A few weekends ago we had our Conservative Judaism Seminar, which to my dismay, was actually fairly interesting. The Director of USY came in for four days to discuss the Conservative Movement, our purpose it in, the flaws, etc. This seminar preceded the most interesting part of Nativ so far- my trip to the Knesset. Six Nativers were chosen to attend a forum on the Youth Zionist Movement at the Knesset with the Speaker of the Knesset, Reuven Rivlin, the Minister of Education, and some other guy who's name was unpronounceable. The speeches obviously had to be spoken in Hebrew, so naturally I had no idea what was going on during it. I recognized a few works, but overall the speech was giberish to me (although my Hebrew has skyrocketed since I've been here. Nativ was the only American group to attend the forum, so you can only imagine the people I met there. As everyone said their name and where they were from, I counted how many languages were spoken and how many countries were represented. Out of 80 people, I counted 11 languages and 15 countries- not including the people who I cannot understand in the slightest bit. Probably the coolest thing I've seen- politically that is. On top of this all, they had INCREDIBLE pastries at the end
This past weekend, six friends and I decided to take our Shabbas camping and hiking in Ein Gedi- right on the Dead Sea, in the middle of the desert, with springs! The entire weekend was simply amazing. We started off with a light hike to an ancient synagogue and ended swimming in the main spring at Ein Gedi. Later that night, we camped out on the Dead Sea beach, and of course took an evening swim. During this evening dip in the Dead Sea, I saw Mars and my first shooting star! Yes, they do exist...
Sadly, joining us on our trip where 2000 other kids ages 8-18 who stayed at the same campsite we did. Oddly, they weren't as loud as we thought, however, we'd preferred if they weren't there. The next morning, we began our hike bright and early with the sun, and, we got to use a bathroom that resembled one from Slumdog Millionaire!
Our trail brought us about 200 meters above sea level, then about 200 meters below sea level to dry river beds. We hiked hills, rock climbed, slid down river beds, and swam all day. This Shabbas was for sure the most incredible, and obviously I took SO many pictures
Elana, Zoe, Amy, & Me
Here are some, but I'll make a Flickr account so all my pictures can be uploaded :)
Sunday night was Halloween in America, but here in Israel it's an average day. However, in the spirit of our childhood a few friends and I dressed up like the characters from the hit Nick show "Rocket Power" and sported our outfits through the park and Beit Nativ. It wasn't the same as at home but it was still a ton of fun :)
Elana, Me, Lauren, & Ashleigh
Me, Amy, Lauren, & Ashleigh
Monday night, in Pariz Sqaure (where I live- one block up from the Prime Minister's House) a HUGE protest went on about the allocation of education funds in Israel. The secular Jews are protesting because Bibi Netanyahu is giving most tax money to the Haradi Jews (ULTRA-orthodox) who apparently do not work and only study all day. Now my explanation on the situation comes from my friends from Noam (USY in Israel) who were at the protest. It was the largest protest I've ever been to and easily the most powerful. Hundreds of people walked the streets for a cause worth fighting for
Maya & Me
Last night for Erev Nativ (Night of Nativ), the Be'er Sheva track had Trivia Night! Each room dressed in unison and competed for room decorations! As my room is the only room with 4 people, we thought it would be fitting (and hilarious) to dress as KISS :)
Ariel, Allie, Nava, & Me (Ace, Peter, Paul & Gene)
Have a restful Shabbat this weekend! I'll be with Joyce, NERUSY's Youth Director!!!
XO-Dana
