Home Safe and Sound

Early this morning, the Workshoppers returned safe and sound from Poland. Although it was a long and difficult week, traveling around Poland and exploring the Shoah was a very meaningful and challenging experience. Here is the schedule from the past week:
Sunday: Kajimish, the old Jewish Quarter of Krakow
Monday: Auschwitz-Birkenau
Tuesday: the Krakow Ghetto, the youth movements' rebellion and free time in the Old Market
Wednesday: the Nazi world in Lublin, the Lublin Yeshivah, and Majdanek Concentration Camp
Thursday: the Warsaw Ghetto, the Jewish Cemetary and Janush Korchak's Orphanage
Friday: Tykotchin Shtetl, the mass grave at Lupachova Forest, and Treblinka
Saturday: the Dror movement's training farm at Grochov, the Dror movement commune at 34 Dzielna and the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising (Path to Heroism)
After each day, there was a night peula addressing the theme of the day and allowing space for group processing.

Please check back soon for pictures and chanichim perspectives.

Poland

Over the last month, we have been preparing for our upcoming journey to Poland. The Workshoppers will be  spending seven days in Poland, travelling in Krakow, Lublin and Warsaw as part of a historical and philosophical exploration of the Holocaust. We began two weeks ago with a day and a half seminar, run by the workshop madrichim, introducing some of the themes of the Holocaust. This past Wednesday to Friday, Workshoppers went through their second preparation, including two days in the Museum at Kibbutz Lochmei Hagitaot (the Ghetto Fighters' Kibbutz). Each kvutza met the madrich masa (journey guide) that will be leading them through their Poland journey. The preparations are a key part of the Habonim Dror Poland journey, setting shared expectations of what the journey will look like and introducing some of the content of Poland. Like many trips to Poland, we explore the historical progression of the Holocaust, visit various concentration camps and memorial sites, and learn about the Jewish experience during the Holocaust. A unique aspect of our trip, however, is the focus on youth and rebellion during the Holocaust. We connect our own youth movement experiences to those of the leaders of some of the major ghetto rebellions during the Holocaust, including the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and the Krakow Ghetto. Although emotionally challenging, the journey to Poland has begun very successfully. We will be in Poland from February 10th-17th. Before we leave, each kvutza will have one more day of preparation with their madrich masa.

Ofir, the Rishon kvutza's madrich masa, in the Museum at Kibbutz Lochmei Hagitaot. 

Stretching before a long day in the Museum.

 Hanging out in a new chultza!

The Karmiel kvutza, all sporting new chultzot.

Rishon Messimot

Continuing on from our last post, here are a description of the messimot in Rishon Letzion.


Kiryat Ganim:
Lior A-K, Aaron ,Jorden, Sarah, Dan

Kiryat Ganim is a ken of Hanoar Haoved, our sister movement in Israel, and the workshoppers will be running afternoon "chuggim" (interest groups), and opening a "moadon" (club) for eighth graders. In the mornings, they will be tutoring in English at a high school.

Dror Ramla:
Ethan, Leeza, Rachel Y, Joel, Zack

Dror Ramla is an Arab boys' school from 9th to 12th grade. The workshoppers will be doing small group tutoring in English, and different projects and special activities in the afternoon.

Bama Holon:
Micah, Leah, Nick, Lior B., Sammy, Deborah

The "Bama" (an acronym for Houses of Science and Stance) works with kids from 4th to 6th grade, drawing from two schools in the neighborhood. At 4:00pm, school-aged children come for activities. There are interest groups, a homework center, and activities by kvutza. During the day, the workshoppers will help with English tutoring at the elementary schools, and in the afternoons they will help run interests groups and activities by kvutza.

Ken Rishon Mizrach:
Sam, Naomi, Cooper

During the day, the workshoppers will be in a local high school, assisting with English teaching. In the afternoon, the students are divided into groups and attend a learning center for 8th graders. The workshoppers will be running activities for the groups at the learning center.

Snif Ramat Eliahu:
Doron, Yael, Ilan

The workshoppers at the "Snif" (branch) have the opportunity to work in a unique project within Hanoar Haoved aiming to reach out to working youth. The workshoppers will be running activities at the Snif, attended by high school aged students in the afternoons.

Karmiel Messimot

Messimot are the volunteer projects the workshoppers participate in during Kaveret. Messima means "mission" in Hebrew, and represents Habonim Dror's mission to create a more equal, just, and peaceful Israeli society. Listed below are the messimot groups for the Karmiel Kvutza.

Akko - Carmel Yoni David
The Carmiel tzevet in Akko will be working in schools and the Bama with elementary and middle school students in Akko. They will be running English lessons and programs, as well as spending one-on-one time with chanichim, helping them with work and being positive role-models.

Dshanim - Ari and Danny B
The Dshanim tzevet will be working the Dshanim vocational school in Haifa. They will be running English lessons and program for the high school students, and spending one-on-one time with students, getting to know them and helping them with their homework, especially with the 12th graders, who they will be pairing with to help them study to pass their bagrut.

Kiyum Meshutaf - Danny S, Anya, Sydney - Frank Jeremy Maya Nicole
The Kiyum Meshutaf (Shared Existence) tzevet will be working in schools and community centers in different Arab villages in the western Galilee. They will be running English lessons and programs on equality, identity, and tolerance, while learning about Arab culture.

Tveria - Rachel Max and Julia
The Tveria tzevet will be working in elementary and middle schools during the mornings, and will work in the Bama with middle school and high school students in the afternoons. They will run English lessons and programs at school, while they run an English club at the Bama.

Kiryat Chaim - Abigail Jonah Shachar
The Kiryat Chaim tzevet will be working in middle schools and the ken in Kiryat Chaim. They will be running English lessons in the mornings, and recruiting a kvutza of 8th graders to run leadership programs for in the afternoons.

Eshbal - Gilly Maia and Omri
The Eshbal tzevet will be working at the Carmiel Bama high school during the day, and at the Eshbal boarding school in the afternoon. They will be running English lessons and programs during the day, as well as helping their students with homework, and helping them study to pass their exams. They will be working specifically with the 9th and 10th graders.

Goodbye Ein Dor!

Last week was the end of Boneh, which Workshop 62 celebrated with a final tekkes (ceremony) to commemorate their time on Kibbutz Ein Dor. They used their tekkes to thank the people who helped shape their experience, including their Boneh educators and some kibbutzniks, and share final memories between the kvutzot and their British counterparts before separating to their new homes. Leaving kibbutz was a bittersweet experience as the kvutzot said goodbye to each other. Everyone was ready to leave kibbutz and begin the next part of their life in Israel, but were more than a little sad to say goodbye to each other, the experiences they had, the cats they loved, and the shnitzel they ate. Everyone is settling well into their new homes, and looking forward to family visits and a little vacation.

 The Rishon Letzion kvutza presents the Brits with a goodbye present.

Giving out superlatives to the Rishon kvutza, from the Karmiel kvutza.

 Celebrating Chanukka together.

Enjoying sufganiyot.

 Some inspiring final words from Ariyeh and Varda, two founders of the kibbutz.

Thanking the tzevet.

A parting song from the tzevet:

Front (L-R): Adam and Cassie

Back (L-R): Hyla, Zac, Ea and Amit

History of Habonim Hagshama

This week, the chanichim traveled around the country, meeting former members of Habonim Dror who have gone on to live in Israel and founded kibbutzim. The central question of the week was: what is the hagshama (actualization) of Habonim Dror? Through exploring the evolution of the kibbutz movement, from it's early years during the Second Aliyah (1904-1914) until it's decline in the 1990s and reemergence in the 2000s, the chanichim were presented with a history of Habonim's activities in Israel. Habonim founded approximately 50 kibbutzim in Israel since its creation in 1929, and today its graduates are taking an active role in creating new forms of kibbutzim. The seminar included trips to the Kinneret Cemetery, Kinneret Courtyard, Kibbutz Amiad, Kibbutz Tuval, Kibbutz Yizrael, Kibbutz Eshbal, Kibbutz Mishoal (located in Nazereth), a panel about HDNA in the 1990s, an urban kibbutz in Acco, and concluded with a visit to the home of the most recent olim from HDNA in Haifa.

 In the Kinneret Cemetery.

At the grave of Beryl Katznelson, writer of the Second Aliyah

 and founder of the Histadrut (union). 

At the grave of the poet Rachel.

Playing around at Kinneret Courtyard, a heritage site

of the first training farm of the pioneers in Palestine. 

Kinneret Courtyard. 

Kinneret Courtyard.

Kinneret Courtyard. 

Kinneret Courtyard. 

At Kibbutz Tuval overlooking the Galilee, with Neil Harris. 

Kibbutz Tuval. 

Carmiel is visible in the distance. 

Meeting Gary Bennet, former Galilnik and current member

of Kibbutz Beit HaEmek.

Next week, Workshop 62 will be concluding their time on Kibbutz Ein Dor. On Sunday the 16th, they will be moving to their new homes in Carmiel and Rishon Letzion. We look forward to seeing those of you that are visiting Israel this winter, and a Happy Hannukah to everyone!

Jerusalem

Workshop 62 spent Wednesday and Thursday of this past week exploring Jerusalem. The theme of the mini-seminar was Religion and the State, beginning with a tour of the Old City on Wednesday morning and continuing with guest speakers. The tour focused on giving the historical background of Jerusalem, as much as one can fit 3000 years of history into a two hour tour, and finished at the Western Wall. On Wednesday afternoon, they visited Mea Sharim, an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood in Jerusalem to meet with Yehoshua Weinberg. An ultra-Orthodox educator, he spoke to the chanichim about the orthodox way of life and had a question and answer session. In the evening, the chanichim met with Itamar Landua, a former member of HDNA and current PhD student at Hebrew University. Itamar discussed his personal religious journey and answered questions about his Jewish experiences in HDNA. Thursday morning, Rabbi Dov Lipman of Beit Shemesh spoke about his involvement fighting extremism within the Orthodox community, secular and religious cooperation, and his vision for the Jewish state. Thursday lunch took place in Machaneh Yehuda, an open-air market in central Jerusalem with plenty of Israeli specialties such as rogelach, knaffe, shwarma, falafel and fresh fruits and vegetables (avocado season has started here!). After lunch the chanichim met with Anat Hoffman, an activist with Women of the Wall, about being a Reform Jew and a woman in the Israeli religious state. We ended with a processing session, and a lot of questions about what it means to have a Jewish state.

For more information about Rabbi Lipman, visit his website http://www.rabbilipman.com/.
For more information on Anat Hoffman, visit Women of the Wall or read her editorial about her arrest at the Western Wall.

 In the room of the Last Supper.

At the entrance to the Old City. 

Discussing the War of Independence in the Old City. 

In Independence Park, discussing the Ultra-Orthodox community. 

Processing the day's events.