This is one story of Kivunim Orientation, and a preview of the struggles and experiences that await.
While in Sde Boker, the group watched a film named for Janusz Korczak, a famous Jewish Polish pediatrician and radio host, who suffered under the Nazis. The film was a dramatic, but provided for interpretations in regards to its relevance. The group was soon to discuss their weekly "social responsibility" project. The group had just discussed the challenges Jews faces following the emancipation. The film addresses both of these issues. However, a third topic was addressed soon after arriving in Sde Boker, that of relationships and rights of the "other." In the film, Jews became the "other."
In David Ben-Gurion's bedroom, on top of a few stacks of books, lay an open copy of what I'm currently reading; a book published the year before he died. O Jerusalem. It shares accounts from the Arab and Jewish perspectives of the state of Jerusalem and its neighboring areas in the time of Israel's founding. Central to the collections of narratives was the participation of other nations and communities, for both sides. Yet in each case, one perceived the other as fundamentally different. An example of one group that fought on both sides during Israel's War of Independence is a group that spreads across the desert, but is disappearing quickly. With Clinton as our guide, we were introduced to the Bedouin.
The Bedouin culture is not only an old one, but it is designed for coping with the extreme conditions of the desert. Unfortunately, today the Bedouin are suffering. The Israeli government doesn't recognize their homes and villages, so they can't build. When they can't build, they don't have schools, and every child in Israel must attend school. I highly recommend you read Ruben's account of his experience on the trip. Ruben is another madrich (counselor) on Kivunim.
One site that we visited was a Bedouin school built by the Israeli government. Just transportation alone to this place is hard enough for the students. Yet they remain positive and energetic while they learn, and beat Americans in football/soccer in the rocky sands that blow off into the other local villages:
In the desert strangers grow into unified bodies, revelations are transmitted, dreams are planted, and it is therefore appropriate that leaders like Ben-Gurion turned to the desert for the future. This orientation taught us that the future has been here for a while, and we should see to it that others don't miss out. The following account highlighting the last ten days demonstrates the capacity and intention of this program to transmit lessons in the art of moving mountains.
Following a short dip in the drying Dead Sea, we traveled from the Judean Desert, a local desert, into a global strip of dry land that stretches across the region. In Hebrew it's called the Negev, or dry land. The western Negev plays host to a small kibbutz entitled Sde Boker, where the first prime minister of Israel resided for most of his life. There we discussed the dreams of that developed in Zionism, and the irony that after 2000 years of an exiled religious orientation, it took a secularized group of Jews to fulfill the prayers of the religious, to return to Israel. Sde Boker, however, is also the site of the dream of Ben-Gurion. Aside from a Jewish state, the late prime minister advocated for settling and developing the Negev. One way that Sde Boker excels is in environmental studies and its creation of the largest solar panel in the world.
In Sde Boker we met Clinton Bailey, a unique individual for his associations and interests. Originally from New York, Clinton is the world expert on Bedouin culture in the region. He made Aliyah in the 50's, and was an acquaintance of the Ben-Gurions. So, when he gave us a tour of their home in the desert, it must have been a little eerie for him.
While in Sde Boker, the group watched a film named for Janusz Korczak, a famous Jewish Polish pediatrician and radio host, who suffered under the Nazis. The film was a dramatic, but provided for interpretations in regards to its relevance. The group was soon to discuss their weekly "social responsibility" project. The group had just discussed the challenges Jews faces following the emancipation. The film addresses both of these issues. However, a third topic was addressed soon after arriving in Sde Boker, that of relationships and rights of the "other." In the film, Jews became the "other."
In David Ben-Gurion's bedroom, on top of a few stacks of books, lay an open copy of what I'm currently reading; a book published the year before he died. O Jerusalem. It shares accounts from the Arab and Jewish perspectives of the state of Jerusalem and its neighboring areas in the time of Israel's founding. Central to the collections of narratives was the participation of other nations and communities, for both sides. Yet in each case, one perceived the other as fundamentally different. An example of one group that fought on both sides during Israel's War of Independence is a group that spreads across the desert, but is disappearing quickly. With Clinton as our guide, we were introduced to the Bedouin.
The Bedouin culture is not only an old one, but it is designed for coping with the extreme conditions of the desert. Unfortunately, today the Bedouin are suffering. The Israeli government doesn't recognize their homes and villages, so they can't build. When they can't build, they don't have schools, and every child in Israel must attend school. I highly recommend you read Ruben's account of his experience on the trip. Ruben is another madrich (counselor) on Kivunim.
One site that we visited was a Bedouin school built by the Israeli government. Just transportation alone to this place is hard enough for the students. Yet they remain positive and energetic while they learn, and beat Americans in football/soccer in the rocky sands that blow off into the other local villages:
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