June began with a Teva-Matzpen shichva weekend together on Ein Dor.  Since both the Boneh and Machon groups had been through a busy couple of weeks, the Shnat madrichim planned a pretty relaxed weekend with a focus on art and creativity, including a zany Kabalat Shabbat play linking together the music of the Village People and the parashat hashavua (weekly Torah portion), workshops in dance, visual arts and slam poetry, peer-led intellectual programs and plenty of time for friends to relax and catch up with friends from the other program:

Friends from OZ and NZ hanging out

Check out some of the Shnat madrichim rehearsing a musical number for their play:

The next week on Boneh dealt with youth movements, as mentioned in the previous post, and culminated in a visit to the Palmach Museum in Tel Aviv, a state-of-the-art museum which tells the fascinating story of the military force which grew out of the Zionist youth movements and helped lead Israel to its independence.  That day some chanichim also visited the mesimot they will be taking on once Kaveret begins in Rishon Letzion and Holon, while others explored the hip south Tel Aviv neighborhood of Florentin, taking in the copious graffiti/street art of the neighborhood and then enjoying some free time there.


The last week of Boneh was full of reflection and evaluation. Over the course of Boneh, the chanichim have learned about Jewish history from ancient Judea, through the spread of Christianity and Islam, through the advent of the Enlightenment and modernity, and finally to modern Zionism and contemporary communities and issues. They have been exposed a diverse Israeli population: Ashkenazim, Mizrahim (Jews from Islamic countries), Russians, non-Jewish Arabs, settler and ultra-orthodox and secular and soldier; each with a history and a narrative. They have discussed many facets of education and leadership, not just as theory, but in their own lives in the movement, at school, and with their friends and family. Part of the goal of “Sikkum Week” was to rehash these many components of Boneh and tie them all together.

The first evening featured a performance by the chanichim in Power Course on Drama; everyone gathered together to see their play about capitalism. It would not have been complete, however, without a delectable dessert – vegan masala brownies and caramel corn – provided by none other than the Power Course on Cooking.

The next morning, the chanichim traveled to a Druze village on Mt. Carmel. After exploring the shuk and enjoying a very generous meal at a Druze restaurant, they heard a presentation by the proprietor about the Druze community and its relationship with the state. Traditionally, the Druze seek no state of their own, but are loyal to whoever rules the land; the very welcoming host gave the chanichim insight of how this plays out in Israel, neighboring Syria, and elsewhere, and then opened up the floor for a heated and interesting question period.

A few peulot and a barbeque later, the chanichim had some time to reflect on their experience on Boneh both as individuals and with their kvutzot, including collecting oral and written feedback to help us strengthen Boneh for future machzorim.

Finally, a number of parents and family members joined for the chanichim's tekes (ceremony) to celebrate and commemorate their time on Boneh. It was great for the tzevet and the kids to get to meet so many families and conclude on such a high note.  Several chanichim from each kvutzah spoke, and the Boneh Rakazim performed a song.  The Shnatties had also prepared an array of videos, skits, and songs which recounted their stories from Boneh in an artistic and very impressive manner.  Then there was a final lunch in the chadar ochel together with some of the families, Ein Dor's famous burger Thursday lunch, and then it was goodbyes all around and off to summer chofesh.

Boneh update: Jerusalem Seminar and more

Two weeks ago the chanichim spent most of the week in Jerusalem for the renowned Boneh Jerusalem Seminar, examining the different groups of people who live in close proximity in Jerusalem and the deep conflicts between them as a microcosm of the challenges and promises Israel as a whole faces. As always, it was an enlightening and exciting seminar. They began with a tour of the Old City of Jerusalem with HD Perth graduate Leon Schneider, followed by a visit to the Knesset (Israeli parliament) for a meeting with Member of Knesset Orit Zuaretz of the Kadima party, who talked among other things about her discomfort with Kadima's recent entry into Israel's governing coalition with the Likud Party. She's been in the news lately, so stay tuned. Then that first evening, historian and journalist Gershom Gorenberg came to speak with the chanichim about Israel, the conflict, the Knesset, Judaism, and even a bit about journalism.

The seminar continued with a tour of East Jerusalem with the organization Ir Amim (“City of Peoples”), on which their guide Ehud showed them the social and political complexities of life in Gilo, Shu'afat, Pisgat Ze'ev, Silwan, and other neighborhoods. The chanichim then visited the ultra-orthodox Geula neighborhood in central Jerusalem and learned about the haredi community from one of its members, Mr. Yehoshua Weinberger. The discussions with Yehoshua were heated and extremely eye-opening for the group and touched on army service, assimilation, birth rates for secular and religious communities and more. They finished out the day with an event run by MASA, the long-term Israel programs scholarship organization, where they were addressed by famed Soviet Jewish refusenik Natan Sharanksy (now head of the Jewish Agency) and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.

The next morning, the chanichim visited the Davidson Center to learn about the archeology of the Temple Mount. Then, they visited the Israel Religious Action Center and heard from Woman of the Wall leader Anat Hoffman about struggles over Judaism played out on a municipal and national scale. Later that day, Hineni Program Director Ari Silbermann came to speak at the seminar about his relationship with Jerusalem as a city, his life as a resident of an Israeli settlement in the West Bank and how his upbringing as a Scopus boy from the Melbourne community led him to this path. That night, they also heard from the Parents' Circle, an organization for Palestinian and Israeli families of people who have died in the conflict.

The seminar closed out with a meeting with a Palestinian citizen of Israel who works at the Israeli Justice Ministry and had some insight into the relationship between the Jewish state and its non-Jewish citizens. Finally, the chanichim visited Har Herzl, the cemetery where Israel buries its fallen soldiers, venerated leaders, and national icons. All in all, the week was an intense but incredibly fruitful one for the Shnatties, who came back with a lot of new information and a plethora of further questions.

Last week was dedicated to learning about the phenomenon of youth movements, from a few perspectives. First of all, the chanichim examined the sociological category of youth, and how it has emerged over time; they then explored the history of youth movements and related scouting organizations in Europe. They continued with the origins of the Zionist youth movements, and then finally about Habonim in particular. The chanichim also hosted guest speakers who are graduates and Israeli educators of two other youth movements: Daniel Roth and Karen Isaacs from Hashomer Hatzair; and Avy Lagziel from Bnei Akiva; these guests furthered helped the Shnatties understand the Zionist youth movements as a unique phenonemon in Jewish history rather than merely a children's club like any other, and also see some of the challenges faced by all such movements, particularly finding the balance of critical perspective on society and the need to take responsibility for it.

This week the Boneh groups are in peulot with their Kaveret tzevet, who are beginning to prepare them for their summer mesimot, and they will even be visiting some of their future mesima sites to meet potential chanichim and their future tzevet. More on that in the final Boneh update, which will be up in two weeks. Finally, we would like to invite any parents, relatives or friends who are in Israel to take part in the Boneh tekes siyum (closing ceremony) which will be held on Kibbutz Ein Dor at 11 am on Thursday, June 14th. Hope to see you there!