#2 - Day of Opposites

Our second full day has been full of opposites. After a long first day, everyone happily retired to their rooms for a good night’s sleep. No longer yearning for sleep, we awoke early to board our bus to the town of Rehovot, the former home of a British Army command and the site of the historic Ayalon Institute to learn about a hidden munitions factory concealed in a basement beneath the laundry and bakery. Using munitions machines smuggled in from wartime Poland, the factory was run by the Haganah during the last two years of the British Mandate with the patriotic goal of supplying bullets to troops fighting for the cause of the establishment of the Israeli State.

After learning the history of the Ayalon Institute, and seeing the actual machines used, our expert guide told us a story. Several years ago, an elderly woman visited the factory. At the close of the tour, the guide noticed the woman was weeping. When asked why, she told him that during the Holocaust, as a young girl of sixteen, she had been forced to work in a munitions factory in Germany for the Nazis. Day after day the guards told her and the other girls that all other Jews were dead and they were the only last surviving Jews in the world.

 

The war went on and as we all know by 1944 Germany was losing. Eventually the Nazis abandoned the factory because the Allies were bombing the town. By some stroke of luck, the factory was spared and when the Americans entered the factory, the girls saw that they were saved. However, the woman, with a heavy heart, asked an American soldier if it was true they were the last Jews in the world. The GI laughed and said “Of course not. I’ll introduce you to some of my Jewish friends soon.”

 

Many years later, standing in the bullet factory that helped the Jewish Pioneers win the War of Independence in 1948, she was struck by the strange parallel.

 

After hearing this moving story and a quick stop to the gift shop, we headed for Kibbutz Yad Mordechai, named after Mordechai Anielewicz, who was the first commander of the Jewish Fighting Organization in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

 

First, we stopped on the road to hear the memorial siren that is sounded every year at 11:00 a.m. to commemorate Yom HaZikaron, Israel's Memorial Day. It was a powerful moment to see the drivers stopping on the side of the road and getting out of their cars to honor the day.

 

At the conclusion of the siren, we continued to head south to the Kibbutz and learned how the Haganah was able to withstand an attack from Egypt during the War of Independence.

 

Again, we learned how the fight for Israel’s independence is still in the forefront of the minds of so many Israelis and we were able to see in new ways the connections between the atrocity of the Holocaust and the birth of a new Jewish nation.

 

Then we were in for a treat. After a quick lunch, we left the Kibbutz’s past and learned about its present. Kibbutz Yad Mordachai is not only an important memorial of Israel’s independence, but it is also the largest producer of honey in the Middle East. We met Gabi, the beekeeper. I know the students will remember Gabi the beekeeper. He was a wonderful guide and patiently told us about the life cycle of the honey bee and how, as a bee keeper, he gently cares for the bees and helps them produce honey for sale. He ended his presentation by donning a beekeeper’s uniform and, through the safety of a closed window, we watched him show us the bees and how he cares for them. The kids were riveted!

 

The bees reminded us that while the lives of bees are so short, they are essential to our survival as a species and with the War of Independence won, the Kibbutz became a home for a simple species that fills our lives with sweetness.

 

After a taste of honey, we headed home prepare for the evening, a very special evening in Israel where the sunset washes our tears and brings on a celebration. This year marks the celebration of 70 years of independence. The students got their first taste of independence when they were allowed to spend some time away from the chaperones enjoying the fireworks and music with thousands of others, as we cheered Israel’s 70th birthday.

 

Tomorrow after some beach time, we say goodbye to Tel Aviv and head to its opposite, the ancient city of Jerusalem.

 

Trip Chaperone