Thiry youth from Beit Shemesh - Yehuda Plain, Washington and South Africa participated in a program which opened with a week in South Africa and continued with a three week tour of Israel.

As part of the Partnership 2000 program of the Jewish Agency, the new "BeTsavta" program has been inaugurated. This is a program of youth exchange whose goal is to develop a young leadership forum with the skills and willingness needed to strengthen the ties between the Jewish communities in Israel and the Diaspora. As part of the program, 35 youth from four communities - Beit Shemesh, Yehuda Plain, Washington and South Africa - met for the first time in South Africa for a four-week journey together.

  
The youth spent the first week of the program in South Africa. In addition to learning about the issues of Jewish identity, Jewish history, tolerance, freedom and the common challenges facing each of the communities, the participants visited the various institutions of the Jewish community in South Africa. These included the Holocaust Museum, synagogues and old age homes, as well as the Parliament on Table Mountain, museums and other sites.

One of the participants recounted the following: "One of the most emotional moments for me was the visit to the old age home of the Jewish community in South Africa. Each of the groups prepared an artistic program that which presented to the residents. The Israeli group chose to end with the singing of Hatikvah and were joined by the other youth and the residents."

On their return to Israel, the members of the delegation from Beit Shemesh-Yehuda Plain hosted the participants from Washington for a weekend in the region. During the following three weeks, the youth participated in archaeological digs, toured Jerusalem and other historical sites all over Israel and even participated as observers in the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah. Two achievements of the program are worth mentioning: The first is the level of the discussion of the program's themes - Judaism, Zionism and tolerance - while the second was the close bonds created between the participants.

"The primary significance of the program lies in the encounter between the three groups and in the common discovery of Jewish and personal identity. The journey enables real bonding and learning from one another which in the future will lead to ongoing ties between the youth" -Yael Berkowitz, the counselor of the Israeli group.

Members of the Israeli delegation documented the journey.

Diary of the 2005 BeTzavta Trip

South Africa

Wednesday June 27 - Arrival in South Africa

Finally, after a 12-hour flight during which (almost) everything went wrong - from Yehonatan's medical certificate to missing the flight in Johannesburg to Gal's suitcase - we landed in Cape Town. Shoshi, the shlicha, and Monin and Esti from the community were waiting for us at the airport full of anticipation. We soon arrived at the "hotel" which was in fact a boarding school for girls where we met the rest of the group, consisting of 11 youth from South Africa and 12 from Washington. We quickly got to know each other and after dinner we formed a circle and beat the drums. Following a "family session" in which we shared experiences with one another, we went to bed (very) tired but (very) happy.

Thursday June 28 - Getting to know the Jewish Community

We started the day with an opening activity on "My Personal Identity" in which we discovered that we all have a lot in common and that at the same time we are quite different from one another. We watched a wonderful movie called "The Power of One" and discussed the issue of apartheid in South Africa. After that, we went to eat lunch at a unique restaurant called Estra. The workers at this restaurant all have special needs. The Jewish community in Cape Town operates a complex which has more than ten different halls. Each hall deals with a different kind of art: wood, wool, paintings, books, a restaurant, etc.... There we met the social worker who is responsible for the complex and she took us around and talked to us about the what is accomplished there. It was all very impressive. From there we went to Table Mountain. Ok, there isn't much to write about Table Mountain. Whoever hasn't seen it for himself just won't understand. On the day we visited, it was very chilly and we ended up climbing through clouds and fog. In short, it was amazing!

Friday June 29 - South Africa in the era of apartheid

This is one day that we will all remember! We started the day with a visit to a township. We met our guide Blacky who then took us on a tour of where he lives. We were shocked at the difficult living conditions there. We couldn't ignore the dozens of children who surrounded us there and chased after us in the hope of getting some money or food. At the beginning we tried to give them balloons, gum and stuff like that...but at some point we understood that this is not nearly enough and is of no use to them...From there we went to the Parliament Building which we toured. The tour was nice but after the visit to the township we viewed things a little differently. We returned to the "hotel" and spent some time at the "dilemma caf?" discussing apartheid in South Africa but couldn't help bringing up issues in our own home countries. After that, we got ready for Shabbat and all of us went to prayer services at one of the synagogues in the area. The service was nice but very long and immediately afterwards we went to Esti's home for a Shabbat dinner together with other guests from the community. The hospitality was wonderful and we all enjoyed her lovely big home.

Shabbat July 2, 2005 - In the Jewish Community of South Africa

Even for those who usually get up early, the wakeup on Shabbat was too early....We got up at 9:30 and went to synagogue. From there we continued on to a festive Shabbat meal at the Herzliya school together with members of the Jewish community. The rest of the day was relaxed. In the afternoon there were a variety of enjoyable activities. The two most popular ones were Frisbee which was led by David and backgammon (beginners and advanced) led by Avichai. In the evening we visited the old age home of the Jewish community where we performed our winning song "My beautiful and fruitful Land of Israel!" It was very moving when we sang Hatikvah and all the residents of the old age home stood up to join in. We finished the visit with an energetic Hora. From there we continued on to the Youth House for a barbecue evening.

Sunday July 3, 2005 - Touring South Africa

Sunday was the climax of the tour. We got up early and traveled to Cape Point where the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans meet. On the way there, we stopped to watch baboons who were free to walk among us. The hero of the day was Tamar Singer who gave up her bag in order that one of the baboons could eat her rice cakes in peace. It was a real experience! From there we continued on to Boulders Beach where we watched a crowd of penguins and had lunch. And from there to the most important experience of the tour (no, not really) - we went shopping in the Cape Town market and of course enjoyed ourselves immensely. We ended the day with dinner at the Falafel King of Cape Town. He was very enthusiastic about meeting Israelis and accepted some tips from us about preparing falafel. We didn't say so, but our falafel is much better!!! In the evening, we discussed our Jewish identities which was very interesting.

Monday July 4, 2005 - To always remember, never to forget

Monday was the most serious day relative to the rest of the tour. We started the day with an activity that brought out the differences between our various Jewish identities as Jews in Israel and Jews in the Diaspora. We realized that there are significant differences between them and that we must strengthen the ties between us in order to better understand them. From there we went to the Holocaust Museum where we had an interesting tour that not only dealt with the Holocaust but showed the clear parallels between it and apartheid. It was an interesting and important experience for us all. We finished the tour of the Holocaust Museum with a visit to the Museum of the Jewish Community and following that returned to the hostel in order to continue discussing the similarities and differences between the identities of the various communities. In the evening we traveled to the Waterfront - a huge shopping center - in order to continue our shopping and to get familiar with Cape Town as a city. We ended off the day by watching a light film.

Tuesday July 5, 2005 - Leaders shape humanity

We started the day with a discussion of our attitudes towards the State of Israel. Suddenly we realized that what appears totally natural to us - that Jew=Israeli=Zionist - is not so obvious to other Jews. Although some of the things said there were hard to listen to, it was important for us to hear them and learn from one another. Following the discussion, we went to a Museum called "The Hands that Shaped Humanity". We looked for Israelis there and found two (!): Shimon Peres and Adin Steinzaltz. Following the tour of the museum we had an incisive discussion among ourselves on the meaning of "shaping humanity" and "being famous". From there we went for a picnic where we also celebrated Avihai's birthday.

We returned to the "hotel" and began a series of activities that ended with a final party. That night we had no curfew and continued "BeTsavta" until the morning.

At 4:45, we tearfully said goodbye. We promised the Americans that we would meet them in a day or two and promised the South Africans that we would meet again some day.

That's it. We're going home.

Israel

Wednesday, July 6, 2005 - Home sweet home

Following a long and exhausting flight (a day flight!) we finally landed in Israel. There's no doubt that the lights we saw from above made us suddenly homesick: for home, for our parents, for our family and for our friends. We landed and went straight home to bed. We needed to build up our strength for the next part of the program.

Thursday, July 7, 2005 - Welcome to Israel!

We met at 15:00 with our batteries recharged. We left for the airport to meet the American group. Even though only two days had passed since we saw them last, it was very emotional to see them here in Israel. From the airport, we left for the Haas Promenade in the Armon HaNatziv neighborhood in Jerusalem. After we met our guide Shabbat and listened to a short introduction about Jerusalem, we drank a L'haim and returned to Beit Shemesh. Half of us hosted the Americans in our homes and the rest joined us that evening for a party at Ella's home.

Friday, July 8, 2005 - 3000 years at a glance

In the morning, we toured the Old City in Jerusalem. We visited King David's tomb and various observation points on the corners of the Old City. But the climax of the tour was of course the Wailing Wall. We were surprised to find out that it wasn't the first visit to the Wailing Wall just for the Americans - several of the Israeli group had never been to the Wailing Wall either. After some free time in the Jewish Quarter, we returned to Beit Shemesh and got together several times in the homes of the hosts.

Shabbat, July 9, 2005 - Shabbat in Beit Shemesh

We had an Israeli Shabbat together, some of us at the synagogue and others elsewhere. After Shabbat we traveled to Kibbutz Gal On for a barbecue and a dip in the pool with the families. We really enjoyed the night swim and on returning home packed a bag for a two-week trip.

Sunday, July 10, 2005 - Digging in Israel

We began the tour with an archaeological dig at Beit Gubrin. We were looking for ancient potsherds and some of us even found some. We ate lunch at Kibbutz Gal On and from there drove to the Shfayim water park. There isn't much to say about our visit to the water park except that it was great fun and.....wet. In the JCCA basketball tournament at Shfayim, the BeTsavta team competed against teams from all over the US. By defeating the Miami team, we came in second place. Ours was the only mixed American-Israeli team. Tired, but contented, we returned to Jerusalem. But before going to bed we had a family session just like the good old days in South Africa.

Monday, July 11, 2005 - Crawling into history

Monday was a busy and emotional day. We started with a tour of Ammunition Hill. We crawled in the trenches while "killing" anyone who came in sight. From there we continued onto the City of David and crawled through the Shiloah tunnel. The cold water and the darkness didn't scare us and we sang most of the way through (and were accompanied by Gaib's shouts to turn off our flashlights). We came out of the tunnel and from there went to the Harel mall for lunch. After that, we left for Yaffo and the flea market. We really enjoyed the atmosphere there and bought some clothes - but the best was helping the Americans bargain with the vendors. From there, we drove to Ramat Gan for the opening ceremony of the Maccabiah. The ceremony was very moving and well-planned. When things went dark in memory of the Maccabiah participants killed in the Yarkon bridge disaster, we lit some small flashlights that were in the kit that we had received. When they sang "Praise Jerusalem" and "Jerusalem of Gold" we also waved big gold banners. Later in the evening we returned to Jerusalem.

Tuesday, July 12, 2005 - Making aliyah

To the North

After breakfast we packed our "packeles" and headed for Afula. There we visited the PACT (Parents and Children Together) project run by the Joint. We met the children of olim from Ethiopia and saw how they are prepared for grade 1 in order to make their integration into school as smooth as possible. Following that, we spoke with Avi, an oleh (not so new) from Ethiopia himself, who was in charge. He told us about his experiences as an oleh which were very interesting. From there we drove to the Ginnosar Beach on Lake Kinneret. After lunch and a dip in the Kinneret we drove to meet a Naaleh group at Kibbutz Beit Zera. Naaleh is a program for youth who make aliyah before their parents. Our meeting with them was interesting though very short. From there we left for Tiberius and walked around the town for a bit. When we arrived at the hotel Shabbat talked to us about the Six Day War and its effects. We summed up the day and went to bed.

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 - The Northern Border

We began the day with a hike in the North - the Gilabun stream. We got totally soaked in water fights. We ate fruit that we found on the way: sabras, pomegranates, figs, etc....Following the hike, we ate lunch in Katzrin. After that we drove to Mount Bental, an observation point on the Syrian border. Seeing the situation for ourselves, we suddenly understood the strategic importance of the Golan Heights. Despite the heat, some of us remained in the bunker in order to see it up close. The rest couldn't stand the heat and ran to the bus; they couldn't understand why the others were hanging around so long when the next stop was kayaking...We got to the Jordan River where we were divided into groups of four or more. Each group got a raft and each couple got a kayak. In the water, you could see that we had become a close-knit group and were having a great time...There were plenty of water fights and we had the pleasure of seeing Rachel and Yael falling out of their kayak at the waterfall. No one was hurt and they even found Rachel's sandals afterwards.

In the evening, we arrived back in the Ginossar Beach Hotel and, despite our exhaustion, we danced the hora and other folk dances into the night...

Thursday, July 14, 2005 - Co-Existence in a Tiny Country

Thursday was a much more serious day. In the morning, we traveled to Givat Haviva where we took part in a seminar on co-existence. We spoke about stigmas and stereotypes in Israeli society; we heard a very interesting lecture on the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian sector; and discussed the implications of the separation fence. Although at times we felt that the presentation was one-sided, we realized that the seminar was important and gave us a different view of the situation. From there, we left for Jerusalem and rested a bit until after dinner. We visited the Time Elevator in Jerusalem and then walked around downtown and in the "Cats' Square". When we got back to the hotel, we had an activity on listening and the culture of debate and planned the coming Shabbat.

Friday, July 15, 2005 - Making the World a Better Place before Shabbat

We started the day at the Hazon Yeshayahu soup kitchen where we saw a film about the institution and talked with the Director. He told us the fascinating story of his life. Then we switched from talking to doing...We rolled up our sleeves and went to do our part on behalf of the community. Some of us worked in the kitchen preparing food while the rest worked in the storeroom preparing food packages. We prepared a total of 270 packages - and that's a lot!!!

From the soup kitchen, we went to eat lunch and then went on a bicycle trip in Sataf. We just barely got through it safely and even Raisa, who "earned" two blue stitches and suffered a strong blow to the stomach, claimed that it had been worth it... We returned to the hotel an hour before Shabbat to get ourselves ready.

In the evening, before sunset, we walked to the Wailing Wall for Kabbalat Shabbat. There was a real Shabbat atmosphere and we all felt that we were lowering gears and "chilling out"...

The Shabbat meal was really, really long and some of us fell asleep before the desert (and not just out of exhaustion...).

Shabbat, July 16, 2005 - Shabbat BeTsavta

Just like in South Africa, we got up early for synagogue. But this time, we split up and went to three different synagogues - the Italian Synagogue, "Shira Hadasha" and the conservative synagogue in Jerusalem. Each group had an experience which was quite different from what they were used to. After lunch and a long rest, we went outside to learn and teach Shabbat songs. After that we heard a very interesting lecture by Neal Lazarus about the security situation in Israel. After Neal Lazarus, who was the whipped cream, we heard from Danny Brutman who was the cherry on top. Danny had made aliyah two days before we met him and came to talk to us about his aliyah to Israel, about the community of South Africa where he had lived for several years and in general about programs like BeTsavta. The meeting with him was both interesting and moving for all of us.

Following the meeting with Danny, some of the group were met by their parents. After dinner and a lovely havdalah service, we had some fun drumming in a darbuka circle. And we discovered an interesting new musical instrument called a tampam. It was great fun and we went to bed with the last week of the program ahead of us.

Sunday, July 17, 2005 - Saving the Planet

After a busy Shabbat, we traveled to Kibbutz Gezer to visit the Roots corner. We met an animated guide who explained to us about the Seven Species and in general about the flora of the Land of Israel and our ties with the land. From there we traveled to the Sde Boker Midrasha in the Negev for a seminar on the environment and the connection between building and the landscape. We weren't very focused both because of the heat and the activity that would follow...but when we got to Mizpe Rimon for rappelling, we all woke up! We were a bit disappointed to discover that the cliff was only 18 meters high but we enjoyed it anyways, if only because of the endless energy and positive attitude of Danny our guide. From Mizpe Rimon we drove with Danny to the Gavanim stream where we slept for the night. In other words, outdoors in tents and sleeping bags. To our great surprise, there was a gourmet dinner which included a birthday cake for Gal and roasting marshmallows around the fire, which made the evening one of our most memorable of the program.

Monday, July 18, 2005 - The Dead Sea

On Monday, we woke up with the sun at about 5:00 (it was very hard to sleep) and set out on a hike. By 10:00 it was behind us and we set off, exhausted but pleased with ourselves, for the Dead Sea. After some stops and explanations on the way, we arrived at one of the beaches in Ein Gedi where we bathed in the pools, in the Dead Sea and, the braver among us, in mud. (It was quite a picture to watch Ranana, Tamar, Shiran, Ruth and Yael spreading every inch of themselves with mud!) And when no one was paying attention, Rachel and Yael snuck away for a relaxing treatment in the spa. From there, we left for the youth hostel at Masada and for a change went to bed early! You want to know why? Then read about our next day...

Tuesday, July 19, 2005 - Sunrise at Masada

Tuesday actually started on Monday night. At 4:15, David, Rachel and Yael were already knocking on our doors. At 5:00 in the morning, everyone was ready. After a coffee and a bit of cake, we set off towards sunrise on Masada. It's true that most of us saw the sunrise on the way, and that Yael had to drag Zohar, Gal and Ella up to the top (and let's not forget the 20-minute stop 5 meters from the top...) but in the end we all got to the top to enjoy the incredible view from Masada. Besides looking at the scenery, we had a fascinating discussion about our commitment to the army and the value of heroism in general. And we even met one of the ancient warriors of Eliezer Ben Yair, the commander of Masada. Fortunately, we got down from Masada via the cable car...

From Masada, we traveled to Tel Aviv and toured the Palmach Museum. The museum was fascinating for us all and we felt real pride in being Israelis! Immediately on returning to the hotel, we ran to the beach to relax after our exhausting day. We returned to the hotel and after dinner played a game called "The first to bring a ...." In this game, each group had to find some object as quickly as possible. The variety of the objects was astounding: from South African money (rands) to the Book of Psalms to something belonging to Yael. We concluded the game with a discussion of the goals of the program (a kippa, an Israeli Identity Card or a BeTsavta bracelet?). Those who weren't too tired then went for a walk on the Tel Aviv promenade.

Wednesday, July 20, 2005 - The Jewish Community in Israel and the Diaspora

On Wednesday, we woke up early and went to the Independence Museum to hear a lecture on the beginnings of Tel Aviv and to hear the declaration of independence where it actually happened. It was very moving to sing HaTikvah knowing that in that same room the pioneers had sung it not so many years ago. From there, we went to the Diaspora Museum and learned a bit about Judaism in the Diaspora. After lunch on the grass at Tel Aviv University, we split into two groups. One group traveled to Beit Daniel to hear about the Reform movement in Israel while the second went to the Tammuz urban kibbutz which is located in Beit Shemesh to hear about their relationship with Judaism. Later we all met at Kibbutz Tammuz and participated in an art workshop led by Nurit Shani. After preparing collages and combining them into one group picture, we discussed the implications of being an individual in a group and saw how from every small detail one can understand something new about himself. Sometimes it's something that even you hadn't thought of....

Thursday, July 21, 2005 - A day of new beginnings

We began Thursday with a tour of the Latrun Museum where we climbed up on tanks, took pictures of ourselves and learned a bit behind the meaning of the museum. From there we left for the Kastel and played capture the flag. We saw that often in war, there are no winners - only losers and there are those (like our dear Shiran) who pay a steep physical price. At the same time, we saw that bad things happen under conditions of war (and thanks to Ranana and Gal who helped out during difficult moments). From the Kastel, we continued on the Springs Route until the Sataf and from there returned to the hotel for a short rest. In the evening we watched the movie "HaNachshol" and discussed the various meanings of anti-Semitism and racism. We finished the day with an animated discussion of the delegation's T-shirt. It wasn't just a technical discussion of what color and what design to put on - it was also a question of philosophy: English? Hebrew? What will we write on it? etc....

Friday, July 22, 2005 - Always remember, never forget

Shabbat, July 23, 2005 - Shabbat with the families

On Friday morning, we went to Yad VaShem, the national museum of the Holocaust. From there we continued on to Mount Herzl which is the burial place of Israel's past leaders and a military cemetery. We visited the graves of Herzl, Rabin, Hanna Senesh and Yoni Netanyahu.

The day passed quickly and we found ourselves returning home to our parents in Beit Shemesh. Although this was a free Shabbat and our American friends had the opportunity to "get rid of us" and visit relatives, most of them preferred to stay with us. This is the opportunity to salute Ella who hosted four of them in her home!

Sunday, July 24, 2005 - In the footsteps of the heroes

The Shabbat went by quickly and we suddenly realized that we only had two days left before returning home. We began Sunday in Tel Aviv at Kikar Rabin where we discussed the personality of one of the most important leaders in the history of Israel....We also spoke about his horrible murder. It was interesting to see how each of us viewed the issue, particularly in view of the fact that two American Presidents have been assassinated...From there we continued on to a tour of the beautiful neighborhood of Neve Tsedek and without even noticing it, the day was over...

Monday, July 25, 2005 - Saving the Capital

The most significant event on Monday was the tree planting activity. If you had asked us before the trip whether planting a tree would be an emotional experience for us - the answer would have definitely been no! Nonetheless, this day will be remembered by us as a very emotional one since all of a sudden, almost at the end of the day, we came to understand a number of things about the delegation and even more so about ourselves. We understood how important this land is to us and how committed we are to it, despite the complaints, the disappointments and sometimes the great sacrifices that have to be made to live in it. From the reactions of our American friends, we understood how meaningful this experience was for them as well - to plant a tree in a land that isn't yours but with which you have deep and significant ties.

Following the tree planting, we returned to Jerusalem for an enjoyable final party that lasted until the morning.

Monday, July 2, 2005 - "All my bags are packed..."

On Tuesday morning, we arrived at the airport. We were tired and bleary-eyed but mainly we could hardly comprehend the significance of the experience that was now coming to an end. We parted with tears and hugs and took photographs of each other; then we hugged each other again and took some more photographs. Yael and Rachel then counted down to zero, and against our will, we bade farewell to the Americans with a promise to keep in touch and to meet again someday.

"BeTsavta" 2005 is over - temporarily for this year - but there is no doubt that you will be hearing from us again!