Independence Hall
Lenny and Geri outside Ind. Hall
David Ben-Gurion
Inside Independence Hall
NY Times May 14,1948
Gaza
another view of Gaza
Ofer Baram at Kibbutz Nir Am shows us Gaza
One of a string of Israeli observation points
another view of Gazamarker in the center of picture is border
Sederot city next to Gaza
Magen David Adom in Sederot
Children's bomb shelter in play ground
Bombs that dropped on Sederot
Group picture next to bomb display
Our first Falafal
Youth Futures Program in Sederotrun by the Jewish Agency
Marvin and John work with the kidsat Youth Futures Program
Group picture at Youth Futures Program
Israel Tennis Center
Group picture at Youth Futures ProgramSederot
Israel Tennis CenterRakefet spoke to us.
Arab mother talks about the tennis program 
Dinner at the Streit's
Dinner at the Streit's
Elie and Linda Streit
Streit's present Anne and John a cake
Arab mother talks about the tennis program and how it helped her son
Dinner at the Streit's
Dinner at the Streit's
Elie and Linda Streit
Streit's present Anne and John a cakein honor of there up coming wedding
October 23rd SUNDAY
We got up early and had our first Israeli breakfast. It was great. We met our tour guide Ophir. Our first trip was to Independence Hall where David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence on May 14th,1948 which was Friday afternoon just before Shabbat. We listened to Ben-Gurion’s speech followed by singing Hatikvah. It was a very good way to start our mission and it was very emotional. We are on the bus again and Opher is telling us about the history of Israel after 1948.
Our trip to Sederot was very interesting and also very horrifying. Sederot is the closet city to the border with Gaza. There we were taken within 100 feet of the fence between Gaza and Sederot. Opher Baram (Opher lives with his wife and four children right near the border) from the Jewish Agency at the entrance to Kibbutz Nir Am took us to see Nebi Meri which is the observation point over Gaza. This is one of many observation towers with sophisticated electronic surveillance that surrounds Gaza. We could clearly see Gaza city and the surrounding area with its tall buildings and small refugee camps. We were overwhelmed by the proximity to where Israel’s live and where their children go to school. We were told that we were standing in a spot 15 seconds away from a launched missile.
We were then taken to see the Mogen David (Israeli Red Cross and blood center) and saw a chilling film showing a rocket attack with all the wounded, many of them children and the response of the ambulances and EMTs during the attack. They pointed out that every home and every school in the city of Sederot had a protected room attached to them where the people could run as soon as they heard the sirens. There are many children here suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. We also saw a protected playground which allows families to bring their children and still have a place to run for safety. The protected area looked like a children’s play house – like a long snake.
A much needed break was a stop for absolutely delicious falafel.
Our schedule is packed full for the entire day. In the afternoon we went to an agency called “Youth Futures Program” which provides support and mentoring for troubled children. We had an opportunity to work with the children on an art project and then we went for a visit to the Israel Tennis Center in Tel Aviv hosted by Rakefet, the Director of the Center. Karen and Tommy Bernstein have done amazing work here both in dollars and time.
Their immersion program is bringing together Arab children and Israeli children together from the age of 4. They partner with kindergartens to bring children to the center for activities of balance, exercise and early tennis skills. The children come through the age of 18, regardless of ability to pay. We saw a wonderful film that has just been produced about the center. Then we heard an Arab mother speak about her experience with the center. Her son, has become one of the top tennis players in his age range. He is now a teenager and may be able to compete nationally for Israel. How wonderful would that be and what a message it would send to the world. Kids become friends here and families meet with eachother and learn from each other. It was a thrill to see the work they are doing.
Our evening ended with a return (for us) to the beautiful home of Linda and Elli Streit where they hosted our entire group for dinner. They also invited friends of theirs to join us, speaker at Amir Mailov and wife is Edna. Amir has a PhD in chemical engineering, just like Lenny. They spent quite a bit of time talking to eachother. He spoke to the group about oil and gas exploration in Israel. Dinner was a full spread of wonderful Israeli dishes. By 9:30, our bus arrived and we were off to the hotel for some sleep to prepare for our next whirlwind day of touring.
We got up early and had our first Israeli breakfast. It was great. We met our tour guide Ophir. Our first trip was to Independence Hall where David Ben-Gurion declared Israel’s independence on May 14th,1948 which was Friday afternoon just before Shabbat. We listened to Ben-Gurion’s speech followed by singing Hatikvah. It was a very good way to start our mission and it was very emotional. We are on the bus again and Opher is telling us about the history of Israel after 1948.
Our trip to Sederot was very interesting and also very horrifying. Sederot is the closet city to the border with Gaza. There we were taken within 100 feet of the fence between Gaza and Sederot. Opher Baram (Opher lives with his wife and four children right near the border) from the Jewish Agency at the entrance to Kibbutz Nir Am took us to see Nebi Meri which is the observation point over Gaza. This is one of many observation towers with sophisticated electronic surveillance that surrounds Gaza. We could clearly see Gaza city and the surrounding area with its tall buildings and small refugee camps. We were overwhelmed by the proximity to where Israel’s live and where their children go to school. We were told that we were standing in a spot 15 seconds away from a launched missile.
We were then taken to see the Mogen David (Israeli Red Cross and blood center) and saw a chilling film showing a rocket attack with all the wounded, many of them children and the response of the ambulances and EMTs during the attack. They pointed out that every home and every school in the city of Sederot had a protected room attached to them where the people could run as soon as they heard the sirens. There are many children here suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. We also saw a protected playground which allows families to bring their children and still have a place to run for safety. The protected area looked like a children’s play house – like a long snake.
A much needed break was a stop for absolutely delicious falafel.
Our schedule is packed full for the entire day. In the afternoon we went to an agency called “Youth Futures Program” which provides support and mentoring for troubled children. We had an opportunity to work with the children on an art project and then we went for a visit to the Israel Tennis Center in Tel Aviv hosted by Rakefet, the Director of the Center. Karen and Tommy Bernstein have done amazing work here both in dollars and time.
Their immersion program is bringing together Arab children and Israeli children together from the age of 4. They partner with kindergartens to bring children to the center for activities of balance, exercise and early tennis skills. The children come through the age of 18, regardless of ability to pay. We saw a wonderful film that has just been produced about the center. Then we heard an Arab mother speak about her experience with the center. Her son, has become one of the top tennis players in his age range. He is now a teenager and may be able to compete nationally for Israel. How wonderful would that be and what a message it would send to the world. Kids become friends here and families meet with eachother and learn from each other. It was a thrill to see the work they are doing.
Our evening ended with a return (for us) to the beautiful home of Linda and Elli Streit where they hosted our entire group for dinner. They also invited friends of theirs to join us, speaker at Amir Mailov and wife is Edna. Amir has a PhD in chemical engineering, just like Lenny. They spent quite a bit of time talking to eachother. He spoke to the group about oil and gas exploration in Israel. Dinner was a full spread of wonderful Israeli dishes. By 9:30, our bus arrived and we were off to the hotel for some sleep to prepare for our next whirlwind day of touring.
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