangling? To have loved and have lost, or never have loved at all? Rebekkah pities poor Kitty, for she has never had the experience of tasting SPKs. Kitty seems to think Rebekkah is a little desperate and weird, bargaining all of this for a candy. Its really just sweets, I’m sure I can live without it, having lived a pretty average life without them thus far. As much as Rebekkah attempts to persuade Kitty, she just doesn’t get it. And Rebekkah is becoming more frustrated; trying to describe something she thinks is so indescribably wonderful.
(Cue here: un-PC jokes about the situation when you think about it from the American kid versus the African kid perspective)
After some conversation about this topic, we have come to one conclusion: it is favorable to experience as much of life as possible. Eat SPKs, go to Zorba, try shwarma, run an obstacle course in the Old City, live in a flat with eleven young Jews, go to Israel, go to China, go to India, ride a camel, meet an Israeli soldier, play loads of Jewish Geography, go to university, study something interesting yet completely irrelevant to your future, or wear a crazy hat. We do these on an almost daily basis, so we’re pretty much experts me thinks. Try it all, do it all. What is life if you don’t experience it? You grow up, follow societal expectations, and are nothing but a product of society. However, if you grow up your own way and have your own adventures and try as much as you possibly can, then you are the product of your life. To experience is to live, and to shelter your self away from the delicacies of the world (both culinary and not) is to essentially waste this one opportunity we are all given in this world.
I think I just figured out the Meaning of Life. I, kitty, have not yet reached the point of being able to relate the meaning of life to the wanting of SPK. Maybe I should try them? But then I’ll have to do one of those things that I said before that I would do for a SPK and I don’t really want to because its really late at night and summer just doesn’t happen in Jerusalem.
EXCEPT (yes, chevre, there is always an ‘except’), what happens when you develop an attachment to something and then are no longer allowed it? A country you’ve fallen in love with and then have to leave? A food you can only have when in one region of the world? A view that can only be seen from one spot, one singular spot in the entirety of the huge planet we live on? A person you have to leave, or who leaves you? Or, for those of us who live in a different hemisphere and don’t know what daylight savings is, it might be people that have changed your life, and only having a limited time to talk to them. To be with them, to soak up every possible morsel of their being. Having a limited time frame for friendships in an environment like that of shnat is probably one of its biggest downfalls. I can’t imagine a shnat without the Northerners, and all too soon, I know that this will be a reality, and that I will spend the rest of my young adult life trying to reconnect with these people but knowing that we might not ever be a platform for that kind of relationship. I’ve just reached that stage of existential crisis and am now wondering why I spent the last four hours in the flat making signs and sticking them on the walls, instead of living. I could have been exploring Judaism in one of the holiest places on earth! But I wasn’t. I was here. You were there. And we were listening to Beatles songs and wondering why Josh had to poop so many times today.
Is it worth it? The pain and that sharp feeling of loss that comes from having something taken away from you, or even worse: having to leave something. Is it worth having had it at all? On one hand, the period spent grieving may outweigh the joy the thing brought you. In its most extreme form, grieving may never end, and it has the potential to destroy lives. One the other hand, the joy can outweigh the grief and feeling of loss. If anything, we can take in and realize that in our most depressive states, there is something we miss that touched us so deeply that we feel that way. Something touched us and gave us such joy and happiness or something that it was able to make so much of an impact on us. Its people and places and things and times that make us realize just how precious each and every Sour Patch Kid is and how we should taste and savor the deliciousness in every minute. Yes, we are grieving and yes we are sad and yes we have a catch in our throat and a pang in our chest, but the knowledge that something was so detrimental to us in such a positive way can carry us through. Using memory, it might even help to dwell on that pain. There are a lot of reasons people say pain is good: it makes us stronger, it means we’re healthy enough to detect it, etc. Another reason could be: Pain is good because it means that we were once healthy, happy, whole. In this moment, with Dan making tea out of boredom and looking around at all the new signs depicting rules and regulations or even just the laundry roster, I’ll know that once there was a real purpose from nothing, from boredom and that pro-activism, in any sense would make the world a more colorful place where rosters are fun and everyone knows when they can do laundry. Yes, my arm is broken, but that means I had such a long time with full use of my arm, I could do so much with that arm? Remember all those baskets I dunked, all those poems I wrote, all those hugs I gave… Yes, I’m now sad that I am moving away from a close friend. But I’m sad because that friend made me so happy, and I’m lucky to have had such a good friendship. I miss friends. Yes, I miss SPKs, but I am so lucky to be privileged enough to live in a society that gives me such luxuries, so lucky to have experienced such a tasty treat, so lucky to be fed and happy enough to have frivolous things like SPKs in my life, so happy that I have nice little things in my life to miss and look forward to.
So although the pain of leaving might be hard, it is worth it. It is always worth it. Every bad thing, every pain means we were once happy. That we’ve grown and that we’ll continue to grow on this extensive journey called life.
Yes, Kitty doesn’t miss Sour Patch Kids, and doesn’t have the frustration and longing that Rebekkah now feels. But she has never known this little luxury, has never had that experience. Maybe Kitty feels more content with her life right now, but Rebekkah really has had more: more experience, more life (in this specific example of SPKs, not in general side-by-side comparison of our lives). Content is an over statement, I don’t think one will ever be content. It’s human nature to want more, to be more, to love more (whatever that may mean to you) but one will never truly sit and look at ones life and say that they’re done. That, this is what they have done and that they’ll want to stop. No one should want to stop and that’s the beauty of happiness. More. Ah, the wonderful world of existentialisms. The solution to our problem, and maybe all problems ever:
Jeff needs to share his damn Sour Patch Kids.
Tuesday, March 27th
Loneliness, quiet, and solitude were the thoughts going through my mind last night. Alyson was in Tel Aviv with her dad and Naomi and Emily were in the guest room, so I was all-alone in the room. I don’t have loud roommates, but their presence is definitely something I have been taking for granted. I finally fell asleep.
My infamous alarm woke me up at 8:00am, and then I went back to sleep. I woke up again at 8:30am and got out of bed. I went to the bathroom and put on my face, and then went to my room to clothe myself. I realized I had no idea what the day was going to be like, so I checked the weather in Tel Aviv via the Internet. I learned that it was going to be too-freaking-cold, and raining, so I dressed appropriately, as did the rest of Etgar. I did the normal things, like brush my hair and put on deodorant, and then I went downstairs. The whole group met in the lobby and waited for the bus there. Emily and I made a bet: she thought it would take one hour for Jeff to notice I was wearing his shirt, I thought it would take three and a half hours. When we all boarded the bus, we were greeted by Machon and were off to Tel Aviv. Eventually, after a nap that was definitely not long enough, we arrived in Tel Aviv. One thing I can say with complete confidence about our group is that we definitely retain our childlike sense of play: our first stop was a playground, where we went crazy on the swings and slides. Much to our disappointment, we had to stop playing. Our guide for the day taught us a new game, one which we all enjoyed. It was educational, too: Kitty told us all about the new American states: Canada and Cincinatti. When we actually started to learn real facts, we learned about Tel Aviv and how it was formed and how it all relates to the idea of Zionism. We walked through the park and into a neighborhood. We saw a dog and a lot of donkeys. Like, real donkeys (well, you could argue that they were mules, there was a debate). We walked some more and saw a school that had afterschool and extra curricular activities run by a religious political party, Shos. From there, we headed to a neighborhood that had been superficially renovated by one political party when they had the majority of the government. We discussed how to change a deprived area into a thriving one. The next place we visited was an area just next to the Central Bus Station (the biggest bus station in the world, we learned) that was the main HQ, you could say, for all the foreign workers in Tel Aviv; it, too, was a depraved area. While we were talking about the situation the workers were in, how the world’s governments deal with it, and what should be changed, I watched a plastic bag being carried up by the wind, across a vacant lot, and into a tree in someone’s yard. The whole vacant lot we were in looked like something you would imagine in a third world country. A dirt lot with a carpet made of trash, and chickens picking their way through it all to find a good meal. Destination ba’a was a park. But not just any park. This park was home to countless amounts of people. These were not foreign workers; these were the immigrants and refugees. Although not many of them will receive official refugee status from the government, they are all here, some after a desperate and life-threatening journey. They are illegal, but have a better life here than anywhere else. We were talking about some ideas of plans to carry out so that these people wouldn’t have to live in this park, when a man walked by our group. He seemed under the influence of something, he was slurring for sure. The man was black and stumbling, as well. We started yelling to us, trying to talk or start a dialogue it seemed. Guy tried to talk to him away from the group so we could continue our discussion, but he came back and was yelling this time. It was all in Hebrew, but we didn’t need words to detect the animosity in his message. After a while he walked on, and we talked on. Another occurrence of note from that park was when someone asked what all the bags and sleeping bags were for, like was another youth group here or something? But no, those belonged to the people standing and sitting around the park, alone or in small groups. And we were sitting in their bedroom and in their living room. It was a surreal experience but we had to move on. The next place we went to was a shuk for lunch. We all got pizzur and were sent off. I really wanted falafel, so we walked through the shuk trying to find falafel, but alas, there was none. So we walked out to the main road and down the street until we found a suitable falafel place. We were considering one place when the workers came out and told us ‘yesh makom lkulam bifnim,’ and I used my ever-increasing Hebrew skills to alert the rest of the group that there was space in side for us all, and we went in. They told us to sit down and relax, and then brought us out salad, six falafels, fried potato crisp type things, and a bottle of diet Coke. Our meal was practically catered: all the food for the most cheap!
We visited Rothschild Boulevard next, after a quick ice cream stop. Emily and I made a pact to always tell each other if we have food on our face or other embarrassing things like that, and I am now much more comfortable in life knowing Emily is looking out for me. We saw where the first tents that started the tent cities were, and then we did a very Netzer-y thing: we made a Big Circle With Everybody In It in the middle of a public place. We read resources and talked for a while, but then we headed inside this very cool building. As we walked up a story, we saw that the walls were covered in graffiti and posters and slogans. A man met with us to talk about the tent city protests and social justice. While the conversation was very enlightening and gave us all much more knowledge and many more ideas, the one unifying thing that happened was a movement that caused every left leg to rest on top of our neighbor’s right leg. Don’t ask me why. Another highlight was the meal of pizza that followed the discussion. Of all the Yom Tnuot pizzas, I think this was the best.
Just before the pizza, however, Ben led us in a discussion about social justice and what should we do about it. We talked for a while, and then came up with real concrete ideas that will not only make a tangible impact, but might actually happen. Some of us are researching some ideas to determine the feasibility of our ideas and are going to put them into action at the next Yom Tnua. We are all pretty excited for this to happen, and are equally (if not more) excited that the twenty-five of us managed to have a civil and productive conversation that happened without yelling or interruption on a mass scale.
The bus ride on the way back to Jerusalem was full of songs (Disney, rap, and everything in between) and girl talks. The back of the bus ran the song sesh, but up at the front we girls chatted it up the whole way.
When I asked Dan R is he could have anything in the world right now, he replied with this little nugget of wisdom: ‘I’m pretty happy right now.’
I know I can’t speak for all of Etgar (despite that being the exact point of the weekly report), but the general feeling is that of happiness.
I’m sitting in the Comfy Chair sideways, which is rather uncomfortable, but from here I can see Liz on the couch, Jeff with his huge red headphones and business to do, Dan making friends with Alyson’s dad (Dan is the most friendly to strangers), and Alyson and her dad, reunited for the first time since she flew away almost six months ago. Kitty and her skype friend on a tour of the flat, and Emily having a computer crisis. Dan A coming in to say something odd and then leave, and Jemma running around looking confused. Josh and Naomi are in the bathrooms, his second time and her first today according to the Poo Log. I’m not sure where Jake is, but you can almost always find him in the kitchen or the dojo or the balcony.
The week’s not over, but we’ve had a grand ol’ time so far.

The Weekly Report: 22/03/2012

Dear Parents, Sniffim and Shnatties. Shalom Rav,

This week was full of emotions; we were mixed with happiness, sadness, disappointment.
On the same day that a terrible crime was being committed in Toulouse, France where 3 Jewish schoolchildren were murdered on their way to school, the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland where welcoming Ismail Al-Ashkar, a high rank Hammas official that gave a speech about civil rights.
It was also a week where new documents were made public giving proof that more or less 9000 Nazis were able to escape to South America, that the Argentinean president from that time Juan Peron, sold 10000 passports to the Odessa organization (the organization in charge of helping SS soldiers in case of losing the war) and that at least 800 Nazis were able to flee with passports form the Vatican.

However we are also optimist people and we hope and aspire for the best and this leads me to the good news, the good announcements, the events that gave the happy emotion for the week.
Last Friday, Dan A. and Josh. L. participated in the Jerusalem Marathon, I am attaching a picture, don’t be fooled by Dan's appearance, he said that he enjoyed it very much.
Our shnatties are back in class after having had a week tyul in the southern area of Israel and are waiting for the next tyul that will be to the northern part of Israel.

Spring arrived to Israel, which means that it is warm during the day and cold at night and that Pessach is right around the corner and our shnatties will be receiving a well disserved chofesh.

I want to wish you all a great weekend and Shabbat Shalom,

Michael

Weekly report by Jess K. (Mahon)

Hello gang.
So that time has come round again. Another weekly report. What a pleasant surprise it was to receive a text from Guy the leader today telling me it was my turn. How glad was I to take on the special task of relating the week's events. "Just give me that chance!", I cried. Now enough babblin'. This week, I will be writing in the style of my favourite literary character, Adrian Mole; bit of a diarist, bit of a pedant, bit of a personal hero of mine. So here goes nothing. Do note, some situations may not have happened exactly as described, but in order to sound more like Adrian, I've had to tweak certain details. Also, a lot of the time, when I use the first person “I”, I mean the collective netzer group on machon, “we”. Except of course, the times where it’s an activity obviously for one person. Then I am just talking about me in particular, as indulgent as that is. Just as long as we're all happy with that.

15th March 2012
Whilst my piggish peers feasted on a gigantic buffet breakfast, I was struck down with a nasty runny nose and chesty cough combination. I suspect bronchitis. I shall have to book an appointment with doctor Singh as soon as I return. After all, winter is nearly upon us, and to have caught this maladie during the summer months doesn’t bode well. I soon found myself participating in water sport activities. I rode on a banana boat. Diary, I’m still unsure as to whether I enjoyed the cheap thrill it provided, or whether I intensely disliked the experience and how wet it made me. Also, some of the salt water got into one of the infected boils on my back. If the pain doesn’t subside soon, Singh will have to be consulted on this issue too. I then was forced into sharing a pedalo boat by a garish australian. Neither of us could control the vessel, and we ending up reversing into the pebbled bay and had to be towed back to the pier by Noam Cohney, our guide. All this hassle has made me question my mother’s motives in suggesting Eilat as a holiday destination. Next time she offers her sage pearls, I’ll tell her to keep her nose out of it. I’m sticking to Skegness!
16th March 2012
Some of the group have decided to stay on in Eilat. Not me. I got out of there as soon as I was able. I missed Jerusalem, and the feeling of not having sweat all over my body. Tonight I dined with a Jewish ultra-orthodox couple. I wasn’t invited officially, but a shady American called Jeff Seidel pulled some strings, and before I knew it, I was at their humble table, breaking bread and sharing tales of war (Lebanon). All I was told was that Jeff would be waiting for me by the wailing wall, and that I’d recognise him by his angry glare and bald head. The religious couple were called Hannah and Man (he never revealed his real name), and were most welcoming, though I suspect they can’t conceive, given the notable absence of any kinder. Also present was another yank called Eric who belched loudly during grace, and told a variety of both racist and camel-themed jokes throughout the meal. The food was a solid 7 out of 10.
17th March 2012
Boil on back inflated to size of mole mound. Otherwise a restful sabbath.

18th March 2012
I woke up this morning to the startling realisation that I am entirely unappealing to all Israeli women. This wouldn’t be such a problem, if it weren’t for the fact that this is the case with all English women too. Will any race of female accept me? Maybe my pale skin and lanky frame will be appreciated in the orient. Forget Skegness, I shall go to Laos for my next holiday.
I found myself in a “leadership specialisation” session today, learning about “issues and isms” with an Englishman (finally!) who made us call him “Laz”. The ism in question was sexism. It reminded me that I need to ring my mother (she is reading Greer’s The Female Eunuch and is a feminist) to tell her to feed the dog. I also did a hebrew lesson, during which I decided I may want to bring up my children tri-lingual. The mini Moles will be masters of English, Laotian and Ivrit. It is a very beautiful and passionate language – attributes that Moles famously lack. Maybe linguistic ability will help in this area.

20th March 2012
Today I went to an Israel advocacy seminar. I still don’t know how I got there, or why I was let in (every other participant was 18 and Australian) but there it is. I felt strangely at home amongst these people. I think in future I might befriend Australasian teens exclusively. They just get me. During a break I shared a diet coke with a surfer called Doz. He told me at length about the tides, and in return, I was happy to share my knowledge of the Norwegian leather industry. I think we mutually benefitted from the discourse, though I’ll admit, I was slightly bored by his topic at times. He didn’t half go on about it! I arrived at the seminar knowing literally nothing about Israel and how to defend it. I left 5 hours later with an Israeli flag draped over my shoulders and leading a chorus of the hatikvah with Doz. I’m now seriously considering conversion.

21st March 2012
Having slept on it, I have decided to convert. I will join the ranks of my comrades and fellow believers – Martin Buber, Leon Trotsky and Natalie Portman. When I am a famous writer, my name will appear amongst those greats. Grandma Sugden won’t be very impressed . She is a proud anti-semite, but with a bit of luck, she won’t be around much longer to scorn. At 87, she’s already doing remarkably well for a Sugden.
10pm
Another brilliant day in Israel. When I am Jewish and with 4 fluent hebrew-speaking children under my belt, I think I’ll make Aliyah. It just makes sense. I met a philosophy professor who shared his views on different streams of Judaism with me. I didn’t have anything to tell him in return (apparently he was an expert in the Norwegian leather industry already) so I offered to send him my poetry compendium instead. He seemed disinterested, but we intellectuals always do give off an air of indifference, so although he refused to give me his home address, I still got it off Noam Cohney later. The highlight of the day was getting the chance to hear a writer, a modern orthodox woman, discuss her work. Although she does screenplays for cable tv, and I do serious literature, and where she has enjoyed success, I have not, I still felt the connection two artists feel when they catch eyes. I felt her respect for me emanate over the crowds, and under her gaze, I blushed modestly. She showed me some of her work (season 1, episode 9), and I made the decision to collaborate with her. Cohney refused to give me her address, but he has forgotten about the yellow pages. Ha ha!


Weekly report by Dan A (Etgar)

The weekend of the marathon was a time of huge significance for the etgarniks. Two representatives and a Guy ran on behalf of netzer in the 10 kilometer run, their names? … Daron and Josh. After this brief but intense exercise the etgar regime continued. Our madricha Noa was ill during the week so the weekly madrichim, Daron and Jake the Snake, were left to take up the baton of responsibility. They managed to stem the flow of heated rivalries that had developed over the course of last week’s Tiyul. Having brought everyone back together Etgar resumed with a group of smiles compared to the frowns of the past.
First up, a Guy gave us a hadracha (leadership) lesson on how technology is the devil, polluting the minds of the young and innocent with all sorts of brutal and shocking pictures and graphics. Following this enlightening session we had an asefah, before we were given the chance to plug ourselves back into our laptops, you will be thrilled to know that everything went swimmingly.
Second day, a great session from stand in Liora on the history of European jewry in the Middle ages, covering all sorts of grim and gruesome details, the guys loved it ;) Next came Dana’s peulah on ‘pioot’ (poems) for the siddur that etgar is creating. You could feel the creative energy permeating from that room, people truly discovered the inner romantic hidden deep within them.
Next day everyone went to the AZYC conference in the afternoon, in order to learn and demonstrate Israel Advocacy. A great experience.
Penultimate week day started with the group venturing out into Jerusalem to help the less fortunate, and bring joy and happiness to the world. After this we had a hectic lesson on how to write a ma’amad by Dana. By the level of noise coming from that room it seemed everyone was having the time of their life.
And that ends a week of physical, educational, revelational, philosophical, historical teachings, all absorbed by our eager and supple minds.