The Golan and Everything Since

It feels like I haven't written in forever, and I always think about things I want to write here but then I forget. I'll do my best, though.

Last week, we were on a week-long trip to the Golan (in the north of Israel). We spent a lot of time getting on and off the bus, visiting different historical sites mostly. We hiked one day in the Zavitan, which also has a lot of natural springs there, so we went swimming and it was really fun! The most interesting thing we did in the Golan was on the last day, when we visited a Druzi museum. Most Druzim in Israel are very loyal to the country; they serve in the army even though they are not required to. Some Druzim in the Golan, however, still consider themselves Syrian (Israel conquered the Golan in 1967 from Syria). These Druzim do not accept Israeli citizenship, they do not serve in the army, and they cannot obtain Syrian citizenship either because they live in Israel. It was very interesting to hear their point of view, although some of the things we saw in the museum were very disturbing. For example, there was a big map of the Golan labled "The Arab Syrian Republic," and there was also a picture of children standing on the street doing something that looked very similar too the Hitler heil. We asked our tour guide about it, and he said it was part of an exercise for gym class in a summer camp they have every year. We were still pretty offended by it, and later he said that actually it was just the children saluting their flag, because apparently that is how everybody salutes their flag (according to our guide). Our tour guide tried to draw a large distinction between the Jewish people and the Israeli people, and said that the fact that we tie those two things together so strongly is the reason why peace cannot be obtained. It was a little disturbing to hear all these things, but it definitely made us think.

Funny story from the Golan: I convinced my friend that I had a pet mouse living in my room with me, and I'm pretty sure he believed me. Basically, around a month ago, my roommate was on her laptop and she couldn't find the mouse for it, so she was looking around yelling, "Where is the mouse?" and I thought that she was talking about a real mouse, so I was like, "A mouse?? We have a mouse??" They think this is the funniest thing ever, so they have been telling people about it. So I was walking with my roommate and another boy, and my roommate asked him if he heard about me and the mouse. So I just made up a story about how I have a pet mouse and I keep him in my drawer in my room and take him on walks and everything.

During the weekend, I stayed in the north at Kibbutz Ga'aton with my friend Noa, who is there on a dancing program. It was so much fun! I met a lot of the people she lives with, and I got to put faces to names I had heard on the phone. It was very fun.

This week at the mechina has been very interesting. I have been planning nonstop a class with my friend Tali for next week, which is our week dedicated to the Holocaust. We are going to talk about different ways to look at the Holocaust, like from the point of view of a righteous gentile, the Pope, non-Jews who were also victims, and other countries (such as the US). I hope it will be successful-I think it will be.