The Jewish National Fund Heart & Soul Mission from May 2-9, 2010, was truly an amazing trip.
It captured the core of today’s Israel. Although many on the trip had been to Israel before, seeing the country through the eyes of JNF was a new experience. Most exciting was the connection JNF made between the present and exciting possibilities for what may come.
Travels began in Tel Aviv but moved quickly north up the seacoast to the Atlit Detention Center where refugee Jews were detained by the British before being allowed to enter pre-State Israel. JNF is involved with the Center by preserving the site and developing it as a historical resource. The diversity of the Mission is clear by how the group spent the rest of the day; visiting a reservoir transforming waste from the West Bank into water for agriculture, touring Caesarea ruins and having a delicious lunch at a winery.
From Tel Aviv participants travelled to the Negev. This 60% of Israel land mass is home to only 8% of Israelis. JNF is dedicated, through its Blueprint Negev, to develop the Negev in a sustainable manner and make it home to the next generation of Israel’s residents. As they traveled through the desert, they visited JNF projects promoting economic development and offering social services such as centers for the disabled or playgrounds secure from kassam missiles, and investing in research facilities. One of the most exciting projects is JNF’s Be’er Sheva River Park. More than $30M has already been invested in the ancient city to position it, through 15km of a promenade along a riverbank and other attractions, as the gateway to the new Negev. Many mission participants were impressed and moved by a therapeutic horseback riding facility on Kibbutz Grofit. In the middle of nowhere – literally – is a simple riding ring where children and adults with a range of disabilities come to spend time loving their horse and gaining a sense of self-empowerment and enjoyment. The power of the therapeutic service is very moving.
They spent two nights in a beautiful hotel on the beaches of Eilat and then flew across the country back to Jerusalem where they spent Shabbat and their final days in Israel. Many of you have been to Jerusalem for Shabbat so it’s easy to say that the mood of the city or the beauty of pre-Shabbat at the Western Wall is hard to describe. Returning to the heart of the Jewish People after days in the desert was a very powerful experience. In Jerusalem, they tasted the bitter reality of the Holocaust through a visit to the new Yad ve Shem and then sat with Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon for a private briefing on Israel position with its neighbors and Iran. And what would a JNF mission be if not a time to plant a tree in Israel? The group ended its time together by planting roots in Israel and giving back to the land that has given it so much.
It is no simple task to adequately describe the breadth and the depth of the Heart and Soul Mission. Israel is a fascinating country that surely takes two lifetimes to understand. JNF has the history with and influence in the country to provide shortcuts to the most significant opportunities and challenges facing the country. JNF provided a well-orchestrated and fun trip, good value for the dollar and most importantly, a chance to grow closer to Israel.
Heart & Soul Israel Mission co-chairs Honey and Howard Workman were joined on the trip by a wonderful group of JNF leaders and supporters: Morris and Kathe, Al Kleeman, Newt Klements, Michael Miller, William Rosenberg, Jodi and Michael Rothman, Todd and Gabrielle Starr, William Travis, Jay Zandman, and JNF professional staff Beth Gluck and Ronnie Porat. Their reunion event has already been planned! |
