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!