Rubin Museum
Men at Rubin Museum
Womem at Rubin Museum
Carmela Rubin
Carmela Rubin
Interesting painting
We are listening
looks like our dinner from the night before
Rubin's unfinished work
Rich telling us again about when we have to wake in the morning 5:00am
Ayalon Institute visit
Laundry room that hide the bullet factory
The bakery at the Ayalon bullet factory
It was a real bakery
machines making bullets
bullet casings
samples of bullets made
Palmachim Air Force baseCobra helicopter
Cobra Helicopter
Palmachim Air Force Base
Dinner that night
happy faces after a long day
View from our hotel roomOctober 24, 2011- Monday Security 1948 to the present
We started the day at 6:30 with a wakeup call and then a great Israeli breakfast. Like yesterday our itinerary is very full. We began by checking ouremail via a link next to the hotel bar where for one drink the night before we have internet access. Our bus left at 8:30 am. for the Reuben Rubin Museum. Rubin came to Israel in 1912 and painted people and scenes of Palestine from
the time Tel Aviv was not much more than a sand dune. He told the story of the
growth of Israel through his work. He was influenced by Chagall but had his own
distinct style. We really enjoyed his work and the museum as told to us by a
very animated guide, Carmela Rubin, who was the daughter-in-law of the artist
and the founder and curator of the museum.
Our next stop was the Ayalon Institute. It was here that a hidden bullet factory was established
underneath a bakery. It was a very emotional stop. We were very moved by
the stories of the young group of pioneers who volunteered their lives to their
country without being told what they would be doing, where they would be going. They were only told that there help was needed for a critical, dangerous assignment and they were needed to help the establishment of the state of Israel. Once they agreed to do it, only then were they told about the mission which was kept a secret for 7 years.
They came to work each day in the bullet factory and worked below the earth in very tough conditions, right under the feet of the British army. The soldiers often came to the laundry and
the bakery not knowing what was going on right below their feet. Even the laundry workers had no idea. These workers were called giraffes because they could not see what was happening below their feet. The workers in the bullet factory had a warning system of flashing lights: one light meant mild warning – giraffe near,two lights meant soldier near and three lights meant eminent danger – evacuate immediately. Every night these workers went home to their families and none of them breathed a word about their work. They basically had no sunlight for months and suffered from a lack of vitamin D until it was provided by the Palmach medical team.
Our next stop was a visitto the Palmachim Air Force base. We had the fortune of having General (RET)Nehemia Dagan with us . He was the commander of the base before he retired. We
had lunch in the officer’s dining area. We saw 2, 3 and 4 star Generals eating and fraternizing with the regular troops. Rank is not put on ceremony in the Israeli military. Most impressive was that in the same area were soldiers, kids18-20 also having lunch. The food was typical Israeli and it was great.
We then were briefed by a young soldier on UVA’s which are
drones. We learned about CCD and IR cameras and what the drones do. The General
then talked to us about his respect for these young soldiers and that he
insisted they did not call him sir. He wanted to know them as individuals. He
also said he could tell much from them as a person by their responses. He
wanted to instill in them morality and a value system as they dealt with military life.
We then had aninteresting tour of the drone area where
we saw a Hermes drone. Quite amazing. We also saw a Cobra helicopter and took a
group picture. We walked up to the control tower and saw the vast expanse of the base.
We had hoped that Adam Stahl and his fiancé would join us for dinner with our group but he was
involved in a meeting in Jerusalem.
Dinner was at an Arab restaurant in old Jaffa called Haj Kahil . We went by bus and then walked back through one of the streets in the old city. Once again, the meza plates were put on the table as we were beingseated. Each dish was wonderful. The main course was chicken kebabs and ground beef kebabs. The vegetarians in our group seemed to be ok with eating more of the maza plates and the amazing rice pilafs that were served with the main course. The rest of us were happy to have our meat fix after eating completely vegetarian meals since we began our
journey on Saturday evening. We were joined by twins, Simon and Michelle
Lowenstein from Atlanta whose grandparents are Joel and Irwin Lowenstein from
Sarasota. Both kids are studying for the year at Balram (sp?) University. We had a lovely walk along the beach before retiring to the hotel.
We started the day at 6:30 with a wakeup call and then a great Israeli breakfast. Like yesterday our itinerary is very full. We began by checking ouremail via a link next to the hotel bar where for one drink the night before we have internet access. Our bus left at 8:30 am. for the Reuben Rubin Museum. Rubin came to Israel in 1912 and painted people and scenes of Palestine from
the time Tel Aviv was not much more than a sand dune. He told the story of the
growth of Israel through his work. He was influenced by Chagall but had his own
distinct style. We really enjoyed his work and the museum as told to us by a
very animated guide, Carmela Rubin, who was the daughter-in-law of the artist
and the founder and curator of the museum.
Our next stop was the Ayalon Institute. It was here that a hidden bullet factory was established
underneath a bakery. It was a very emotional stop. We were very moved by
the stories of the young group of pioneers who volunteered their lives to their
country without being told what they would be doing, where they would be going. They were only told that there help was needed for a critical, dangerous assignment and they were needed to help the establishment of the state of Israel. Once they agreed to do it, only then were they told about the mission which was kept a secret for 7 years.
They came to work each day in the bullet factory and worked below the earth in very tough conditions, right under the feet of the British army. The soldiers often came to the laundry and
the bakery not knowing what was going on right below their feet. Even the laundry workers had no idea. These workers were called giraffes because they could not see what was happening below their feet. The workers in the bullet factory had a warning system of flashing lights: one light meant mild warning – giraffe near,two lights meant soldier near and three lights meant eminent danger – evacuate immediately. Every night these workers went home to their families and none of them breathed a word about their work. They basically had no sunlight for months and suffered from a lack of vitamin D until it was provided by the Palmach medical team.
Our next stop was a visitto the Palmachim Air Force base. We had the fortune of having General (RET)Nehemia Dagan with us . He was the commander of the base before he retired. We
had lunch in the officer’s dining area. We saw 2, 3 and 4 star Generals eating and fraternizing with the regular troops. Rank is not put on ceremony in the Israeli military. Most impressive was that in the same area were soldiers, kids18-20 also having lunch. The food was typical Israeli and it was great.
We then were briefed by a young soldier on UVA’s which are
drones. We learned about CCD and IR cameras and what the drones do. The General
then talked to us about his respect for these young soldiers and that he
insisted they did not call him sir. He wanted to know them as individuals. He
also said he could tell much from them as a person by their responses. He
wanted to instill in them morality and a value system as they dealt with military life.
We then had aninteresting tour of the drone area where
we saw a Hermes drone. Quite amazing. We also saw a Cobra helicopter and took a
group picture. We walked up to the control tower and saw the vast expanse of the base.
We had hoped that Adam Stahl and his fiancé would join us for dinner with our group but he was
involved in a meeting in Jerusalem.
Dinner was at an Arab restaurant in old Jaffa called Haj Kahil . We went by bus and then walked back through one of the streets in the old city. Once again, the meza plates were put on the table as we were beingseated. Each dish was wonderful. The main course was chicken kebabs and ground beef kebabs. The vegetarians in our group seemed to be ok with eating more of the maza plates and the amazing rice pilafs that were served with the main course. The rest of us were happy to have our meat fix after eating completely vegetarian meals since we began our
journey on Saturday evening. We were joined by twins, Simon and Michelle
Lowenstein from Atlanta whose grandparents are Joel and Irwin Lowenstein from
Sarasota. Both kids are studying for the year at Balram (sp?) University. We had a lovely walk along the beach before retiring to the hotel.
No comments:
Post a Comment