July 23rd MBI Update Part 1

On Sunday the MBIers bid farewell to their Kibbutzim to begin the next part of the MBI tochnit(program). In the morning the buses collected everyone from their Kibbutz and brought them to Mt. Ben-Tal which is located in the Golan Heights and is located just south of Kibbutz Merom Golan. A joyful and exciting reunion took place as all 169 MBIers reunited there and got to see there friends from home and the new friends they had started to make before Machatz started. They had a delicious lunch hummus, pita, and a variety of salads.

After lunch the buses each set off on their own hike on and around Mt. Ben-Tal. Hiking around Mt. Ben-Tal gave the MBIers the chance to see Syria off the distance and really begin to grasp the proximity of Israel's neighbors. They learned about the nearby military base and '67 and '73 wars and their impact on Israel and its neighbors. Part of all these discussions were to consider the Golan Heights and its place in Israel and the complex history behind its annexation. They got to look and see the Valley of Tears where one of the bloodiest battles took place during the Yom Kippur War of 1973. Seeing all these places first hand really puts into perspective the wars they have heard about or studied but now the MBIers have seen first hand where things actually took place.

Buses 1,3, and 4 also got to Tel Facher which is near the Lebanese border, while Bus 2 spent some extra time at Mt. Ben-Tal soaking the many different historical aspects of the area. Tel Facher again gave the MBIers another chance to appreciate and understand the political situation as they not only saw Syria off in the distance but Lebanon was also close-by, all seen in a day, in a fairly short journey.

In the evening they went to the hostel they are staying called Tel Hai. It has a gorgeous view of the Hula Valley and is a quiet area in the North for the MBIers to stay. After dinner they had a peula(activity) with their bus looking at the impact of ongoing conflicts on society, with Israel as the clear case study. During the MBIers time they in Israel they will be exploring Israel and much of its complexity from understanding to the people as they did on Kibbutz to exploring a deeper understanding of trying to grasp what its like live in society that in many ways in perpetually in conflict.

Today in the morning they will be going to Nahal(river,stream) Hazuri to do nice hike there. They will also go to Tel-Hai and tour and learn about its story and place in Israeli history. In the afternoon they will be going Kayaking at Kfar Blum just to be sure that everyone had their chance to Kayak down the Jordan river. In the evening they will again have a peula(activity). I will be giving an update about the day's activities later though.

Just to clarify a few things. First off I have been and will continue to be in New York for the duration of the program. Leon and I talk on a daily basis to give me updates which enables me to write these detailed blog entries. Also just a reminder about Machatz. Everyone took part in the major components of having an overnight tiyul(hike), avodah(work) project, and of course meetings and fun with Kibbutzniks their age. The variations in programing lie in the fact that each Kibbutz developed its own program that took the above mentioned components as the foundation for their planning.

Lastly while everything about the program on the Israeli side is meticulously planned and organized, Machatz is a busy time for Leon and the madrichim(staff) as MBI is spread out on 8 Kibbutzim who each had their own unique program which Leon was making sure to stay updated on and visit all the Kibbutzim many times throughout the Machatz time period. Delivering the Guestbook was a bit delayed as such, but things are back to normal and I will be deleting the vast majority of messages today as they have been delivered.