Bye-bye Shnat

The last few weeks of Shnat were busy and emotional.  The group spent time saying goodbye to the kids they had worked with during their volunteer placements:

They spent 'State Time' time in their kenim groups (NZ, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth) talking about dividing up responsibilities for next year and starting to connect their experiences from Shnat to what they will go home to in the ken:

Sydney state time

And they got together at Kibbutz Maaleh Hachamisha for a final three-day sikkum (wrapping-up) seminar, all together one last time.

Our three Kiwi boys

The seminar dealt with processing their experiences throughout the year, including being in Israel, living communally and personal growth, as well as looking forward to their return home and to  leading Habo with all the inspiration, understanding and support they have gained this year.  The difficult security situation affected everyone on the seminar as Operation Pillar of Defense went on throughout the time we were there, and our thoughts were with all those affected by the conflict including many of kids in Rishon Letzion and Holon whom Shnatties had been leading for the past four months.  However, the group managed to still focus on having a proper sikkum seminar and the discussions were extremely meaningful for many participants.  To wrap it up on the last day the group held a tekes and invited many of the educators who have worked with them throughout the year, including staff from Boneh, Machon, the Poland Journey and Kaveret, and made a series of touching presentations about the way Shnat affected them.  The Shnat madrichim also did a special presentation:

We wish the Shnatties safe travels, a happy return home and a continued meaningful journey in exploring and leading Habo and the Jewish people.

Kaveret and much more

Kaveret has been up and running for two months now, but with so much going on we've barely had time to write!  The chanichim are doing mesimot (volunteer placements) across Israel, including Rishon Letzion, Holon, Rehovot, Akko, Kiryat Atta, Carmiel, Tiberias, the boarding school on Kibbutz Eshbal and in a number of Arab communities such as Tamra, Sakhnin and Manda.  They work with kids from a variety of ages and backgrounds, bringing informal youth movement-style programming into schools as well as after-school programming.  We got some pictures from the tzevet at the Dshanim High School in Kiryat Atta's recent Bedouin tent-style activity (complete with baking pitot over a fire), and we hear that the school kids had an amazing time:

During Hol Hamo'ed (intermediary days) of the Sukkot holiday, our group set off together with the Shnatties from South Africa, and the newly arrived North Americans and Brits on the famous Tiyul Miyam Leyam - from (the Mediterranean) Sea to (the Kinneret) Sea.  For four days they hiked, camped, laughed at each others' accents and bonded, all while getting to know beautiful northern Israel and its stunning mountains, valleys and streams.  Unsurprisingly the groups got along fantastically and made plans to meet up again straightaway after the tiyul.

They even put together a video of their experiences:

Meanwhile, on Kaveret, their weekly Israeli society study days were focused for several weeks on an exploration of the socio-economic situation in Israel today and an exploration of the processes which led to that reality.  The study process culminated with a siyur (field trip) day in Tel Aviv which looked at these challenges through the lens of the concrete realities of urban life.  The group visited the Hatikva neighborhood and the Argazim neighborhood to understand some of the challenges faced by veteran residents of Israel, the area around the old Central Bus Station to get a closer look at the migrant worker and asylum seeker population, and the Kikar Hamedina complex in north Tel Aviv for a sense of the 'other' side of the city and the proximity of affluence and economic hardship.  The siyur challenged the group to see that Israel is not only facing the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but also important choices about how the society ought to conduct itself internally, a question in which Diaspora Jewish communities also play a role.

The group has also begun meeting up for discussions and activities according to their country and state, meaning that the Shnatties from the different Shnat groups who are going back to Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and New Zealand get together and talk.  This is something which will continue from now until the end of the year, to help them prepare for the transition back to life at home and the responsibility they are going to take on together in leading their movement.  The first state time was devoted to a structured check-in to get a better idea of what their friends have been experiencing and doing in the different kvutzot, and a peula about their responsibilities for the movement back home.  The Australians even got to speak via Skype with some of the bogrim from their ken, which I know helped them get a much more concrete idea of where things stand and what they can look forward to next year.

Another big event that just happened was the Yitzchak Rabin Memorial Seminar.  Once again the English-speaking HD Shnat groups from around the world came together, at the Macabim Youth Hostel, this time to explore the legacy of assassinated Prime Minister Yitzchak Rabin, his pursuit of peace and the challenges Israel faces today in striving for peace.  After visiting Rabin Memorial Exhibitions (which our sister youth movement Hanoar Haoved Vehalomed erects in different cities around Israel) in order to become familiar with Rabin's life and his choice to pursue peace, the weekend focused on the situation in Israel since Rabin's assasination including political realities and educational aspects for Israeli youth.  The Australia-New Zealand group played a really positive role in the seminar, bringing examples and perspective gained from their time here and their encounter with Israeli society through mesima to the northern hemisphere group who have just arrived in Israel.  The seminar wrapped up with a Habonim tekes (ceremony) at the hostel, and then the group as a whole travelled to annual Rabin memorial rally in Tel Aviv, whose theme this year was Remembering the Assassination, Fighting for Democracy.

The Ha'aretz article on the rally, which was attend by some 20,000 Israelis, even featured a great photo of OZ Shnattie Jake P, just left of center with his arm up in the air:

A few days later, the Shnatties travelled down to Kibbutz Sde Boker for the AZYC Sikkum Seminar, an in-depth seminar for all six Australasian Zionist youth movements on their responsibilities in going home and leading in their communities, as well as the challenges they may face.  The inter-movement discussions on tough youth movement issues like how much to challenge community norms and how much to strengthen that which exists within the community, were thought-provoking and eye-opening.  The strong inter-youth movement relationships that exist in Australia and New Zealand are really unique and I hope that the Shnatties came to understand that throughout the course of the seminar.  They also enjoyed the beautiful desert scenery around Sde Boker and were visited by a few families of ibexes during their peulot.

On the final day they wrapped up with a ceremony at Australian Ambassador Andrea Faulkner's residence in Hertzliya commemorating the ANZAC conquest of Be'er Sheva from the Ottoman Turks during World War I.

In addition to all the big events, of course life on Kaveret goes on as usual, with kvutza peulot and bonding time, cooking nice meals for one another, and trying out funny hairdos before going back home to your parents:

The next few weeks they will be wrapping up Kaveret, including their current study series on Arab-Jewish conflict and coexistence; having some final discussions with their kvutzot to process the experiences this year; and spending a lot of time preparing for their return home and return to the movement. We will have a sikkum seminar from Nov 19th-21st at the hotel on Kibbutz Maaleh Hachamisha, and then they'll start their journey back to you!

Daylight savings ends

Just a quick reminder, that Israel moves its clocks back an hour overnight between Saturday and Sunday, and will no longer be on daylight savings time.

Shana tova from Kaveret

A few more New Year's greetings from the Shnatties:

Romy and Romy wish you a sweet new year! 

Jordy has always dreamed of starring on the blog!

New year greetings from Carmiel:

New year greetings from Akko:

Rishon also send greetings, we just didn't get a chance to record them.
May 5773 be a joyous and healthy year for us all.

Revivim, History of Habo Hagshama and Chofesh

August was an intense month here on Shnat.  After returning from the meaningful, confronting and inspiring Poland Journey, the Shnatties landed in Israel and headed directly to Kibbutz Revivim in Israel's Negev Desert.  The first day they got some much deserved rest and were shown around; the next day they split up rooms and work allocations.  Some of the kibbutz jobs included gardening, working with the children, the chadar ochel (kibbutz dining room) and dishwashing, laundry and working with Goldie – a long-time Australian oleh originally from Perth who manages the landscaping and maintains the ulpan area. 

The two-and-a-half-week kibbutz period went by very quickly as the Shnatties were having so much fun.  Between the physical labor, the gorgeous swimming pool, the hot but dry desert climate and the bike paths running throughout the kibbutz, Revivim offered a warm and relaxing environment for shichva (year-level) bonding.  Each of the three kvutzot (groups which live on Kaveret together) had one day a week of programming with their madrichim and the Shnatties were also very active in leading peer-led programming for each other.  There was hardly a night when there wasn't something on.

On Saturday the 25^th, they packed up and bid farewell to Revivim and headed back their various Kaveret houses, and the next morning they began famed History of Habo Hagshama Seminar.  As any past Shnattie will enthusiastically testify, this seminar is generally eye-opening, provocative and moving all at once.  The seminar looks back at the story of Habo as a movement and the ideals it has tried to fulfill here in Israel in a face to face way.  The Shnatties travel around the country looking at the beginning of the idea of kibbutz, visiting kibbutzim founded by Habo such Kfar Hanasi, Yizre'el, Kadarim, and Ravid, and meeting olim from Australia, New Zealand and elsewhere from different generations, who chose to make aliya and commit themselves to the communal idea.  It also takes a hard-eyed look at kibbutz reality today, examining the trend of privatization which has spread to the vast majority of kibbutzim.  The seminar's inspiring close involved meeting with some of the most recent Habo olim, bogrim from their home movements and elsewhere who have made aliya, visiting their urban communal houses and discussing whether the ideal of hagshama [personal realization of ideology] is relevant today.

After this jam-packed four-day seminar the Shnatties had a day off in the Kaveret houses to rest and do some shopping.  Then Friday and Saturday they spent the weekend together in a series of peer-led programs which members of each kvutza built and led for one another.  Sunday morning they headed off to chofesh and their invidual pursuits.  Many Shnatties are spending time with family; several are going on nature hikes and camping; a number are taking the chance to hang out in Tel Aviv, and a few intrepid adventurers are even planning to cycle around the Kinneret.  We hope those of you who are visiting are enjoying the time with your kids and we're excited for the restart of Kaveret on Sunday morning!

Poland Journey 2012

Hi everyone! We have all returned safe and sound from the 2012 Poland Journey! The Journey took us across Poland for seven days, visiting concentration and death camps, Jewish synagogues and cemeteries, and the sites of former youth movement centers. In each place we learned about history and also asked questions about human morality and Jewish identity that are still important today. Overall it was a very special, meaningful and unique journey. The first day we started in a small city called Bedzin, learning about the history of the place and the uprising that took place in August 1943, and the youth movement's role in that. This was our first look at the role of Zionist youth movements in the armed resistance, a theme we would return to in both Krakow and Warsaw. We then spent some time walking around the old Jewish quarter of Krakow- Kazimierz - exploring the synagogues and Jewish culture that existed for hundreds of years. We learned about the development of Jewish life in Poland, and the changing role that religious life played in the community over time. The second day we traveled to Auschwitz and Birkenau, which was a long and intense day. We learnt about the Nazi extermination machine and also about the life of a concentration camp inmate, which was shaped by the codes of violence and force that the Nazis imposed. At the close of the day, the first tekes (ceremony) of many that were planned by some of the shnatties was held. It included many personal testimonies and was a very inspiring and fitting way to end the day. The third day was spent mainly in Krakow, in the former Jewish ghetto area, learning about the conditions there and also the madrichim of the Akiva youth movement who lived in a movement commune there. We then visited the location of the Tsiganeria Cafe, where in 1942 the Akiva members attacked and killed a number of Nazi soldiers in one of the largest underground operations until that point in WWII Europe. After that the group had a bit of free time in the beautiful old Sukiennice Market of Krakow, and then we set off for Lublin. The fourth day began at the Yehsiva Chachmei Lublin (Wise Men of Lublin Yeshiva) where we talked about Hassidut and the rich history of the Yeshiva. We then walked around what used to be Nazi headquarters in Lublin, and focused on some of the different groups involved in the Nazi party and Hitler’s regime. In the afternoon we visited the concentration and death camp, Majdanek, situated only a few kilometers from downtown Lublin. We read testimonies of survivors who had spent time there, and saw different exhibitions of confiscated prisoners' possessions and other materials remaining in the camp. The fifth day was spent in Warsaw, walking around the sites of the former ghetto, the largest across Poland. We learned about different aspects of community life and leadership that took place while the Jewish community was trapped inside. After lunch we visited the Krashinsky Gardens, which stood just outside the ghetto walls during the war and where Polish ferris-wheel riders could see their former Jewish neighbors directly below, and talked about what it means to be a bystander. We then travelled to a monument for the Polish Warsaw Uprising, and spent some time in the Old City of Warsaw. Last stop for the day was "Dzielna" the former location of the Dror movement commune, which both before and during the ghetto was the site of peulot and movement life. We heard the stories of the movement's madrichim and chanichim and how they reacted to the conditions in the ghetto by increasing the activity of their youth movement. The sixth day we visited what once was the shtetl of Tykochin, where Jews had lived peacefully for many hundreds of years. A beautifully restored synagogue is still standing in the tow. We then travelled the short distance to Lopochowa forest, the site of the community's eventual demise. That afternoon we were in another death camp, Treblinka. The last day in we started at the site of the 'Chavat Hachshara' (training farm) just outside the city in Grochow, where young people not so different from our Shnatties lived together communally and practiced working hard to prepare themselves for life in the land of Israel. We then visited the Warsaw Jewish cemetery, where the incredible diversity of languages and ideologies that were present in Warsaw Jewry are on clear display. We spoke about different Jewish responses to modern life and about the role of Hebrew, Yiddish and Polish in this Diaspora community. Then after lunch, we began the traditional 'Path of Heroism' which runs from the Umschlagplatz (Deportation Square) to Mila 18 and the Rapaport Monument, where we heard the dramatic story of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the key role madrichim from Dror and the Zionist youth movement played. We finished at Rapaport Monument with a very inspiring tekes. From there, we headed back to the hotel for a light-hearted 'Polish Folklore' dinner, and then headed for the airport. Landing back in Israel was a great feeling!

A few pictures from the Poland Journey

Our tzevet has passed a few pictures along from the group's travels in Poland:

Entering the Kazimierz old Jewish district in Krakow (under the watchful eye of our security guard)

Examing some antique Judaica inside one of the old synagogues

Preparing to enter Auschwitz I

Visiting the "Canada" area of Auschwitz

Mia from Shnat reading testimony from her grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor

A night peula at the hotel

In Krakow

At the Josefinska Street commune of the Akiba Youth Movement, former Krakow Ghetto

Shnat madrichim tekes at the Csiganeria Cafe in Krakow, site of the first act of Jewish armed action against Nazis during the war

More pictures and details coming when the group returns.