Flight to Vancouver left with a 42 min delay. Scheduled for a 1247 landing in YVR.

Heading out from the Baltimore stop, now on the way to Silver Spring. GPS is showing a 12:00 estimated arrival.

Chicago flight 1502 now set to depart at 11:20 and land at ORD 12:47.

Chicago flight DELAYED 40 min.

Calgary and Ottawa are through security and waiting for their flights.

Vancouver, and those going through there, have made it through security and are waiting for their flight.

The bus has now set off from Philadelphia. GPS predicts 11:13 arrival at the Baltimore stop.

East Coast bus will be coming in early to the Philadelphia stop. We are currently 7 minutes away.

All americans are through security and now waiting for their flights. In Toronto the AirCanada group is checking in now.

Everyone being picked up at the airport in both NYC and Toronto has met their contacts.

SFO, Fort Meyer, and Boston made it to their flights.

Along with Dallas

Chicago going through security now.

LAX is now through security.

Detroit and Minneapolis are now going through airport security for their flights

The east coast bus has just left newark. GPS right now predicts 8:50 arrival at Gratz.

The American group is emerging from passport control now.

The Canadian flight has landed an is just taxi-ing to the terminal now.

The American Group flight has landed and we are waiting for them to come out of security.

In the air

Both flights have taken off.

El Al Flight 027 flying towards Newark took off at 12:51am and is scheduled to land at Newark airport at 4:22am. You can track it as they travel here-

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ELY27

El Al Flight 029 flying towards Toronto took off at 1:24am and is scheduled to land at Pearson at 4:59am. You can track it as they travel here-

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/ELY29

Travel Day has begun

MBI Travel Day has begun and is so far going smoothly.

Everyone who was supposed to be picked up at the airport has already.

The entire American Group Flight checked in successfully and left to go through security along with their chaperone about 30 minutes ago. Their flight is still on schedule for a 12:30 departure.

The baggage x-ray machine Ben Gurion Airport security was using for the Canadian flight (they were in different lines) broke and so all passengers for that flight had to wait a bit for it to be fixed. Once that happened, they moved through the line and I have just heard that the last MBI-er on the flight was walking to security. Their chaperone is with them as well. The flight is also still marked as on schedule for a 12:50 departure.

Unless something happens, I will post again in a few hours when both flights will be in the air.

Last Week of MBI- Blind Museum, Hikes, More Basketball, Zombies, and the Beginning of Sikkum

Ready for more? Here we go-

On Wednesday, each bus had slightly different schedules, but all MBI-ers did each activity in the end. Every bus did the Hirbat Midras hike, which is actually a hike done entirely underground and through a series of caves while wearing headlamps. After the hike they went to Tel Azaka. This is the famous place that is said to be where the battle took place between David and Goliath. The MBIers walked up to a look out point and were entertained by skits that the tour guides and madrichim (counselors) put on for them re-enacting the story.

Later, Buses 2 and 3 went to the Blind Museum (see previous post for description) while Bus 1 had some time to hang out on the beach flipping the end of what happened the day before. Following this part of the afternoon, the whole group came back together for dinner and afterwards had kvutza time. During this part of the evening members of each kvutza ran peulot for their own kvutza. Throughout the summer, MBI-ers have been getting more and more practice running peulot, or programmes, for their peers. This is a great way for them to develop leadership skills as well as play an active role in their own MBI experience.

After this the MBI Kaf 2011 basketball tournament continued into the semi-final round. Two hard fought games were played, with the rest of MBI chanichim and tzevet (staff) cheering them on.

Then everyone went to bed... and here is where the night got crazy. Kudos to our madrichim for what was to follow.

A couple hours later, each MBI-er was woken up in the middle of the night and told that "the british are coming, we need to make it to Palestine." This is similar to an activity called "Aliyah Bet" that is run at many of our machanot, which simulates and teaches chanichim about the illegal immigration of Jews to Palestine in the years prior to Israel's Independence. Everyone dressed quickly and gather back outside on the field. When the whole group arrived, they realized that some of their MBI friends were missing. It seemed that all MBI-ers whose first name was Talia, Hannah, Sara, Josh, and Jacob had been kidnapped! Then a 'haganah' soldier, or at least a tzevet member who looked like one, appeared and told them that he saw them all being taken to the central pavilion a short way from where the group was standing. He told them they needed to make it to the pavilion but to not get caught by the British soldiers who would be in hiding along the way. As most of MBI started moving towards their friends, they heard rustling in the bushes and a few 'people' jumped out at them, but.... they didn't look like British soldiers.

IT WAS ZOMBIES! Everyone ran towards the pavilion to get away from the zombies, and when they got there found that it had been turned into an Alien Zombie Spaceship. In the center of the pavilion was their missing friends tied around a pole. Each MBI kvutza then had to do different tasks to get their friends back from the Zombies-Aliens, like making a human pyramid and throwing a sponge backwards with their legs which a kvutza-mate would have to catch in a basket.

Once they saved all their friends and wanted to get back to earth they found that they had to do another task all together as MBI called a harragut fair. In this activity, a rope is tied over a long distance and each MBI-er is blindfolded and then has to walk along the rope one after another from beginning to end. Along the way different tzevet would come up to them and say things like "zombies like to eat brains" and then put the MBI-er's hand into a bag of wet crackers. At other spots a zombie said "zombies have trouble with saliva" and would spray a bit of water at them. Somewhere along the way, a zombie leaned in close to each blindfolded MBI-er and told them they had been personally marked for future alien experiments and tied something around one of their wrists.

When all of MBI reached the end of the rope they found a medura, or a bonfire, waiting for them all. They had made it back to earth and all sat around eating marshmallows and singing kumzits. Slowly, the MBI-ers then realized that what had been tied around each of their wrists was a red string. It was the red string that goes in the neckline of the chultzot they got a few weeks ago. Their process transitioning into Habonim leaders had reached the next step and they now had all the pieces of their first chultzah or movement shirt. It was very exciting for all of them, some of whom were asking if the entire night had just been planned as an elaborate scheme just to give them their strings. It was certainly a lot of fun, but then time for everyone to go to bed for real. The next morning there was a sleep in for everyone, with optional breakfast earlier, and programming did not start the next day until after 11am.

On Thursday when they woke up, MBI had a set of chugim or small discussions about the Habonim Dror movement. One chug was about Workshop, our 9-month Israel program for post-high schoolers. There was also a chug was about the Ken, our regional year-round activities. Another was about living in a bayit, or a semi-communal living situation that some Habonim members have chosen for themselves to live out the values of our movement beyond just camp and program frameworks, but into their everyday lives. Two other chugim were about what a movement is and how Habonim Dror has defined/relates to Judaism. Gil ran a chug in which he talked about what Habonim used to look like in the 1990's and the immense changes that have occurred since then.

In the next part of the day MBI went to an amazing museum called Machon Ayalon, which used to be an underground ammunition factory before the independence war. The Hagganah (defense force) asked a group of people who wanted to build a kibbutz to build and operate an ammunition factory underneath. The group dug out an enormous underground hole in just weeks, while the British thought they were building a kibbutz. 40 people would go underground daily just to make bullets. The kibbutz took in laundry as its source of income, and the access to the ammunition factory was under a washing machine that slides to the side to reveal a ladder. All 40 of the original workers were trained to climb down the ladder in record time. They made 250,000 bullets without a single mishap, and bullets were the one thing the Israelis did not run out of during the war of Independence. Visitors today can still walk down the ladder and view the machinery while listening to the story.

From our staff- talking to the MBI-ers as they were coming out most said it was really cool. Along the way they were being asked what it means to take responsibility for something and what it means to take responsibility in your life.

Afterwards they came back and had dinner before their first sikkum peula. Sikkum means summary, and is the term used for the part of the program which will aim to help the MBI-ers process all that they have done this summer. The first sikkum peula was about looking at MBI and the Habonim Dror movement as a whole and understanding how structures and specific goals sometimes change over time in order to better implement the values that you hold. The feedback from most of the kvutzot afterwards said that the discussions each kvutza had about this went very well.

That night, the final game of the basketball tournament was played. The two teams played up to 15, and the game was 2 hours long. The team from Tavor won in the end 15-10, but the lead went back and forth throughout the game. It was a good game to end the tournament and an overall fantastic part of the last few days. The hope is that a time can be found before the end of MBI for a game to be played against the Madrichim. Additionally, though there were some girls playing on the machane tournament teams, a seperate MBI girls game is scheduled for tomorrow.

The last part of today worth mentioning is that the group said goodbye to their bus drivers today. The same bus drivers have stayed and driven our MBI-ers throughout the summer and have become beloved by their bus's MBI participants. This summer's program would not have been anywhere near as successful without them and here too I want to say thank you to Kamal, Dudu, and Faisel.

Today, Friday was a day of sikkum peulot processing the summer. One was run for everyone altogether, another was run seperately bus, and the last one was run by the MBI-ers themselves. In the evening was their last Kabbalat Shabbat of course, and then a final mesiba (party) for the last night of MBI. The music will be shut off at 2 and every person must be in their rooms by 3. Tomorrow is the last day of MBI before their trip to the airport after shabbat.

I will be posting again tomorrow when they arrive at the airport and the group flights take off. Throughout travel day I will also be posting here when the group flights land and as each destination's participants are checked-in through security. If you have any questions about MBI travel from this point on, please email me at programs@habonimdror.org or call +1-917-822-2330.

Shabbat Shalom for now.

Ari

Volunteering, Missing Meds Scare, and MBI Basketball

Hey there MBI fans.

I know there have been some rumors flying about today, so I am posting the day's update about what MBI Kaf's Tuesday August 8 was like.

In the morning MBI set out for "lifta-town". Lifta is an area outside of Jerusalem named for a village that was located here before Israel's war of Independence. Today MBI was planning on helping as volunteers with the building of a community art center for underprivileged youth. The plans are for the center to have both residential and daytime activities for area youth. MBI spent time helping to move rocks that will eventually be used to build an outdoor stairwell as well as moving brush from what will be the building's main grounds. Unfortunately, the time was cut short after only an hour and a half of working. Even from such a short amount of time, the staff were very appreciative and invited all of MBI to come back and visit when the center is open.

The work was stopped and MBI was brought together for Gil to speak to them. Earlier in the morning, MBI staff came upon a scenario where an MBI participant entered a staff member's room at the hotel and stole the narcotic medication of another participant. With the information they had, this was the only reasonable conclusion they could come to after 3 hours of trying to find any other possibility. What followed was a total stoppage of all MBI activity as the whole group was told about the situation, and also told that no MBI programming would run until more information came forward about what happened. This situation was treated with the severity of what the staff thought had happened. For the first part of this time, MBI was still at the work site but sitting either in the shade outdoors or inside an air conditioned room. After 2 hours they left and took the buses back to their hotel at Nes Harim. Here they were going to meet in their small kvutzot and see if any more information arose.

Soon after this started, more information did become available to our staff and it changed their conclusion. After receiving more information we realized their had been a mistake and a misunderstanding. All of the pills were where they were supposed to be. While that few hours were not fun or pleasant for anybody involved, the most important thing that comes out of this is that every person on MBI is healthy, safe, and that nobody stole or lied. This is a good thing and though some may be frustrated with what happened today we feel confident that we were reacting responsibly and appropriately to the incident and the severity of what we though had happened.

As soon as the scenario changed, our staff looked at their watches and did what they could to still complete those parts of today's itinerary still available. Bus 1 set off immediately to go see the Blind Museum/Dialogue in the Dark. This is a special museum in which the exhibitions and are in total darkness. These MBI-ers were led through by blind guides through a completely dark environment where each person had to learn to interact by relaying on other senses. Buses 2 and 3 did not leave the hotel but instead had a relaxing and calm afternoon to hang out and each group really appreciated the down time.

All of MBI met back together for dinner, and afterwards participated in a basketball tournament that had been organized by a few of the MBI-ers. Each Machaneh (camp) fielded a team and competed against each other. The games were competitive, but still had a really fun and positive atmosphere. Some teams played for the silliness and others were more serious. Almost all of MBI was there on the sidelines either playing or cheering. Every team played a game tonight and during part of tomorrow the second round of the tournament will be played. The winning team will then go on to play.... the staff team.

By the end of the day it seemed that the whole group had moved on from the drama in the earlier part of the day and was excited to get a chance to have fun with each other. Tonight everyone should be getting a good nights sleep and wake up ready for tomorrow.

There are four days left of MBI Kaf, and the group is ready to make the most of them and truly have the best summer ever.

Till next time,

Ari

Return Travel Day Information and APIS Emails

Dear MBI Kaf Families, I am sending out this email with two important points. The first refers to emails that some of those who are part of the group flight itinerary received from El Al with the subject line "APIS Details". It is NOT necessary to respond to the APIS message from El Al. I double checked with our travel agent this morning and confirmed that El Al already has all of this information and those emails are being sent out in error. The second point for this message was to give out information about MBI's Return Travel Day. Sunday August 7

MBI Return Travel Day. Group Flight Details. There are 2 group flights home, one American and one Canadian. Canadian Group Return Information The Canadian group return flight is El Al flight 29. It is scheduled for takeoff from Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) at 12:50am on August 7 and scheduled for arrival in Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) at 6:20am on August 7. Josh Mann is going to be chaperoning this flight and when they arrive in Toronto, Talia Spear, our Mazkira Klalit (National Director) is going to be there to meet the whole group and help those making connections to get to their next flights. For Families that are planning on meeting their MBI-ers at the Toronto Airport, you should meet them outside of security/baggage claim in Terminal 3. Please aim to be there by no later than 7:30am. If you have any trouble finding the group or need to reach our staff on the day of travel, Talia's cellphone number is 347-257-2889.

American Group Return Information The American group return flight is El Al flight 27. It is now scheduled to depart at 12:30am on August 7 from Ben Gurion Airport (TLV) and scheduled to arrive at Newark Airport (EWR) at 5:40am on August 7. Itamar Landau is going to be chaperoning this flight, and myself as well as other office staff, will be at the airport upon their arrival. We will then be escorting those making connections to each of their next flights. For Families planning on meeting their MBI-ers at Newark, please meet us in the International Arrivals hall of Terminal B. Please aim to be there no later than 7:00am. If you have any trouble finding the group or need to be in touch with our staff that day, call the HDNA cell number 917-822-2330. For Families whose MBI-ers will be taking the bus down to Philadelphia, Baltimore, or Silver Spring. We are aiming to have the bus loaded and leaving the airport by 6:30am. We only have one bus heading south and are planning for it to arrive at each location at the following times. 9:00am- Philadelphia- Gratz College Parking Lot 7605 Old York Road, Elkins Park, PA, 19027 11:30am- Baltimore- Chizuk Amuno/Krieger Schechter Parking Lot 8100 Stevenson Road, Pikesville, MD, 21208 12:30pm- Silver Spring- Blair High School Parking Lot 51 University Blvd E. Silver Spring, MD, 20901

For all families- Each of these times are only estimates and the actual takeoff, landing, and arrival times may change. I will be posting directly to the blog throughout the day as groups land, go through security to connections, or as buses leave and arrive. You can follow athttp://mbikaf2011.blogspot.com/ . I will also be reachable at anytime for any questions that may come up for all of our MBI participants traveling that day. In the event of any emergency or question, call 917-822-2330. If any families are still at all unclear about their MBI-ers travel plans, please be in touch with our office as soon as possible. B'shalom Ari -- Ari Brian Schwartz Habonim Dror- Programs Director 114 W. 26th St 1004 New York, New York 10001 Tel:212-255-1796 Fax: 212-929-3459 www.habonimdror.org

Back to Jerusalem and a Visit to the Tent-City Rally

NOTE TO FAMILIES:

In the past couple of days there have been a few disciplinary incidents on MBI. The entire group was spoken to about the general atmosphere that had developed and told to not let the last week pass them by. There were some clear issues of disrespect that that needed to be brought out and dealt with and Gil urged all of MBI to realize that even though there is only 1 week left, all MBI rules still apply and to realize that they could still choose to make this the best summer of their lives. Today all of the small kvutzot also had a chance to talk in smaller discussions with their madrichim about certain disciplinary decisions that were made and about the culture they wanted to make sure existed on MBI.

Sunday, after a challenging and fun weekend the MBIers finished up Machenh Tnua Achot, cleaned up their campsite and bade farewell to their new Israeli friends. The group headed back down to the Jerusalem area to the KKL campsite Nes Harim. After dinner they had a preparation peulah for Yad Vashem, the National Holocaust Memorial Museum. All of MBI watched the movie Gattaca. The film is about a society in which people are categorized as inferior and superior based on their genetic makeup and according to your genetic make-up you are predestined for a certain kind of lifestyle including your job. The main character is dissatisfied with his place in the world and has bigger aspirations for himself so he assumes the identity of someone else in order to achieve his dream of space travel. The basis of the peulah was to explore what a world looks like without shivyon erech ha'dam (equality of human value). Following the film each kvutzah had a short discussion about the concept of shivyon erech ha'adam.

Today, Monday, MBI went to Yad Vashem had a guided tour through the museum. The museum has a unique design. The building is a long triangle that at the end there are windows piping light and a promenade with a beautiful view of Jerusalem. In order to reach the promenade you have to criss-cross through each section of the museum, which spans from before the Holocaust looking at communities, through the end of the war exploring the many difficult topics and some of the more inspirational tales of righteous gentiles and the youth movements role in the war. The tour tries to focus on some of the aspects of the Holocaust and then ends by discussing the importance of Israel in our history as the Jewish people. A major focus today was on the anti-semitism that existed in the world during that time-period, and how it still exists in places around the world today.This was a emotionally moving and important experience for all.

Afterwards the group left the museum late and so their tour through Har Herzl was shortened. Har Herzl (Mount Herzl), is a national cemetery in Jerusalem, named for Theodor Herzl, the founder of modern political Zionism. The cemetery was created as a burial place for national figures and fallen soldiers. The group did stop and have lunch there, and it was here that each kvutza had a conversation processing both Yad Vashem and Har Herzl with their madrichim.

Our itinerary for the afternoon was changed in order to fit in a visit to the Tent City of Jerusalem. This was a unique chance for MBI to get to see first hand some of the current events going on in Israel today.

skip to below for more about MBI's visit-

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Some Quick Background, (this is excerpted 2 different emails sent out from the World Habonim Office over the past two weeks updating each country's office).

Over the past few months, there have been a number of short-lived public outcries in Israel - fights against petrol prices, bread prices, cottage cheese prices, and strikes by social workers and doctors. Each of these struggles took place separately from one another. This newest public outcry regarding housing, has a completely different feel to it. Starting with students protesting the 40% increase in rent costs per year for the past 3 years Israel, more and more people have been joining this grassroots protest. For the first time, people have begun to to recognize the connection between difficulties affording food, housing, education and health, and are connecting it to the strong privatization forces being pushed by Bibi Netanyahu's government.

Citizens have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Sderot, Beer Sheva, Kiryat Shemona, and other cities, and have been living in tents in the center of these cities. The people now protesting have also recently grown beyond just the initial group of middle-class university students, and have been joined by Arabs, Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox Jews), Olim (Jews who made Aliyah), blue-shirt movement members, and spans across all ages.

This is now a very widespread public struggle fighting against Bibi's privatization policies, and the mainstream of Israeli society is demanding a return to socio-economic policies that allow every citizen to acquire basic human needs. Part of our ability to ensure that all citizens of Israel have fair and affordable access to housing is by keeping the state's land in the hands of the government, and not in private hands. Doing so means that the government is obligated to regulate building and create policies that include subsidized housing without creating slums (by deciding where subsidized units should be located, and by regulating the standards that these units must uphold). Otherwise, in the situation Netanyahu's government supports, real estate tycoons would own the land of Israel, and would never agree to build affordable housing, as it is much more profitable to wait for the land to accrue value and then build large houses for wealthy people (which is what is happening today, but at least the problem is that the government is not regulating the contractors, and not that the tycoons have the ultimate decision-making over what is built).

Many see Bibi's attempts to privatize lands of Israel as directly against the principles of Zionism, since he is attempting to sell away the country's resources and deny its citizens basic rights, choosing instead to pursue wealth, and power over the ideal of a moral Jewish state.

This situation has been harming the weaker sections of society (Arabs, Haredim, olim) for quite some time, but now that it is harming the middle class as well, people are understanding that this is a situation that cannot go on.

This housing issue boils down to the fact that the Netanyahu government has been consistently enacting policies that help those who are wealthier and hurt those who are poorer, destroying the welfare state and the middle class, and the mainstream of society has had enough.

Our involvement in this struggle alongside the Israeli blue-shirt movements is because we believe in this struggle, and because we want to raise awareness of WHY the situation has gotten to where it is today, so that Netanyahu cannot spin the protests in his favor, which he has been trying to do.

This past Saturday night was a nationally organized rally in cities throughout the county. In Tel Aviv alone, 120,000 people marched singing chants of democracy and social change. There was a feeling that things can change in Israel, and that there's something tangible that is truly worth looking forward to and believing in.

The dialogue of those organizing has gained momentum, and become even broader than before - the dialogue everywhere in Israel is about citizens demanding social justice and a welfare state -- as Daphne Leef, one of the originators of the protests, said last night at the rally: "Social services are rights, not commodities."

The level of involvement by regular citizens is felt very strongly in Israel, and the blue-shirt movements (like Habonim) are very involved conversations with the public (at movement tents) about the reasons/ideology behind Bibi Netanyahu's economic policies and what normal citizens can do to change things.

In addition, there are lobbying activities taking place at the Knesset this week, in advance of this Wednesday's vote on Bibi's proposed National Housing Commissions Law, which he claims will increase house-building through privatization; it is a truly rotten law that continues to serve the interests of the wealthy and the real estate tycoons. Our hope is that pressure on the MKs will encourage them to vote down this law, thereby slowing the changes Bibi making in order to break down what's left of the welfare state; if this law fails to pass it will also send a clear message to the current government of Israel that Israeli citizens are unwilling to accept their agenda and worldview.

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Back to the blog-

Regardless of ones political views, it is clear that we would be amiss to not mention or do our best to bring MBI to visit one of these rallies and learn about what is going on around them in the country they are touring this summer. A change was made in the MBI itinerary in order to allow us to visit the tent city in Jerusalem and it started with a quick walk around the tent-city before stopping at a nearby amphitheater.

Soon after, one of the protesters came and asked our staff if he could speak to the group. He spoke to MBI about what was going on and why he was there. Though his english made it a little difficult for some of what he was saying to come across, he emphasized to all of them that they should know something special and exciting was happening in Israel right now. He spoke about how he felt that it was something that should be important to the MBI-ers on a personal level as well, because Israel is their home too and should feel connected.

After hearing the protesters thoughts, the MBI-ers then listened to a much more thorough explanation about what was going on by a member of our sister-movement Ha'Noar Ha'Oved (and previous MBI madricha) Noga Nevo. Noga was able to point out signs that said things like "we are the 2nd generation of pioneers of the state". She connected this to the MBI-ers own understandings of the original Israeli pioneers that they had learned about at Hatzer Kinneret a few weeks ago. This was the connection that the protesters saw in themselves and the values they were trying to push for society.

There was time for a question and answer session during which some really great questions were brought up by MBI. Questions like-

What do the protesters want the solution for housing to be?

What does housing situation look like now?

Some also expressed confusion at how they were being told that the organizers saw the rallies as non-political and yet were making demands of the government. The answer here lies in the current Israeli political reality where words like left, right, conservative, and liberal only speak to someone's views on the security situation between Israel and its Arab neighbors/inhabitants. In Israel today there is very little talk about the economy or anything other than the occupation/security situation. These rally's are everyday Israelis taking to the streets and saying that social issues must be a part of the debate and not easily decided by one political party.

Afterwards a few MBI-ers found some other protesters to talk to in small groups. The reality is that for this part of the day, some of the MBI-ers were very interested in what was going on around them and others had a harder time following, which is okay. Its alright for them to not all have in depth understandings of how each of these issues is manifesting itself in Israeli society today and we in no way expected that they all did. But we still felt that it was an important opportunity for MBI to be in Israel during this time and have some engagement with the tent-city protests that are happening.

In the next part of the day, MBI went to Machaneh Yehuda which is a huge open air market in Jerusalem. Though some were initially surprised that it didn't look like a shopping mall or grocery store, soon MBI-ers were exploring the different parts of the market and buying things like, fruit, snacks, and candy for room parties later this week. Others were buying spices to take home after MBI. A few kids also played a game in the market called 'bigger-better'. In this game they each start of with something small like a few shekels. The goal is to trade the shekels for one item and then haggle and barter to trade that item for something else. The object is to see how much someone can end up with after starting with something so little.

In the evening, they had kvutza discussions about the culture of MBI and how people are feeling (see NOTE at the top of this post). It was important for each kvutza to be able to process on their own what each person on MBI was feeling and going through over the past few days. At the end of the day they had a Beit Cafe (coffe-house), where a room was set up with low-lights tea and cookies to relax and talk with each other. There certainly was a lot going on these last few days.

Til Next Time,

Ari

Machane Tnua Achot

After a restful 3 days the MBIers were ready to reunite and to meet their Israeli peers from Hanoar Haoved veHalomed (the working and studying youth) at Machaneh Tnua Achot (sister youth movement camp). 120 Israeli Teens from kenim (local branches) from all over the country flocked to Yaar Lavi camp site for a fun and challenging weekend.

On Thursday the MBI groups were matched up with kenim and each small group went on a short hike near the camp site. This was a great way to create informal but structured bonding time right off the bat. During the hike they took several stop where they played a variety of name games and ice breakers. During the hike they took a break to make their own traditional Israeli "hikers" breakfast of pita, salad and spreads.

After returning to the camp site each small group gathered for their first peulah (educational activity). This was another "get to know you" activity. Each chanich (camper) got a booklet entitled "my ken". They filled out the book drawing pictures and writing descriptions of their kenim and machanot (camps). This was an opportunity to start to learn about the differences and similarities between the two movements and to get an idea of the cultures that each of the chanichim are coming from. In the evening they had a fun night activity altogether. Each night during Tnua Achot, MBI is sleeping at Ya'ar Lavi in tents that are mixed between the Israeli Youth and our MBI-ers.

Friday was an intensive but good and thought provoking day. They had several peulot throughout the day which challenged them and gave them new perspectives and ideas about topics they have already learned about. They had a peulah where they discussed their own Jewish identity and the connection between Judaism and Zionism. This was an eye opening experience for both the MBIers and the Israelis. Later they had a peulah about tzedek (justice) and tzedaka (charity). Here they discussed the differences and the impact that both forms of action have on the world, and how to incorporate these ideas into their lives.

Earlier in the day in order to break up the peulot they also had creative chugim (interest groups). There were a variety of chugim for the chanichim to participate in such as a "jam session" where people brought several instruments and played music, rikud where they taught each other dances, and making fimo (a kind of soft clay). This was an opportunity for them to meet new kids from other groups and to bond over their creative interests and talents.

In preparation for Shabbat in the afternoon some of the MBIers exlained Habonim Shabbat traditions including kabbalat Shabbat, havdallah and musicale. This was to make sure the Israelis understood what was happening when the MBIers hosted kabbalat Shabbat and to invite the Israelis to prepare musicale acts for the traditional Saturday night musicale. After dinner the camp participated in something called a salatron which is a crazy fun and ruach (spirit) filled competition. They have silly tasks such as eating a watermelon without using your hands, having an improv dance competition and who has the most team spirit. The energy from the activity carried them into a rousing rikud session. A good time was had by all.

Tomorrow they will have a sleep-in for Shabbat morning and then another day of living and learning with their new friends. But more on that next time...

Shabbat Shalom to all,

Ari

a few more chultza pictures...

The entire album can also be accessed by clicking here-

https://picasaweb.google.com/100353428380834773513/ChultzotAndKvutsot?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJfSqtughLrQdw&feat=directlink

Now they are officially leaders!

After soaking in the magical restful powers of the desert the MBIers closed out Shabbat this past weekend with an emotional tekkes (ceremony) where they received their chultzah tnua (movement shirt). Today in the movement receiving a chultzah means you have reached the age of leadership and the time has come for you to choose how you want to be involved int he movement.

The ceremony took place at an amphitheater at Sde Boker overlooking the hills of the Negev. Gil then spoke and everyone sang the movement's anthem, Od Lo Gamarnu. It was an exciting and emotional experience for all. You never forget the moment when you receive your first chultzah.

The album can also be accessed by clicking here.

https://picasaweb.google.com/100353428380834773513/ChultzotAndKvutsot?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJfSqtughLrQdw&feat=directlink

End of Jerusalem, Yom Habonim, Masada, Bedouins, Shabbat, and Kibbutz/Kvutza time!

Ready for a large MBI update? Here it is...

Last Tuesday MBI headed out to a trail close to their accommodations in the Judean Hills, called the Sataf. The trail is made of up several man made terraces which provide stunning panoramic views of the entire area. The beautiful site is especially interesting since it focuses on reviving the ancient methods of terrace farming. It is fascinating to watch water from 2 springs being channeled to different crops planted on these terraced fields. This was a nice easy hike to start off the day.

Then MBI went to the Knesset, Israel's parliament building. Though they didn't go in (it wasn't open), each kvutza sat in the park outside and had a peula learning about different Israeli political parties and the Israeli political system. Afterwards, they had time to walk around and shop on Ben Yehudah st., one of the main tourist shopping sights in Israel. In the evening they had another peula about their historical connections to Israel. For each kvutza the discussion went really well and then they had some kvutza time in the evening to relax.

Wednesday, everyone was at the beach for Yom Habonim Dror. This day is a relaxing, fun and exciting day where the MBI-ers have a chance to cool down in the water and meet their Habonim peers from around the world. The chanichim enjoyed some delicious food, a water slide, water trampoline, DJ dance party, and t-shirt swaps. They did all this with their counterparts from Habonim in England, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, and Mexico. It was truly a mix of accents, languages, and fun, all built around our shared identity as members of Habonim Dror in Israel.

Thursday, MBI boarded the buses for the drive down south to Ein Gedi. They went straight to Nahal David. This is a hike in a beautiful nature reserve which leads to several pools of water as well as a stunning waterfall. It was a refreshing refuge on another very hot day in Israel. During the hike along with many different plants and trees the MBIers were likely to see local animals such as ibex and small furry hyrex.

Later the MBIers got a chance to see some more animals up and close. After arriving to the Bedouin Hospitality where they slept that night, they took a little trek through the desert on camels and donkeys. This was a new and exciting experience for all. It is exhilarating when the camel stands up and all of a sudden you are lifted into the air and can see out into the expanse of the empty desert. (NOTE: Pictures of camel and donkey rides coming soon!)

When they returned to the hospitality site the MBIers were treated to a huge Bedouin meal for dinner, as well as given an insight into Bedouin culture. They were also treated to some delicious sweet Bedouin tea, and spent some time together as the whole of MBI hanging out under the starry desert sky. That night, they slept in a big tent, ala bedouin style, before setting off to the historic site of Masada in the wee hours of the next morning.

Friday morning the MBIers woke up before the sun rose, and hopped on the buses to make their way to one of the most amazing and historical sites in Israel - Masada. After taking the shorter way to the top the MBIers were given time to walk around the site, and the madrichim also put on some role plays as some of the most famous historical personalities linked to Masada. One was Josephus Flavius, a first century Jewish historian, who gave an overview of the history of Masada, setting the scene. The second act was 2 women who lived on Masada who talked about what life was like. The third was Elazar Ben Yair, the leader of the Rebel Zealots against the Romans at Masada in 73 AD, who talked about what lead the group to commit suicide. Each group then had a short discussion about the choices made by those on Masada and how one makes choices in general. Masada is one of the most unique and remarkable architectural structures in the world - sitting atop a mountain that, at it's highest points, reaches almost 400 meters above the floor below. Masada has the ruins of Herod's temple, as well as all the signs of Jewish communal life, from the synagogue, to the mikvah, to the houses.

The MBIers then headed down from Masada by the winding snake path from which they had a spectacular view of the Dead Sea. After enjoying a hearty and well-earned breakfast at the Masada Youth Hostel they went to the Dead Sea, both the lowest and the saltiest area on the earth's surface. Here they relaxed at the beach and enjoyed floating around in the salty water.

The afternoon was spent travelling through the large machtesh in the desert, a huge naturally formed crater right in the middle of the Negev Desert. The machtesh is a universally studied phenomenon, as it is one of the few in the world that was not created by a meteor or impact of a large object, but rather by the movement of the land underneath it. It is an overwhelming experience to look over the cliffs of the machtesh and see the splendor of the huge sunken area. There, the group got to mix different colored sands into jars and create beautiful, entirely natural works of art.

The group then went to Kibbutz Sde Boker where they spent this past weekend, to rest and prepare for Shabbat. The Sde Boker youth hostel has an amazing promenade where the chanichim can see the valleys and mountains of the desert. It is really a calming and beautiful place for Shabbat. After everyone had cleaned up a bit, they had mishpachot. This is a time where participants from each camp get together with the rest of their "home" kvutza. In the evening they had an oneg, or a short play, and then rikkud.

Unfortunately, over these last 3 days, a few MBI-ers have become sunburned. Most are not that serious and there is plenty of aloe and sunscreen going around. Three participants who were more seriously burned saw a doctor and now have prescription strength burn cream to help the skin heal. All should be fine in a few days.

Shabbat was very relaxing this week. The MBI-ers ran shabbat chugim (interest groups) for themselves and then started planning a few activities to run for themselves this week while on Kibbutz/Kvutza time. In the evening they had a very cool experience where they went out into the desert at night with black-lights looking for SCORPIONS! When the black-light hits the scorpion's outer shell, they glow bright white against the black of the night. Very cool indeed.

Sunday morning the group headed out to explore more of the wonderous desert. They went on a hike in Ein Avdat, which goes through the Avdat ruins. Avdat is an ancient desert city, which was inhabited by a Nabbatean tribe roughly 2,500 years ago. The city was a major stop on the trade routes, and the ruins exist there until today. Today the hiking trail takes you through the canyon which is a really cool experience to be so low and surrounded by the mountains.

After an exciting weekend the group said goodbye and headed off for "kvutzah time" Over Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday they will be split up by their small bus group with just their own madrichim. This is going to be used as a time to rest a bit and bond with each other. Part of the reason to have buses and kvutzot is to foster deep relationships and to give the summer a machaneh feel even though they are traveling so much. These 3 days are meant to give the space for this to happen. Each bus will be on a different kibbutz in the north and will be participating in a variety of group bonding and fun activities on and off the kibbutz.

Bus 1 is staying at Kibbutz Misgav Am.

Bus 2 is staying at Kibbutz Malkia.

Bus 3 is staying at Kibbutz Manara.

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Today, Monday, was the first full day of "Kvutza Time". During this time, the MBIers will spend time bonding with their kvutzah. During the 3 day period, each Bus will do a different order of the following activities each day.

One of the days is spent at the kibbutz they are staying. This day is when the bulk of the peulot are run and the chanichim also have a chance to hang out and cool off at the kibbutz pool. There is also a significant amount of time given to the MBI-ers to plan activities for themselves on this day.

Another day is spent rafting down the Jordan river. The picturesque scenery makes for a very relaxing and refreshing activity. The Jordan valley is one of the hottest places in Israel so I am sure being in the water will provide some relief from the heat. After reaching the end of the river, the group then has an opportunity to go on the ropes course run by the rafting company. A ropes course is a really good way to build trust amongst each other as the activities usually revolve around helping each other overcome fears or nervousness surrounding the course. They then get some more time to hang out on the grassy banks of the river and will have an all you can eat make your pizza party. A nice break from schnitzel, the chanichim get a unique experience to make their own fire grilled pizza and experience "Israeli pizza" toppings. Some chanichim were bold enough to try corn on their pizza and are never going back.

The third day is spent learning about the kibbutz movement and Habonim's role within it historically and today. The group visits Kibbutz Kfar Hanassi, founded in 1948 and named for Chaim Weitzman, Israel's first president. Here the day will be run by 2 Habonim graduates, Denshem from Australia and Shani from our very own Machaneh Galil (and the previous HDNA Programs Director). They begin with a peulah about the kibbutz movement, its founding, what their vision was for Israel and the contributions made throughout its history. They also discuss the changes kibbutzim have been experiencing in recent decades. They have a tour of the kibbutz and a chance to speak with a kibbutz member. They also will enjoy lunch at the kibbutz.

Overall this will be a relaxing few days and hopefully bring the group closer together. These few days are meant to help prepare the group for the coming weekend which will be challenging and fun.

Pictures coming soon. I promise.

Ari

Pictures from Rafsodiah! (Part 2)

Here are a few more...

Pictures from Rafsodiah!

Hi all-

I know you have been waiting, and we were finally able to get some pictures sent over to us from the group. It is significantly more difficult for us to do this than from camp because the group is always moving around the country and internet access is sporadic at best. We do plan on having some more pictures posted soon though. All of the pictures posted below are also available at-

https://picasaweb.google.com/100353428380834773513/Rafsodia2011MBIKaf?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCK-c3dvtwOXdDg&feat=directlink

Enjoy,

Ari