Busy Day in Tel Aviv
This morning, we had breakfast in the hotel and then immediately checked out to begin our busy day. First stop of the day was Yitzhak Rabin Square, so named to honor a pro-peace Prime Minister who was assassinated in '95. We split into groups and asked passers-by questions about the assassination--where were you, what do you think of Rabin, did Israel learn anything from it? Then we went to the memorial nearby and heard more about the effects of the event--mostly a swing to the right. It was a fascinating activity and we all really enjoyed meeting Israelis who were walking around the Tel Aviv square.
From the square we went to a Tel Aviv history museum built out of the first mayor's house. Tel Aviv was a planned city, built deliberately in the desert to become this land's version of New York. We watched a brief movie and then listened to a talk in the room where the Israeli Declaration of Independence was first read. We listened to a recording of Ben Gurion reading the Declaration--in Hebrew, so I can't say much about the words, but hearing the recording was still very powerful. We got a translation of the final sentences: "The State of Israel is born. This meeting is adjourned." Then we listened to Hatikva, the Israeli national anthem whose name means "hope", and heard a bit more about the War of Independence. Israel has been in 7 different wars, not counting any from the last 2 years.
We went from Independence Hall to Jerusalem Beach, which was very sunny and beautiful. There were ravens all over the beach, filling the niche seagulls fill in America and strutting around like they owned the place. Instead of being all black like American ravens, they have grey on their undersides and the backs of their necks like they're wearing bathing suits. It was interesting. Tel Aviv is also full of pigeons in the typical array of colors. It is always fun to do a little bird-watching. :)
After the beach was lunch, which was falafel again with different sauces and a tempura fried potato in it. Yum! Then we had some time to wander that bit of Tel Aviv, including an open market called a Shuk. The shuk was busy as all get out. There were spices and fruit and clothes and candy and jewelry and chotchkes of every kind for sale. I got a strawberry-banana-halva smoothie, and also tried some halva on its own (coffee-flavored and chocolate-flavored). Halva is a smooth crispy sesame paste sort of thing that I could eat until I get sick (this has been tested empirically) because it is so good. One thing I was definitely not expecting was the popularity of the hamsa symbol, the hand with the all-seeing eye in it. Hamsas and things with hamsas on them are for sale everywhere in Israel.
We're staying on a kibbutz again tonight, one described as "in the desert". The horizon around us is sandy plateaus, the foliage here is lush and the temperatures moderate. The courtyard is full of art in the form of painted and rearranged junk: old CRT monitors and stereos and so forth. Also, in the first 5 minutes there, I saw not one but two cats, one of whom was the sweetest little kitten not much bigger than a rabbit. I took a picture of it bathed in an opportune ray of light that I feel like sharing with everone. Therefore I have attached one (1) heavenly kitten.
Our Shabbat service this evening was very pretty. It was nice to sing prayers I hadn't sang in years and to find that I still remembered them. After the service and the lovely kibbutz dinner, we split into groups and learned about each other's backgrounds, then played a game based on remembering people's names that had me paralyzed with laughter. Tomorrow we get to sleep in a bit, then spend the morning relaxing and thinking about all the things we've done in the past five days.
Photo Credits: Header Image-@roninur, Image 1-@redweinandbergers, Image 2-@highwaytobelle, Image 3 and Image 4 and Image 5-@weichifield
