Disclaimer: We’ve missed a few days of posts so this is a long one.
Monday
Secret photo of Eran
I love hanging out with Eran. Even in in the States he was always so fun to be around. David and I visited his childhood home and got to meet his parents and dog, Linda. We had a very Israeli afternoon sitting in his backyard drinking coffee and tea as he pressed us for the latest “Irvine Gossip.” His mother explained some of her beautiful mosaic artwork in the backyard and Eran tried unsuccessfully, to get Linda to do a trick (she wasn’t feeling that well).
After an hour or two of catching up he took us on a small tour of his city, Mazkeret Batya, which is a beautiful town only about 5 km away from my Kibbutz. Even in Israel Eran hasn’t changed a bit. Whether it is honking at terrible drivers or giving his opinions on even the most trivial matters.
He took us to a scenic route, along which we saw the countryside of green as far as the eye could see. Eran kept insisting that we look out the windows at the amazing view, even to the point of interrupting David as he was talking. Our windows were all rolled down so we could smell the fresh air of the countryside. On the way we found a road that was, almost, straight out of Hollywood (minus the paved road, homeless people and buildings all around)
Naturally as I tried to get back in the car Eran teased me and drove away.
Memorial for the fallen soldier
Our final destination ended up being a memorial for a fallen soldier who died in Lebanon. After his death, his parents had asked the city council to allow them to use land to create a small memorial as well as a space for people to congregate for parties and such. Now the area is used for parties, Bar Mitzvahs, sometimes even weddings as well as for local people to come visit, hang out and enjoy the beautiful view.
Beautiful Views. Olive trees and towns are below.
We walked around for a little bit, looked at the olive trees below and got a short lesson on Israeli agriculture from Eran. It was already nearing the time for us to depart, we had a dinner at my great aunt’s to get to and Eran was heading to Tel Aviv with his family for his brother’s Google lecture. We made plans to meet again before our time in Israel ended, a soccer game in Be’er Sheva or camping, or maybe even both, but not before snapping a quick selfie of the three of us, tourist style.
Almost like we’re back in Irvine.
Tuesday – Day
We woke up early to the terribly loud phone in our room. My mom called to see if we still wanted to go to Rehovot with them for the morning. There was a chance of rain but none of us were dissuade by that. The gloomy weather reflected my mood as we headed to the bus, not made any better by the constant barrage of people coming up to my parents to say hi. My mom is practically a local celebrity since, not only has it been 7 years since her last visit, but during her time living in Israel she worked all over the kibbutz, made a ton of friends, and did her best to inject some Americaness into Kibbutz life. Apparently, in the eyes of all of her friends and acquaintances, this made her practically unforgettable.
Once we arrived in the city, my spirits lifted and I was happy to begin my quest with David to get a bargain priced European plug-type usb charger. Not only were we not exactly sure what we wanted or how much it should cost, we had no idea how to explain it to the store owners in Hebrew. We came across a few stores that had it but the prices were always over 50 shekels. My parents wanted towels, similar to the kind we always get on every Israel trip. They go to the same shop in Rehovot and get hand towels embroidered with our names on them. “Sara” and “Adrienne” for my bathroom and “Eran” and “Francine” for theirs. David and I had a fun time looking at prices and debating on buying some of our own.
We all headed to the mall, the towels took some time to be embroidered. The mall was just like an American mall except all of the shopping kiosks are run by Israelis, unlike in America where only every other one is. We walked around for a bit, David and I found the plug we wanted (30 shekels!) and headed back to pick up the towels. After a short taxi ride back to the kibbutz we went again to my great aunts for lunch, leftovers from the night before. David and I headed out early so we could nap and pack, my father’s best friend was coming to pick us all up to stay at their house for the night.
Tuesday – Night
My father, Eran, and his best friend of 35 years Amit Ofir
In all of my life my dad has had one best friend, Amit Ofir. They have known each other for nearly 35 years and met at the young age of 18 in the army. Both were in boot camp together, joined the paratroopers and became officers. They signed up for their full 6 years of officer service and afterwards, my father went on a trip to America before starting university and Amit went to work with his father on their family farm.
After my family moved to America, it became harder for my father to stay in touch but through all of the years they remained close friends. Every time we visited Israel we would stay at the Ofirs, his wife was an amazing cook and hostess, his four children were close to my and my sister’s ages and there was always something fun to do since they lived in a moshav (agriculture community). This time was no different.
David, my parents, and I all headed to Moshav Avigdor Tuesday night. We had a delicious meal at their sprawling (or at least by Israeli standards) farm home. Amit is quite possibly the most Israeli person I have ever met. Outspoken, brazen, and always laughing. It’s wonderful to see him with my father, teasing each other as if no time has passed between visits.
The shell of the Iron Dome Missile
The highlight of the night had to be when Amit went to the backyard and came back with the shell of an Iron Dome missile. Moshav Avigdor is only about 30 minutes from the Gaza border so missiles can reach the small community and this piece in particular Amit decided to save. My mother and I insisted on photos of Amit and my father together, which resulted in many laughs between the two of them. After an evening of laughing and planning for the day ahead, we all headed to sleep.
Wednesday – Day
We all came together at breakfast at nine am. Amit picked up his oldest son, Oz (a helicopter pilot in the army who enlisted for ten years), from the train station and we ate together. Afterwards David, my parents, Amit, and I all piled into his car for a short trip.
Amit drove us about 20 minutes south to Yad Mordechai, a kibbutz close to Gaza. Here he has five huge chicken incubation houses with over 150,000 chicks, all only a few days old. We got a private look inside the houses and even got to hold the baby chicks!
David and I with the baby chicks.
Battlefield of Yad Mordechai
Afterwards we walked across the dirt road to see the war memorial. The Battle of Yad Mordechai was took place during the Independence Day War in 1948 between the Egyptians and the Israelis. The fighters here were able to delay the Egyptian forces long enough to allow the northern troops time to accumulate more soldiers and eventually drive the Egyptians out of Israel five days later.
At the memorial you can still see the preserved trenches and bunkers, the old tanks, and even fake soldiers posted below. Once we had our fill of the sites, and took enough pictures, we all headed back into Amit’s car to ou next, mystery destination.
Gazan border, complete with sensor fence and wall.
We ended up at the border of northern Gaza, shocked by the proximity and the famous border wall, as well as a fence covered in sensors. There is actually a second wall before you reach the border that helps protect the nearby houses (who are only about 200 yards from the border) from rocket and gunfire.
The Israeli wall is decorated and there is a beautiful mural in clear sight of the Israeli and Palestinian sites dedicated to peace.
We stopped for a closer look at the stones and tiles embedded in the wall and too some photos before heading back to the kibbutz for lunch and some relaxation.
The letters were all decorated with individual tiles.
Close up of some of the tiles.
It has been an eventful few days, with highs and lows for both David and myself. It feels like we have done so much in the week that we have been here and yet there is still so much to see. Even if I lived in Israel for years I feel like I could never see everything that this country has to offer. At every turn I am reminded of the long and eventful history, the religious zeal of the state and the mixture of cultures present in every day life.
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