Independence Tiyul
The Castel
One of the biggest keys of winning Milchemet Ha'atzmaut was getting to high ground. Only a short 10 minute drive away from Kibbutz Tzuba, is the Castel Fortress, which played a major role in Israel's Independence War. During the war, the Arabs tried to blockade the Jews inside Jerusalem from receiving essential supplies for survival from convoy trucks. David Ben-Gurion said that if we lose Jerusalem, then we lose the war. So, in order to win, Israel went on the offensive side with Operation Nachshon, or the ד Plan.The main focus of this plan, was to open the roads to Jerusalem by holding the high ground. The Castel fortress at the time was controlled by the Palestinians, who were led by General Kadar al-Husseinii. On April 3rd, 1948, the Jews sieged the Castel without a single casualty. While the Jews had control of the Castel, a convey truck was able to evade the blockade, and enter Jerusalem with supplies. General Kadar al-Husseinii and two other men, came up the mountain to inspect the area, and saw Israeli soldiers. It's not clear whether he recognized them or not, but it is said that in English, al-Husseinii announced, "Hello boys!". Right then and there, the Israelis opened fire and killed al-Husseinii. The Arabs became frustrated with this, and 1000 of them stormed back up the Kastel with rifles to reclaim the land. The Israeli soldiers were forced to retreat and take the defeat, with 39 casualties. Then, during the funeral for Kadar al-Husseinii, the Israelis took back the Castel, and they still have control of it to this day.
Machon Ayalon
At Machon Ayalon, in Rehovot, we visited a Kibbutz that had been secretly made into a underground bullet factory. During the British Mandate, the people on the Kibbutz had a fully operating bakery, and laundry business in order to cover the noise of the bullet machines. Some British soldier even sent their clothes to the Kibbutz without any knowledge of what was happening beneath their feet!
Yad La-Shiryon
We visited Yad La-Shiryon which is Israel's official memorial site for fallen soldiers from the armored corps, with an amazing display of tanks outside. We even got a chance to climb some of the awesome tanks.
I feel a lot of Israeli proud where I see myself flourishing more in Israeli culture. I really like how cultural Judaism is part of everyday society. I see myself agreeing more with Israeli values. Likewise, the hummus here is much better.
ReplyDeleteI feel pride for Israel but realistically I’m still flourishing more in American culture. The reason why I feel this way is because I’ve lived in America living out American culture my whole life. Yes I feel I am living the culture to my full advantage here, but I will never really feel it the same way as those who have lived here their whole life would. 4 months isn’t that much time to experience all of Israeli culture. I wished I flourished in it more but I still know culture in America better.
ReplyDeleteDuring this past week while we were learning about the formation of Israel my pride and love for this country has deepened. We have learned that Israel was not just served to us on a silver plater. Our Jewish ancestors had to fight for it with all their might and passion. Even though I don’t have any closely traced ancestors who helped in its formation I still feel very connected to the country because I have a lot of family and friends that live here. I love Israeli culture; the food, religion, vibe, music, and daily life. I feel that it culture here in Israel is more dynamic than American culture. I do feel more proud to be an American because that is where my home is and I am use to it’s culture but I also love Israeli culture.
ReplyDeleteI feel Israeli pride whenever we travel throughout the country. Because even though it may not legally be my country, I still have a special connection to the land. So wherever we go I feel proud, I feel as if "wow look at what my people built!" My people, the Jewish people. As for the seccond question its hard for me to answer which culture I belive I flourish more in. Because America is my home, the pop-culture, the music, the food, the language, its all mine. But in Israel the food and the language and the music, everything is new to me.
ReplyDeleteI feel a lot of pride in Israeli culture. Being in Israel has made me even more proud to be a Jew. Israel to me is a safe heaven where I know I will always be accepted. Although, I do feel a lot of Israeli pride I see myself flourishing more in American culture. I have grown up in America and America will always be my home. I believe that you can be Jewish anywhere and that Israel does not define your Judiasm.
ReplyDeleteI have pride in Israeli culture more than in American culture, simply because of the Jewish values that are rooted into everyday life. The more time I spend here the more connected I feel, and everyday it becomes more difficult for me to imagine living in America for the rest of my life. The thought of making aliyah often crosses my mind, and I think my Jewish/Israeli pride has grown to be larger than my American pride.
ReplyDeleteI feel pride for the state of Israel and being able to associate myself with the great Jewish Nation and the state we worked hard to create, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it “Israeli Pride” because I am not a citizen and am by no means Israeli. I feel better in American culture because it is what I am familiar with and have been raised in. While I love my Jewish heritage and consider one of the most important parts of myself, I do not consider myself flourishing within its social constructs.
ReplyDeleteI have started to feel a lot of Israeli pride. I know this country isn’t perfect but it if also does a lot of things right that people don’t give it credit for, and really what county is perfect. However I feel like right now I fit in with American culture but only cause I’m used to it. I love Israeli culture and I’d love to get to know it better in the last month and in trips later in life.
ReplyDeleteOf course I feel growing pride for this amazing country, and I definitely plan on coming back here many times in my life. Of course there are aspects of living here that I appreciate more than America, but we also don't live normal Israeli life. For that reason, living here has made me miss many things about America, but I wouldn't say that my culture is growing. I believe that my appreciation for both countries has grown immensely.
ReplyDeleteWhen I hear Hatikvah, I am filled with a rooting within the country that I love. When I hear the Star Spangled Banner, I feel alienated, like I am a Jew living in a Christian's country, like I don't belong to be included in the larger group of people.
ReplyDeleteI find myself having a lot of Israeli pride. Being here has shown me so much about the country and culture. Even though I was only raised here till a very young age I never got to learn about Israel in the way I have over the last 4 months. Thinking about making aliyah here or joining the IDF is something I would never have thought about before. Of course this country has it's cons and it is very different from Canada, but I guess you just have to adjust and get used to it.
ReplyDeleteI definitely have felt my Israeli pride grow while I've been here, but I'm extremely unsure of where I feel more comfortable. In the aliyah panel, what Shira said about feeling like America puts you in a box and on a set path really resonated with me, but I don't know what to do with it yet. I really want to come back and spend time in Israel not as part of an American program because I feel like as much as we've been learning about the culture, we haven't truly experienced it much.
ReplyDeleteI find myself with an immense amount of Israeli pride, which surprised me. I feel like I fit in well with this community, something that I never truly felt in America. I could definitely see a life for myself here, and only the future will tell what happens.
ReplyDeleteI am much more connected to American culture however, I do find that I have a lot of Israeli pride and defense in Israel. When someone speaks about Israel I personally feel attached to the Israeli ideas and issues being talked about. That idea had also changed with this trip too, giving me a deeper connection to Israel.
ReplyDeleteI think that by seeing the beauty of Israel my pride for Israel has increased more than my pride in America has in the past few months. Even though I am more connected to American culture I still find myself increasingly proud of Israel.
ReplyDeletethe week of Yom Hatsmaut and Yom HaZikaron, I fell In love with this country. I don't think I will end up moving here ever, but I won't throw the idea away completely. From being so sad, to so happy in a matter of hours amazed me. and that week I was finally opened to the true diversity in this land and that I really appreciate.
ReplyDeleteI love Israeli culture and I think it will continue to be apart of me even after I leave but I am a hardcore capitalist and believe that personal greed drives innovation. So because of that i might like American culture just a little better.
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